Chapaguri becomes tried-and-true tourist must-eat at luxury hotel

When housekeeper Chung-sook in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" whips up a sumptuous bowl of Chapaguri ram-don in under eight minutes, it was a scene to remember for people around the globe — not just for Bong's master directing but also ...

Hanwoo truffle Chapaguri at Signiel Busan [JOONGANG PHOTO]

When housekeeper Chung-sook in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning "Parasite" whips up a sumptuous bowl of Chapaguri ram-don in under eight minutes, it was a scene to remember for people around the globe — not just for Bong's master directing but also that mouthwatering dish.

Globally successful Korean content like "Parasite" (2019), "Squid Game" (2021) and K-pop have given rise to Korean cuisine over the past several years, and a five-star hotel in the port city of Busan is also feeling the K-food hype with its own bougie Chapaguri.

"Abalone lobster galbitang [beef soup] used to be the most popular room service menu, but now, the Chapaguri set sells the best, especially among the foreign tourists," first cook Han In-ho at Signiel Busan hotel told the JoongAng Ilbo, the Korea JoongAng Daily's affiliate, on July 27. "I am certainly experiencing firsthand Korean food's popularity in high-end hotels."

Chung-sook makes Chapaguri in a scene of "Parasite" (2019) [JOONGANG PHOTO]

The Chapaguri set, priced at 82,000 won ($63), is comprised of a bowl of ram-don, seasoned fried chicken and dalgona (Korean melted sugar candy).

Signiel Busan was where the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) delegation stayed to evaluate Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in April.

At the time, the hotel was praised for serving them dishes incorporating K-content-related food such as Chapaguri from "Parasite" and dalgona from the Netflix show "Squid Game."

Busan Signiel's restaurant The View, on July 29, was offering the same menu that the BIE Delegation had, dubbed "BIE Delegation Menu," which included jumeokbap (rice balls), dalgona and Chapaguri.

The luscious smell of truffle oil filled a corner of The View, where a chef cooked Chapaguri upon order and handed the finished plate to the eager guests in queue.

Signiel Busan first cook Han In-ho makes Chapaguri at the hotel's restaurant. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Though it is made true to its name — with Nongshim's two instant ramen products, Chapagetti and Neoguri — the hotel put its spin on it by adding generous amounts of hanwoo (Korean beef) tenderloin steak on top of the ram-don then finishing it off with a spray of rich truffle oil.

"The hotel prepared for the BIE delegation's stay for more than three months, and some 50 chefs, including those from the Signiel brand's headquarters, held numerous meetings to prepare the team's menu," Han said.

"Chapaguri has two different noodles with different thicknesses, so we contemplated changing this, but there was a lot of feedback [from our staff] who said that they enjoyed the varying texture of the two — one more chewy and another more soft — so we stuck with the original recipe."

Chapaguri was intended to be a limited-time offering in light of the BIE delegation's visit through November, but the dish received enthusiastic responses from its guests that the hotel has added the dish to the list of its permanent offerings at The View and its room service menu.

Han recalled a memo from a foreign guest saying that the Chapaguri set he ordered through room service was the "best thing" he had eaten during his trip to Busan.

As the Covid-19 pandemic subsided earlier this year, there were concerns that the number of customers would decrease as demand for overseas travel increased, but foreign tourists flowed in and filled the hotel's rooms. The proportion of foreign guests, only 5 percent during the pandemic, has now risen to about 30 percent.

Signiel Busan opened in June 2020.

[JOONGANG PHOTO]

Han said it isn't just Chapaguri riding the K-culture wave but the entire Korean cuisine.

"I was very surprised when a foreign tourist told me that she wanted to eat tteokbokki [spicy rice cake] that boy band BTS likes and asked why it isn't available in the hotel's buffet."

He recalled another guest who asked for an omelet in "Korean style" at the hotel buffet's omelet corner.

"It is at these moments that I really feel that the status of Korean food has gone up," Han added.

A Signiel Busan staff said that the hotel is expanding its Korean food offerings as more foreign tourists are visiting the hotel.

"Recently, we started selling a highball cocktail that incorporates traditional Korean teas, persimmon leaf tea and pumpkin tea."

BY CHOI SUN-NEUL, LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joognang.co.kr]