Written By Unknown on Jumat, 22 Februari 2013 | 17.35
Niki Photograph
Pierre Sang Boyer infuses French dishes with Asian flavors.
As exciting new takes on the bistro, including Le Chateaubriand and Septime, began to attract food-conscious locals to the once-grungy 11th Arrondissement in Paris, the district matured, paving the way for other ambitious young chefs.
One of the newer arrivals is the South Korea-born Pierre Sang Boyer. For Mr. Sang Boyer, 32, the decision to open his 42-seat restaurant on Rue Oberkampf last June was based on an abiding locavore ethos, one supported by the street's bustling markets.
"I wanted this concept to be based on working with artisans around the restaurant to create a kind of village spirit," he said.
Adopted by a French family at age 7, Mr. Sang Boyer was schooled in kitchens in London and Lyon before competing in the French edition of "Top Chef," where he earned lavish praise for his imaginative cooking. In 2012, he leveraged his fame to raise awareness for Fish Fight, a campaign to ban the fishing practice of discarding edible catches after quotas have been reached.
"I only work with small producers who practice sustainable methods," he said.
Behind such serious intentions is a bold and playful chef who improvises daily, often midmeal. The result is contemporary renditions of French dishes fused harmoniously with Asian flavors. And he eschews a printed menu for a set meal of six small plates.
During a recent visit, our first one was an amuse-bouche combining pomegranate seeds, a spoonful of Korean-style spinach (soaked in rice vinegar) and a dash of chile tapioca, all topped with an oyster. Next up was quick-seared salmon atop smoked chestnut cream garnished with sprigs of salicorne, a succulent also known as glasswort, for a pleasantly salty finish.
The meal peaked with a chicken ballotine stuffed with black trumpet mushrooms and served alongside creamy cracked-wheat risotto. The wedge of Laguiole cheese that followed steeled our palates for a chocolate fondant topped with a coconut emulsion and speckled with crushed caramel.
Those unable to muscle their way in for dinner — no reservations are accepted — should consider Mr. Sang Boyer's equally pleasing two- or three-course lunch, served Tuesday to Saturday (20 and 25 euros respectively).
Pierre Sang in Oberkampf, 55, rue Oberkampf, Paris; no phone; pierresangboyer.com. Prix fixe six-course dinner without wine is 35 euros ($47 at $1.33 to the euro). Wine pairings available for an additional 30 euros.
Many equate Davos with the World Economic Forum and the masters of the universe who attend the yearly conference in this Swiss municipality perched 5,120 feet above sea level. But raise your eyes to the mountains and behold the inspiration for the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (he wrote about skiing here in the late 1800s), the landscapes of the Expressionist painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and the setting for Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain." For nearly 200 years, the crisp Alpine air drew patients to sanitariums that have since been converted to belle époque hotels with brilliant views. With an endless array of activities, from lounging in solariums and saunas to skiing the nearby mountains and visiting museums, travelers to Davos and its environs will find plenty to keep them busy.
FRIDAY
4 p.m. 1.High-Altitude Beer
Marketed as "the last beer stop before heaven," the brewery in the nearby village of Monstein was founded in 2001 in a vacant dairy — one of the younger buildings in the village at just over 100 years old. BierVision Monstein offers unguided tours (free) and beer tasting (3 Swiss francs per glass, about the same in U.S. dollars) every Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. Because of the altitude, the brewers work with pressurized equipment and a special strain of yeast that is capable of fermentation at over 5,300 feet. The brewery also makes schnapps, whiskey and cheeses. (Monstein brewery, Hauptstrasse 36, Davos Monstein; biervision-monstein.ch)
6 p.m. 2.Capuns, Pizokel, Oh My
For now, skip the fondue and try the lesser-known specialties this region, known as Bündnerland, produces. Those would be capuns, a kind of inverted dumpling made from dried meat, wheat flour, eggs and herbs wrapped in Swiss chard and cooked and served over a cream- or milk-based sauce; and pizokel, a dish somewhere between German spaetzle and a noodle-based hash, usually made from hand-cut buckwheat noodles, potatoes, dried meat, and spinach or chard. Most of the Swiss restaurants in town have these on their menus (15 to 30 francs), though the cafe at Schneider's (Promenade 68; schneiders-davos.ch), Bündnerstübli at the Central Sporthotel (Tobelmuehlestrasse 1; central-davos.ch/en/restaurant_bar.html), and the restaurant at the Hotel Alte Post (Berglistutz 4), are good places to start.
