Brotchen and bretzels at Ach So!

For Ach So! owner-baker Heo Sang-hoi, making authentic German bread and serving it properly is important. The tradition of eating bread is deeply ingrained in the fabric of day-to-day life in Germany, according to Heo, who equates the role bread plays in the German diet to the role that rice plays in the Korean diet. “Germans do not eat bread plain, just as Koreans do not eat rice without banchan (side dishes),” Heo, 45, said.Heo’s goal, since he first started selling German bread in Korea in 20

Aug. 30, 2013

Edible algae ― coming to a rooftop near you?

BANGKOK (AFP) ― On a hotel rooftop in Bangkok, dozens of barrels of green liquid bubble under the sun ― the latest innovation in urban farming. Proponents of the edible algae known as spirulina say it could help provide a sustainable source of protein as an alternative to meat.Three times a week, Patsakorn Thaveeuchukorn harvests the green algae in the barrels.“The algae is growing so fast, normally the doubling time is around 24 hours,” said Patsakorn, whose employer EnerGaia uses Bangkok’s roo

Aug. 28, 2013

Classics served up new

At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Bicena, a contemporary Korean restaurant in Hannam-dong, Seoul, is abuzz with staff preparing for the lunch guests. A woman places vases holding pastel-colored flowers on the tables, another is busy vacuuming a room. There is a din of activity in the kitchen.Sitting at a table next to the kitchen entrance is a young woman poring over a pile of galley proofs ― Lucia Cho, president of Bicena, is proof reading the restaurant’s autumn menu.If she looks a tad bit frazzled,

Aug. 23, 2013

Beer served colder than ice-cold

A mere two weeks into business and word must have spread like wildfire because right when the clock hits 5 p.m. and Asahi Super Dry Extra Cold Bar’s first overseas outlet opens, customers start filing in. Within 30 minutes five out of a total of 10 tables are already taken. The drinks start flowing and so does the conversation. What’s the main attraction? The beer ― which is served between 0 to -2.2 degrees Celsius, lower than the average serving temperature of around 3 ― appears to be the prima

Aug. 23, 2013

Around the Hotels

Luxurious Chuseok gift sets at Park Hyatt SeoulCornerstone, the main restaurant of Park Hyatt Seoul, has various gift sets to celebrate Chuseok, on sale from Aug. 16 to Sept. 20. The gift sets include a variety of quality products. A homemade sugar-free tart set is priced at 30,000 won. Homemade chocolate truffles with ginseng, omija and green-tea fillings are priced at 48,000 won. Homemade sour plum syrup is priced at 60,000 won. Organic honey from Worak is priced at 140,000 won. Premium wine a

Aug. 23, 2013

Yangbaechu kimchi, (green cabbage kimchi)

In the summer, when traditional napa cabbages are not in their prime season, Yangbaechu (green cabbage) comes in handy for making kimchi. Yangbaechu is naturally sweet and crunchy, which makes it a good source for kimchi. Unlike napa cabbage, which requires many hours of salting, yangbaechu doesn’t need to be salted for very long. All you need is about two hours to soften the cabbage and bring out the flavors. Lightly seasoned, this yangbaechu kimchi is light and refreshing! Ingredients:● 1 head

Aug. 23, 2013

Is gluten Korea’s new food focus?

While the term “gluten-free” is still relatively new to the Korean food industry, this year might witness the gluten-free movement as well as the related wheat-free trend take hold here. According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, a gluten-free diet omits all food containing gluten, a natural protein that can be found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale. While a gluten-free diet originated primarily as a course of treatment for people diagnosed with celiac disease, it appears more people are cutting

Aug. 16, 2013

Serving kitsch fresh from the oven: Imagination is the magic ingredient

LOS ANGELES ― “The colors need to be bright, like saturated neon,” Charles Phoenix says, describing his Seven-Layer Soda Pop Rocks Cake. “You can’t have too much food coloring. Think Day-Glo!”Phoenix is visualizing the elements of an ideal summer party. His ideal summer party. “A pool would be nice, because pool parties are classic summer. And there would be those motorized pool toys with remote controls for the gearheads, so they can fight in the water.” A little something for everyone.“But I t

Aug. 16, 2013

Hobak gochujang jjigae (spicy zucchini stew)

I love having a constant supply of sweet and tender Korean zucchinis (aehobak) from my garden this time of the year. This gochujang jjigae (stew) is one of my favorite ways to eat them. If you like rich and pungent Korean stews, such as kimchi jjigae and doenjang jjigae, this stew is for you. Gochujang adds lots of spicy, robust flavors to this simple stew which is made with a few ordinary ingredients such as zucchini and potato. Tofu, mushrooms, onions, and radishes would all be great additions

