[Temple to Table] Invigorating seasonal food for spring: Dureup jeon and green tea rice

An encyclopedic classic of Korean medicine titled “Donguibogam (Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine)” refers to spring as “release of the old.” It also recommends taking care of one’s health according to the natural cycle of seasonal changes as the human body is part of nature’s creation. That’s why eating seasonal food is important. With new buds and sprouts at their peak, it is time to eat green leafy veggies. Having endured the unforgiving co

March 5, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Park Hyatt Busan’s Lounge presents Citrus Bloom Afternoon Tea Park Hyatt Busan’s Lounge cafe located on the 30th floor is newly showcasing its spring tea package. The Citrus Bloom Afternoon Tea set presents combinations of a variety of citrus fruits added to tea or coffee of guests’ choice. The set is paired with traditional homemade scones, jam and clotted cream. The selection includes a sweet gold kiwi tart, an orange sand cake, a yuja mille-feuille and a hallabong cake w

March 4, 2022

[Herald Interview] Korean chef’s French restaurant in London wins Michelin star

A rising star chef from Korea recently awarded a Michelin star for his French restaurant in London. Park Woong-chul, 38, who opened Sollip, a French restaurant with a Korean touch in the heart of London, is the first Korean chef to receive a Michelin star in the UK. There are currently 194 Michelin-starred restaurants in Britain, including 19 which were newly awarded this year. “I still remember us (my wife and I) being devastated when the UK government issued a COVID-19 lockdown just

Feb. 26, 2022

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Korean honey garlic chicken wings

If you like sticky party wings to munch on, you need to try my recipe for pan-fried Korean honey garlic chicken wings. These wings not only taste great, but they are so simple and quick to make. You will love the combination of soy sauce, garlic, and honey. As a Korean, I couldn’t resist adding some fresh chilies to give a spicy kick to the chicken wings. However, you can omit the chilies and enjoy the mild honey garlic chicken as is. If you love Korean chicken wings, this is perhaps th

Feb. 26, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Grand Hyatt Seoul unveils Spring Breeze in Namsan Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel’s signature restaurant Teppan opens its new lunch and dinner menu event, Spring Breeze in Namsan. Starting with baekhap pot as an appetizer, a great variety of meat and fish dishes using ingredients fresh from Jeju Island are served at the table. This season’s hanwoo beef sirloin is a specialty created by the hotels‘ executive chef, Dallas Cuddy. The sour and saltiness of turnip and the seasonal Jeju

Feb. 25, 2022

[Temple to Table] Refreshing spring veggies, stringy stonecrop water kimchi

“I thought for a while what to cook, and chose things that are easy to cook but that can revive one’s appetite in springtime. In fact, we don’t have recipes that require sophisticated preparation or many supplementary ingredients in temple cuisine,” said Ven. Yeoil. Saying her cooking skill is “just knowledge she picked up from everyday observations,” Ven. Yeoil reveals her humility, but the magic in her hands is well-known among her fellow Buddhist nuns fro

Feb. 19, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Fairmont Ambassador Seoul launches ‘Luxury Wellness’ package Fairmont Ambassador Seoul presents a wellness package that offers moments of genuine relaxation and healing. The package includes a night’s stay in the Fairmont Deluxe room, and a choice of a 60-minute body message treatment or 70-minute facial at ESPA, a luxury spa located within the hotel. A buffet breakfast for two is provided at Spectrum, and two signature cocktails at M29, both located in the hotel. The pack

Feb. 18, 2022

Follow the scent: Hidden jeon spot in Gongdeok Market

The official campaigning period for the upcoming presidential election kicked off Tuesday, with most candidates heading to traditional markets on the first day. One of the pledges made at these stumps over the past several elections has been revitalization of traditional markets, a pledge clearly aimed at the merchants. Before the onslaught of mass retailers, traditional markets were crowded day and night, humming with vibrant energy. Today, many neighborhood taditional markets struggle to su

Feb. 17, 2022

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Easy Korean japchae

When I was in my early 20s studying at a college in the US, I was invited to a dinner party at a Korean professor’s home. He was treating all students from Korea and students majoring in Korean at his home. His wife was an amazing cook – she was more popular among the students than her husband who was teaching Korean at the university. She showed me how she made her japchae, the ever famous Korean glass noodle stir-fry, and I was converted. Her japchae noodles were very chewy and

Feb. 12, 2022

Sprinkling new flavors on classic deep-fried doughnut

In street corners and market alleys of 1970s and ’80s Seoul, kkwabaegi, or twisted doughnuts, were an unmissable sight. Before an ever-growing variety of pastries became available even in neighborhood bakeries, children and adults could rely on kkwabaegi as a sweet, chewy treat that was light on the pocket. The texture and taste of the twisted Korean doughnut is unique. A well-made crispy, sugary kkwabaegi is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Kkwabaegi is traditional