8 p.m. 3.Steamy, Starry Night
After the sun sets, skiers and others in need of pampering opt for a couple of hours of sauna, massage, swimming and general relaxation. One of the best places for this is eau-là-là (Promenade 90; eau-la-la.ch/index.cfm), a complex attached to the Davos Congress Center. Entrance to the pools — including a 25-meter swimming pool, an 80-meter slide, solariums and a heated outdoor pool — is 9 francs. For an additional 17 francs, you'll get access to the wellness area, which includes saunas, hot- and cold-water areas, silent rooms, solariums and outdoor hot-tubs, many with mountain views. Leave your modesty at the door: the wellness area is mixed sex and strictly a "naked zone."
SATURDAY
9 a.m. 4.Two-Horse Open Sleigh
Romantic clichés of the Swiss Alps tend to include the jingling bells, crunching snow and heavy blankets of an open, horse-drawn sleigh — and for good reason. Head out early while the sun still sits low in the horizon, and everything from the sky to the snow-covered buildings and trees take on blue-to-purple pastel hues. Starting from Davos Platz, near the train station, horse-drawn sleigh tours by Kutschenzentrale Davos, with a stop for food at a rustic local restaurant or mulled wine, range from as short as 45 minutes (70 francs for up to four people) to as long as four and a half hours (190 francs for up to four people) for a trip through the beautiful Sertig valley. Don't forget to bring extra layers against the cold.
Noon 5.Artist and Architects
Twenty years ago, the architects Annette Gigon and Mike Guyer built a museum of concrete, glass, steel and wood (12 francs) to house a large collection of works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Today, visitors from around the world stop by the Kirchner Museum Davos (Promenade 82; kirchnermuseum.ch) as much for the building as for the paintings inside. Enjoy the interior space, illuminated by skylights, large windows with sweeping views and geometry of light and color. And then marvel at some of the paintings that kicked off the Expressionist movement — using visual distortions, as opposed to realistic portrayal, to express emotions.
1:30 p.m. 6.Big Ice
Every year since 1923 the Spengler Cup hockey championship has taken place at the Vaillant Arena near the Davos Sports Center, home of the much-loved HC Davos team. If you're lucky, you can catch a regular game. Or head outside to skate (free) or curl on the largest natural ice rink in Europe, covering an area of 193,750 square feet, with great views of the mountains in all directions.
3 p.m. 7.Magic Mountain
Take a ride (8 francs one way) on the "Magic Mountain" funicular (Talstation Oberestrasse; schatzalp.ch/p.cfm?s=12) from near the main promenade street in Davos to the Berghotel Schatzalp, formerly a sanitarium, built in 1898, and mentioned in Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain." It takes only four minutes to ascend nearly 1,000 feet through a fairy-tale forest. As the sun gets lower, the mountaintops take on a golden hue, and a 45-minute walk along the groomed waterfall loop trail, through a 116-acre forest park, is pure peace. Afterward, warm up with coffee (4.50 francs) and cake (6.50 francs) at the cafe, or head to the hotel's red- and purple-illuminated X-Ray Bar, the sanitarium's old X-ray room, for a shot of schnapps (8 francs). There are three ways back to the valley: the funicular, the charming path through the forest, or you can rent a sled (10 francs) from the cafe or nearby kiosk and brave a 1.7-mile-long, groomed sledding trail that is floodlighted until 11 p.m. And yes, Mann wrote about this too.
6 p.m. 8.Fondue With a View
After a long day, there's nothing like fondue, and Davos has a few standout places to try this quintessential Swiss dish. The quirky, tiny Bistro Gentiana (Promenade 53; gentiana.ch) offers traditional cheese and meat fondues, including its signature version (39.50 francs) with mushrooms, dill, cubes of pork, bacon and pearl onions. Or head over to the trendy Pulsa Fonduestube (Talstrasse 3; hotelgrischa.ch) at the Grischa Hotel, where a long picture window perfectly frames the passing red and white Swiss trains. The décor — wood, warm lighting and various antler arrangements — is both modern and rustic. The boletus fondue (33 francs), with mushrooms, is spectacular, with hints of woody umami fungi perfectly balanced with the salty, slightly acid flavors of the cheese.
