Hyatt to celebrate Korean Thanksgiving

Chef de cusine Shawn Lee presents some of the dishes that will be served at the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Chuseok Festival on Sept. 24-26, from 6pm to 9pm at Kili Cafe & Terrace. (BEA CABRERA)

Hyatt Regency Saipan is celebrating Korea’s traditional Thanksgiving called the Chuseok Festival. This brings loved ones together to share a meal from recipes that have been handed down through generations, to give thanks for a bountiful year, and to honor one’s ancestors.

Hyatt wants this year’s Chuseok Festival to be extra special—it will be the first time that Hyatt Regency Saipan will celebrate Chuseok not only for one day but for three days, from Sept. 24 to 26, from 6pm to 9pm at the Kili Café & Terrace. This simulates the manner of how Koreans usually celebrate this event, said Helen Shin, Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Korean sales manager.

“Chuseok is a national event and a holiday so that people, especially the ones working in the city, will have time to go home and be with their family.

“We usually start the celebration a day before the actual Chuseok, then we celebrate on the day itself and on the third day, [there is] a post-Thanksgiving get-together. It’s is really a time for families to bond and give thanks,” she added.

Another first—a Korean chef himself arranged Hyatt’s menu for the three-day celebration. Chef de cuisine Shawn Lee joined the Hyatt team in April this year. “For this year, I decided to make different themes for different days to highlight Korean food that people will surely love. Korean Royale is the theme of the first day as it will serve ancient imperial dishes, Chuseok dishes will be served on the second day and, since I am from Jeju Island, the third day will be dedicated to Jeju Island’s traditional food, which is rarely found outside Jeju.”

One of the popular Korean dishes, braised beef, will be served at Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Chuseok Festival on Sept. 24-26, from 6pm to 9pm at Kili Cafe & Terrace. (BEA CABRERA)

“There is a variety of flavors and tastes so people will be encouraged to come on those three days because we will serve the best dishes from all over Korea. …All the dishes will be special but my personal favorite is the braised beef… This is special and meaningful as we share food [within] the Korean community on island,” he added

Guests will be treated to a range of food like bulgogi salsa with sesame dressing, Korean pancakes and different kinds of kimchi, main dishes that include braised beef, steamed king prawns with vegetable paired with a honey mustard vinegary sauce and an array of Korean desserts like sweet rice cake and yak-gwa (honey cookie), to name a few.

Shin promises that Hyatt will make this “an authentic Chuseok experience for our guests as we put up decorations of traditional Korean royal families, Korean musical instruments, and Korean traditional games.”

Dinner costs $60 per person and $40 for Club at the Hyatt members. Reservations are highly recommended. For reservations, call (670) 234-1234 Ext. 26.

Steamed king prawns with vegetable is guaranteed to be an instant favorite at the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s Chuseok Festival on Sept. 24-26, from 6pm to 9pm at Kili Cafe & Terrace. (BEA CABRERA)