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Table scraps

A dainty Korean barbie

I would have never considered myself one of “those” kinds of girls.

I boast probably one of the biggest barbecues on the block. It’s the size of a small space ship with neat little silver tables jutting out on either side of the grill. It even has a gas-fueled stovetop burner to simmer all of those beautiful sauces to braise steaks with.

Okay I’ve never used the burner, but I can barbecue with the best of them.

So I was totally shocked when I played second fiddle to my burly German friend literally manning the neat little barbecue grill fashionably built right into the centre of the table at the new Korean restaurant in town, Celadon.

It wasn’t my fault. The setting totally threw me off.

This isn’t the sloppily slap together barbecue you might find at a kegger party patio. This barbecue is set in a trendy, cool vibe where modern taste meets the best of traditional Korean royal court cuisine – A Joseon Dynasty culinary style recently made popular in the 21 st century.

Celadon is also a revival of the traditional Korean restaurant. Shakin’ not stirred martinis are poured at a crescent shaped bar all a glow in blue moonlight from the underneath-lit bar top while guests dine in the main room with intimate banquette seating staged in polished lines dressed in blues with dark hues.

The barbecue in this setting was oil to water, fish to bird, hamburger to angus beef sirloin marinated in bulgogi sauce, turning a woman of barbecue station into a mere spectator. But good news, my hands and attention were free to focus on what was coming off the grill.

The Celadon restaurant opened last December in Mountain Square. Just follow the Village Stroll to Lululemon, look up to the second floor, and you’ll find the Celadon sign. Walk up the stairs as if heading to Teppan Village and take a left instead of a right. Just look for the blue-glowing bar.

The Celadon blue martini poured for me was the perfect accessory to the comfortable, funky lounge area. I eased into the surprisingly comfortable yet modern lounge as I chatted with managing partner Maggie Huh. Her story was like so many others in this town. The Hong Kong native came to Whistler 10 years ago for a visit and well, you know the rest of the story. Charmed by the friendly people and the vacancy of a Korean Restaurant in Whistler’s dining scene, she and her brother (the executive chef at Celadon) decided to move their life to our mountain resort – Hong Kong’s financially-crippling short restaurant leases and Whistler’s golf scene helped the decision along.

Celadon is nothing like a Korean restaurant found in Vancouver and neither does it emulate anything to do with a ski cabin. It’s Asian, modern and sleek, but welcoming, a lot like my hostess.

We moved into the dining room where she poured her drunken college memories into small cups. Soju is to Korean dining as sake is to Japanese. Students in Hong Kong commonly drink the cheap smooth liquor. Of course exported, the vodka-like shots were more expensive and to someone who never studied in Hong Kong, the taste was agreeable, made even more so by Maggie explaining the traditional way to pour it by using two hands to show respect.

Traditional and modern ideals plate themselves throughout the menu.

Korean purists can look forward to Celadon’s homemade kimichi (Korea’s most well known side dish of super spicy fermented cabbage) with spicy pork belly from the grill while newcomers can revel in salads with spicy seared ahi tuna piled high on fresh greens and crowned with radish curls ($18). The salad preparations are western, but the ingredients are items found in traditional Korean food.

Some dishes really showcased the best of both worlds. The Bibim Bab ($23) usually served in one big sizzling pot was instead served in two parts. The rice warmed in the heated iron pot while the marinated vegetables, beef and egg were beautifully displayed like a rainbow on a separate dish, leaving the diner to mix the two together.

Celadon is about getting involved. This is not a first date kind of place, nor for shy eaters. It’s a place to try something new, laugh at your friends burning the garlic bulbs and keep your hands as busy as the conversation as you grill this and dip that.

We weren’t so brave as to venture into the ox tongue, but we had teasers of the grilled salmon wrapped in salami ($22), marinated angus beef ($32) and spicy pork belly ($23) – the latter two my favourite. The rich, marinated meats (so flavourful you almost didn’t need the trio of dipping sauces) were coupled with side dishes such as the must-try kimichi and wrapping vegetables such as lettuce and garlic helping cut through the rich meats.

However, my top choices of the night left the cooking to the real chefs. Their angus beef ribs called Galbi ($36) will make a club-dragging Neanderthal out of any martini clinker or at the very least scare away a colony of Vampires, leaving these juicy morsels marinated twice for twice the flavour all to myself.

The Seafood Kimichi Pancake ($18) traditionally known as jeonyuhwa also wowed with green onion bars wracking in a delicate sea in a thin fried pancake.

The evening finished with jasmine tea in beautiful and unusual stoneware cups from Vietnam. The serving plate top like the menu and other décor highlights shimmered with blue – the colour of the restaurant’s name. Maggie explained celadon is a blue/green glaze used on Asian porcelain. Made more than a 1,000 years ago, there is a mystery to the natural ingredient that makes the unearthly colour.

Maggie has discovered the secret to the Celadon code by sharing some of its lore and magic in a modern setting – it might just take a few pork belly and kimichis thrown on the dainty barbie to get you there.