![]() Luckily for him, the rest of the hotel staff was very receptive to the idea and the hotel’s patrons ended up loving this new take on food. He thought to himself, “I must take this idea back to my hotel and from there it will spread to all of Japan and become insanely popular! Muahahaha!” Okay, so maybe he didn’t really think that, but let’s just say he did. Upon his arrival, he was absolutely dumbfounded by the crazy Swedes and their Smörgåsbord (buffet) restaurants. One such idea came in 1957 when a restaurant manager from Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel ( Teikoku Hoteru) traveled abroad to Sweden. With this economic boom and globalization effect on Japan came many new ideas and advancements. As such, the idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet was more or less blasphemous until Japan’s economy started to really pick up after World War II and Japan became more open to the rest of the world. Being an island nation, Japan’s natural resources had historically been a bit limited when compared to other larger nations with access to land based trade routes and wider shares of land. ![]() Okay, so you all know where Japan is located, right ( or do you)? Japan is a cluster of many islands located just east of Korea and China. But why did they choose the word Viking as their loan word for buffets? Seems kind of strange, doesn’t it? Well there just so happens to be a story behind this, so let’s get right to it. In Japan, the word for buffet is baikingu バイキング ( ). What’s that? You’re not following me here? Allow me to explain. Everywhere from Okinawa to Hokkaido, Japanese folk enjoy Vikings on a daily basis. Children under 11 will be charged half price.We all know Japan is no stranger to eating fish, but did you know they also eat Vikings as well? Ever since the 1950s, eating Vikings has become a very regular thing in Japan. Prices are 55,000 won for lunch and 60,000 won for dinner. When customers choose what they want from filet, sirloin, salmon and asparagus to various mushrooms along with five different kinds of sauces, a chef at the tepanyaki section prepares it in front of customers. In addition to seafood, the restaurant also provides a personalized tepanyaki service. ``Unlike other buffet restaurants, we maintain the freshness of our seafood, which I think is a huge advantage for a Japanese buffet restaurant,'' the chef with over 20 years experience in Japanese cuisine said. ![]() ![]() The buffet restaurant offers about 70 different dishes, including seven kinds of sashimi and eight kinds of sushi, such as a flatfish, red snapper, tuna and scallop ― fresh seafood that is crucial to Japanese restaurants, Kim said. The restaurant has dispatched skillful chefs to offer more customized services, as opposed to guests helping themselves to various pre-cooked dishes with minimum assistance by restaurant staff, Kim said. ``You can enjoy as many a la carte courses as you wish at our buffet.'' ``It's like a combination of a buffet and a regular restaurant,'' Kim Bo-seong, Irodori kitchen chef de Partie, said. Although it is a buffet restaurant, guests can enjoy a more customized service. Types and quantity of dishes seem much smaller than at other buffet restaurants.īut guests choose most of the items on display and skillful chefs prepare them upon request and serve them at the diners' tables. ``Irodori'' means``variety" in Japanese.Īt a glance, the restaurant's buffet is typical ― guests take whatever food items they want as they walk passed a line of food containers filled with prepared food. The restaurant features a buffet only on weekends by combining the merits of the ``all-you-can-eat'' buffet and the regular ``order-from-the-table'' dining. The Renaissance Seoul Hotel's Japanese restaurant Irodori has come forward with a solution to satisfy customers both in quantity and quality. But the quantity focus may disappoint diners as it often comes at the expense of quality. Renaissance Seoul Hotel’s Japanese restaurant Irodoriīuffet restaurants at local hotels are faithful to the ``all-you-can-eat'' philosophy, serving a large variety of dishes for a set price.
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