BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment
Sorabol slips into Shenzhen
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-13 15:40
Without any advertising, the Korean restaurant Sorabol opened at CITIC
Plaza two months ago and is already a success.
Its name, with its strong flavor of Korean history and culture, vouches
for the restaurant's authenticity. Sorabol was the name for Seoul during
the Shilla Kingdom more than 1,000 years ago.
The two Sorabol restaurants in Hong Kong attract enough big names - from
former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa and his successor Donald Tsang
Yam-kuen to South Korean pop star Rain and actor Jang Dong-gun and Hong
Kong actress Cecilia Cheung - that Sorabol has been nicknamed "the stars'
canteen." The Tsim Sha Tsui branch opened in 1993 and the Causeway Bay
branch opened in 1995.
The first Sorabol opened in Seoul 25 years ago and now includes seven
branches in South Korea, 14 on the Chinese mainland, and one in Singapore.
"Even former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung is a regular customer,"
said Kim Ki-soon, the Shenzhen Sorabol's general manager, who came from
Seoul with some 17 years�� experience in the business.
Kim is the omnipresent manager, greeting customers, giving hands-on
guidance to the staff, and getting diners' suggestions.
The decor is traditional Korean style, while the atmosphere is warm and
the staff is friendly.
The place is usually packed with Japanese, Korean and Chinese customers
as well as a few Westerners sampling kimchi for the first time. "About 20
to 30 percent of the diners are Koreans, 70 percent are Shenzheners while
another 5 percent are Japanese or people from Western countries," Kim
said.
Many of the staff are of Chaoxian ethnicity whose grandparents'
generation emigrated from the Korean peninsular to China decades ago.
Although focused on Korean-style barbecue, Sorabol offers dozens of
choices. Waiters are more than happy to help.
A Sorabol specialty is the Korean-style barbecued beef imported from
Canada and Japan. Priced at 162 yuan (US$20) per order with two marinated
Canadian top-grade short ribs, the finely marbled beef is well prepared
and juicy. Unlike most restaurants, Sorabol staff will prepare the
barbecue for you.
Each dish is accompanied by small side dishes of kimchi, spinach,
anchovies, onion, radish and salad.
Don't forget to accompany the paper-thin beef with the South Korean
barbecue sauce. Wrap the beef in fresh lettuce with cucumber, garlic
slivers and chili sauce, and it's ready to eat.
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