On the Table: A birthday blowout dinner at Benu

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I wrote a profile about chef Corey Lee for the November 2011 issue of KoreAm magazine (read article), which I blogged about a few days ago (read post). The day before we went to press, Lee’s one-year-old restaurant, Benu, debuted in the Michelin’s 2012 Red Guide San Francisco with two stars. Amazing, though not unexpected, from this uber-talented 34-year-old Korean American.

A happy ending

I needed a justification to spend the kind of cash this swank SoMa eatery requires. My birthday, which this year fell the day before Thanksgiving, was an ideal excuse. I invited three friends who weren’t leaving town along for the fine-dining fete.

We committed to the full tasting menu, and what a delightful (and very expensive) ride! For $180 per person (and the whole table must join in), we consumed an amuse bouche, 19 dishes plus an exquisite piece of birthday cake. Highlights included oyster and pork belly with kimchi; eel in feuille de brick with creme fraiche and lime; foie gras xiao long bao; beef braised in pear, beech mushroom, sunflower seeds and leaves; and lychee and red bean with matcha custard and wild rice.

Duck, celery, chestnut, persimmon, Shaoxing wine.

As a bonus, an older, quite elegant couple from New York sat at the table next to ours. They peppered our dinner conversation with surprisingly knowledgeable (and humorous) quips about mysterious menu items such as crispy cod milt (sperm) and espelette (pepper hailing from the Basque region of France and Spain).

Guests of a famed winemaker, they were enjoying Thanksgiving in Napa while their children busied themselves elsewhere. When it came time for the bill, the server discreetly offered it gratis. They refused, saying they would only let Benu comp the wine.

Who were these people?

Of course, after they left, I asked. Turns out we were conversing with Florence Fabricant, writer for the New York Times and author of myriad cookbooks, including the altruistic who’s who recipe compendium, “Park Avenue Potluck: Recipes from New York’s Savviest Hostesses.” You can read her regular posts in the Diner’s Journal on nytimes.com.

Florence Fabricant of the New York Times.

What a happy birthday for me. 🙂

Lychee, red bean, matcha custard, wild rice.

The tasting menu.

Off the Press: A profile of Chef Corey Lee

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Corey Lee standing in Benu's sunny kitchen.

I interviewed and photographed Corey Lee at his restaurant Benu for the November 2011 issue of KoreAm magazine. What a treat. Set in an alleyway in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, the restaurant, which opened in 2010, has already garnered two Michelin stars.

Here’s a look at some of the pictures that didn’t make it into the magazine. To read the full article, click here.

Lee designed the tableware for his restaurant with a renown Korean porcelain maker.

A cup bearing Lee's moniker.

Homemade tofu in kimchee broth with chrysanthemum leaves.

A modern, minimalist sign serves as portent to the dining room's style.

Sea cucumbers bubble in a sous vide machine. Lee co-wrote a book on the cooking method with his former boss, Thomas Keller of French Laundry.

One of the kitchen staff weighs each pair of dumpling skins.

Well wishes decorate a plain white column in the kitchen. This one is from the famed Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in nearby Berkeley, Calif.

Around Town: Heron’s Head Park

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Heron’s Head Park sits near the southeastern edge of San Francisco. You can see downtown’s skyscrapers in the distance, but they truly feel worlds away. The 24-acre-park is home to salt marshes and a small ecological center with a living roof and sustainable water system. It used to be Pier 89, and remnants of its former life scatter the park grounds. But despite the hulking cranes, stacked box cars and strips of industrial landscape that sandwich it on either side, the Heron’s Head has the fresh smell of California’s coastland. Gulls and ducks and, of course, herons linger in the water. The winding sandy paths feel desolate and beautiful all at once.

Around Town: Noe at night

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I spent last night skulking around my sleepy neighborhood. Aside from the recycling scavengers, there were few folks on the street. Cars were even rare on busy Dolores. But the views were still perfect on what was a cloudy but clear SF night.

A bar and a bustop at the corner of Church and 24th Street.

The top of Dolores and 25th streets, looking down, across the Mission District and eventually to the Bay.

Is this Miami? No, just the palm trees lining Dolores Street. Miami would never have all that fog!

Old Inspires New: Korean pottery at the Asian Art Museum

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Two weeks ago, the Asian Art Museum introduced a new exhibit on Korean pottery. “Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art” is on dislply through Jan. 8, 2012. And like many of my recent faves at the AAM, this exhibit does well in showing how the old has inspired the new.

"Jar with fish and lotuses," circa 1450-1500. It was inlaid, stamped and painted with iron.

In addition to actual pieces from the 15th and 16th centuries, “Poetry in Clay” incorporates modern works inspired by the ancient craft. There are ceramics made in the same tradition, with only more modern styling. And then there are works that bring the art to modernity in concept, as well as in medium, via photography and even soap!

These mock celadon, whiteware and blue and white ware vases are actually made of soap. The detail, as well as the context -- wooden shipping crates -- play with the viewers idea of value and material and art. From the "Translated Vases" series (2009) by Meekyoung Shin.

I love Korean pottery for its embrace of imperfection, though that hails from another era entirely. Still, the modern interpretations of buncheong brought the art to life. I loved the juxtaposition, both playful and sincere, and hope the AAM brings us more of the same!

Comprised of broken celadon pottery, these pieces are from the "Translated Vases" series (2007) by Yeesookyung, who reconstructs worthless shards into new works of art.


The asymmetrical “Jar” (2008) by Lee HunChung was my favorite of all the pieces. How good it would look on my mantle!


"Mountain, Wind, Moon Jar" (2008) by New York-based artist Ik-Joong Kang incorporates images of Korean vases with mountainscapes. Moon jars, which are actually comprised of upper and lower parts fused, symbolize connection between the self and other, the north and south, to the artist.

Around Town: Martin Luther King Memorial

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I am not one for too much time spent in post production. But then digital darkroom technology is awfully cool. Stitched together my very first panorama tonight. It’s of the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens in SoMa.

A quote on the sculpture reads: "I believe that a day will come when all God's children from bass black to treble white will be significant on the constitution's keyboard." -Martin Luther King, Jr., San Francisco, CA, 1956.

Portrait Practice: Self and Other

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I’m taking a photography class at RayKo Photography Center. Our first assignment was to practice portraiture, using light, proximity and the surrounds to tell a story.

The first shot is for a piece I’m working on for KoreAm magazine. It’s supposed to tell you something about what the person in the shot does for living … Can you guess? The next two are just me messing around at home trying to create mood. I took a self-portrait next to a sunny window, and then I dunked myself in the tub for the second shot right after. Finally, we have Freidrich the Gnome. He needed pictures of him at work and at play for his online dating profile. 🙂

Environmental Portrait: JeWon at Work

Sketchbook and seasonal inspiration.

Straight Portrait #1: Dry and Sunny

Straight Portrait #2: Wet and Dark

Friedrich works in an urban garden.

But in his spare time, he likes to read.