Odette Chef Rethinks Korean Cuisine With a New Concept in Hong Kong

East meets West in this Jeju abalone dish. Photo by Stella Ko /Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Tucked away on the fifth floor of a building on Lyndhurst Terrace, newly opened Sol offers a refreshing take on Korean cuisine, one that’s deeply rooted in tradition but elegantly dressed in French technique.

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That’s due in large part to the creative energy of head chef Gwanju Kim, formerly of Singapore’s three-Michelin-starred Odette and Seoul’s one-starred L’Amant Secret. Although chef Kim’s journey began in French kitchens, his heart was always drawn to the richness of Korean produce. “We used a lot of Japanese ingredients and techniques at Odette,” he says. “And I used to envy that because Korea has so many incredible ingredients too.”

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After returning to Seoul, he began rethinking Korean cuisine, eventually landing in Hong Kong to bring his vision to life. His goal is to spotlight the ingredients Koreans often take for granted — like maesaengi (hairy seaweed) and  siraegi (dried radish greens) — and introduce them to a global audience. At the start of our meal, chef Kim presented a basket of the vegetables that would feature in our dishes, explaining their sourcing and traditional Korean culinary roles. Each course included a thorough overview from our server and a lovely table card offering an insightful backstory to the core ingredient at play.

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For this review, we, a Korean native and a recent Hong Kong transplant, visited Sol about a week after it opened. We ordered the five-course lunch set (HK$388 per person), and a recommended add-on to start. Our total bill for two came to HK$1,263 ($160), including sparkling water and service.

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The vibe: Sol’s interior is warm and inviting, with earthy brown tiles, soft circular lighting and the solstice motif adorning the walls. Two-person booths provide the perfect setting for a conversation while a few larger tables can accommodate groups. A separate space near the open kitchen hosts monthly cooking classes and group bookings, adding a community feel to the refined dining experience. 

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Can you conduct a meeting here? Absolutely. But a meal this good might be better shared with your loved ones.

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Who’s next to you: When we visited for a late weekday lunch, it was still quiet. But the few tables around us seemed to have couples and friends.

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What we’d order again: 

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Stella: My favorites were the creamy steamed egg topped with mushrooms and pine nuts, and a dish recommended by our server: a Jeju abalone (a HK$148 add-on) paired with two types of Korean seaweed with a classic beurre blanc sauce. A nostalgic moment came with the mubap, a seasoned radish rice dish, served alongside grilled pork jowl, a humble one-pot dinner that instantly sent me back to my childhood in Seoul. It’s a clever nod to the chef’s belief that the most common ingredients often hold the deepest meaning. I’d like to return for dinner, especially with dessert chef Kylie Yang, formerly of Mingles and Hansik Goo, bringing her own modern Korean flair to the final course, which includes two grain-inspired desserts: one made with white rice and the other with barley.

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Ray: At Sol, none of the usual Korean fare I’m accustomed to — your bibimbap, Korean barbecue or ginseng chicken soup — are on the menu. So this experience helped widen my palate and appreciation for other Korean staples. Standouts in my mind were the delicately layered saewoo-jang (soy-marinated prawn), the aforementioned main course of mubap with pork jowl and the just-sweet-enough dessert featuring tastes of barley, chocolate and tonka beans. I’d absolutely return for dinner, or better yet, a cooking class.