Is “authentic” just a synonym for “traditional,” and how does that color restaurant patrons’ impressions of an Asian-American restaurant’s menu offerings? This was one of several topics up for discussion during Monday night’s Asian Culinary Forum on “Talking ’bout My Generation:...
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The lastest of several prepared Korean dishes introduced recently by Trader Joe’s, a Monrovia, Calif.-based chain of grocery stores, is a frozen version of 비빔밥 bibimbap. This “mixed-up rice” dish — the meaning of the Korean name — already has created some Twitter and blog buzz over the past six weeks. I stumbled...
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The South Korean consulate in San Francisco found a creative way of celebrating U.S. Independence Day this year by inviting the wives of other foreign diplomats to their home to learn kimchi-making. The San Francisco Consular Corps helped put on the party. The stated aim of this kimchi diplomacy, according to Consul Jeong-Gwan Lee...
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KwangJuYo Chief Executive Officer Cho Tae-kwon, a former restaurateur Korean media regularly consult on hansik (Korean cuisine), served up controversy in an interview with The Korea Herald by suggesting that charging for traditionally complimentary banchan (appetizers commonly accompanying Korean meals) would create a demand...
read moreOur resident Korean food globalization blowhard is at it again. Just when I think he can’t say anything more hilariously outrageous, another newspaper fawns over his aristocratic-tinged verbal diarrhea. He usually pops up when he’s trying to promote a product, in this case his new restaurant and upscale soju brand...
read moreI’m conflicted a bit. I’ve gotten some attention from the Korean government. I even heard that the Blue House was reprinting some of my writings. And the government seems to be doing some better things in promoting Korean food. Then it firmly screws up again. But really, it’s just everything in...
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Demand for Korean cooking classes in culinary schools or Korean ingredients on grocery stores shelves is a visible sign a cuisine is becoming more popular in a particular country. For example, Chef Young-sun Lee teaches classes in Korean cuisine at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City and Seattle-based higher-end...
read moreA piece appeared in The Korea Herald today titled “On the Border on the move to export bulgogi taco to U.S.” Maybe the article is unclear, or it’s a little presumptuous of the Korean franchise of On the Border. It opens with this. Korean-Mexican fusion bulgogi tacos just recently gained popularity in Los Angeles...
read moreMy latest opinion piece for Korea.kr has been posted in Korean and English. In this one, I tackle all the bad English that is used to promote Korean food to English speakers. I point out how easy it is to correct this. Just ask a native English speaker. They’re all over the country. Usually, a free meal is payment enough to...
read moreWritten by Drew Alright, so Joe sent me an email asking me to do a little writeup on BiBiGo based on a comment I’d left here–which itself links to a belly-busting article in the JoongAng where CJ Foodville’s CEO Kim Il-Chun proclaims aspirations for BiBiGo to become “the McDonald’s or Starbucks of Korean...
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