«Sura» is the first Korean restaurant in the Algarve… and is located in Alvor

Created by a young Korean chef and his Portuguese wife

"Sura" means delight of kings in Korean. It is also the name of the first Korean food restaurant to open in the Algarve, more specifically in Alvor. And what you eat there is really a special delicacy, but in a relaxed and young atmosphere.

«Sura» opened last summer, led by young chef Hanyeol Jo, 23, Korean, and his wife Tânia Monteiro, Portuguese. It is one of four Korean restaurants in Portugal, with the rest in Lisbon and Porto.

O Sul Informação she had dinner there one night like this, invited and accompanied by Song Oh, ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Portugal, and by Yunseon Yang, third secretary of the Embassy. And it was a delicious succession of new flavors, aromas, images and textures that passed through the table.

This "precious kitchen served to kings", according to Ambassador Song Oh's translation of the word sura it can also be translated, after all, as “treating customers like kings”. Because that's exactly what happened.

On the restaurant table, with the design of the restaurant's mascot (is it a tiger? is it a cat?) painted on the wall as a backdrop, the various dishes to be enjoyed were deposited throughout the night. This time, in honor of the journalist, none of them were too spicy. But this is something that customers can choose, according to their taste.

The Korean tradition, as explained by the ambassador, is even “to put everything on the table at once and then eat a little of everything”, sharing flavors and conversation with other guests.

"We have a saying in Korea according to which, when we receive guests at home, the table must break", with the weight of the abundant and varied food, he added, always with a smile on his face.

 

And what passed by the table then? The meal started with Mandu, a kind of dumplings Korean (dough pastries with stuffing), in this case fried (but can be steamed or cooked in water) and accompanied by soy sauce, followed by TTeok KKochi (rice dumpling kebabs, with a delicious sauce), Fried rice with egg and Kimchi (the delicious fermented cabbage that is the ubiquitous ingredient of Korean cuisine, with a spicy and strong flavor), Yangnyeon (Korean fried chicken, very well seasoned, presented here in a more western version, because accompanied by french fries in a cone of paper), TteokPokki (rice balls in a tasty hot broth, with boiled egg and chives) and some rolls similar to sushi, but only with seaweed, rice and vegetables, all accompanied by a Korean fruit distillate, not too alcoholic ( around 20º), called soju.

But there are many other things to try, some of them only on special days (keep an eye out for Sura's Instagram) or depending on the availability of certain ingredients, such as Shabu-Shabu, a dish made up of meat, vegetables, mushrooms and others, which will being cooked in a beef broth, Bulgogi (marinated and grilled beef), Jjajangmyeon (noodles or rice pasta with bean sauce), Dakgalbi (chicken with traditional Korean sauce and noodles sweet potato), or a traditional Korean sweet such as Hotteok, a stuffed Korean pancake.

 

In the end, through a lot of conversation and not always successful attempts (on the part of the reporter) to eat everything with chopsticks (of course you can opt for Western cutlery, but it doesn't have the same joke), there's a taste of a varied meal, with oriental flavors, but very different from Chinese, Indian or Japanese cuisine. A delight for the taste buds, for the smell and even for the eyes, because the mise in place of each of the dishes is thought out in detail.

By comparison, it can be said that Korean cuisine is to the other most well-known oriental foods, as Portuguese food is to Spanish, French or Italian. The basis is the same, but the results are distinct and characteristic.

Chef Hanyeol Jo worked in a restaurant in Korea for a year, but he himself had never owned a restaurant. “This is my first deal!” he says enthusiastically.

And how does a Korean get to Alvor? “I came in October 2020 with my wife, who is Portuguese. We came to Portugal to visit, we thought of returning to Korea, but later, because of the pandemic, we decided to stay here».

And that's how the idea of ​​opening the first Korean restaurant in the Algarve came about. «I started looking for a place and this space came up. “We did the works ourselves, with our hands, and we opened in August”.

In the summer, things went very well and the restaurant, whether with half a dozen tables inside or on the terrace that opens onto the interior patio of the Dunas de Alvor building, far from the confusion, was always very busy. “In the summer, I thought I would become a millionaire”, jokes Hanyeol Jo. But then «winter came»…

What matters to him is that most of his customers are even «Portuguese», eager to try the different flavors of Korean cuisine, for more served at very, very reasonable prices.

 

One of the difficulties that the young chef experiences is finding some of the proper ingredients to prepare his dishes, which is why some of them are only served once in a while. But it is always managing to resolve this difficulty, in order to be able to serve the most traditional Korean dishes, almost always enjoyed as street food, as the ambassador pointed out.

Until now, Hanyeol Jo and his wife Tânia Monteiro have only advertised “Sura” on social media (especially on the Instagram, or they weren't both very young), but the advertising factor Word of mouth It has also been instrumental in making this original restaurant known.

Two weeks ago, as part of the actions that the Embassy of Korea has been carrying out to make that country in the Far East known in Portugal, the chef gave a workshop at the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School, in Faro, which counted on countless young graduates to learn the basic secrets of a cuisine that is still very unknown in our country…but which has all the characteristics to become a whooping cough.

For the 23-year-old young chef, so far this adventure has gone very well. Furthermore, because cooking and sharing what you do with so much love in the small kitchen of your restaurant is really your passion. «This is my job, but it's also mine hobby", ensures.

 

Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação or Sura

 


Sura Restaurant
Barca Road
Dunas Alvor Building, Store nr 32
8500-002 Portimao
Reservations: 924064780
[email protected]
Instagram
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Opening Hours
During the week it is only open for dinner, from 19:30 pm to 23:00 pm
On Friday and Saturday it is open only for lunch, from 12:00 to 15:30.
On Sundays, it is open for lunch and dinner, at the times mentioned above.
Closed on Mondays.

 



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