Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆: Beijing’s Best Bibimbap

Posted: February 23rd, 2012 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene | Tags: Bespoke Beijing, Bibimbap, Gulou, Korean, Lumdimsum Discovery, Nanluoguxiang, Sarah Keenlyside, Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 | No Comments »

‘Bibimbap’ is an awesome word. What’s more fun than saying ‘Bibimbap’ five times as fast as you can is eating Bibimbap at Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 Korean Restaurant, home of Beijing’s very best bibimbap!

I have actually eaten at Saveurs de Corée ages ago when it was still located on Nanluoguxiang and remember loving their rooftop terrace and thinking the food was decent, but overpriced.

Fast-forward like 5 years and I am now kicking myself for not coming back sooner!  Was Saveurs de Corée always as good as it is today?!? If so, why didn’t someone drag my butt here sooner?? Now, thanks to Sarah Keenlyside, city expert and founder of Bespoke Beijing travel and events company, I have finally discovered Beijing’s best bibimbap, I seriously plan to come here at least once a week.

The restaurant is now split into two venues – a Korean Grill Restaurant on Xiang Er’s and Korean Patio Gourmet at Ju Er Hutong (both located just about a block away from one another). I haven’t been to the Grill, but the Patio Gourmet is a really elegant, beautiful venue and the food is excellent and I love that the menu is filled with words like “organic” and “NO MSG”.

While many of the dishes may seem a bit pricey, they have some fantastic deals including the Chef’s Classic Set (RMB 59) which includes assorted Korean appetizers, Dubu Buchim – crispy, sauteed tofu with special Korean onion sauce, their Classic Dulsot-Bibimbap – organic rice with mixed vegetables, minced beef with a raw egg and Korean chili paste in a sizzling stone bowl and Korean traditional cinnamon iced tea. That’s an amazing deal for all that goodness!

Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 Chef’s Classic Set:

Assorted Korean Appetizers 

Dubu Buchim – crispy, sauteed tofu with special Korean onion sauce

Classic Dulsot-Bibimbap – organic rice with mixed vegetables, minced beef with a raw egg and Korean chili paste in a sizzling stone bowl

What it looks like all stirred up

Korean Traditional Cinnamon Iced Tea

Next time I make a trip to Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆, I’ll be keen to try their Chef’s Tasting Set (RMB 159) which includes assorted Korean appetizers, kimchi jeon – Korean style pizza with homemade kimchi, Japchae – stir-fried sweet potato glass noodles with julienned vegetables, Bulgogi – grilled premium beef with lettuce OR Gochujang daejigogi – Grilled pork shred marinated in Korean chili paste, Korean signature soyabean paste soup with vegetables, mushrooms, seafood and tofu with organic rice and Korean traditional cinnamon tea.

Chef’s Tasting Set (RMB 159)

Delicious bibimbap aside, Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 is a lovely restaurant set in a hutong courtyard with an open courtyard, which will be perfect during summer time.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆 Korean Restaurant:

The owner is Korean and just so happens to also have a British accent, which is kind of adorable.  He was excellent – really friendly, really helpful and attentive.  Unfortunately, the rest of his staff seems utterly lost and hopeless.  When the owner wasn’t around to tend to us, we found ourselves helping ourselves to our food coming out of the kitchen, our own water refills, extra napkins and everything you’d normally ask of a waitress.  Even just asking for the bill was a 20 minute wait, which is ridiculous because we were one of the only tables in their restaurant.

Overall, in spite of service issues, this place is fantastic and I already can’t wait for my next trip to Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆. I anticipate many future ‘LumDimSum Discovery’ posts featuring more dishes from Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆!

Saveurs de Corée 韩香馆:

KOREAN PATIO GOURMET AT JU ER’S

• Address: 20 Ju Er Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing (Near Nanluogu Xiang’s north end) 
• 菊儿胡同20号
• Tel: +86 10 6401 6083

FINE KOREAN GRILL AT XIANG ER’S

• Address: 128-1, Xiang Er Hutong, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng District, Beijing (5mins walk from Bei Xin Qiao metro, exit-D)  
• 东城区香饵胡同128-1号
• Tel: +86 10 5741 5753

---