blue hill at stone barns

March 25, 2013 sarah lee

I’ve been in New York for close to 3 months now. I can’t love the food enough, and the hustle & bustle really puts you in your place. How can you not love this city? However, as much as I’m an urban girl and love to be out and about…the times that I thoroughly enjoy the most is when I get a moment to breathe. You’ll hear many New Yorkers say they like to leave the city for a quick weekend trip, just to get away from the madness. It didn’t occur to me that I desired to partake in this as well. Something that most people may not know about me is that my ultimate dream is to have a small farm of my own. A girl from Chicago, who loved living in Seoul, love city lights, and now a member of the daily grind in New York is still planning on making this dream happen. So when I stepped foot into Blue Hill, I instantly felt a connection. Almost like I was home. I seriously didn’t want to leave.

Words are limitless to describe my recent experience at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. A few of my co-workers introduced me to this place on our drive back to the city, after some long meetings in Connecticut late January.

If you’re fortunate to take a break and leave town, even if it’s for a one-day trip, it’s so well worth it if you want to get recharged. It definitely doesn’t take long for me to be ‘whole’ again. I just need to squeeze in a little ‘Sarah time’ here and there and I’m in a happy place:)

camera shy

March 5, 2013 sarah lee

I recently did a brief photo shoot with amazing photographer Christine Han from Brooklyn~
She's the eyes behind 'Pantry Confidential' with Hana Choi, and her wedding photography is in it's own category. Really. She made me look better than I ever could with her lens. Thank you, thank you Christine!!!

All photos shot in Hell's Kitchen-Midtown.

Will keep you posted on where these photos will be featured...

just a little teaser of what new york food is all about...

February 10, 2013 sarah lee

Ok folks, this post is simply a teaser. Not a 'full' post featuring one particular restaurant of any kind, but wanted to share some photos of oh maybe 40% of what I've eaten so far in a month? Yes, I've went up a size in pants I think (thank goodness for leggings!), can feel the double chin forming, and having a hard time zipping up my winter coat. Let me tell you, even with all the walking that I do here in NY, I think I need to add another form of exercise to maintain my eating habits, haha. No joke. Well, a girls gotta do her 'due diligence' with food research right?

I've had some amazing meals with good friends showing me around town so far. Trying to figure out if it's a good thing that I have friends that love food more than me, or if this will only increase the sensitivity of my palate so that I will have zero tolerance to anything bad. Well, I'm blessed either way~

Note-no Korean restaurants are featured on this post as I would like to feature them one by one...I won't let you wait too long~

and so it begins...

January 19, 2013 sarah lee

"Open your eyes…there's no time to waste anymore. The answer is right in front of you."

-Excerpt from 'My Berlin Kitchen.'

I think this quote sums it up. Fellow readers, you may have noticed that I'm no longer in Seoul. I know I've been somewhat vague about my travels, where my next 'big city of settlement' will be…but I wanted to share this important moment in my life with all of you. You have been so faithful in following my food journal, travels, and have been truly supportive over the years. Thank you, thank you~

farm to table goodness

January 3, 2013 sarah lee

Fresh picked baby carrots from the garden

I guess I can't stop talking about this farm-to-table spot a little ways from Seoul. Bean Table. It's time for a revisit. Need to keep sharing the love...

I had an opportunity to stage for Bean Table my last month in Korea before taking off to the states. Good friend and chef Wonil Lee welcomed me as part of his staff, after some serious convincing. Let's just say, this restaurant is on the top of my list for folks visiting Seoul!

The real deal...

*Authentic Korean flavors + modern presentation.

*Non-GMO soybeans (for those who care about this like me).

*Homemade tofu made with natural sea salt coagulants (this part could get pretty technical if you break it down).

*Fresh and organic produce.

*No MSG or preservatives.

I had a real difficult time finding Korean restaurants in Korea that didn't use preservatives. Dining at Bean Table to me is like eating in my moms kitchen-you can feel and taste the love with each dish. Every bite is well balanced, and the variations of the banchan (side dishes) are seriously endless...

chef beverly kim

December 16, 2012 sarah lee

Beverly, Johnny & Matty

The initial contact...

Summer of 2006, I caught up with my ex-college roommate Paula, and had a quick chat about food.

Paula gave me the lowdown about her sister Beverly, and mentioned that she was in Seoul for a few months. So what do I do? The usual crazy Sarah move. Called up Beverly in Seoul (please note that I have I only seen her once before at this point, and we barely knew each other), and asked her if she would like to possibly partner up with me on a restaurant project in Chicago!

So the story began…

hong kong in less than 24 hours

November 11, 2012 sarah lee

When I travel, I act like I've never traveled before. I know this sounds funny, but every other day whether I'm working or hanging with friends, I plan plan plan...organize, try to be on top of things, and sometimes wear the 'know it all, everything is under control' hat, haha. Then you hand me a suitcase and a plane ticket, throw a map of whichever city, I have this blank face and seriously start breaking sweats...especially if I'm traveling alone.

