[Weekender] Soft or crusty ― bread that Koreans fall for

A hot, steamy bowl of rice was long considered an irreplaceable staple in Korean breakfast. “You manage a day with the power of rice,” Korean moms would tell their kids, encouraging them to finish their meal. This centuries-old, typical morning scene is changing rapidly now. Bread, which arrived in Korea through Japan only in the 19th century, is fast emerging as a tasty and convenient alternative to rice. At a Seoul branch of French bakery Gontran Cherrier, croissants and champagne with walnuts

June 5, 2015

[Weekender] Korea’s oldest bakery boasts red bean buns

At around 12:40 p.m., people started lining up in front of Lee Sung Dang Bakery’s modest-size branch inside a department store in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The reason for the wait is the bakery’s signature red bean buns which come out at 1 p.m.“The line isn’t too bad today,” said Lee Yoon-mi, a customer in her 50s carrying five red bean buns and five vegetable buns on her tray. “I am just glad that I don’t have to go all the way to Gunsan to taste this treat.”Lee Sung Dang, the oldest bakery in Ko

June 5, 2015

[Weekender] Born and ‘bread’ in Daejeon

Despite the vast demand for additional chains in other, more populated areas like Seoul and even abroad, Sungsimdang stubbornly refuses to expand beyond its three local stores, which have now become Daejeon landmarks. “We want to be unique to the Daejeon area and provide a flavor that people can only taste when visiting here,” said Kim Kang-eun, head of public relations at Sungsimdang. That flavor is the reason foodies and tourists from all over the nation have flocked to the Eunhaeng-dong area

June 5, 2015

[Weekender] More bakeries on the map

OPS Bakery, BusanOPS’s signature menu is the hagwonjeon, which in Korean means “pastry for hagwon,” or after-school lessons. The idea was to create a simple, hearty snack that Korean children could gobble down with a glass of milk before heading to an evening of grueling studies. Made with eggs and honey from Gyeongju’s Mount Tohamsan, the sweet, spongy cake embodies a typical Korean mother’s caring for her child, said OPS.Another specialty of the bakery is the pollack roe baguette, which combin

June 5, 2015

[Weekender] PNB choco pies an icon of Jeonju

During the recent Jeonju International Film Festival, everyone who visited Jeonju seemed to have the same souvenir in mind: a box of bakery PNB’s famous choco pies. The bakery’s bright orange shopping bags were ubiquitous around its branches, and hourlong lines snaked around corners.PNB (also known as Pungnyeon Jegwa) first opened in 1951 in Jungang-dong, Jeonju, and has been passed down through three generations. Instead of choosing to continuously change and expand its offerings, the bakery ha

June 5, 2015

[Weekender] Street pastries that are uniquely Korean

Street food is an intrinsic part of Korean society, and where there are cups of dried squid, heated silk worm larvae and bowls of spicy rice cakes, there are also pastries that are uniquely Korean.Walk down almost any bustling shopping district or high-time nightlife area and street food vendors selling various types of pastry and cake snacks are an inevitable find; whether it’s the ever-so popular “boongabbang” ― a red bean paste-filled sweet pastry shaped like a fish ― or the sweet-eggy goodne

June 5, 2015

[Weekender] The rise of ‘indie’ bakery

“Indie,” the word that Joo Eun-suk, who runs a bakery called Mill in Seochon, uses to describe the growing number of small-scale, artisanal bakeries in Seoul, aptly captures the independent spirits of these bakers. These artisans seem to see dough as a canvas, to be nurtured with natural starters and the right blend of quality flour to achieve a unique blueprint of texture, flavor and aroma that represents their idea of good bread, be it the ephemeral brioche at Mill, the chewy and crisp-edged c

June 5, 2015

Coffee returns to the Stone Age

For 36 years, the Booheung stone company has been manufacturing stone goods from basalt rock originating in the Cheolwon area in Gangwon Province. Recently, the company’s most popular items have become its millstone ― or “maetdol” ― coffee bean grinders.The maetdol, a stone device used to grind grains by manually spinning one rock atop another, was a popular agricultural tool in Korea in the Neolithic Age and throughout the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. Now, true to the cyclical nature of trends,

June 3, 2015

Mini gimbap

This mini gimbap uses minimal ingredients, which takes no effort to roll up. I used three ingredients here ― pickled radish, carrot and spinach. This gimbap is called ggoma gimbap because of its small size. Ggoma means a little one or little kid in Korean. It’s also known as mayak gimbap. Mayak means narcotics, so the name comes from this gimbap’s reputation for being addictive. It’s a specialty of Gwangjang Market, a bustling, crowded market in the center city of Seoul, where the merchants came

May 29, 2015

7 world-renowned chefs demonstrate love for food

Seven internationally renowned star chefs gathered at the JW Marriott Seoul, making for something of a culinary “Avengers” team, to participate in the hotel’s Culinary Art event, a global gourmet project featuring talented chefs from around the world.Each shared his distinct philosophy behind food, passion for cooking and enthusiasm for the “authentic” Korean food experience at Wednesday’s press conference for the event. For acclaimed chocolate master Andres Lara, a graduate of Chicago’s famous

