Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Beat the heat, Korean style

By Han Sang-hee Staff reporter Put away your ice cream and turn to spice and steaming hot dishes for the summer. The hotter, the better. Sometimes, to deal with the scorching weather during the summer, many people search for cold and refreshing snacks and dishes such as ``patbingsu'' (shaved ice with sweetened red beans), ``naengmyeon'' (buckwheat noodles served in a cold broth) or ice cream, but Koreans tend to follow the ancient saying ``iyeol chiyeol,'' which literally means ``control heat with heat.'' ``If you consume cold food just because it is hot, your stomach and organs will get cold, possibly leading to flu. (Korean) ancestors understood this mechanism and ate warm or spicy food to protect the organs from getting too cold. When they ate naengmyeon, they would add some mustard, which is under the `hot' category of food, and would not drink cold water at once,'' said Kim Young-jo, Korean culture expert and director of the Green Pine Korean Culture Institute in his book ``31 Insights on Tasty Korean Culture.'' Scientifically, it's not a great idea to eat just c

Jul 15, 2010

Tofu & soybean paste stew (Doenjang jjigae)

By Kim Yong-ja The “jjigae” should be a bit on the salty side. You may have to adjust the “doenjang” (soybean paste) quantity according to its salt contents. In case you use Japanese miso, use darker color. Tofu and green chili are a must for this dish. INGREDIENTS (serves 4) 1/2 cube TOFU, cut into smaller cubes 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 small onion peeled, divided into half and sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed 1/3 cup chopped pork (preferably a bit fatty) 2 cups milky rice water from rinsing rice 3 tablespoons Doenjang (soybean paste) 1/3 teaspoon Myeolchigaru (anchovy powder) 1 large potato, cut into cubes 4 pieces Shitake mushrooms sliced 1 small zucchini, cut into cubes 1 “Putgpchu” (green chili), sliced 1. Put doenjang (soybean paste) in a sieve and immerse the sieve in the milky rice water. Press down doenjang with the back of a spoon until it dissolves. Set aside. 2. Heat a medium pot, add vegetable oil and saute the onion until translucent. Add garlic and pork and saute just a bit more. 3. Add dissolved doenjang

Jul 8, 2010

Hotel Lobby

The Paradise Hotel Busan Paradise Hotel Busan is holding a "Song and Dance Party" at its pub, Charlie's, on July 15, at 7 p.m. Unlimited amounts of draft beer will be provided with a buffet including chicken, sausages, smoked salmon, a BBQ, fruits and other side dishes. A lucky draw is planned with various prizes. The party will be held till 10 p.m. and admission is 50,000 won. For more information, call (051) 749-2236. The Sheraton Incheon To celebrate its one-year anniversary, The Sheraton Incheon Hotel is preparing a pleasant surprise for its customers and football fans. It will sell package tickets to the match between AS Monaco of the French league and the K-league’s Incheon United for just one day on July 11 on a first-come-first served basis. The “big match package ticket 1,” with a price tag of 250,000 won, includes one night in a deluxe room, two game tickets with VIP seats, and the use of other hotel facilities. At 150,000 won is “Ticket 2” which provides one night in a deluxe room and two tickets for standard seats. Korean international Pa

Jul 8, 2010

Walking in the footsteps of history

By Kim Se-jeong Korea Times correspondent DRESDEN, Germany _ A German city that danced on the lips of many Koreans earlier this year. It was recommended in Korea's political circles as a model city for the government's aspiring new city project called "Sejong." Visiting Dresden, the capital of Saxony, makes one realize the power of passion: what a passionate individual can do _ in this case, a passionate man with wealth and status. It also reflected the significance of time that is needed to perfect something. For Dresden, eight centuries were put into the city to shape the beauty and charm it renders now. 10 a.m. Dresden, the capital of Saxony, has roughly 40 museums. The overwhelming number was possible thanks to Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), who ruled Saxony. As a great admirer of architecture and art, Augustus the Strong collected an immense number of paintings and sculptures, which are now precious treasures of the city. Indeed, as a great admirer of Louis XV of France, he built a courtyard and buildings in resemblance of Versailles, wh

Jul 8, 2010By Kim Se-jeong

Hotel lobby

Lotte Hotel Seoul Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Italian trattoria Peninsula will be relocated to VINE Wine Restaurant & Bar’s venue on Friday as Italian dining & wine restaurant. The new Peninsula can accomodate up to 118 guests at a casual dining hall and four private rooms, an Italian terrace café leads to an open bar outside. Based on Peninsula’s original menu of authentic antipasto, pasta, and pizza, new Italian dishes and wines will be added. To celebrate the reopening of Peninsula, a “Long Line Pasta Table” event will be held on the day from 6:30pm in the open-air terrace café. A long and large table will seat 100 guests together for a tantalizing evening of Italian buffet and wine. The dinner will serve antipasto, pizza, pasta, wine as well as desserts. This event will surely be the largest dinner table in Korea. Participation fee will be 50,000 won per person. In the month of July, Peninsula will offer special lunch and dinner set menus comprised of five to six courses at 50,000~80,000 won. Guests ordering the special lunch set can enjoy a compli