9 p.m. 9.Après and Après
The nighttime scene starts in the bars, like the divey Tijuana (Talstrasse 15, tijuanabar.ch), where you can test your ability to hammer a nail into a tree stump in one hit, or Chämi Bar (Promenade 83, 41-81-413-55-55), another popular watering hole. But the most crowd-pleasing place is EX Bar (Promenade 63; ex-bar-davos.ch) — all kitsch, from the crystal chandelier to the palm tree to the massive stuffed-animal moose hanging over the entrance. Or do as everyone else does and head to Pöstli Club (Promenade 42; poestliclub.ch) for all the seeing and being seen you can handle.
SUNDAY
11 a.m. 10.Kaffeeklatsch
There's no place to enjoy a good, simple breakfast or brunch, like KaffeeKlatsch (Promenade 72; 41-81-413-30-16). The centrally located two-floor cafe and coffee shop is easy to overlook from the street. Try to snag the corner table upstairs by the window, the one with the sofas. And try the salty, herby breads, or the thinly sliced fried potatoes, somewhere on the latke-hash brown continuum, called rösti (14.90 francs).
1 p.m. 11.Stock Up
Davos is part of the Graubünden, or Grisons, canton of Switzerland, and the people here are proud of the appellation. Bündnerfleisch, for instance, takes its name from the canton, and is a type of pressed, air-dried meat seasoned with white wine and herbs. You'll find bündnerfleisch, deer salsiz or other meat products (5 to 15 francs) at the small Bündnerland Davos shop (Promenade 73; buendnerland-davos.ch). Buy cheeses (around 3 francs and up for 100 grams) at Gourmet Kach (Promenade 74; 41-81-413-0805); truffles and pralines (around 10 francs for a small bag) from Schneider's confectionary; and schnapps like bündner chrüter (36 francs a liter) or röteli (which even has its own schlager song) from the Kindschi distillery shop (Seehornstrasse 13, Davos Dorf; kindschi.ch).
3 p.m. 12.Classic Swiss Village
Jump on any of the local trains headed from Davos to Klosters (second-class fare is free for overnight visitors with a hotel-issued visitor's card) for a spectacular 27-minute ride through pine forests and passes, with gorgeous views of tiny hamlets, homesteads, lakes and mountains. Then take an hour or two to walk around Klosters, where the setting gives off the classic Swiss village vibe — accented by Walser style, vaulted wood-roof buildings with white or wooden facades — that Davos itself mostly lacks.
The view of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean from the hotel's rooftop.
Doubles from $230, standard; $270, deluxe; $303, spa room.
Basics
In November 2010, the 51-room Shalom Hotel and Relax opened in a space that had been occupied by a locally owned hourly motel. It is now part of the Atlas chain, which owns boutique hotels throughout Israel — many in Tel Aviv distinguished by their Bauhaus aesthetic.
Location
On Hayarkon Street, a block from a true Mediterranean beach. The hotel is across from a Hilton Hotel and Independence Park and is near many restaurants and shops.
The Room
My sea-view spa room was done up in luminous white with navy blue accents, lending it a modern, New England nautical feel. Beds covered in white sheets had white-and-blue striped padded headboards, set amid walls lined with white-and-blue-striped wallpaper. The best feature was the raised wooden platform with an extra chair and table, and a hot tub, all enclosed in the room, behind floor-to-ceiling windows. It was possible to see the Mediterranean, though the view was slightly obstructed by the Hilton. All rooms have electric kettles; coffee and tea; refrigerators; and a work space with a television monitor/computer combination with free Internet access, along with dozens of cable channels in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and French.
The Bathroom
The large bathroom, which included a shower with a water-can sprinkler head, a toilet and a deep, splash-resistant sink, was glass enclosed, allowing you to gaze across the room to those floor-to-ceiling windows and take in the view. The bathroom itself contained a hairdryer, makeup mirror and Minus 417 brand toiletries, including luxury soaps with loofahs inside, made with Dead Sea minerals.
