Vancouver restaurant serves up non-lethal Squid Game-themed menu for Halloween

Vancouver's Sai Woo restaurant is turning up the heat with a menu for Halloween based on Squid Game, the hit Netflix show from South Korea.

Head chef Han Seung-min, a first-generation Korean-Canadian, will be orchestrating the night in costume as the "Front Man":the mysterious masked villain from the show.

Han, who binge-watched the show like many others, says it reminded him of when he used to play games like the Squid Game as a child.

"We played all day and until dark or until we were so exhausted," he said, referring to the game where teams play in a squid-shaped course.

Han says his menu will feature modern and traditional takes on Korean food, likerice cakes skewered with cheese and a honey-butter sauce; squid sausage; a kalbi beef pasta anda Korean school lunchbox (a nod to a scene in the series), among others.

In between courses, he says, guests will have the chance to play children's games featured in the show.

There'sppopgi: where players try to cut out a shape from a hard piece of dalgona candy;gganbu: where players make wagers and guess how many marbles their opponent is holding; and ddakji: a game with two tiles where each player tries to flip their opponent's tile by slamming them on the ground.

But beyond the show-themed costumes, masks and games,Hansays it's more than just a Halloween party. The food and games are a celebration of his Korean heritage.

"Fifteenyears ago, I couldn't imagine Korean culture [becoming]this big thing it's become," he said.

"And also I can see there's a lot of demand by Vancouver people who are craving for Korean food too. As a Korean, I'm really happy about it, to see this, and I'm still looking forward to seeing these things getting bigger and bigger."

Just because the games aren't lethal, as in the show,doesn't mean they won't be competitive.

An undisclosed prize will be given to the diner who can beat chef Han at a game of ddakji at the end of the night.

"I'm practising now," said Han. "I used to be good [at it]."

Unlike the games in the show, guests won't be put to sleep and driven in a nondescript vehicle to the restaurant.

Parties will have to make reservations for seating in advance, starting Thursday evening, upuntil the evening of Oct. 31.

WATCH |How to make your own ddakji tiles:

Vancouver restaurant's Squid Game-themed menu to feature Korean children's games

3 years ago

Duration 0:52

Sai Woo mixologist and operations manager Chelsea Schulte demonstrates how to make a ddakji tile from Squid Game, the hit Netflix show.