Top Chinese chef to present state banquet dishes at Lotte Hotel Seoul Jiang Bing Liang, the head chef of China’s Great Hall of the People, will be presenting Chinese state banquet dishes at Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Chinese restaurant Toh Lim. Jiang will collaborate with Toh Lim’s star chef Yeo Kyung-ok to provide lunch and dinner sets from Nov. 18-20. The lunch courses (138,000 won and 158,000 won) will include steamed shark’s fin with coconut, braised abalone with leek and oyster sauce, and hot nood

Where to go for turkey, pumpkin pie and more

Baek kimchi (white kimchi) (Korean Bapsang)Baek kimchi is a variety of kimchi that’s made without red chili pepper flakes. It is enjoyed for its mild, refreshing taste. Baek kimchi is child-friendly and great for people who have issues with spicy food!The stuffing for white kimchi varies but usually includes typical kimchi ingredients such as radish, garlic, ginger, scallion, minari, pear, etc. I like to add colorful bell peppers, which are called paprika in Korea, for sweetness and additional c

So Dad was over for a visit and wanted scrambled eggs for breakfast. When I expressed some reluctance about pulling out a frying pan (OK, it was a whole lot of reluctance), he remained undeterred. “You don’t have to fry it,” he told me. “Use the microwave. Get me a saucer.”It took a crafty 92-year-old cook to show me how to exploit the microwave, which in my kitchen is better known as the popcorn maker and frozen-leftovers defroster. Within minutes, we were both enjoying a delectable scrambled e

L’Espoir chef opens charcuterie bar near Dosan Park

Macau Food Festival at Conrad Seoul The buffet restaurant ZEST is presenting Macanese food from Nov. 7-16 with the Macau Government Tourist Office. The food promotion will offer Macanese dishes prepared by visiting chefs from Macau, who will also run egg-tart cooking classes on Nov. 10 and 15. The menu includes Portuguese suckling pig with orange, prawns with chili and Portuguese-style curry crab. Guests who upload photos of their food experience onto Instagram (instagram.com/conradseoul) will h

Jang, a range of sauces or pastes made from fermented soybeans, is an important part of what makes Korean food unique, a renowned Spanish chef told The Korea Herald. It could one day dominate the meal tables of Europeans, who are incrementally accepting fermented foods, said Quique Dacosta, a Michelin 3-star chef, during his interview with The Korea Herald last week. “There is something about jang. You can add it anywhere and make a great Korean dish. Koreans cannot live without it and it has be

Korean food and retail giants are competing to open modern hansik restaurants as Korean cuisine gains popularity among health-conscious foodies. Armed with enough cash to make hefty investments, big names in the food and retail sectors, including Shinsegae, E-Land and CJ Group, have thrown their hats into the ring in recent years with restaurants combining style and mass-market appeal.These restaurants are all promoting the use of fresh ingredients.A front-runner in the hansik restaurant competi

Korean food-maker Sempio has been supporting chefs in Spain in developing fermented Korean sauces, or “jang,” and dishes based on them as a way to penetrate the European market. The company teamed up with Alicia Foundation, led by chef Ferran Adria, in 2011 and developed 150 recipes marrying jang with modern Spanish cuisine. A “jang map” was developed, recommending different uses of jang according to the flavors cooks want to present.“We thought Spain was one of the most open culinary destinatio

At a glance, Korean restaurants may seem to be far from high-end. People often cram into hole-in-the-wall restaurants looking for wallet-friendly, everyday Korean meals. They are served a bowl of rice, soup and several side dishes all at once, for the whole table to share. In recent years, however, a growing number of Korean restaurants have been seeking to offer a slightly different experience.Among them is Poom Seoul, located on Mount Namsan, with floor-to-ceiling windows that allow diners to

Ha Jung-yun, 37, who enjoys exploring gourmet restaurants, has written more posts about Korean restaurants on her Facebook page over the past year. “It is fun to taste Korean fusion food, served at a newly opened restaurant with a modern look and at a reasonable price,’’ she said.Modern takes on Korean cuisine, better known as hansik, are a new trend in the restaurant scene here. “I like modern hansik because it is lighter and experimental, while using healthy and fresh ingredients,’’ Ha said.“T

For many Koreans, Leo Kang is a celebrity chef who gained overnight fame after appearing as a judge on food-focused cable channel Olive-TV’s culinary competition “Master Chef Korea.”His straight-talking style, exemplary career and eye-catching looks helped put him on the map. But what matters more for him than being a celebrity is finding the true colors of his foods. “I have tried to present the dishes that I imitated from world-famous chefs, but now I want my dishes to show my own colors,” Kan

Bibimbap, essentially rice mixed with meat and vegetables, often tops surveys on Korea’s signature dishes. It has been popular as a health food both domestically and overseas for quite some time.But the basic recipe of cooked rice with vegetables, beef, garnishes and red pepper paste is not all there is to it. In fact, bibimbap can be a whole lot more, according to “World’s Choice for Well-Being, Bibimbap,” a book that introduces 75 takes on the dish, written by Jhun Ji-young and published by Le

Thanksgiving roast Turkey at The Westin Chosun Seoul Vecchia e Nuovo, the Westin Chosun Seoul’s Italian Bistro, offers the whole roasted turkey and Australian prime rib prepared with peppercorn sauce for Thanksgiving and year-end parties from Nov. 10 to Dec. 31. The essential Thanksgiving side dishes such as mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce will be offered with roast turkey with chestnut stuffing. Reservations should be made at least three days in advance. Delivery is available during

Australian star chef opens first Korean outlet in Jamsil