Amenities
The décor in the lobby, a cozy retreat where it's easy to socialize with other guests, continues the New England theme with cream, red and blue upholstered furniture, as well as Oriental rugs over whitewashed floorboards. The lobby hosts a happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, when it offers Israeli wine, liquors and tapas free to guests (and 60 shekels, or $16.25 at 3.7 shekels to the dollar, for visitors). The hotel's true social hub, though, is the 24-hour rooftop deck, which has stunning sea and skyline views that become even more spectacular at sunset and sunrise. The deck is open all year, and in the summer its bar opens to guests and the public, offering beer, wine and mixed drinks from 40 to 50 shekels to a clientele that often consists of young people in Tel Aviv's tech industry. Despite the inclusion of the word "Relax" in the hotel name, there is no spa. The concierge, however, has a list of masseurs available for in-room appointments. (Expect to pay 280 to 320 shekels an hour.)
Dining
Breakfast is exceedingly generous for a small hotel. Dishes set out include Jewish favorites like bagels, smoked salmon and herring; American cereals; croissants; breads and cakes; Middle Eastern salads, olives, organic honeys and tahini and hummus spreads; cheeses; homemade marmalades; and eggs prepared to order. It wasn't all technically kosher, but followed the "no dairy with meat" restriction.
Bottom Line
The Shalom is relaxing and homey, and its New England-style charm is a welcome change from other high-end Tel Aviv hotels. The proximity to the beach more than makes up for the fact that the Hilton blocks many of its views. The pricing, reasonable for Tel Aviv, doesn't hurt either.
Shalom Hotel and Relax, 216 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv; (972) 3-762-5400; atlas.co.il/shalom-hotel-tel-aviv.
Heavy dinners. Endless meetings. Delayed flights. Uncomfortable hotel beds. Business travelers contend with them all, and that takes a toll.
According to a Columbia University study of 13,000 workers two years ago, people who are away from home 20 nights a month had poorer health on a number of measures, including higher rates of obesity, compared with those away for 1 to 6 nights.
Dianne Sykes Scope, an exercise physiologist based in Rockville Centre, N.Y., who, like many of her clients, regularly crisscrosses the country on business trips, has developed tips for combating some of these health hazards. Below are edited excerpts from a conversation with her on how business travelers can stay fit on the road.
Q.What's your first piece of advice for business travelers?
A. Plan the month ahead, and capitalize on the time you have at home to exercise. Let's say you're traveling twice this month, a total of 18 days out of 30. The days you're home, get in as many of your routine sessions as you can. It's really about burning calories over the month, so if you achieve your goals at home, then you don't have to worry while you're away. If you're gone for more than three or four days, though, you'll want to get in some exercise.
Q.Any recommendations for hotels with good exercise facilities?
A. Sheraton has partnered with the fitness company Core Performance; their gyms stand out for me. Hilton's too. At almost any hotel gym you'll at least find a treadmill or StairMaster where you can do cardio. For strength training, do body-weight exercises like squats, planks or dips off the side of a chair in your hotel room.
Q.Any strategies for navigating those long, boozy dinners with clients?
A. Typically, you can splurge on four to five meals a week — don't go totally crazy, but have that pizza, have that cake — so the month you're traveling, save up your splurge meals. But still pay attention to portion control. You can use your hand to measure any portion: red meat should be no bigger than the size of your fist; chicken, the palm of your hand; carbs, the cup of your hand; and three fingers wrapped around a glass should be your serving of wine. If there's a lot of drinking, then forgo dessert.
Q.What do you pack?
A. For running shoes, I like New Balance Minimus, which has Vibram technology so you feel like you're barefoot, but it looks like a normal sneaker. Very small and packable. New Balance also makes great walking shoes and boots, as does UGG. And use an upright, four-wheeled suitcase, which won't hurt your shoulder.
Q.Any healthy snacks for the road?
A. I stock up on walnuts, fruit and organic jerky — beef, turkey, salmon — at Whole Foods. Protein will keep you energized when you're traveling.
Q.What if your flight's delayed or you have a long layover?