Hong Kong was one of those cities.

exit strategy: leaving korea painlessly

October 22, 2012 sarah lee

'I am just leaving the country, not the people'
a little bird told me when I was leaving...

Friends, family, and readers-I have left Korea recently to pursue some amazing opportunites in the U.S. Although I have left the country that I dearly love, I hope that all of you will continue this food journey with me as I eat my way around the U.S. and other countries. My experience in Seoul cannot be put into words, and the memories and stories will always remain with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for walking with me all these years!

Everything starts again...

the dirty dirty about the secret love sauce: linus exposed

September 17, 2012 sarah lee

Before you even start reading this, your curiosity may have peaked just at the title of the post. So what's this 'dirty dirty' about Linus Kim? Well, the story starts from Alabama where he grew up in the 70's-80's. This guy probably loves barbeque more than anyone I know. We've been friends since 1997. Ok, that sounds so ancient. I've seen Linus through thick and thin, we drove each other crazy over the years, but maintained our strong friendship. I think it was our jjimjilbang moments that saved our friendship as it was the 'neutral zone', where we would pig out on Korean snacks and watch Korean dramas. A man of many talents, but one thing that stands out with the most gusto: his skills and knowledge about pork. He really does have a refined palate that you can't even be sneaky when you cook, because he'll call you out on all your secrets! haha.

andong

September 10, 2012 sarah lee

Jars of hwangari at Hahoe village.

Food tour in Andong. Start time 7am. 3.5 hours.

Actually it was more than just a food tour. More like 'Korean style oriental herb healing tour,' as it's actually titled. The tour was led by 'Big Farm', which is a creative hub for agriculture here in Korea, alongside Ongo Food communications. They teamed up to lead this tour for mostly foreigners in Korea who were interested in diving into the world of farming.

ariake at the shilla

August 28, 2012 sarah lee

For this post, I think I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. I can confidently say... that this is the best sushi I have had in Korea! Recently, a friend introduced me to this sushi haven at the Shilla hotel-Ariake. We were fortunate to dine at the sushi bar, and the experience was just pure joy. A few things that I have never tried before-like the squid sashimi with yuzu zest-wow. I'm personally not a huge fan of squid, but the way Chef Song prepared it almost paper thin, with the texture so rich and buttery-I'm converted. I thought they marinated it in something profound, but soon found out that it was just the pure quality of the squid, haha. The toro & uni were exceptional, and I observed some techniques that were truly quite unique & refined at Ariake. Perhaps you can only see this kind of sophistication at hotels like the Shilla and of course Japan? Haha. Oh do I hope to visit again soon~

bloom & goûté

August 19, 2012 sarah lee

So here's another cafe to put on your list if you're in Seoul. Coffee+flowers+desserts+brunch+Linus' southern smoked bbq pork!!!

The first Bloom & Goûté was off of the main Garosugil street for years-this is their new location which is one street over that recently opened this summer, still in Sinsa-dong. For those familiar with Garosugil/Sinsa-dong area, you will notice that there have been some major changes in the last few years. Quite different from when I lived there a few years ago. The local, artsy, boutique cafes are slowly disappearing, and the big brother is taking over the whole block! Ugh. However, the previous owners will not put their guard down...instead they seem to relocate their business near there for their loyal customers. Bloom & Goûté is just one of those cafes. Similar to their first location, they have a flower shop inside the cafe, as well as a good selection of desserts and coffee. I actually prefer their new location, as the interior is done well, and there is a huge improvement on their savory menu. Their savory menu only provides brunch, but the best part about it is that their croque monsieur & the eggs benedict has my good friend Linus' smoked pork! Ok, I checked this cafe out for this very reason. Never would have come up with southern style (Alabama that is) smoked pork with melted gruyere & parmesan cheese in a sandwich! You may have heard of Linus' famous smoked bbq in Seoul, doing pop-up's and catering events...I will be doing a follow up post about his goods.

peninsula

August 15, 2012 sarah lee

If you're in Seoul, you will quickly notice the number of Italian restaurants everywhere. Most western dining experience in Seoul includes pasta and pizza. Okay, I stopped asking myself why...the the first few months of my arrival, haha. Do Koreans really love their noodles and cheese or what? However, with this said not every place that serves Italian does it well. After being disappointed countless of times, I started making/eating Italian at home. Then you might find a few good restaurants ones here and there...

korean royal cuisine-days 5-10

July 16, 2012 sarah lee

This spread is considered 'anju' or food that's paired with drinking.

You can achieve quality taste without msg in royal cuisine.

You may think that the quote above is pretty random or weird. The sad truth is, is that so many Korean restaurants (I will boldly say majority) in Korea, use a lot of msg. When I first moved here a few years ago, I struggled with indigestion for a year! Only to find that it was the Korean food that caused it. Not to say that there aren't restaurants who do it the proper way and leave msg out of the picture all together. During this course, after carefully learning how to marinate and season food without any additives, everything was quite clean and authentic! So you can achieve the quality taste at home by using natural ingredients to prepare amazing Korean dishes.

korean royal cuisine-days 3 & 4

July 5, 2012 sarah lee

Theme for day 4- '궁중상추쌈' or royal lettuce wraps.

