World to Table

After reading the rave reviews about Di Fara pizza in Brooklyn, my sister Kelly and I prepared our descent to Brooklyn and brave the hungry lunch crowd. We were going to go witness the painstaking arugula-cutting and finally get a taste of Dom DeMarco’s legendary pizza. We set a date, penciled it in our calendar, and eagerly waited for our anticipated afternoon of pizza.

The next day, while my cousin Wesley was over at my apartment, we told him about our grand lunch plans. “So, why are you going all the way there to get pizza?” he asked. Kelly then went on to explain, concluding with “…he then slowly cuts the arugula with his scissors. Want to come?” We didn’t have to do much more convincing after that; the three of us set our lunch date. Later the next day, while reading some more reviews online, I stumbled across an online review titled “Sink Your Teeth Into $14 Motorino Pizza, Skip Brooklyn Commute”. The title alone challenged the need to venture deep into Brooklyn for pizza. We did our own investigating, and upon evaluating the time it’d take to commute to Di Fara’s in Brooklyn versus Motorino in Manhattan, our trip to Motorino would require less transit time. After extensive deliberation, we made the executive decision to go to Motorino. Did Motorino live up to the glowing review? Well, we won’t know until our trip to Di Fara. In the meantime, here’s an idea of what you can find at Motorino if you’re hungry in the East Village on a weekday afternoon.

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Ravioli, pickled beef tongue, and sashimi were just three of the dishes that were served earlier this month for Korean Cuisine Redefined — none of which you will probably find at a traditional Korean restaurant. Held at the Korean Consulate in New York on October 5th, the tasting showcased five Korean American chefs and their interpretations and redefinitions of Korean cuisine, using ingredients or techniques commonly found in classical Korean cuisine. Let’s meet the chefs!

Rachel Yang, Akira Back, Youngsun Lee, Andrew Chang, and Tommy Lee

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When I was growing up in LA, eating Korean food meant one thing: an all-meat dinner cooked over the grill at the restaurant, Woo Lae Oak. Each visit was pretty much the same experience — billowing clouds of meat-scented smoke, sharp, vinegary kimchi, marinade-drenched bulgogi or kalbi and the sizzling sounds from the grill complemented with the loud, sucking vacuums above each grill. Little did I know, I had only skimmed the surface of Korean cuisine.

Earlier this month, I was asked to help in the Korean government’s latest efforts to promote and globalize their cuisine at a celebration of National Day and Armed Forces Day at the Ambassador’s home in D.C. And this time there was no grilled meat involved… Ok, maybe a tub or two of bulgogi.

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Sometimes life takes over and you have to compromise. I’d planned a big meal to celebrate the birthdays of two of my favourite women friends. Inspired by a wine tasting featuring Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, I wanted to introduce my friends in Asia to She-Crab Soup. I thought the two would go together perfectly.

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