A. Some airports now have exercise rooms — San Francisco's has a yoga room, for example — but if I have a layover, I just turn on my iPod, push my suitcase and get a good 60-minute walk in around the terminal.
Q.Any tips for sleeping?
A. Book your flights at hours that will let you get back into a proper sleeping rhythm. Take a very early morning flight if you're going to the West Coast. When you're heading east, take the red-eye; you might not get the best sleep on the flight, but you'll fall back into a routine more easily. Nutrition and exercise are totally meaningless if you don't get enough sleep.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 21 Februari 2013 | 17.35
Lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered luggage is a perennial headache for many air travelers, but 2012 was a good year. The nation's 15 largest airlines reported the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage in 25 years. The carriers posted an average rate of 3.09 reports of mishandled baggage per 1,000 passengers, the lowest rate since this data was first reported in September 1987, according to a recent Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the Department of Transportation. The carriers with the best rates last year were Virgin America, AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways.
There are two phrases to learn if you visit Jeonju, a 650,000-person city – and a paradise for Korean food-lovers — three hours by bus south of Seoul.
First is "Hyundai-ok odi innayo?" — "Where is Hyundai-ok?" – a reference to a tiny restaurant famed for its kongnamul guk, or bean sprout soup, but nearly impossible to find in the labyrinthine bowels of Nambu Market.
The second is "Kamsa hamnida," or "thank you," the inevitable response to whichever generous soul drops what he's doing and leads you to Hyundai-ok, past stalls of frozen fish and fresh fungi and down narrow passageways stacked with empty boxes and piles of dirty dishes.
My guide was a fish salesman, who deposited me at the restaurant, where I took the last of just 10 plastic stools. I was seated right in front of a woman in a pink apron slicing jalapeños, dicing chives and smashing garlic; other cooks filled big clay bowls with rice and the bean-sprout-laced broth or prepared banchan, the free and refillable miniature side dishes that accompany just about every Korean restaurant meal.
The soup is a famed hangover helper, but I had not been drinking, I had been freezing – Jeonju can be frigid in early February – and it transformed me from hungry and icy to satisfied and steamy for just 5,000 won (about $4.75 at 1050 won to the dollar).
There are now other Hyundai-ok franchises in Jeonju and elsewhere in Korea, but the original version is unique and representative of the city's rich heritage. Jeonju is seen as a sort of guardian of Korean cultural, historical and, most of all, culinary traditions; last year it served as Unesco's City of Gastronomy. It's the place Koreans warn you not to go if you love Korean food, because you'll never love it quite so much anywhere else again — or pay so little for it.
I spend my life looking for places like Jeonju, a city barely known to Western travelers that barely seems to care: many museums, restaurants and guesthouses don't bother translating signs or menus, or even bother Romanizing their Korean names. (I heard much more Chinese than English among visitors.) The exception that proves the rule is Mosim, a cafe whose menu has headings for "Coffee," "Tea" and the like but all listed items are in Korean Hangul script only. (I'll have the, uh, latte?)
Not all Jeonju restaurants are as pared-down, or as cheap, as Hyundai-ok, but a whole lot are. At Veteran Kalguksu, in a squat, gray, modern building almost certainly the ugliest in the Hanok Village – hanoks are traditional Korean houses – the menu offers three items: dumplings of impossibly delicate skins filled with glass noodles and pork (4,000 won, about $3.80, for 10); cold, chewy and delicious jjolmyeon noodles mixed with vegetables and a powerful hot sauce (5,000 won), and the noodle soup the restaurant is named for (5,000 won). It was packed, and understandably so: I've been thinking about those noodles in hot sauce ever since.
Just north of the Hanok Village, a tiny and informal restaurant called Chamae Galbi serves short rib in a glorious stew filled with glass noodles and mushrooms for 9,000 won a person. It was packed, too. Outside the village toward the more modern (a relative assessment) city center, a modest restaurant called Han Bat Shik Dong (another without English signage), serves baek ban, a traditional meal of kimchi soup with a lovely variety of banchan (including whole fish, shredded squid and beef slices) to add to it, for 7,000 won. It was not packed at all, but I was there on a weekday afternoon.
