A Taste of Korea’s Finest: A night of excellent food, music
Korean chef Jang Jin-mo served mouth-watering food while baritone singer Park Byeong-in and soprano Rachelle Gerodias provided good music at the “A Taste Of Korea’s Finest” event held recently at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Manila.
The event was hosted by the Korean Embassy in the Philippines along with the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in the Philippines to celebrate this year’s 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and South Korea.
Over 100 distinguished guests graced the event including Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-man, Foreign Affairs Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr., National Security Adviser Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Jr., House Committee on Foreign Relations
Rep. Ann Hofer, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Benjamin Diokno, Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento, Philippine
Air Force Commanding General Lt.
Gen. Rozzano
Briguez, and Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Inspector General Lt.Gen. Antonio Ramon Lim.
Also in attendance were Presidential Communications Operations Office Sec. Martin Andanar, Film Development Council of the Philippines’ chairperson
Liza Diño, Korean embassy officials, local government officials, and major figures in the diplomatic corps of the Philippines and other VIPs.
Ambassador Han said besides K-pop and Korean drama, food has been a binding element in the cultural relations between the Philippines
and South Korea. He said the event was a prelude to the upcoming ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit, which will be held in Busan, South Korea on Nov. 25 and 26.
Chef Jang, who flew to Manila from Korea, whipped up a five-course dinner banquet and the grand reveal of his open kitchen stood out as the night’s highlight. He said he prepared the food by fusing Korean style recipes with Filipino ingredients to mark the 70 harmonious years of friendship between the Philippines and Korea.
He has 10 years of culinary experience. He owns two restaurants in South Korea: A fine-dining restaurant and a wine bar called Myomi. He studied in Canada, US, and Europe and has become a popular chef in the Korean culinary world because of his unique concepts and creative plating.
Also at the event was the Nara team, which performed a traditional Korean fan dance.