Around the Hotels

Cantonese cuisine at Lotte Hotel SeoulLotte Hotel Seoul’s Toh Lim will be inviting Chef Lau Kwok Wai of Fook Lam Moon, the best Cantonese haute cuisine restaurant in Hong Kong, for a gourmet promotion from April 21-24. The promotion will feature popular dishes such as the sauteed abalone with black beans and peppers and baked stuffed crab shell with onions and fresh crab meat. The six-course lunch menus are priced at 138,000 won and 158,000 won. The eight-course dinner menus are priced at 195,00

April 17, 2015

Around the Hotels

Cloudy Bay wine festival at Millennium Seoul HiltonMillennium Seoul Hilton Hotel is presenting New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay wines at Cafe 395 during April and May. Having produced its first wine in 1985, Cloudy Bay is a still young but rapidly rising winery that has brought acclaim to New Zealand’s Marlborough wine region. The wines offered are part of Cloudy Bay’s Rare Nature series, a collaborative endeavor with artist Flox (Hayley King) that celebrates the country’s natural environment and the st

April 10, 2015

LeTAO’s double fromage cake in Seoul

Many tourists who have traveled to Japan’s picturesque Hokkaido will have heard of the famous dessert brand LeTAO and most likely its headline dessert, the double fromage. This much-coveted cake, like its name, is a marriage of two layers of cheese ― an initial bottom layer of more conventional cheesecake topped by an ultra-light layer of near whipping cream-like cheese. Shaped like a round wheel of brie cheese, dusted in soft, fine crumbs of castella cake and cleverly packaged in a wooden chees

April 10, 2015

Asparagus with gochujang sauce

Here’s a quick and easy Korean side dish you can make with spring asparagus. Simply blanch the asparagus and dress with a sweet and vinegary gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste) sauce, called cho-gochujang. Cho-gochujang is used in various dishes. It’s also popular as a dipping sauce for vegetables and seafood such as squid and raw fish (saengseon hoe). Everyone makes the sauce a little differently, but the key ingredients are gochujang, vinegar, and sugar. Adjust the amount of vinegar or s

April 10, 2015

Around the Hotels

Couple spa treatment at Sheraton Seoul D Cube CityThe Aequalis Spa at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel is presenting a “City Couple Spa Treatment” event for couples who want to enjoy a relaxing spa break and a quick urban getaway from the stress of everyday life. The treatment will include a moisturizing, muscle-relieving body massage for two inside the couple treatment room, a romantic bath, glasses of wine, and a gift set from Elemis Quiet Mind Bath. The massage will last 60 minutes and the ba

April 3, 2015

Sushi to be savored one piece at a time

When that glistening morsel of sushi, a thin slice of ruby-fleshed tuna resting over snow white rice, is served by Koji Nakamura, head chef of Sushi Koji, it is melt-in-your-mouth good. The “akami” tuna is gleaned from near the spine of the fish and is not as expensive as “toro.” It is particularly memorable because Nakamura has taken that more common cut of tuna, one that has probably been enjoyed at countless sushi restaurants time and time again, aged it and then allowed it to briefly marinat

March 27, 2015

Kimchi sundubu jjigae (kimchi soft tofu stew)

Sundubu jjigae is a stew made with uncurdled tofu. Here, the tofu is paired with kimchi and meat. You can use any meat you want. Mushrooms are a good substitute if you don’t like meat. For the best results, always use fully fermented kimchi to cook with. Also, if you have some salted shrimp (saewujeot) leftover from making kimchi, use a little to season the stew instead of salt. It adds a wonderful layer to the flavor. Keep a package or two of sundubu in the fridge and whip up this bubbling pot

March 27, 2015

Around the Hotels

Driving BMW Package at Grand Hyatt IncheonGrand Hyatt Incheon is presenting the Driving BMW Package from April 1 to June 30 for family guests to experience the BMW Driving Center during their stay. The Incheon BMW Driving Center, located in Woonseo-dong, is the first such center to be built in Asia and has a number of race tracks, exhibition halls and other venues. The package includes a one-night stay in a comfortable guestroom, breakfast for two adults and two children under 12, and free acces

March 27, 2015

Now serving: Wolfgang’s porterhouse in Seoul

Fans of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in New York can now expect to get served sizzling, dry-aged USDA prime porterhouse steak on a tilted platter in classic fashion right in Cheongdam-dong, in the heart of Seoul.  Slated to open to the public on March 23, this is the dry-aged steakhouse chain’s first restaurant in South Korea.“Wolfgang’s Steakhouse started in 2004, and since then we’ve grown,” said Wolfgang’s Steakhouse managing partner Peter Zwiener at the South Korean launch press event on Wednesday

March 18, 2015

Cortados and madeleines at Coffeed

Cortados are on the menu at Coffeed, a new outpost of the New York-based cafe chain of the same name. At just over 100 ml, this caffeinated brew of Spanish pedigree is dainty but potent. When the first overseas outlet of Coffeed opened in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong this January, however, cortados were nowhere to be seen. Coffeed Korea’s head Steve Goh added it to the menu last month.  Coffeed’s cortado (front) — two shots of espresso topped with “less than a centimeter of steamed milk” — pairs well