The latter two restaurants are hardly famous; in fact, they were unknown even to some residents. But as I heard from one resident via e-mail before my trip and later confirmed by experience, "Bad food or restaurants do not exist in Jeonju."
There are, however, bad hangovers. Makgeolli, a Korean rice drink with an alcohol content similar to wine, has achieved minor recognition worldwide over the last few years, the latest in formerly low-class tipples that have become fashionable. (See: Mexican mezcal.) Slightly sweet, milky-colored and served cold from kettles, it's hard not to like, though famed for rough mornings-after.
Order it in New York or Seoul and you'll likely get a bottle or maybe some snacks. Order it in Jeonju and it is accompanied by an entire free meal.
For this reason, you cannot attend a makgeolli restaurant alone, and I begged a local connection I had drummed up, Hana Kim, to go with me. (Hana works with foreign students who come to Jeonju's Chonbuk National University to study Korean; like local tourists, they tend to be from Asian countries, not Western ones.) She rounded up two colleagues, Taeyong Kim and Byoung-Yong Kim, and we went to a spot called Yet Chon, a raucous restaurant with a graffiti-covered interior where the first kettle was 20,000 won and each subsequent one was 15,000.
We stopped at two, and that was plenty. Each arrived with a set of dishes. Pig foot, which I'm not inclined to love, was chewy and delicious; a deep-orange kimchi pancake — the traditional makgeolli side dish — was spicy and perfect. Clams and mackerel came with round two, as did soup. Total cost: 35,000 won — that's $33 — for a meal for four, including beyond-moderate drinking.
Of course, there's more to Jeonju than cheap food and hangovers. The Hanok Village, widely considered the biggest and most authentic in the country, is filled with guesthouses, teahouses and artisans' shops connected varyingly by wide streets and crooked alleys. Indeed, evidence of the city's heritage is everywhere. Though Jeonju feels like a slow-moving backwater compared with Seoul, it's the ancestral home of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. (The dynasty lasted until 1910.) Gyeonggijeon is the city's most impressive ancient site, a complex of buildings, some dating to Taejo's time, that is home to what is considered the only existing portrait of the king. It costs 1,000 won to enter, which is unusual for Jeonju; every other cultural institution I visited was free.
One particularly appealing free spot is Omokdae, a hilltop monument above the Hanok Village with lovely views. But perhaps the coolest attraction is the Hangyo Confucian school (also free). I am apparently not the only one to think so: a sign outside notes it is a favorite filming spot for Korean film and television. The complex of traditional buildings is not well-documented (at least in English), but is nevertheless beautiful and fun to wander through.
There are cultural attractions and shops around every corner in Hanok Village, and plotting out a course doesn't always work, so your best bet is to simply wander and discover. Following a map to the Fan Culture Hall (Jeonju, I had read, was known for its production of traditional paper and its use in artful fans), I walked by accident into a museum that had no fans at all; it was obviously dedicated to a woman who seemed impressive, at least from the (to me) incomprehensible Korean displays dedicated to her. I wondered briefly if her name might actually be Fan and I had been confused, but it turned out to be the Choi Myeong-Hee Literary Museum, devoted to one of Korea's most prominent writers.
I eventually found the fan museum, and it was worth the effort, with sufficient English descriptions and displays of both older and contemporary danseon (round with a handle) and jeobseon (folding) varieties, many almost painfully elegant. I was the only visitor, and a worker took me under her wing, telling me a bit more about some of the better-known contemporary fan artists based in the area.
Throughout the Hanok Village there are tiny ceramics shops and art studios, as you'd expect form any such spot, and I wandered in and out of many. But I reserved my gift purchases, mostly of rustic-looking ceramics decorated with delicate tree-designs, to Form. Bigger than most shops, and located toward the edge of the Hanok Village, at 21 Eunhaeng-ro, it had a warm glow that drew me close, bells that jangled when I went in, a tiny white dog that nipped me when I petted him, and a studio in back where artists toiled. I spent the equivalent of about $150 on four items.
I was happy there was so much to do between meals, because that reduced my overall calorie consumption. But I did reserve two meals for bibimbop, Jeonju's most famous culinary export. Bibimbop is a relatively simple dish: an array of vegetables like bean sprouts, carrots and mushrooms, a runny egg and perhaps a form of meat that you mix together with rice and red pepper paste. In Jeonju, the ingredients are supposed to be fresher and better; the region is known for its fertile soil.