Aug. 16, 2013

Around the Hotels

The Plaza ‘Beer & Fun Festival’End your summer vacation with friends, family or colleagues at the Plaza’s “Beer and Fun Festival” on Aug. 21 and 22 featuring unlimited beer and a semi-buffet. Retro music will be played in the background and there will also be a lottery event. Customers will receive a glass of Kirin Frozen Nama beer with unlimited free refills. The buffet includes 17 of the chef’s special dishes including salads, pasta, smoked salmon and chicken BBQ among others. Kirin Frozen Nam

Aug. 16, 2013

Around the Hotels

Happy hour promotion at Renaissance Seoul HotelThe hotel’s bar Trevi Lounge presents a happy hour promotion where draft beer with a sausage side dish can be enjoyed at an affordable price every day from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The bar has six different kinds of European, Japanese and Korean draft beers such as Jirisan Moon Bear, Seorak Oatmeal Stout, Asahi and Hoegaarden, paired with delicious grilled sausage. One glass of draft beer and grilled sausage is priced at 19,500 won, and two glasses with the

Aug. 9, 2013

Kongguksu (chilled soy milk noodle soup)

Kongguksu is a cold noodle soup that’s served in creamy soy milk. Making soy milk is less work than you might imagine. Soaked soybeans are cooked, then pureed and filtered through a sieve. The secret to making delicious soy milk for kongguksu is not to overcook the beans so that they retain their natural flavor. More often than not, a small amount of sesame seeds and/or nuts (such as pine nuts, peanuts, almonds and walnuts) are pureed with the soybeans for an extra-nutty flavor. Nothing beats th

Aug. 9, 2013

Cronut trend hits Seoul

After chef Dominique Ansel launched his croissant-meets-donut dessert at his New York-based bakery this May, the pastry, christened the Cronut, quickly went on to become the sweet of the moment. Even the bakery is aware of its dessert’s overwhelming popularity, stating that the Cronut “is taking the world by storm.”The site goes on to explain what a Cronut is, detailing how it is crafted from “a laminated dough which has been likened to a croissant.” It is almost as if the bakery foresaw the glo

Aug. 9, 2013

Herald Ecofarm launches nation’s first juice detox line

Herald Ecofarm has launched the nation’s first-ever juice detox line, Just Juice Cleanse, which offers customers six different flavors of all-natural juices. The Just Juice Cleanse store opened its doors Monday at the Shinsegae Star Super in Dogok-dong, Seoul. Juice cleansing is quickly becoming a popular trend in detox dieting, where people consume only fruit and vegetable juices for a short period to shed some pounds and help rid the body of toxins.The Just Juice cleansing range is a three-day

Aug. 5, 2013

Around the Hotels

Restaurant 8 wins wine list award two years in a rowHyatt Regency Incheon’s Restaurant 8 has received an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator’s 2013 Restaurant Wine List Award for two consecutive years. The magazine chooses winners every year by evaluating a restaurant’s wine list in regards to wine information, and the pairing of wine and food. This year, around 3,800 restaurants were awarded the title. Restaurant 8 at Hyatt Regency Incheon has built its reputation by having various wine pro

Aug. 2, 2013

Gaji namul (steamed eggplant side dish)

Gaji namul is a popular summer side dish that is made with steamed eggplants. The traditional way of making this dish is to steam the eggplants and then tear them into small strips. It’s very easy to overcook eggplants, resulting in mushy vegetables that fall apart during the tearing process. You can avoid this by cutting the eggplants into bite sized pieces before steaming them quickly. The key is to steam the eggplants until they are tender but still slightly firm. Eggplants are in peak season

Aug. 2, 2013

Brisket takes the cake at new barbecue spot

The owners of Sopung, Yang Se-yol and Choi Hyun, seem to perfectly understand the hard-to-resist pull of fresh-off-the-grill, flame-kissed meat, and the beauty of barbecue done to juicy perfection. These veterans are three years deep into the business of beef, a journey that began when they opened a barbecue restaurant called Sopung in Seoul’s Nonhyeon-dong in the winter of 2010. And they are still going strong. “We instituted a corkage-free policy and put out thick cuts of beef,” said Yang, 43.

Aug. 2, 2013

Around the hotels

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul serves summer ‘tonic’ dishesThe hotel’s authentic Chinese restaurant Man Ho is serving a variety of traditional East Asian “tonic” dishes, delicious healthy food made with premium fresh seafood ingredients such as eel, bass and five-spice abalone through Aug. 31. The restaurant presents two course menus: Menu A includes chicken salad, shark’s fin and vegetable soup, sea cucumber and broccoli, and bean and oxtail stew at 135,000 won, while Menu B consisting of mero soup, f

July 26, 2013

Oi sobagi (stuffed cucumber kimchi)

Oi sobagi is stuffed cucumber kimchi. It is best made in the summer time when cucumbers are in season. Always look for cucumbers that are firm and slender. For the kimchi, the cucumbers are first salted in boiling hot salted water before being stuffed with the filling. Don’t worry, the hot water won’t cook the cucumbers. This is the method traditionally used for Korean pickled cucumbers, called oiji, to keep the cucumbers crisp and crunchy for a long time. Hope you get a chance to make this quic

July 26, 2013