March 13, 2015

Dandelion salad

This recipe is a simple Korean-style dandelion salad, mindeulle muchim. Dandelion is a wild spring vegetable that is used various ways in Korean cuisine. It’s packed with vitamins A, B, C and D as well as minerals such as iron, potassium and zinc. Dandelion has been used in herbal medicine to treat infections and kidney, liver and stomach problems. Look for the ones that are young and tender. The salad is lightly dressed with a basic Korean sauce, which is slightly spicy, sweet and vinegary. I u

March 13, 2015

Around the Hotels

Millennium Seoul Hilton offers Spring package Millennium Seoul Hilton is offering a spring package promotion until April 5 in celebration of the upcoming spring season. The Deluxe Room package is priced at 190,000 won and the Premium Room package at 220,000. Both include a one-night stay for two and, for an additional fee of 50,000 won, breakfast for two at Cafe 395. The Executive Room package for 300,000 won offers breakfast for two with access to the Executive Lounge, where guests will be serv

March 13, 2015

Around the Hotels

White Day package at The Ritz-Carlton, SeoulIn celebration of White Day, The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul is presenting a romantic overnight package for couples. The “Berry Sweet” package includes a one-night stay in a Premier Suite and admission for two to the Club Lounge. The lounge will serve premium cuisine and a variety of beverages from breakfast and afternoon tea to a selection of evening drinks. Also provided are a bottle of sparkling wine and a dessert plate of fresh strawberries and chocolate s

March 6, 2015

Celebration of Asian cuisine in Seoul

With spring looming, major hotels in Seoul are greeting the new season with flavorful Asian cuisine prepared by some of the top chefs from Japan, Hong Kong and India. The Westin Chosun Seoul has invited Japanese chef Hideki Ishikawa, owner-chef of the Michelin three-starred restaurant Ishikawa in Tokyo, who will present his nine-course kaiseki cuisine made with fresh seasonal ingredients on March 20 and 21 at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant Sushi Cho. “The hotel is presenting the new food promot

March 4, 2015

Danpatjuk (sweet red bean porridge)

This velvety smooth sweet red bean porridge is a great snack or dessert on a cold winter day. To make the porridge, the beans are cooked down until very soft. Then, the cooks traditionally mash the beans through a strainer to remove the skins to achieve a velvety texture. This process can be grueling, so you can use a shortcut. Puree the beans as fine as possible in a blender. It’s much easier, still results in a very smooth porridge and you don’t waste the nutritious bean skins. This porridge i

Feb. 27, 2015

Flatbread sandwiches at Panisse

At Panisse, a new sandwich-centric shop in Seoul’s Seorae Village that opened a little over three months ago, the bread takes center stage. Slightly blistered on top, craggly and still warm from its stint in the oven, the flatbread acts as the ideal foundation for Panisse’s sandwiches. “We make 3 kilos of bread a day,” owner Ryu Mi-jin said, explaining how a limited amount of bread is made from scratch.  Inspired by oven-baked flatbread sandwiches she tasted while studying in France for five yea

Feb. 27, 2015

Get in the mood for tomatoes, the apples of love

We have entered February, the month of love. Chocolate may be the popular Valentine’s Day currency, but think outside the chocolate box, think sensual, think pommes d’amour, French for apples of love. In Italian, they say pomo d’oro, apples of gold. We know them in English as tomatoes.Like apples, tomatoes are, botanically speaking, fruit, and they love us right back. They’re low-calorie, high-fiber and super-high in antioxidants, vitamin C and biotin, nutrients necessary for glowing skin and ha

Feb. 13, 2015

Around the Hotels

Around the HotelsLunar New Year’s packageat Grand Hilton Seoul Hotel Grand Hilton Seoul Hotel is presenting a selection of Lunar New Year packages from Feb. 17 to 22. The Bok (“luck”) Package I includes a one-night stay at a Deluxe Room, a complimentary selfie-stick, and traditional Korean tea for two with a choice of ginger, ginseng, ssanghwa, jujube or yuzu tea. The Bok Package II provides an additional breakfast for two at the buffet restaurant. Free access to the fitness club and swimming po

Feb. 13, 2015

[Herald Interview] Pierre Herme on his macaron empire

To understand Pierre Herme, it is almost implicitly understood that a bite of one of his world famous macarons is the first step. Luscious, fragrant and delicate, macarons like his orange blossom-rose-ginger morsel serve as sufficient proof as to why he has been touted “the Picasso of Pastry” by French Vogue. Now, with two boutiques in Seoul, the master himself is here in South Korea for a four-day trip that includes, of course, meeting with his fans and visiting his shops. When he sat down for

Feb. 10, 2015

Yukjeon (pan-fried battered beef)

Yukjeon is a type of jeon (pan-fried battered food) that’s made with thinly sliced beef. It’s a traditional holiday dish. In this recipe, I began by marinating the beef slices in a soy-based sauce. Next, I dredged them in sweet rice flour to create a thin skin, and then pan-fried. You can make yukjeon in egg batter if you like, but the beef flavor stands out better without the egg. You can use pre-sliced bulgogi meat, but make sure it’s not too thin or fatty. Enjoy it as part of your Lunar New Y

Feb. 6, 2015