At Sungmidan, where I paid 11,000 won (for Jeonju, that's tourist trap pricing), the red sauce came premixed in the rice – some people object to that – but the vegetables were fresh and tasty and the banchan — including scallion pancakes, cabbage salad and a variety of kimchi – plentiful.
But I far preferred the version at Myeong Seong Ok, which gets occasional nods from bloggers and which I also heard about on Twitter. The banchan was vast, including a fresh-tasting leaf with chili sauce – not quite fermented enough to be full-on kimchi – that the server identified as bom dong, a spring cabbage. That alone was worth the 7,000 won I paid. (It's farther from the Hanok Village; add on cab fare and it's about the same price as Sungmidan).
My final find was the result of more wandering in Hanok Village. I was drawn to an old building – about a century old but beautifully restored — and what I guessed but was not sure were menus written on weathered wooden tablets and propped up on miniature chairs on the sidewalk. (The only Roman letters were a sign reading "Open".) Peering in the windows, I saw a mostly young crowd, shoes off and sitting on the floor in the traditional style. It was only 5 p.m., and I decided to come back for dinner. It turned out to be Eruwha, where the specialty is ddakgalbi, pork rib meat pounded together with fruits, vegetables and spices and formed into a square, pregrilled then reheated at your table. (They actually had an English menu explaining this and then instructing you how to eat it, using an alternate spelling of the dish: "Put piece of Dduckgalbi on slice of radish…") The ddakgalbi was 8,500 won, an absurdly small amount considering that not only included tax and service, but also the accompanying banchan and tea that came with the meal, as well as roasted chestnuts and biscuits that came as dessert.
My first day back in New York, I took a friend to Korean food on West 32nd Street, Manhattan's Koreatown. The makgeolli was $20 for a small bottle, and it came without food. The galbi was stringy, the kimchi limp. And the bill was monstrous. It had happened – Jeonju had ruined me. And I couldn't have been happier.
IF YOU GO
Buses leave about every 10 minutes from Seoul's Central City Bus Terminal and cost between 12,000 and 18,000 won each way. In Jeonju, taxis are so cheap – rarely more than 5,000 won no matter where you go – that buses are unnecessary.
I stayed at the Jeonju Guesthouse, at the edge of the Hanok Village, a youth hostel with some private rooms run by an English-speaking middle-aged Korean couple, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Kang. They are great hosts, who seem to be at once delighted and bemused by the foreigners who come through. Private rooms are 60,000 won on weekdays and 70,000 on weekends and fit two or three. Bunks start at 19,000 won.
There are also a few hotels, but many Koreans stay at one of more than 20 traditional Korean guesthouses in the Hanok Village, which run about 60,000 to 80,000 won a night per couple. Alas, few have multi-lingual Web sites, listings on international booking sites or English-speaking staff members to answer the phones. Either call the Jeonju Tourist Office at 82-63-282-1330 during local business hours and pray someone speaks English, or book your first night in a hotel and then knock on doors once you get there.
Pierre Sang Boyer infuses French dishes with Asian flavors.
As exciting new takes on the bistro, including Le Chateaubriand and Septime, began to attract food-conscious locals to the once-grungy 11th Arrondissement in Paris, the district matured, paving the way for other ambitious young chefs.
One of the newer arrivals is the South Korea-born Pierre Sang Boyer. For Mr. Sang Boyer, 32, the decision to open his 42-seat restaurant on Rue Oberkampf last June was based on an abiding locavore ethos, one supported by the street's bustling markets.
"I wanted this concept to be based on working with artisans around the restaurant to create a kind of village spirit," he said.
Adopted by a French family at age 7, Mr. Sang Boyer was schooled in kitchens in London and Lyon before competing in the French edition of "Top Chef," where he earned lavish praise for his imaginative cooking. In 2012, he leveraged his fame to raise awareness for Fish Fight, a campaign to ban the fishing practice of discarding edible catches after quotas have been reached.
"I only work with small producers who practice sustainable methods," he said.
