The annual dining festival introducing high-quality meals at reasonable prices returns with a temple food theme, hosting a gala dinner featuring Korean temple food and an art exhibition featuring the culture and history of Korean temple cuisine.

“The fourth festival will break away from the usual lineup of restaurants and hotels. It will introduce Korean temple food and its culture during a weeklong festival,” said the introduction to the event on the festival website (www.finediningkorea.com). 

The 4th Fine Dining Gala Week, slated for May 1-7, will start with an exhibition of ceramic ware created by artist Kim Jeong-ok and his son Kim Gyeong-sik at Insa Art Center from May 1-6.

Ceramic works by Kim, who is registered as an Intangible Cultural Asset in ceramics in Korea, are expected to promote the excellence of Korean ceramics with works that offer a glimpse of the culture and history of Korean temple food.

A gala dinner will be held on May 7 featuring Korean temple food presented by the master of temple food, Ven. Seonjae, a Buddhist nun famous for her recipes.

The nine-course menu will include mugwort and bean porridge, lotus flower tea, sweet potato jelly, grilled fatsia shoot and pumpkin leaf, shepherd’s purse dumplings and shiitake mushroom noodles. Each course menu will be accompanied with beverages that match the course menus.

The gala dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. on the 37th floor of Lotte Hotel Seoul. The dinner is priced at 250,000 won. For reservations, call (02) 317-7061.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)