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groove Korea: what specialties or dishes are you especially proud of? Park Hyun-soo: I am especially proud of the assorted sushi plate. Sushi in general is not about cooking; it’s about the texture of the seafood. This can change every day, depend- ing on what’s available. It depends on the quality of rice, the cooking of the rice and then the vinegar that goes into the rice: The combi- nation is an art. The biggest challenge is get- ting everything together, the measurements and the luck of getting the right meat. what drew you to being a chef, and spe- cifcally Japanese fusion cuisine? Working in that family-style restaurant was very foundational for me. Being in charge of the Japanese sushi portion of the menu was really important to me and I began to really ap- preciate the cuisine. It was a great experience. what drinks do you recommend to ac- company your dishes? Chardonnay goes really well with the sashimi tapas; it supplements the cold sake in Japa- nese cuisine. We have begun recommending drinks for specific dishes since drink and food pairings are crucial to the overall experience of dining at Glam Lounge. do you have a dish that is especially popular? Our customers really like our kimbap rolls that we have created — they’re pretty fancy. Many people like the tuna belly kimbap rolls. Everything is made from scratch. what feeling do you hope people will have after dining at glam lounge? We really hope people enjoy the food. When the plate comes back to the kitchen empty, we know that the customer really liked it. For ex- ample, the VIP plate is very complex to make. It involves many aspects of our kitchen staff’s skill set because it includes three different parts: fried traditional Korean food, sashimi and dessert. And, of course, it has to be very pretty. When that plate comes back empty, ev- eryone in the kitchen is really happy. is there anything else you would like our readers to know? Since our platters are technically bar food, a lot of people question if this is authentic, real sushi and sashimi. It definitely is! Several times a month, after my shift is over at the bar, I go to the Noryangjin Fish Market and will purchase the best fish I find to fill the platters with. It’s all part of the art of making this type of food. I love it! ‘Several times a month, after my shift is over at the bar, I go to the Noryangjin Fish Market and will purchase the best fsh I fnd to fll the platters with. It’s all part of the art of making this type of food. I love it!’ — Chef Park Hyun-soo sun.–wed. 7 p.m.–3 a.m. thurs. 7 p.m.–3:30 p.m. fri.–sat. 7 p.m.–5 a.m. reservations 010-2657-6853 or 010-9764-6164 www.fb.com/districtitaewon www.districtitaewon.com Glam Lounge is located out of Itaewon Station, line 6, exit 1, behind Hamilton Shopping Center. address Seoul, Yongsan-gu, Itaewon-dong, Hamilton Hotel Annex 116-1 Glam Lounge