I love going to buffets. Despite the negative correlation between my age and my stomach’s combat abilities, I still love going to them. I love the massive range of selections and the freedom of eating whatever my heart pleases. It never gets old for me.
So, imagine my determination to go to the Parkview buffet, when I saw it in a video that named it to be “the best buffet in Korea”. The Parkview is one of the dining options at Shilla Hotel. It offers buffet all day long, with two options for dinner time, which varies with weekdays versus weekends or holidays. We made a reservation for the 5-7pm seating, to ensure we have enough time for our food comas.
Once you reach the hotel, the Parkview is on the left hand side after you walk up a flight of stairs. The restaurant is very spacious. It has an open kitchen where you can see the chefs creating all the delicious foods. We were seated along the windows with a view of the garden, waterfall wall, and a little peak of Mt Namsan. A very romantic view. (I just realized, maybe that’s why it’s called the ‘park’ view, lol)
Each table are started with a bottle of sparkling water. Fancy =). I would categorize the buffet into the following – salad, Italian, Asian, seafood, fruits and dessert.
Alright, so that’s pretty much everything they served. I do apologize if the pictures aren’t from the best angle or with the best clarity. I was a trying to take the pictures stealthily. We got there around 5:15ish and the buffet area was packed with people. There were lines along each section, especially around the sushi corner. Here’s what I managed to get my hands on =D.
The dark green leaf is ramie cake (in spirit of Chuseok) and the spotted green one is chicken and cabbage dumpling. There is also a Peking duck wrap, a lamb chop, some kalbi, a bacon wrapped asparagus. I don’t really remember what the others were.
First plate is always the best, since your stomach is the most empty.
The crab legs were all prepped for simple eating. They are snipped at the two ends so that you can crack it open with just your bare hands. So considerate.
For the sushi, they have one chef that hand makes fresh sushi at your request (salmon, tuna, eel and shrimp).
The crab meat soup was delectable! It contained real crab meat, which was only fitting for its reputation. It was so smooth and umami. I kept going back for more.
The soup base for the pho was very umami. The small bowl was just enough for taste and not over-filling, and very fun to personalize.
I forgot to mention that the servers will bring everyone one of these tasty mushroom soup. Really yummy but quite filling as well because it was very rich.
I was so happily stuffed.
I was quite impressed with the buffet selection and quality that Parkview had to offer. The raw ingredients were fresh and the execution of the dishes were mostly extraordinary. The highlight of the buffet for me was the crab meat soup and the seaweed, as you can tell by their repeated appearance on my plates. I was slightly disappointed by a few minor things. The kiwi wasn’t sweet. The macarons were not made in house, they came out from a pre-packaged. Some of the dishes weren’t cooked up to my par, but that could just be my expectations. The service was impeccable, plenty of friendly servers attentively standing nearby, at your service.
Overall, the buffet experience was amazing. It didn’t over shoot my expectations by miles, but it did meet them and exceed them by a bit. It had definitely taken the number 1 position on the list of dinner buffets that I have visited. I mean, given the price of 118,000 kwon per person, it better be the best, right? I am definitely glad I added this spot to my food itinerary. Parkview buffet is on the pricier end for a meal, but it is unquestionably worth it for special occasions. In other words, this would be a charming and classy place to take your date to ;).
The Parkview
249 Dongho-ro, Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul
Per adult – 118,000 kwon