2.285
17 (Mon) October 2011
Radish-Ham Rolls
1.0
at Gyeongbokgung
-Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea-
with meeting participants
2nd WHO Expert Consultation on Public Health Law (Day 1 of 3)
- Day 1 (2.285 Radish-Ham Rolls)
- Day 2 (2.286 Gorgonzola Lasagna with Lobster)
- Day 3 (2.287 Dan Hobak Galbi Jjim)
The occasion was a pre-event welcome dinner for the participants of the 2nd WHO Expert Consultation on Public Health Law, which will convene tomorrow and Wednesday. The meeting is a follow-up to the one held in Manila back in May (see 2.120 Pork Goulash), this time hosted by Yonsei University Asian Institute for Bioethics & Health Law at the Yonsei University campus in Songdo, Incheon.
This dish was fusion of the worst kind. It consisted of radish sprouts, cucumbers, and processed ham wrapped in thinly sliced radish with balsamic vinaigrette and bottled honey mustard sauce – ingredients that have no legitimate business together, especially the processed ham and bottled honey mustard sauce, both of which are regarded by some Koreans as indispensable ingredients with the transformative power to turn something local into something more cosmopolitan. It was served as an appetizer, alongside other similarly weird appetizers, as well as traditional Korean side dishes, at a fancy-schmancy Korean restaurant catering to foreigners. Assuming that the chefs responsible didn’t actually believe in the inherent value of these creations, I suspect that the intent was to provide guests unaccustomed to Korean food with items that appeared more accessible. Accessible perhaps, but ill-conceived otherwise. No wonder fusion gets a bad rap.
The international participants in our group – an American, a Briton, an Aussie, a Kiwi, and a Filipino – much to their credit, went straight for the kimchi and didn’t touch the fusion crap.
(See also FOODS)
(See also PLACES)
