3. Carmel Resort & Wellness Center
Health guru says 22-ingredient dish may help you live to 170
The craziest thing about painter, poet and self-made millionaire Tong Kim is not that he has survived three armed robberies. Neither is it the fact that he’s confident humans should live to 170 years. Or that he’s eaten only nuts, berries, lettuce and other vegan ingredients for the last 53 years. Or that he bought and overhauled the former Carmel Valley Lodge to imprint his trademarked Rainbow Ssambap diet and lifestyle — which involves a 22-ingredient dish with soaked beans, chopped lemon peel and banana among them — onto guests.
The craziest thing is that he can convince others it all makes sense.
His story starts in Korea, where he worked as a barber to make his way through private high school and into a lucrative banking position before immigrating to Southern California so his wife could work in nursing. He worked ungodly 16-hour days as an assistant bank manager and kitchen lackey until he could scrape enough money together to buy a gas station, and then a bodega, then another bodega (those were where the stickups happened) and eventually a motel in Orange County, then another in Carmel.
He did so well he retired at age 37 and spent 17 years “searching for the meaning of life,” a quest that included five years learning to paint (after Monet’s “Water Lilies” series captured his heart), as long as five years working on a single poem, and a culminating camping/meditation event that lasted 100 days (in the cold mountains of Korea).
But he eventually came out of retirement to buy Carmel Valley Lodge for $5.25 million in August, “with the sole intention to guide others in transforming their lives to greater health and well-being.” (Currently both the old lodge and new Carmel Resort & Wellness Center signs are in place.) That’s according to a bio available at the lodge, in which he’s invested $800,000 more for improvements.
The food he’s obsessed with doesn’t sound too appetizing, and more like the stuff supplied at a cruel “Top Chef ” challenge: several kinds of soaked beans, bananas, cherry tomatoes and chopped lemon with peel intact.
It did help me understand this passage from his bio: “Some of the returning guests were disappointed to learn that waffles, cereal, milk and juice were no longer available.”
On my first visit to the lodge, I met him mid-prep, which he does “so guests can see what all is in it before it gets all mixed up.” Surrounded by jars of beans and seeds and nuts, we talked as he assembled a layered galaxy of ingredients on a plane of mushy tomato-banana blend.
“Lemon is very important!” he said excitedly. “I would say No. 1 food from the gods. Tomato is second. I eat 100 cherry tomatoes a day! And four regular raw tomatoes.”
I asked him about his approach to organic and availability, given such enthusiasm for seasonal items. He said he makes exceptions to both when he has to, peeling any conventionally farmed apples he might include, and relying on South American imports to keep his tomato rhapsody intact.
Finally, he took a big bowl to a little table in the modest dining room on the side of the lobby, a four-top set with small dessert plates and generous goblets of single-vineyard WesMar Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.
I found myself chewing the ssambap — which means something like “burrito” in Korean — at length. I think that’s because there’s so much going on in there, and because it’s so crunchy. Then there are those 22 ingredients, including a ton of nuts to break down. And it tastes good.
The bell pepper and the lemon zest go well with the other inputs, partly because avocado and tomato help harmonize things. All the different nuts give it depth and diversity, bite to bite. The lettuce completes the textural experience.
As we’re prepping and then eating, Kim takes me through a calculus that explains why his approach, and the eponymous book (which contains lessons, recipes, his poetry and his paintings), is called “60 90 20.”
It’s partly derived from the age you take, more or less, to reach maturity (20), to reach retirement (60) and what he calls wisdom (90). But don’t quote me too closely, because it wasn’t completely linear.
The punch line, though, was: They add up to 170, the true lifetime humans should enjoy.
As he writes in the book: “According to science, the life of all animals, including humans, is six to seven times of their growth period.”
For humans that growth period is 22 to 24 years, he reasons, so we should be shooting for 132 to 168.
That informs his vision for Carmel Resort & Wellness Center — which becomes clearer with a tour of the varied suites and their fireplaces and patios — with meditation through painting and poetry, swimming, horseback riding, yoga, deep breathing, spa treatments, health talks and more.
Career Southern California spa manager Gio Stevagio has even stayed on permanently after helping through the launch period because she’s so moved by Kim’s vision.
He’s not without some evidence that the lifestyle is working. That came as an outcome of a bet with his wife, who wasn’t as zealous about the diet as he was.
He endured two days of medical tests that cost about $5,000 at a hospital “10 times bigger” than Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
He had them check everything they could.
The inspiration, he writes: “If the result is good, then my wife promised me that she would eat Rainbow Ssambap every day, as I have been.”
I couldn’t corroborate, because the doctor and hospital are in South Korea, but here’s what Kim says the doctor told him: His physical age was closer to 30 than Kim’s actual 72.
He swears by it, and I believe him.
One reason why I believe him: the poem that he calls his greatest yet, and hardest to create.
It is brief, and it doubles as the valediction on his letters: “Sincerely humble and humbly sincere.”
“I know (Rainbow Ssambap) has been great for me,” he writes, “but there wasn’t proof.”
He goes on: “Since then I have been promoting Rainbow Ssambap religiously. Some of my friends jokingly call me a Rainbow Ssambap cult leader. I don’t mind because I am spreading a wonderful thing.”
