Mediocre In-Flight Meals from Korean Air

During the 13 hours and 50 minutes flight to Korea via the Korean Air, I was served two meals of mediocre quality. The Korean Air is known as an airline with one of the better in-flight meals. About 90 minutes after boarding, the stewardess served us lunch. I had a choice among bibimbop, beef, and chicken, and of course I--craving some Korean food--went with the good ole Korean food.

The meal consisted of Korean pickles, pineapple pieces, sticky rice, a bowl of ground beef, spinach, bean sprouts, mushroom, and squash, and seaweed soup. I started with the instant soup, which was surprisingly tasty. It warmed my body. I then had the pineapple, except I spitted it out because I got the hard pieces without any sweet taste. Instead of putting the rice into the bowl and mixing all the ingredients together with the red paste, I mixed the rice and the vegetables separately. I am a huge fan of bibimbop, my favorite Korean food, so the meal itself tasted pretty decent. I prefer the bibimbop served in a hot stone pot, but of course that won't be feasible 10,000 feet above ground.

Five hours before arrival, we had dinner. This time there was no Korean food on the menu. Instead I was left with the choice among beef, chicken, or fish. I eliminated fish right away because I didn't want some old dry piece of fish to ruin my love for it. I also wanted to eat rice, so I chose the beef dish, which had a side of rice with some sesame seeds. Sadly, this was one of the worst airline meals I have ever had. The beef was extremely high in sodium and the rice tasted bland without any flavors. The orange pieces were smothered in mayonnaise so I didn't even touch it, while the chocolate cake was 3/4 cream and 1/4 super dry chocolate cake. The pretzel bread was nice because it was warm and tasted like it just came out of the oven!

Cheeseless pizza from Oggi Gourmet

I stopped eating cheese about three years ago when I found out it's high in fat. Since I didn't eat it for so long, my body became intolerant to it. Now when I eat it, I show symptoms of being lactose intolerant.

Anyhow, for my last dinner of 2011 in Cambridge, I went to Oggi Gourmet, a pizzeria in the Holyoke Center, with Audrey. The last time I had a slice from Oggi was during Commencement. I fell in love with its sesame seed crust that was doughy inside and crispy outside. We ordered a 16-inch tomato, basil, and garlic pizza because it was only $5! Five Dollars! Can you believe it? It's a Monday special from 6 to 8 p.m. when Oggi sells a large pizza for a mere $5. We ordered it without cheese (cheeseless pizza!) and extra sauce.

When the pizza came out, though, I was a bit disappointed. The crust did NOT have sesame seeds and it wasn't doughy at all, but full of air. We paid an additional $2.50 for extra sauce, but there were still empty spots without any sauce on the dough. The name "Tomato, Basil, and Garlic" is somewhat of a misnomer because the only tomato I tasted was from the marinar sauce, there was only a few leaf of basil, and no taste of garlic whatsoever. I did like that the crust was very thin and not very greasy or oily. The biggest disappointment was definitely the crust. Oh well. I am glad I got to spend time with my good friend before I head off to Korea!

Don's Bogam: Enjoying Korean Food in NYC

While visiting NYC, Audrey and I went to Don's Bogam, a Korean BBQ restaurant in K-town. Since it was only lunch, we didn't go full out with Korean bbq but had a relatively "light" lunch. I had the Seafood tofu soup and galbi combo, while Audrey ordered Nanmyun, a cold buckwheat noodle. Korean food is such a feast!

The first thing that came out were an array of "banchans," or small dishes to be eaten with your main meal. Noshing on banchans is a great way to satisfy your immediate pang of hunger as you wait for your meal. I love the variety in banchans so you get to pick and choose whatever you desire!

The appetizer we ordered was pajeon, Korean scallion pancake. I had to dab it with napkin to wipe off the grease, but the pajeon was thick enough that you could taste the flavors. Crunchy surface and soft inside!

This was a HUGE meal for a person: a full pot of soft tofu soup (without the spicy red chili sauce, thus the clear color of the broth) and a full serving of marinated beef ribs. The galbi was a bit fatty but I made sure to eat the meat around it. The tofu soup needed more tofu flavor. A bit of galbi and a spoonful of tofu soup = happy Jane!

Mediterraneo: Surfing the Sea

Mediterraneo is a fancy Italian/seafood restaurant located on the "Avenue" (a signature street in Greenwich with lots of boutiques and shops). I had a three-course meal with Audrey's family, complete with a glass of red wine.

Audrey and I shared Chilled seasonal oysters, champagne mignonette, cocktail sauce for an appetizer. The oysters weren't as juicy or plump as the ones I had in Boston. Too bad the restaurant was very dim and I couldn't see very well.

We both ordered the Grilled organic salmon with butternut squash, broccoli rabe, red wine, quince. As I mentioned before, I order anything and everything that is butternut squash. The salmon was juicy and plump, just the way I like it! I expected an actual butternut squash, not the puree which was a bit too creamy. I loved the broccoli rabe, which seemed to have been grilled.

