Increasing number of Korean tourists has given rise to new services for them. This has added to the cosmopolitan character of the city.

On May 6, the Korean restaurant Choi Go Jip opened to the public, who delighted in Korean dishes prepared by Korean cooks. Many travel companies, hotels, restaurants and entertainment sources have recently launched attractive products to satisfy the growing number of Korean tourists, as well as other tourists and locals, who like new experiences.

In recent years, especially since Vietnam has abolished the visa requirement for Korean tourists, the number of Koreans visiting Vietnam has increased sharply. Statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shows that in the first four months of 2007, Vietnam welcomed over 187,500 Korean tourists, up 21.1% on the period last year, making Koreans top among international tourists.

Choi Go Jip is on the first floor of Lion Restaurant in HCMC’s downtown. Lion has long been an ideal place for wedding banquets, conferences and gastronomical festivals. Lion Restaurant also provides German beer, attracting a big number of guests, international and local. With the aim of improving its competitiveness and better meeting the increasing demands of its clients, the restaurant opened the Korean restaurant.

The new restaurant can accommodate over 200 guests. It also has three separate rooms, each of which is capable of holding up to 40 guests. The chief cook is from Korea. It specializes in lunch and dinner buffets, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and from 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

For Koreans, gastronomy plays a vital role in daily life. Each region has its own delicacies with special cooking methods. The ingredients are abundant, and include fruit, mushrooms, seafood, spices, and much else. Koreans like their food hot and sweet.

The buffet menus offer over 30 Korean dishes, from ordinary kimchi, sushi, and roasted cow and pig ribs to luxurious seafood dishes like roasted and steamed prawns, crabs and shellfish. To be able to suit various tastes of a wide range of customers, the restaurant’s chef prepares the dishes with some changes compared with the real Korean dishes. The lunch buffet costs US$25, and the dinner buffet is US$37. From July 10 to August 10, the restaurant will offer a discount of 30% on each buffet ticket.

   Choi Go Jip Restaurant
     Add: 11-13 Lam Son Square, Dist. 1, HCMC
     Tel: (84-8) 823 8514