New trends in Japanese dining presented at Namu

W Seoul-Walkerhill has recently recruited renowned Japanese Chef Miyake Kazuya from Tokyo to introduce the latest trends in Japanese cuisine at the hotel’s contemporary Japanese restaurant Namu.

The chef has vast experience ranging from traditional Japanese cuisine to contemporary cooking.

“I’ll keep presenting new menus in a creative food style that fuses the latest culinary trends and traditional tastes of Japanese cuisine,” Chef Kazuya told The Korea Herald.

Some of his newly created dishes made their debut at the hotel’s annual event, the “W Taste Summer,” on June 20.

The seven-course dinner was prepared with the season’s best ingredients and paired with wine and sake. The course started off with blowfish sashimi on ice followed by blowfish soup, grilled Spanish mackerel along with white sesame sauce, soy sauce-braised abalone and foie gras on top of pickled grapes, sous vide beef short ribs with Asian pears, root vegetables and matsutake mushrooms.

A bento box containing tea pudding, red bean granita, chocolate croquettes, tapioca and glutinous rice was presented as dessert along with a choice of coffee or tea.

In addition to Kazuya’s special menus, the restaurant is famous for its signature dishes of abalone sashimi, fresh soba salad and grilled sea bass with tomato and ginger relish.

Some specialty drinks such as the Buehler Vineyards and Asabiraki Zen Junmai Ginjo are only available at Namu. Buehler Vineyards is a wine with a rich taste and the aroma of Cabernet fruits: blackberries, raisins, plums and more. Asabiraki Zen Junmai Ginjo is sake that is only produced in Iwate, Japan. It tastes sweet and finishes with an aromatic herbal scent, making it perfect for all types of Japanese dishes.

Namu recently introduced the “Ladies’ Lunch” menu, targeting female guests interested in dieting and health. The lunch consists of a fresh seasonal salad with garlic dressing, sushi, Japanese-style healthy pizza topped with vegetables and seafood, green tea pudding and rice jelly, and is available for 45,000 won per person (tax included). For more information, call (02) 2022-0222.

By Suh Hye-rim (sheren6735@heraldcorp.com)