May 27, 2015

Around the Hotels

World-class chefs at JW Marriott Hotel SeoulJW Marriott Hotel Seoul will be hosting the Grand Gala Dinner, a collaboration among seven international star chefs, at 7 p.m. on May 28. The chefs are in Korea for this year’s Culinary Art event, a 12-day event running from May 18-30 at the JW Marriott. Professor Han Bok-jin, a master chef of traditional Korean cuisine, will begin the Grand Gala Dinner with a selection of appetizers made with premium ingredients such bamboo shoots and mullet roe. The

May 22, 2015

Caffeinated Korea

Koreans drink more coffee than they eat kimchi, it seems. The average Korean drinks 12.2 cups of coffee per week, which makes for about two cups a day, while kimchi is consumed 11.9 times per week, according to a 2014 report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. Coffee imports reached a record 99,372 tons in the first nine months last year, up 18.7 percent from 2013, Korea Customs Service also said.The brown brew has become the go-to

May 20, 2015

Around the Hotels

Early summer getaway at Hilton Namhae Golf and Spa ResortHilton Namhae Golf and Spa Resort is offering the “Early Summer Package” for those planning a cooler, less-crowded early getaway for the upcoming summer season. The all-inclusive package includes a one-night stay in a suite room, breakfast buffet and dinner set. Also provided are a 60-minute spa program featuring a milk bath, foot bath, exfoliation and massage for the discounted price of 99,000 won, and a gift set of basic skin care, face

May 15, 2015

New York-style pies at Pizza Iconic

There is something deeply satisfying and humbling about tucking into the New York-style pies at Pizza Iconic. It seems so simple ― hand-tossed dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese ― but when done the way it is done at this new pizzeria, it is good in a subtle, unassuming way that kind of creeps up, compelling one to go back for more whenever one gets an itch for gooey cheese, crisp crust and salty pepperoni. Perhaps it is those crisp, slightly greasy, small rounds of pepperoni laid on so thick

May 15, 2015

Around the Hotels

Dim sum at Lotte Hotel SeoulLotte Hotel Seoul’s restaurant Dorim is inviting chef Mak Kwai Pui from Hong Kong’s Tim Ho Wan, a Michelin star restaurant with worldwide chains and renowned for its specialty in dim sum. From May 19 to 22, chefs Mak Kwai Pui and Yeo Kyeong-ok will collaborate on a tasting promotion, featuring signature dishes and exotic ingredients such as braised shark’s fin in soy sauce and blood bird’s nest bouillon. The lunch course is priced at 138,000 won and 158,000 won, while

May 8, 2015

Trendy merveilleux at Meringue Meringue

Merveilleux, those traditional meringue morsels prevalent in France and Belgium, seem ready to take over the world as the new hot dessert.These little delights are spreading to other cities outside of France and Belgium, like London, Los Angeles, New York and Seoul, with some predicting that it will trump its meringue-based cousin, the macaron, as the latest trendy sweet. Classically a combination of two meringue cookies sandwiched around and topped with cream, the over 100-year-old treat has ga

May 8, 2015

All about Korean food at Milan Expo

Korea will be featuring its best dishes at the 2015 Milan Expo in Italy until Oct. 31.Under the global expo’s theme of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” the 3,990-square-meter Korean Pavilion will introduce a variety of healthy Korean dishes, ranging from bibimbap (mixed rice and vegetables), galbijjim (beef rib stew) to Japchae (sweet potato noodles) and bibim-myeon (mixed noodles).These signature dishes will be offered at restaurants in the three-story, moon jar-shaped pavilion, the Milan

April 30, 2015

The best truffles on the planet

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt,” says a quote by famed cartoonist Charles M. Schulz.At times a token of love and at others a thoughtful gift, a carefully selected box of chocolates has come to mark the more special moments of our lives.Teuscher, for one, is a premium Swiss chocolatier that has mastered the art of chocolate-making through a long history of dedication to perfection and luxury. It has received a myriad of praise over the years, picked as the

April 29, 2015

[Herald Interview] Restaurant puts halal touch on Korean cuisine

At a cozy restaurant in the multicultural district of Itaewon, Eid serves one of its staple dishes ― bibimbap, a bowl of rice mixed with red chili paste and a variety of vegetables.It is accompanied by side dishes of kimchi, stir-fried anchovies, salad and cabbage soup.The food may look like any other served at Korean restaurants nationwide. But it’s not. Eid cooks its meals, including samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), bulgogi (marinated beef) and grilled fish, with ingredients and techniques i

April 24, 2015

Around the Hotels

A decade of excellence at Park Hyatt SeoulPark Hyatt Seoul is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a dining promotion at Cornerstone. A five-course lunch and dinner menu featuring 10 of the restaurant’s most beloved signature dishes will be served. Appetizers include fresh octopus salad and olives, lobster ceviche, oxtail mushroom terrine, seared crabcake, Mediterranean seafood soup, and more. Main dishes include oven-roasted beef entrecote, horse steak tagliata and New Zealand rack of lamb. Fo

April 24, 2015