All meals at the lodge are Rainbow Ssambap and a multicourse supper of things like cashew-crusted stuffed mushrooms and raw Thai salad with lemon-peanut dressing that is complemented by, according to lodge literature, “a glass of fine Pinot Noir,” because as Kim believes, “life is too short to drink cheap wine.”
I’m just not sure he means his life span or mine.
“Lemon is very important! I would say No. 1 food from the gods. Tomato is second. I eat 100 cherry tomatoes a day! And four regular raw tomatoes.” Tong Kim, whose doctor says his physical age is closer to 30 than his actual 72
A great city block can be a destination unto itself. Throw in stellar food and drink at reasonable prices and it’s a full-fledged mecca.
We set out to distill which Monterey County blocks offer the most satisfaction per square foot. The criteria surfaced rather naturally: quality, value, ambience and diversity. Also important: convenience and local ownership. Most important, satisfaction of varying cravings, ideally with the option of enjoying them in a common space. Think food court, with personality.
After some crowdsourcing, searches and online mapping, a handful of blocks distinguished themselves, with at least a half dozen restaurants or more apiece.
Here is our favorite, followed by honorable mentions:
New Monterey Lighthouse Avenue between McClellan and Hoffman avenues
Excellent ethnic food, family-run approachability and superb value are the mood on this standout block. The coolest thing might be that several businesses — including International Market and Deli, Taqueria Del Mar and Pelican Pizza — welcome outside food. Also of note: The door-to-door distance in this mini-district is just 100 steps.
Line-out-the-door Crystal Fish Sushi (514 Lighthouse Ave.; (831) 649-3474) ranks as an outright destination on its own (winning a community poll for best sushi regularly), with a modest, earnest feel to its food and tidy setting. Chef-owner Tamotsu Suzuki works minor miracles with crispy prawn heads, rare cold sakes, a beautiful ocean trout roll and the revelation, roasted yellowfin tuna ribs. Tucked into a cute and cozy space nearby, Loose
Noodle Pasta House (538 Lighthouse Ave.; (831) 641-0130) earns its fame for excellent early-bird deals (beef tortellini with ciabatta and minestrone for $9.95). Speedy attention pairs with simple, comforting specialties such as halibut piccata and shrimp alfredo.
Pelican Pizza serves old-school, honest slices and whole pies, with bare-bones tables great for multirestaurant feasts. (522 Lighthouse Ave.; (831) 6494040)
Sakura Japanese (574 Lighthouse Ave.; (831) 373-1767) boasts the only sushi moat (and boats) in town, but its renown rises thanks to charismatic owner-operator Kazu and spontaneous karaoke sessions.
Next door, Won Ju Korean (570 Lighthouse Ave.; (831) 656-0672) offers straightforward Korean food in a simple setting from a husband-and-wife team.
International Market & Deli (580 Lighthouse Ave; (831) 375-9451) is a flavor-rich Middle Eastern Mediterranean-leaning market with all sorts of discoveries to be savored, plus a kitchen for a range of falafel and shawarma that can be enjoyed in-store with some exotic beer. New owners have just arrived, so it’s unclear whether they’ll continue to allow cross-eatery dining at the basic tables next to the market aisles. (The previous owner was all for it.)
At Taqueria Del Mar (530 Lighthouse Ave.; (831) 372-7887), an underrated spot for seafood-centric Mexican food, you’ll find some of the best fish and artichoke tacos to be had anywhere on Monterey Bay. Chef-owner Nicolas Gasca has honed his recipes over two decades in business. Specialties include shrimp enchiladas, crab enchiladas and, most memorably, squid tacos, with melty tenderness brought on by careful marinating, pounding and a signature light cream sauce with a subtle zing. If the homemade salsas in squirt bottles weren’t so good, you wouldn’t need them.
Monterey Alvarado Street between Franklin and Pearl streets
With 14 eateries including the area’s best brewery-restaurant (Alvarado Street Brewery), froyo (MYO Pure Frozen Yogurt) and desserts (Rosine’s), this block also has sidewalk patios and bar-grill operations (including the Bull & Bear Whiskey Bar and Taphouse, Lallapalooza and Britannia Arms), which generate a lively buzz. There’s diversity (Papa Chano’s, Full Moon Mandarin, Petra Cafe) and lots of local ownership.
Carmel Mission Street between Ocean and Seventh avenues
Home to time-honored favorites like Flying Fish Grill, Patisserie Boissiere, Andre’s Bouchee, Tommy’s Wok, Anton & Michel and the rare burger-joint-bythe-sea 400 Degrees Gourmet Burgers & Fries, this is the most robust block in terms of quantity and quality. It’s also a little pricey and understandably tough to bring in outside food. Carmel-by-the-Sea is the densest place for restaurants per person, in the county, with 45 restaurants in a square mile.
Oldtown Salinas Main Street between East Galiban and East Alisal streets
Just two years ago, people might have scoffed, rightly, at Oldtown Salinas appearing on the list with the likes of mighty Monterey and comely Carmel. But such is the fervor and flavor with which Main Street between East Gabilan and East Alisal streets has built upon. Well-established choices include La Fogata’s uncanny Japanese-Mexican fusion, the Caribbean/ Latin American-style foodstuffs at Golden Fish, and Shogun Japanese Cuisine. The street also has the two most exciting new restaurants in the area (Patria and Giorgio’s), with a tapas restaurant and an ambitious wine bar on the way.