18 WEDNESDAY
MARCH 26, 2008
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at mattlamers@heraldm.com
Why not get those
groceries delivered?
By Jill Thomas
Grocery shopping can be a
back-breaking chore for
those of us who don’t drive.
The alternative? Have it de-
livered. We’ve checked out
ezshopkorea.com, which
promises to deliver Costco
products — which you can
order online — anywhere in
Korea, even Jeju Island. The
site is also being expanded
to non-Costco products, in-
cluding books, games and
the odd cheeky Victoria’s
Secret item.
Who it’s for: The time-,
transport-, and proximity-
challenged. “In Seoul, we
target people who don’t have
a car, or who are working
and want to save time,” says
one of the brains behind the
scheme, long-time expat
Ylona Wirahadiraksa. “Out-
side of Seoul, it’s foreigners
who don’t have access to
Western products.”
First impressions: The web-
site is easy to use, with a list of
product categories on the left-
hand bar and photos of the
items, accompanied by price,
manufacturer and quantity
details. The range of stuff is
wide, although — inevitably
— very American-focused.
The catch: There’s a
markup on what you buy —
Fried green tomatoes,
not just a chick flick
Expect to get funny looks. We
are heading into the early
throes of tomato season. We are
so early that many tomatoes at
the market will be green. I have
been given quizzical comments
by grocers when I select green
tomatoes from a pile of perfect-
ly red ones. Red tomatoes are
good and fine, but green
‘maters have a certain zest and
firmness that make them per-
fect for frying.
Frying? Tomatoes? Outside of
the southeastern United States,
fried green tomatoes is not much
more than a soppy movie star-
ring the mom from “Weeds” and
the crazy lady from “Misery.”
Fried green tomatoes
Make sure you get green, real-
ly green tomatoes. Any hint of red
or pink will make them soggy in
the end. Slice them fairly thickly.
In one bowl, combine two cups of
milk with a tablespoon of vinegar
and a few dashes of hot sauce.
In another bowl, combine
two cups of flour with a liberal
bit of salt, pepper and Cajun
seasoning, if you have any.
Next, heat around a quarter
of an inch or half a centimeter
of vegetable oil in a skillet over
medium-high heat. Dip the
tomato slices in the milk then
coat them in flour. Fry them in
the oil in small batches, turn-
ing them after each side turns
brown. Drain them on a rack.
Sauce
Here’s a good little sauce for
your fried green tomatoes.
Char a couple of Korean pep-
pers over a gas flame using a
pair of metal tongs. Make sure
they’re all good and blackened.
Put them in a plastic bag for
fifteen minutes. Rinse the
charred skin off the peppers,
slice them open, remove the
seeds and chop them finely.
Combine the peppers with a
Wirahadiraksa admits it’s up
to 20 percent, although this
varies by item. However,
considering that Costco is a
wholesale store, this trans-
lates to prices comparable to
or still cheaper than retail.
Products: In a random
sample of six items, the web-
site was anywhere between
2 percent and 50 percent
cheaper than retail prices in
Itaewon, Seoul. Pot of
Denmark sour cream:
ezshopkorea 6,900 won
(Itaewon 7,000 won); 100g
ground beef 1,650 won
(2,500 won); 12 bagels 6,100
won (9,000 won); two 250g
packs of Casa Cecconi ravio-
li 9,700 won (12,000 won);
box of Weetabix Minis 7,200
won (8,000 won); three
1.25kg bottles of Heinz
tomato ketchup 11,500 won
(12,000 won).
Delivery: Same-day deliv-
ery if you order and pay be-
fore noon; otherwise it will
arrive the next day. Free de-
livery for orders over
250,000 won if you pay by
bank transfer.
Verdict: Yes, it galls that
there’s a markup, but the
convenience of not having to
go to Costco in person is well
worth it. A big thumbs-up
overall.
(jillianong@heraldm.com)
Joe McPherson
on Dining
cup of mayonnaise, a quarter
cup of mustard, the best you
have, some lemon juice and a ta-
blespoon of wasabi. If you have a
blender, blend the mixture until
it’s smooth and creamy. This
sauce can go on more things
than fried green tomatoes.