Behind such serious intentions is a bold and playful chef who improvises daily, often midmeal. The result is contemporary renditions of French dishes fused harmoniously with Asian flavors. And he eschews a printed menu for a set meal of six small plates.
During a recent visit, our first one was an amuse-bouche combining pomegranate seeds, a spoonful of Korean-style spinach (soaked in rice vinegar) and a dash of chile tapioca, all topped with an oyster. Next up was quick-seared salmon atop smoked chestnut cream garnished with sprigs of salicorne, a succulent also known as glasswort, for a pleasantly salty finish.
The meal peaked with a chicken ballotine stuffed with black trumpet mushrooms and served alongside creamy cracked-wheat risotto. The wedge of Laguiole cheese that followed steeled our palates for a chocolate fondant topped with a coconut emulsion and speckled with crushed caramel.
Those unable to muscle their way in for dinner — no reservations are accepted — should consider Mr. Sang Boyer's equally pleasing two- or three-course lunch, served Tuesday to Saturday (20 and 25 euros respectively).
Pierre Sang in Oberkampf, 55, rue Oberkampf, Paris; no phone; pierresangboyer.com. Prix fixe six-course dinner without wine is 35 euros ($47 at $1.33 to the euro). Wine pairings available for an additional 30 euros.
Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts plans to add nine new hotels to its roughly 100 properties in the coming year. Much of the expansion is taking place in Asia (including a hotel to open in Zhengzhou, China, rendered above), where six new Meridiens will open. The Starwood-owned brand is among several hotels, including the Marriott and the W, that have announced significant expansions in Asia.
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 20, 2013
An earlier version of this post misstated the current number of properties in Meridien Hotels & Resorts' collection. Le Meridien currently has about 100, not about 120.
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 20 Februari 2013 | 17.35
Walkabout
A weekly capsule of travel news curated by our writers and editors.
When Two Become One While executives of American Airlines and US Airways argue that the two companies' merger will benefit customers by offering more destinations, some economists and consumer advocates say it will come at a cost. (The New York Times)
Escape Pod Miniature rooms offering a short respite for delayed travelers are making their way into some of the country's busiest airports. Minute Suites, which start at about $30 for the first hour and then bill by 15 minute intervals, are already operating in Atlanta and Philadelphia. (NPR.org)
Brooklyn Bound The masses drawn to performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the newly-opened Barclays Center will soon have another option for lodging. Plans for a 200-room hotel, designed by Thomas Leeser and complete with a basement performance space and rooftop bar, are in the works. (The New York Post)
Mapping Moguls Google is expanding its mapping empire to include ski area trails and lifts available online and on smart phones. So far, the list includes 38 North American resorts. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
E Tu, KLM? Beginning April 22, KLM is going to be one of the first traditional carriers over in Europe to start charging for checked baggage for travel within Europe. (Jaunted.com)
Budget Birthday As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, Red Roof Inns is offering rooms for $19.73 to patrons who spend their 40th birthday at one of the hotel's locations in 2013. (The Los Angeles Times)
There has never been a shortage of sybaritic pleasures in Marrakesh, but until recently spas were not among them. "It was just the local hammams," says Sandra Zwollo, a Dutch expat who founded the women's-only spa retreat Harem in 2011. But now that the Royal Mansour has set a new standard for ultraluxe pampering, every hotel is following suit. The Taj Palace — which served as the backdrop for Carrie and company's escapades in "Sex and the City 2" — will soon open its 20,000-square-foot space with a pond-size green marble pool, twin hammams and traditional ayurvedic treatments. The Arabian Night aesthetic continues at Palais Namaskar, a 12-acre playground dotted with reflecting pools, orange-scented yoga gardens and a hammam that comes with a private steam room and its own fireplace. The spa at the Selman — a sprawling resort with a Jacques Garcia-designed hotel — complements the mellow Moroccan interiors (bronze lanterns, tadelakt walls) with a serious European health regimen by the French diet guru Henri Chenot. And at the new Delano Marrakech — the hotel's first outpost outside South Beach — the 6,500-square-foot Pearl Spa is mosaic-tile fantasia offering services ranging from algae body wraps to ultrasound fat reduction.
A version of this article appeared in print on 02/17/2013, on page M2102 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Heavenly Oasis.
