La Cucina at Restaurant 8 at Incheon Hyatt Regency



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I was recently at the Incheon Regency Hotel to discuss with the management about our tour and events program and afterwards they kindly invited me to a chef's tasting menu at Restaurant 8. Restaurant 8 is their multiethnic restaurant concept that has 8 different types of world cuisine. If my meal is an indication of what guests enjoy regularly then it is truly a world class restaurant with progressive ideals about sustainable food.

Cucina is their Italian concept restaurant and I was told it is their most popular venue. My meal started off with an selection of 3 appetizers: shrimp in aspic, an apple with gruyere, and seared tuna with a paprika coulee. The shrimp were succulent and melted into the aspic. The tuna was fine as well.

The orange soup that came out looked like pumpkin, but it was not. It was made from yellow paprika that, I was told, was grown on the hotel's holding company's farm on Jeju Island.

The soup was silky and seemed full of light. The paprika flavor was very bright and it paired well with the shrimp dancing in the broth.

The noodles in the seafood linguine were like fine soba made by a skilled Japanese chef. These noodles could have been served in dashi broth and folks would have queued around the block. The seafood was coaxed in a white wine and butter sauce making the perfect sauce for the noodles. Wow.

Next came the steak course. The beef, again, came from Jeju island raised for the hotel's guests. The meat was tender and delicious.

After all this came a trio of desserts: a raspberry macaroon, a banana brûlée cake and, my favorite, pistachio gelato served on a polenta cake dusted with sugar. The pistachio ice cream was amazing with the polenta and sugar crystals added just the right crunch. Wow.

Treat yourself and head out to the Incheon Regency Hotel. You won't regret it.

Dan

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