Try Korean flavors for beginners at Chan

Let’s Eat host and Seattle Times restaurant critic Providence Cicero is always trying to get co-host Terry Jaymes to step into new food frontiers. At her first suggestion of Korean food, Terry didn’t seem too excited, but she says she’s found the perfect place for him to try.

“I thought of you when I was sitting at the counter at this pretty little restaurant because it’s like starter Korean,” says Providence.

Chan, in the Pike Place Market, offers a traditional and modern Korean menu. Providence says the menu is a blending of East and West, just like the restaurant’s owner Heong Soon Park.

“He’s got Korean flavors, and his departure point is Korean, but he’s mixing in some of the European techniques and dishes.”

Dishes at Chan also don’t pack as much heat as traditional Korean food, and the flavors are much softer Providence says.

“The chili heat level is about half what you experience in a normal Korean restaurant where you get pummeled by garlic and spice,” says Providence. “To me that’s too what it makes it more of a Western-style cooking than true Korean traditional cooking.”

For people not sure what to order, Providence recommends looking at their tasting menu.

“They have a great tasting menu that two people can share. You can go traditional or you can go the Chan sort of experience.”

Sharing a tasting menu for $30 per person in the small, intimate setting, perhaps selecting a set of counter seats to watch the kitchen staff in action, could make for a great date night experience says Providence.