‘Viking’ Lands in Busan!... Seafood Handmade Burger Specialty Brand ‘Vikinghuseu’ Opens

The seafood handmade burger specialty brand ‘VIKING HUS’ will open its first store on the 2nd floor of Ramada Encore Hotel Busan Station on the 15th.

VIKING HUS incorporates the worldview of the ancient Viking era into its brand story, applying the ‘smoking’ method, said to have been first used by the Vikings, to seafood burgers and reinterpreting it in a modern way.

VIKING HUS means the legendary house where ancient Viking warriors lived in Norwegian.

It is said that Viking warriors held festivals here, enjoying drinks and delicious food. VIKING HUS reflects this Viking worldview in its store interior and menu, creating a space where customers can experience the legendary Viking myth era in the city.

This concept was planned to target the emerging core future customer base, the ‘Zalpha’ generation.

The Zalpha generation is a newly coined term combining the ‘Z generation’ and the ‘Alpha generation.’ They tend to perceive the process of purchasing products as a form of play culture, quickly adopting trends and fashions, and feeling exhilaration through new experiences. VIKING HUS aims to provide a special experience and space to the Zalpha generation with its unique Viking worldview story.

The interior of the VIKING HUS store faithfully recreates an ancient Viking house. In the center, a gigantic table shaped like a ‘longship,’ which Viking warriors are said to have ridden, is installed to represent a harbor where a ship is docked. The entrance features stained glass to create a grand atmosphere overall, and various props that Vikings might have actually used are displayed throughout the store.

Viking House Menu.

VIKING HUS’s burger menu consists of six signature items: ▲‘Shrimp in the Fish’ ▲‘Longship Burger’ ▲‘Shrimp Croquette’ ▲‘Nordic Brandade’ ▲‘Smoke Salmon Beurre’ ▲‘Viking Beef’.

The signature menu item, ‘Shrimp in the Fish,’ features a patty filled with smoked whole flounder and shrimp meat, fried to a crispy finish. The distinctive smoky aroma rises while the soft flounder meat and chewy shrimp meat are bitten together, creating an attractive texture.

The ‘Longship Burger’ is an open-style burger made with a 30cm long baguette topped with homemade lemon mayo-flavored smoked salmon and shrimp. The tangy lemon mayo sauce pairs well with the mild flavors of salmon and shrimp, delivering a savory taste.

The ‘Shrimp Croquette’ is made by frying whole shrimp inside potato pur?e, resulting in a crispy exterior and moist interior, harmonizing the fluffy texture of the potato with the chewiness of the shrimp. The ‘Nordic Brandade’ is a delicacy featuring softly mashed and fried smoked cod mixed with bacon and a special sauce, offering a salty and savory flavor.

The ‘Smoke Salmon Beurre’ is filled with homemade apple butter jam and smoked salmon inside a baguette, creating a diverse flavor profile with sweetness and smoky aroma. The ‘Viking Beef’ is a Nordic-style beef burger combining juicy beef and fresh vegetables, offering a sweet and salty taste loved by all ages.

The main ingredient of VIKING HUS burgers, fish meat, undergoes a sufficient aging process in the store’s aging room and is smoked directly to make the texture softer and enhance the mild flavor.

Besides the main menu, side dishes include fish and chips made with smoked fish meat, ‘Crab Cake,’ ‘Fish Chowder Soup’ made with various fish fillets and potatoes, and spicy-sweet ‘Meat Chili Fries.’ Salad options include ‘Smoke Salmon Salad,’ ‘Carrot & Corn Salad,’ ‘Finger Chicken Salad,’ and ‘Ricotta Cheese Salad.’

Alcoholic beverages are also available. The highball made with ‘Mead,’ a honey wine said to have been enjoyed by Vikings, elevates the quality of the VIKING HUS burger taste.

Chef Kim Dong-gi, a specialist in aquaculture cuisine, participated in menu development.

Chef Kim is a director of the Restaurant Division of the Korea Chef Association Central Committee and owner-chef of ‘Dining Juyeon’ in Jungnang-gu, Seoul. He has won a silver medal with the Olympic regional team at the 2020 IKA German Chef Cooking Competition and a silver medal with the Korean regional team at the 2022 Luxembourg Cooking World Cup.

To commemorate the opening of the first VIKING HUS store, a limited-quantity event will be held where customers who purchase over 10,000 KRW will receive a 20% discount and a reward ticket exchangeable for side dishes (Meat Chili Fries, Carrot & Corn Salad, Fish Chowder Soup).

Additionally, a promotion will be conducted in collaboration with the Busan City Tour Bus, providing side dish (Meat Chili Fries) exchange coupons to users.

Park Jae-min, manager of the first VIKING HUS store, said, “We will pioneer the genre of seafood handmade burgers with the Viking spirit,” and added, “We hope you enjoy the seafood handmade burgers and immerse yourself in the Viking worldview.”

Viking House employees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.