Day 3 & 4. I just have to say these past few days were a lot of fun. Not only were the things we had to make challenging, but the history portion of the class was quite interesting. For those who live in Korea (mainly speaking to ex-pats, foreingers) you may ask yourselves when eating Korean food why everything is pickled, marinated, and you don't see a whole of just 'fresh' veggies. Well, a bit of history that I learned. During the days when the King ruled the land, everyone had to produce items for 'the palace' or '궁'. However, since it took days to have the items delivered to the palace, you never found raw fish, fresh veggies, and even some fruits. Everything had to be dried and preserved before it entered the palace. Therefore once it entered the palace grounds, the chefs had to create dishes soley upon what they received. So when studying royal cuisine recipes, everything is marinated, fried, cooked all the way trough, etc. This explains a lot as to what we know of Korean cuisine today. However, the farmers & peasants ate the most fresh vegetables & fruits, and 'bibim bop' gave birth in that very comnumity (thus I hear they live for a long time). Interesting how this dish is one of the dishes that is most recoginized today when it comes to Korean cuisine!

korean royal cuisine-days 1 & 2

July 3, 2012 sarah lee

Alas, the Korean royal cuisine course that I have been waiting for has begun this week. I was hoping to do a daily post, however I think I'll update every few days (my friend Tom from tomeatsjencooks will so not forgive me for this!). Normally this course is offered in a span of 4 months, but for folks like me who is too impatient to endure the 4 months, we do a 2 week intensive 'crash' course instead, haha. So where exactly am I taking this course you may ask?

my line of work...

June 27, 2012 sarah lee

This was my favorite afternoon tea spread-black sesame cookies with tea tags!
Concept is to just dunk in coffee/tea and eat!

Some of you may wonder what I do besides eating around town and blogging. I am currently serving as the Director of Catering for Kyotofu Seoul. Funny how I can't seem to escape this industry, haha. The days seems like yesterday when I had my own catering business back in Chicago. The tears and sweat from those days have followed me here. What can I say, event planning will always be a part of me!

ghetto gourmet: dining in the rough part 6

June 4, 2012 sarah lee

Steamed pork 'bossam' 보쌈 론 빌라쥐

I am embarrassed to admit that the two plus years I have been in Seoul, I have yet to take Korean cooking classes. Although I have been cooking Korean for some time now, never really got around to learning the authentic Royal cuisine courses offered in Korea. Aside from the usual excuses like 'no time, no money, not sure where to go, blah blah blah' I have finally committed to signing up for classes this summer! I've got real hopes...

'the back kitchen'-seoul's first pop up!

May 5, 2012 sarah lee

The Back Kitchen Seoul...

Here's the story of two food lovers who met in Seoul through the wonderful world of blogs.
Wanna hear a nutty story behind our first pop up?
So it begins.

Joe McPherson from Zen Kimchi and I randomly discussed doing a pop up in a car ride back in March. We never shared a kitchen before, let alone run a 40 seat pop up! So we decided to make our lives more complicated and fun by setting the date on Seoul's first pop up. Yeah, we're nuts. So what the heck is a pop up you may ask? Well, you may have heard of supper clubs or underground restaurants. Similar concept, but you basically take over a space (preferrably a kitchen space in an existing restaurant), come up with a creative food menu, and feed folks who want to eat your food. Oh by the way, there is money involved. Either a set fee for the meal, or suggested donations. For our pop up, the suggested donation was 35,000 won/guest for a 5 course meal. Uhm, I think this was a steal! hahaha.

ghetto gourmet: dining in the rough, part 5

April 21, 2012 sarah lee

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We had our ghetto gourmet dinner 5 back in January, sorry for the late posting! For this dinner, it was my turn to cook. Let's just say, I think it took some time to get my gears going when I cooked this meal. However, all of our friends were so patient and helpful with making this dinner as smooth as it was! Sid Kim is our guest writer for this post. I met Sid over a few years ago, first when I made a guest appearance on his TBS food program 'Seoul of Asia' (back in the day when I was working for Edward Kwon). Then from what I remember, the next few times we met, it involved wine in social settings. Now we're food buddies. Sid is one of those guys where you just want to give him a big hug when you see him! Always a smile on his face, and for some reason if you're having a bad day, just chatting with him for a few minutes will make you feel better. He's like the big brother you want to have. Not to mention his food palette and knowledge is something else. Perhaps Eunji's amazing cooking has 'spoiled' his taste buds, hahaha.

A bit of info about Sid: He is the director and founder of Wise Education, an educational consulting company that prepares students for entry to prestigious U.S. schools. "I love to eat, travel, eat, write, eat, drive fast cars, eat, ride motorcycles, and eat."

Thanks Sid for sharing your story on this dinner!