Even better, if you can get
your hands on some bacon
(Costco has excellent bacon),
toast some bread, get a variety
of lettuce leaves from your lo-
cal grocer and make a fried
green tomato BLT using the
tarted up mayo you just made.
Asian coleslaw
A great side for this or any
spring or summer meal is an
Asian coleslaw. In a blender,
combine a half cup of peanut
butter, a quarter cup of water,
two tablespoons of rice vinegar,
two tablespoons of honey, one
tablespoon of soy sauce, a tea-
spoon of sesame oil, three cloves
of chopped garlic, a small knob
of finely chopped ginger, a
chopped green onion and a good
pinch of Korean chili powder.
Pulse-blend it until it is
smooth and creamy. Combine
the dressing with a head of
shredded cabbage, a shredded
white onion and three shredded
carrots. Garnish with peanuts,
sunflower seeds and crushed
uncooked ramyeon noodles.
So don’t worry about the
strange looks from the produce
guy at Home Plus. He doesn’t
know what he’s missing, unless
you get the hankering to share
your concoctions with him and
the neighbors.
Joe can be reached through
his website, the ZenKimchi
Korean Food Journal, zenkim-
chi.com — Ed.
COMMUNITY
Right: Dan Schulte, CEO of Pieroth Wines
Bottom: Kabinett Wine Bar’s extensive wine
cellar
Top: Wines on display at Kabinett Wine
Bar
Top right: A view of Kabinett Wine Bar’s in-
terior
Photos courtesy Kabinett Wine Bar
Schulte’s wines fill a void in Seoul
While Seoul might not be mailing-list style of business. where I was coming in, and n’t a regular part of your
New York City or London, it Regina Walton’s Just set up a mailing list, see more and more I was becoming lifestyle.
does have many interesting ac- Expat Interviews who is interested, and then do a more of a consultant rather Through Kabinett, Schulte is
tivities and events. Some of the tasting at their house ... And I than just supplying their wines. working with other local busi-
more worthy of note are wine
tasting events put on by Dan
Schulte, CEO of Pieroth Wines,
was ready to move on ... I was
still keeping my eyes open to see
if could see anything interest-
told them immediately that
would never work here.
“It has to be something
I would come in and advise
them on their business, right
nesses. Clients include a Latin
dance school and a theater com-
down to helping them with their pany to co-sponsor events. The
Korea.
Considering that I use wine
tasting events to prove that
ing.”
He added: “I had quite high
standards of what would keep
through networking and you
have to get access to this kind of
upper level of society who have
license.
“We started doing all of these
things and we started thinking,
result is a space that hosts
many social functions in a back-
drop where anyone from a wine
Seoul is moving up in the cul- me here.” Something interest- the money to drink, the extra well, why don’t we just open our novice to a wine connoisseur can
ture ranks, imagine my excite- ing presented itself when he time and who’ve traveled, be- own bar?” enjoy themselves.
ment when I heard that there heard that Pieroth Wines was cause in Korea, that’s who the The need for Kabinett be- Regarding their events,
was a new wine bar in Seoul. looking for someone to send to wine drinkers are.” came evident. He realized that Schulte says: “We always try
Imagine my additional excite- Europe to learn about wines in- He started marketing Pieroth while there are bars and present them in a way that is
ment when I heard that this depth, and who would in turn by going to events exclusively, lounges south of the Han River kind of down to earth and every-
wine bar was operated by none help them establish their wine networking and making sales. where you can sit down and one can have fun. You always
other than Dan Schulte and business in Seoul. Over time he says he started have a nice quiet drink, north of walk away from our events feel-
his associates at Pieroth Pieroth Wines, a German “meeting key people who are the Han there weren’t any “nice ing like you’ve learned some-
Wines. wine company specializing in people who know other people,” places where you could go thing.”
