Korean classics

Eating Korean is no novelty in China and there are plenty of places offering Korean food. But, nothing beats the adventure of exploring a different cuisine at home, says Pauline D. Loh.

The first time I was introduced to Korean cuisine by a colleague in Hong Kong I was frankly amazed by the number of little dishes that appeared on the table as appetizers. There were little dishes of cold tofu with sesame sauce, barely blanched bean sprouts served with chives, spinach smothered in a garlic sauce, braised chestnuts carved into perfect hexagons, salty anchovies lightly spiced with chilli paste ...

Those little dishes took up such a lot of space on the table that I wondered if there would be room for the main courses.