Star chefs collaborate for 'Taste of Seoul 2023'

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is hosting “Taste of Seoul 2023,” a weeklong event that runs through Friday, featuring a variety of culinary events and programs.

As part of its efforts to promote Seoul's dining scene, the city government published “100 Taste of Seoul 2023," a guidebook in Korean and English in early September. The book lists 100 distinctive restaurants and bars in Seoul alone. It also introduces an additional 50 vegan-friendly dining locations.

The guidebook is also available online at the "Taste of Seoul 2023" official website.

Through Friday, a total of 67 restaurants and eateries, including those introduced in the “100 Taste of Seoul 2023” and hotel restaurants in Seoul, are offering a range of special menus -- from Asian dishes, grilled meat and vegan options to desserts and alcoholic beverages -- at special prices. The list of restaurants can be found on the event's official website.

A variety of tour programs to local bistros, traditional tea houses, rice-wine bars and cooking-class cafes are also available.

Fees for the tour programs range from 60,000 won ($45) to 280,000 won. Reservations can be made via the event's official website. Each tour program is led by English-speaking tour guides.

Tours to some of Seoul's top food spots -- Gwangjang Market, Ikseon-dong and Eulji-ro alleys and the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market -- are also available.

Traditional markets in Seoul are also offering special programs during the “Taste of Seoul 2023” week.

Six restaurants and bars from six different traditional markets in Seoul -- Geumnam Market, Dongmyo Market, Majang Meat Market, Yeongcheon Market, Seoul Central Market and Mangwon Market -- are offering special dishes and snacks, all made with ingredients and produce from their respective markets.

On Tuesday, Kim Ho-young, who runs Jua, a Korean restaurant in New York; Jeong Sang, who runs Central, a fine dining restaurant in Lima, Peru; and Kim Jeong-ho and Yim Jung-sik of Jungsik Seoul, a Korean fine dining restaurant in Seoul, will present their signature menus at Jungsik Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, for lunch and dinner.

On Tuesday evening, Japanese chef Kanji Kobayashi and Korean chef Kim Eun-hee will showcase a number of delicacies using seasonal ingredients at the Green Table, right next to Changdeokgung in central Seoul.

On Wednesday, Sqirl, a brunch cafe in Los Angeles, and Fritz, a Seoul coffee shop, will collaborate at Fritz in Jongno-gu, central Seoul.

Reservations can be made via the restaurants' and cafes’ official websites or via the Catch Table app.