Jul 1, 2010

Campaign will promote domestic travel in full swing

By Lee Hyo-sik Staff reporter To provide an alternative to the growing popularity of overseas travel and financially help local leisure and other services providers, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and 11 other state-run institutions have launched a joint campaign to promote domestic travel. Their move comes as a record number of Koreans are expected to head overseas during the upcoming summer vacation on the back of improving economic conditions and the strengthening of the Korean won against the dollar and other foreign currencies. In cooperation with the KTO, each organization will operate various tour programs and provide travelers a wealth of entertainment content. Under the main theme of “green tourism,” the programs will allow travelers to experience nature through an eco-friendly tour at national parks and a train ride in rural areas. Tour participants will also be able to spend the day and night at a campsite in the middle of a forest, and engage in diverse agricultural and fisheries activities. For instance, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea N

Jul 1, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Nine-ingredient Wraps (`Gujeolpan)

Kim Yong-ja This is one of the most elaborate dishes in Korean cuisine, served as an appetizer in the royal court. Quite often it appears on the cover of a cookbook. “Gujeolpan” is a name of a tray that has nine sections. Nowadays they also make ``Ojeolpan” (Five-Section Tray) as a simplified version. Gujolpan is usually lacquered or sometime even has mother-of-pearl inlays. Since it is a very time consuming dish to prepare each ingredient separately, it is only natural that you would prefer an elaborate tray to showcase your hard work. Beef, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, egg yolks and egg whites are standard ingredients. In old times, chonyop (beef tripes) was a must. But nowadays other available ingredients like abalone, minari (Korean watercress) or zucchini can be used as well. 1 To prepare the mustard paste, mix the mustard powder with water in a small bowl. Keep it covered for 15 minutes to develop a spicy flavor. Prepare the sauce. Set aside. Combine the pancake mix using a whisk. Set aside. 2 Cook the meat first, which has been marinat

Jul 1, 2010

Hotel to present ‘authentic Korean’ for G-20 guests

By Bae Ji-sook Staff reporter There are many Western eateries in Korea presenting dishes inspired by Korean ingredients or cuisine, but they are not very popular or receive much attention. The Grand InterContinental Seoul hotel has recently stepped up to make quite a bold and impressive move in the area - its French restaurant Table 34 has presented a full-course meal cooked with indigenous ingredients only. From baby cabbages to caviar, everything was farmed and produced here. It’s something that not even the finickiest gourmands or culinary experts here would have expected. But what more impressive is that each vegetable, meat or spice’s quality is the same as, or even better, than the imported equivalents, labeled with long and unidentifiable places of origin. The menu was first organized for the Chaine des Rotisseurs Dinner, an event for the pickiest gourmands, a couple of months ago. After it passed the screening of the fastidious palates, the hotel is planning to refine it for a possible dinner menu for the G-20 Summit attendants, mainly state leaders and large c

Jul 1, 2010

Grand Hilton provides best convention center

Seoul’s newest and finest convention center at the Grand Hilton Seoul makes it the venue of choice for domestic and international meetings and conventions. Facing directly across from the main hotel, the center houses a large convention hall as well as small and medium-sized banquet halls and conference rooms. Prior to the opening of the new building, meetings and conventions were held in the Hotel’s Grand Ballroom, but the new purpose-built Convention Center gives the Grand Hilton Seoul an independent and separate facility within a minute’s walk of the Hotel. Featuring a spacious lobby and reception area, the new Convention Center provides a tranquil atmosphere that facilitates smooth transitions between cocktail receptions, meals and meetings. The all-in-one concept is a strong selling point which event planners will like. The four-floor Convention Hall offers a contemporary atmosphere combined with state-ofthe- art audio-visual facilities. Capable of accommodating up to 2,500 guests, this business-oriented venue is perfectly suited for international events, workshop

Jun 29, 2010

Imperial Palace - luxurious business hotel

The Imperial Palace Hotel, winner of the Best Business Hotel in southern Seoul category, has put its two feet firmly on the ground as a “luxurious business hotel.” Located at the heart of South Korea’s business district of Gangnam, southern Seoul, the hotel is ready to welcome various guests ranging from tourists to businessmen and celebrities. The founder Shin Cheol-ho defined the hotel as a “place for the guests to seek both pleasure and art.” All 430 rooms, including 35 suites, were decorated in the Victorian style with antiques management collected from all over Europe before opening. The value of artwork at the hotel is estimated at around 4 billion won. Each floor has its original style - while the fourth floor is filled with Roman atmosphere; the fifth is furbished in English decorations, enabling even those making revisits to feel fresh all the time. Recently, in order to stress more of its business function, the hotel has refurbished its wireless LAN infrastructure. Also, 42-inch LCD screen for deluxe rooms and 42-inch PDP screens for suites are installed to help g

Jun 29, 2010

Travel & Food

Travel & Food

Beat the heat, Korean style

Tofu & soybean paste stew (Doenjang jjigae)

Hotel Lobby

Walking in the footsteps of history

Hotel lobby

Campaign will promote domestic travel in full swing

Nine-ingredient Wraps (`Gujeolpan)

Hotel to present ‘authentic Korean’ for G-20 guests

Grand Hilton provides best convention center

Imperial Palace - luxurious business hotel

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