Shinsegae Department Store, 'Restaurant Effect'... March Dining Area Sales Up 162%

Gangnam Branch Opens with Garosugil Favorite 'Chickpeas' and Hapjeong's Famous Pizza Spot 'Molto Bene'
Also Featuring Popular Desserts Like Hotel Deux, Flippers, and Le Mont Blanc

Shinsegae Department Store Main Branch Dessert Shop.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Shinsegae Department Store announced on the 21st that it will introduce new popular restaurants within the department store to celebrate March.

Shinsegae Department Store revealed that sales in the department store's food court have increased by 162.4% compared to the previous year this month. As spring outing visitors flock to the department store, the number of food court visitors has risen. Shinsegae Department Store is adding new popular restaurants to the food court to capture customers' attention.

'Chickpeas,' known as a 'Garosugil popular restaurant,' offers Mediterranean-style salads and shakshuka. They also added vegan option menus. It opened for the first time this month at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch, with signature items including the vegan burger (9,500 KRW) and avocado salad (12,000 KRW).

'Molto Bene,' newly introduced at the Gangnam branch, is an Italian restaurant run by a chef couple who have worked in Italy and the United States. Their location in Hapjeong was selected as one of the 'Top 10 Asian Pizza Places' by Italy. Signature dishes include Margherita pizza (22,000 KRW) and ragu pasta (24,000 KRW).

'Omokjip' is a premium jokbal (pig's trotters) restaurant that opened this month at the Gangnam branch. It was featured in popular dramas that sparked the Korean Wave and attracts many foreign tourists. Only domestically sourced large pig's trotters are carefully selected and boiled daily in a secret broth for limited sale. The seasoning penetrates the meat well, resulting in a tender texture. Basic jokbal (large) is 37,000 KRW, and seasoned jokbal is 33,000 KRW.

'Hotel Deux,' opening on the 22nd at the main branch, started in 2010 in Seorae Village. Chef Jeong Hong-yeon, the first Korean to serve as pastry chef at Japan’s prestigious Rihga Royal Hotel, opened it. Meaning 'sweet hotel,' Hotel Deux has led domestic dessert trends for the past 12 years with items like eclairs and Danish bread. Signature products include eclairs (5,500 KRW), mille-feuille (6,500 KRW), and strawberry slice cake (6,000 KRW).

The unique dessert cafe 'Le Mont Blanc' from Haebangchon can also be found at the Gangnam and main branches. Its signature menu is a yarn-shaped mousse cake, which holds a design patent. Last Christmas season, it held a pop-up at the Gangnam branch, gaining great popularity and leading to the opening of a permanent store. Signature items include coffee ganache mousse cake (9,500 KRW) and Earl Grey mousse cake (9,500 KRW).

'Flippers' is a souffle pancake specialty store, with fruit-topped items like strawberry and banana gaining attention on social media. It is scheduled to open at the Gangnam branch from the 25th. Menu items include souffle sandwich plain (6,800 KRW), souffle sandwich strawberry (7,800 KRW), and souffle sandwich choco banana (7,800 KRW).

Shinsegae Department Store will offer meal and dessert discount coupons to customers using the department store application until the 28th of this month. By following and sharing Shinsegae Department Store’s brands through the app’s own marketing channel 'FIT,' customers can receive discount coupons worth up to 25,000 KRW usable at the food court, sweets, deli, and more.