What a rich, beautiful white from Galicia in the northwestern corner of Spain. It’s got everything going for it ― definition, minerality, good acidity and a touch of oak. Complex? This bottle could hold its own against a Meursault or a top California Chardonnay. The grape is Godello, and the grapes come from two old vineyards, 70 and 85 years old respectively. The winery is a project of the Gil ...

Italian-born Massimo Mele, executive chef of the Hugos Group in Sydney, said he will show how easy and simple making pizza should be in his upcoming cooking class at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul. Mele is in Seoul for a week as a guest chef for the Italian promotion “Festa Italiana” which runs through Tuesday at the hotel’s European restaurant The Festa Bistro and Bar. “I’m gonna show people...

Insamcha is tea made with ginseng. It has a strong fragrance and taste. Ginseng is a special product of Korea, and is thought to be good for physical strength. Certain studies have found that saponin in ginseng has anti-cancer properties. Korean ginseng has been identified as having the highest saponin content. Ingredients ● 100 g ginseng (fresh wet ginseng) ● 10 jujube ● 7 cups water ● 1 ts...

When I invited a new friend to dinner last week and asked her to bring a wine, she asked about the menu. And evidently she listened, because she came up with the most brilliant match for the Hungarian goulash: this St. Laurent, a close relative of Pinot Noir, from one of Austria’s best wine estates. Soft and earthy, with a brilliant cherry color and just the slightest hint of strawberries and plu...

Naturally, all deals come at a price. Grilling is do-it-yourself. Fans of charcoal might be disappointed to learn that only stove-top grill pans are provided, and the surrounding environs (butcher stalls and its wares) might be off-putting for squeamish diners. On the upside, the restaurant is clean and spacious and the banchan ― the greens, chili peppers, kimchi, pickled onions and seasoned ve...

Seoul Gourmet 2011 also offers master classes, gala dinners by Korean chefs Six international star chefs ― four of them running Michelin star restaurants ― will visit Korea next week to discover the essence of Korean ingredients and use them in their creative dishes. Seoul Gourmet 2011, a premier culinary festival coming into its third year, will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 at four luxury ho...

PINHAO, Portugal (AP) ― When Dominic Symington looks out from his shady hillside garden across the vineyards of Portugal’s majestic Douro Valley, he sees centuries of family and European history. British families like the Symingtons have been at the heart of this northern Portuguese region’s port wine trade for generations. Dominic Symington, one of seven in the family wine business, has an ance...

IMPHAL, India ― Mexican jalapenos, Sichuan mala peppers, African kambuzi ― mere child’s play. Although many places claim to have the maddest, baddest chile this side of Hades, northeast India’s “ghost chile” is scientifically recognized as the hottest commercial chile pepper on the planet, 200 times spicier than jalapenos. The peppers are so hot that workers handling them wear goggles and gloves...

Bindaetteok is a savory pancake made of ground mung beans, meat, vegetables and kimchi. It was originally used as the supporter for the fried meat on a large dining table. Later, it became a delicious-looking food for a binja (pauper), so it was named “binjatteok” (pauper’s cake). Ingredients ● 1/2 cups thin skin mung bean (geopi-nokdu), 1/4 tsp salt, 110 ml water ● 40 g cabbage kimchi ● 20 g...

Red bean porridge, sweet or savory, steps outside winter for a fall outing Patjuk, that comforting pottage of red beans, is often pigeonholed as a winter specialty, reserved, as turkey is for Thanksgiving, to be eaten on Dongji, the shortest day of the year. According to Lee Hyo-gee’s “Korean Cuisine Culture” (Shinkwang Publishing Company, 2001), bowls of red bean porridge dotted with tteok sha...

In Porto, I remember eating sardines grilled outside a little restaurant near the sea accompanied by gulps of chilled vinho verde. It’s easier to find the wine here now, and this bottling is well worth seeking out. Look for the characteristic tall slope-shouldered shape and the distinctive Trajarinho label. Pour a glass: It tastes alive. It’s similar to Spain’s Txakoli, only the grapes get more ...