“It’s just one of those things top-quality wines, fit his high and their sales grew. where you could take a girl on a “Originally, wine was just a
that you happen to be in the standards and he fit what they After a while he started creat- date and just have a nice hobby. I’m originally from the
right place in the right time,” were looking for, due to his suc- ing events where these people drink.” (San Francisco) Bay Area,”
said Schulte on how he found cess in establishing Cambridge would come to special wine The wine bar is bathed in a Schulte explained.
the position with Pieroth Wines. University Press in the com- events and, in turn, bring new soft light, decorated in red Now, he’s a resident of Seoul
After working in Japan for petitive textbook market in people with them. They realized tones with stonework and ac- who has an exciting career
two years, he came to Korea ini- Korea. that there weren’t many events cented with light and dark where he brings something new
tially to work for Cambridge In terms of marketing, Dan happening here for expats, or tones of wood. The atmosphere and interesting to the drinking
University Press, specializing in has achieved great success with wine related events. is welcoming, cozy and comfort- and dining scene.
marketing “English language Pieroth. Initially, Dan had to Dan acted, and now Pieroth able.
learning books to all the univer- convince Pieroth that a mailing Wines fills that void by having The feelings from Pieroth
sities in Korea. I did that for list business style wouldn’t “accessible and fun” wine events are the same. You feel Regina can be reached
about seven years. It had work in Korea. events. welcome, cozy and comfortable, through her blog expatjane.blog-
reached a maturity point, and I “They wanted to set up a “I had so many customers even if wine and wine tasting is- spot.com — Ed.
Chocolate and wine don’t mix
Easter is very much linked with Shiraz offers bags of spicy, dark fruit the mouth; just don’t be tempted to pair
chocolate in the West. Although choco- Dan Ellis which can feel a little dense in the it with your Dream Cacao!
late eggs have not found their way into on Wine mouth and Viognier is a hugely aro- Last up is another Yalumba wine:
Korean Easter celebrations, it is worth matic and perfumed grape whose addi- Riesling. It is noticeably fairly deep yel-
expanding on my last column, and the Wine and chocolate are both givers of tion lifts the wine, offering an apricot low with obvious legs, the tears that
matching of food and wine. Certain pleasure. So let’s just keep them separate. lightness otherwise missed. cling to the side of the glass, which sug-
foods were simply not made to be eaten For those of you that are planning a The Yalumba offers a face full of fruit gested to me some sweetness. Although
with wine and I am of the opinion that post-Easter party this weekend, I have with cherry stone and plums, a hint of not bone dry, this is not a sweet wine by
chocolate is one of them. three wines for your consideration. cloves and an almost ethereal finish. any means. It has a very distinctive
The introduction of complex, dark First up is the Wine Spectator rated Highly recommended. nose of petrol, honey, pineapple and
chocolate, often with countries of origin, Yalumba Barossa Shiraz/Viognier — Next up is the easy-to-get Argento lemon rind. Although the petrol could
much like wine, could fool you into available for 22,000 won ($22) from Cabernet Sauvignon, touched on in a be off putting, it is a real quality of age-
thinking the two could be combined, Podo Plaza — in Apgujeong previous column and available for ing Rieslings and does grow on you.
that the complexity of the chocolate (podoplaza.com). 17,000 won from Buy The Way conve- It is a really refreshing glass of wine.
could somehow complement the wine. This is an Australian Barossa Shiraz nience stores. I rate this as the best con- There is an initial palate cleansing
Unfortunately it is the very quality and if Shiraz is the grape of Australia, venience store wine, available in my burst of citrus fruit with a touch of
that makes chocolate such a sensuous then Barossa is the region to look to- area at least. It has a fairly sweet nose sweetness. With good length of flavor, it
experience — its body temperature wards. These are the bold, in your face of red fruit with a hint of chocolate, sug- has an excellent lemon/orange rind fin-
melting point and mouth coating prop- New World Shiraz’s that have picked gesting its time in oak. It is ever so ish. Think Christmas candied rind.
erties that all but destroy a wine. A up so many fans. slightly jammy with a pleasant wet leaf Costing 25,000 won from Podo Plaza,
tongue coated with chocolate cannot Shiraz/Viognier is a blend perfected aroma. this is an excellent sunny day drink.
taste, and the sweetness that exists in in the Northern Rhone in France, With lovely soft tannins and a re-
all but the darkest of dark chocolate is where with wines from the Cote Rotie freshing blackcurrant, plum and vanil-
only going to succeed in bringing a bit- appellation, you get hugely complex la taste, it is difficult not to like. It has Dan can be reached through his web-
ter wine experience. and hugely expensive wines. a smooth, silky, chocolate like feeling in site at wineinkorea.blogspot.com — Ed.