Feb. 11, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul unveils ‘Be My Valentine Afternoon Tea Set’ The Lounge at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents the “Be My Valentine Afternoon Tea Set,” with handcrafted desserts featuring romantic pink hues from four days starting Friday. The limited-edition tea set includes an exclusive gift of Manolo Blahnik Chocolate Shoes, dubbed the “Dream Wedding Shoes” for their appearance in “Sex and the City.” Strawberry Mont Blancs, Chocolate Mill

Feb. 11, 2022

[Temple to Table] Giving warmth to the body, wormwood lotus root pancakes

Once in the past I went to the countryside, picked a full bag of wormwood, and returned to Seoul to make ssukgaetteok (mugwort rice cake). I arrived home late at night so I left the bag in the kitchen. The next day, I opened it and found they had all turned yellow, and I had to throw them away. Because wormwood has lots of heat energy, it tends to go bad unless you blanch or dry it right away. When you buy wormwood at a market, select plump ones of a proper length that have a whitish part an

Feb. 5, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

InterContinental Seoul COEX launches Valentine’s Day package InterContinental Seoul COEX presents the “Sparkling Love Diary“ package, which comes with a necklace gift for couples to celebrate Valentine’s Day. In collaboration with Swarovski, the package includes a one-night stay in the Classic Room, a Swarovski necklace, a bottle of rose wine, and an Instax camera rental service for visitors to document their memories. Guests can enjoy a breakfast buffet for two, prep

Feb. 4, 2022

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Tteokbokki, spicy Korean rice cakes

Having a dish full of spicy Korean rice cakes, or tteokbokki, recently in a busy Korean street market brought me a lot of nostalgia. The chewy rice cakes with mildly spicy gochujang sauce … mmm! It was like a taste of my childhood. I recently went to Korea to visit my family. The two weeks of mandatory quarantine upon arrival was well worth the effort. After the quarantine was over, I was thrilled to go out and hit different places for meals. Enjoying Korean street food was no exception

Jan. 29, 2022

[Weekender] Tteokguk with jidan, beef topping

Basic ingredients - 400 grams rice cake slices (tteokguk tteok) - 130 grams minced beef - 2 green onion stalks - 2-3 eggs For beef seasoning - 1 tablespoon soy sauce - 1 tablespoon sesame oil - 1 teaspoon minced garlic - 1 teaspoon sugar - pepper to taste - a little cooking oil to coat frying pan For soup - 5 cups of dried kelp (dashima) broth - 1/2 big spoon soup soy sauce - 1 small spoon minced garlic - salt and pepper to taste Directions - If rice cake slices

Jan. 29, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Andaz Seoul Gangnam launches ‘Romance at Andaz’ package Andaz Seoul Gangnam, a lifestyle hotel under Hyatt Hotels & Resorts located in Apgujeong, is offering a special package for couples’ staycation. The “Romance at Andaz” consists of a night’s stay at a room of your choice, and breakfast for two at the hotel’s luxury restaurant Jogakbo. A bottle of sparkling wine, cake, and a La Cuvee Maison bath bomb set is also included in the package. Access

Jan. 28, 2022

Korean ramen craze continues

Packaged instant noodle products of different flavors, from spicy beef broth to stir-fried black bean sauce and kimchi soup, are stacked on a shelf covering about two-thirds of the store’s wall on the right. On the left, a row of automatic machines to pour hot water into paper cups and boil it at the touch of a button are ready to cook the noodles. After buying a packet of ramen through a self-ordering kiosk, all you need to do is open the bag and put the dried noodles in the paper contai

Jan. 27, 2022

[Temple to Table] Food of compassion, seoritae biji-jjigae

The secular world uses meat flavored stocks to add savory taste to food, but at temples, vegetable stock is an indispensable ingredient. To make vegetable stock, most temples boil white radish, shiitake mushrooms and kelp, but Jinkwansa does not use kelp. Ven. Gyeho prefers not to add the fishy smell of kelp to the plain taste of veggie stock. Instead she prefers adding dried chilies to give dishes a mild heat. Ginger is also a common ingredient in Jinkwansa’s winter temple food. In addit

Jan. 22, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul launches ‘Yut-Nori With Black Tiger’ promotion JW Marriott Hotel Seoul marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year with a package promotion curated for families celebrating the new year together. The stay package features yut sticks, a yut board and yut tokens handcrafted by the hotel’s pastry team for a joyful family game experience. Two glasses of Black Tiger Guinness will be provided by master mixologists at the seventh-floor MOBO Bar. The packag

Jan. 21, 2022

Online Kimchi exhibit opens in Canada

An online website that explores kimchi making recipes and Korea’s unique kimjang culture, will be open to global viewers until the end of March, the Korean Cultural Center Canada announced Sunday. Titled as “Kimjang: The Aesthetics of Sharing,” the website explains in detail the history of how kimjang culture has been treasured by Koreans for generations, and thus came to be acknowledged in 2013 on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Alongside its

Jan. 17, 2022