The Fresh seasonal berries with whipped cream dessert was a bit of a disappoint because there was no cooking involved whatsoever--just a bowl of some strawberries and raspberries with whipped cream and a drizzle of white chocolate syrup. We only had the berries and put the whipped cream on the side. Healthy much? ;)

Le Pain Quotidien: A Sweet Meal

I spent Thanksgiving 2011 at a friend's house in Connecticut. Because our friendship strengthened as a result of our mutual love of food, we naturally went to lots of delicious eateries and restaurants. We went to a chain cafe/bakery, Le Pain Quotidien, where I ordered the most delicious tartini (open faced sandwiches): Ricotta with mission figs, black pepper & organic acacia honey.

Not only did the dish have a great presentation, but it was also so tasty! Every bite of the four triangular pieces left me wanting for more. The sweetness of the fig, the drizzled honey, and the ricotta cheese salad fared perfectly with the tomatoes and the rustic bread. Yes, I am lactose intolerant and my stomach boggles whenever I eat cheese, but I am willing to sacrifice my upset stomach for this delicious tartini any time!

My compatriots had the Smoked Salmon & Scallion Omelettes and the Paris Ham & Gruyère Omelettes, which I am sure were equally as fantastic.


In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we ordered a slice of pumpkin pie to share. The crust, which I always take apart since it's usually too buttery and greasy, was the highlight. It had just the right amount of crunch and softness, if that makes sense. The pumpkin puree wasn't overly sweet and I could actually taste the hint of pumpkin. An excellent way to top off a delicious meal.

Audrey's friend's mom got berry tarts and lemon tarts, but I didn't eat them. I personally don't really like tarts though.

John Harvard's: Good Ole' American Fare

I have never been to John Harvard's Brew House, a classic American pub/restaurant near the Garage, until this semester when I frequented it twice--both times for friends' birthday.

The first time was for Audrey's birthday, and we ordered a Vegetable pizza with grilled broccoli, artichoke, tomatoes, olives, feta, mozzarella, and fontina cheese on whole wheat crust to share. According to the menu, the pizza crusts incorporated grain from the brewing process--yet I was not even tipsy after finishing three slices!

I was a huge fan of the gigantic heads of broccoli, but the pizza itself was too cheesy for a slightly-lactose intolerant girl. I had to take chunks of cheese off the dough, yet my stomach was still hurting a bit afterward.

I was absolutely ecstatic that the Chef's seasonal ravioli was butternut squash! I am the type of person who orders anything, everything butternut squash because it's my favorite food EVER. I asked the waitress to take the cream out. About 7 pieces of raviolis were laid on the bed of sautéed spinach and tomatoes. Yum! The butternut squash filling had the right amount of sweet and savory, though I wish it was slightly less sweet.

Audrey had the Maple Dijon Salmon (oven roasted maple Dijon glaze, jasmine rice, and asparagus). She said the sauce was too creamy.

The second time I went with a bigger group--11 people to be exact--for Will's birthday. The gender ratio was 9:2 boys and girls, so the appetizers that we ordered as a group was very "masculine"--nachos and fried calamaris. I personally don't like chips or fried stuff, so I didn't eat or take picture. The dish I ordered was Grilled Salmon Orzo Pasta Salad (A grilled salmon filet with pesto over spinach, orzo pasta salad, tomatoes, red onion, artichokes, green beans and kalamata olives). Maybe it was because I was starved, but the salmon was cooked to perfection (crunchy on the outside, juicy inside), the pesto sauce on top was flavorful, the orzo was better than the boring rice, and the fresh spinach with sweet Italian vignette was a good balance to the fatty salmon. John Harvard's a good place if you are craving some good ole' American food!

Spice: Too Greasy

As a board member of the Harvard Culinary Society, I was invited to the holiday board dinner at Spice, a Thai restaurant just next door to Sandrine's Bistro. I have frequented Spice more than any other restaurants in the Harvard Square, not necessarily because it's my favorite, but because it's affordable considering it's atmosphere.

Like true foodies, we decided to order several dishes and share them so we could try a little bit of many different meas. The first that came out was Chicken Pad Thai, rice noodles stir-fried with egg bean sprouts, scallions, egg and topped with ground peanuts.

It was sort of unsettling that the dish came out in ~10 minutes, which means it had been mass-cooked. The chicken pieces were really dry and the noodle was drenched in oil, so I had to dab it with napkin before putting it into my mouth.

The Spicy Basil Fried Rice wasn't spicy at all. Like the pad thai, the fried rice was also very greasy, but still flavorful.

The dish that I specifically picked, the Beef Hot Basil Leaves Rice Plate (kra pow, sautéed with onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots and sweet basil leaves in hot chili sauce) wasn't anything special. The beef tasted too jerky, but at least it wasn't super greasy!

Finally, one girl ordered the Spicy Noodles (spicy stir fried yellow noodles with vegetables and chicken) for herself. I had a bit but wasn't a fan of the noodles, which tasted just like cheap-o ramen noodles. Spice still remains my go-to place if I am craving some MSG (since I don't like Chinese food), but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to a health conscious individual.