F&B BUSINESS · GELEPHU, BHUTAN

Building a Korean dining business
as a brand and a system.

KD International is preparing a Korean dining business in Gelephu. We design the brand guests experience, SOBAN, together with the system that runs the restaurant, so what works in one location can extend to a second restaurant and to catering.

Planning · menu, service and operating-system plan under review (September 2026)

PLATFORM01 Commerce & Lifestyle · F&B
LOCATIONGelephu Mindfulness City
PLANNED SIZE66 seats · 15 tables
STAGEPlan under review
01 · BRAND

SOBAN
Bhutanese produce, Korean craft

SOBAN takes its name from the soban, the small wooden table Koreans traditionally eat from. It is an upscale-casual Korean restaurant with a calm look of hanji paper and white space. Every dish shows the Bhutanese region its ingredients come from; only gochujang, Korean soy sauce and sesame oil come from Korea.

Menu, outside — the Bhutanese farm map (back) and the SOBAN logo (front). DL 99×210 mm, folded in two.
Menu, outside — the Bhutanese farm map (back) and the SOBAN logo (front). DL 99×210 mm, folded in two.
Menu, inside — four chicken dishes and three bowls. No photos, just five things per dish: English name, Korean name, spice level, key ingredients and a one-line description.
Menu, inside — four chicken dishes and three bowls. No photos, just five things per dish: English name, Korean name, spice level, key ingredients and a one-line description.

A clear table, the story on QR

The printed menu carries five facts per dish. Photos, ingredients and the farm map open on the guest’s phone, and prices or sold-out items change in the system instead of on reprints.

Provenance you can see

Paro red rice, Punakha ema chilli, Bumthang buckwheat, potato and honey, Sarpang chicken — a local brand visitors want to share.

One consistent look

Soban, hanji and white space: ink-black type on white hanji paper with a single earth-brown accent, carried through the dining room and every screen.

02 · OPERATING SYSTEM

Four screens,
one set of data

Booking, seating, orders, kitchen, payment and staff shifts run on one system. A small team can deliver the same quality every time, and a change made in one place appears on every screen.

GUEST

Guest phone

The menu QR shows photos, ingredients and farms, and lets guests call staff. To book, guests pick a free table on the floor plan and confirm with a deposit.

Menu QR · call staff
Menu QR · call staff
Table booking
Table booking
STAFF

Floor status

All 15 tables and 66 seats, live, on the actual floor plan: check in bookings, seat walk-ins and reset tables from one screen.

Floor status
STAFF

Orders, alerts & payment

Guest calls and food-ready alerts appear at the top; table orders go straight to the kitchen. Payment is by QR, and every order records who took it.

Orders, alerts & payment
KITCHEN

Kitchen ticket board

Only table number, dish and options, in large type. Marking a dish done alerts the server to pick it up.

Kitchen ticket board
MANAGER

Booking timeline

Tables against time at a glance. Overlapping bookings are blocked with suggested alternatives, under the same rules online, by phone and for walk-ins.

Booking timeline

Images are screen designs from the September 2026 plan. Names and bookings shown are examples.

What the system changes
Bookings
Fewer no-shows, no double bookings, and tables held for peak hours
Seating
Free tables shown instantly, so tables turn faster
Service
Staff are alerted without being flagged down; fewer missed or wrong orders
People
Logging in clocks staff in; records support fair reviews and local staff development
Scale
No cash or paper tickets, and the same system can run a second restaurant or catering
NEXT STEPS

Four steps to opening

  1. 01 · Now

    Plan sign-off

    Confirm menu, service and system direction

  2. 02

    Detailed design

    Screen-by-screen design and data structure

  3. 03

    Integration tests

    Call buttons and payments tested on site

  4. 04

    Pilot & training

    Soft opening and staff training

CONTACT

Let’s find what we can build in a new market.

Bring us a business opportunity, local operating capability, technology or patient capital.

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