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Fell + Cole: San Francisco Inspired Ice Cream Arrives in Seoul

Jen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:00:14 +0000

When I heard about a new ice cream store that had opened in Seoul, inspired by San Francisco’s gastronomic ice cream shops that are so popular, I put Fell + Cole on my schedule, during my recent vacation to Korea. With this Seoul ice cream shop offering beloved ice cream flavors such as salted caramel and honey lavender –favored by SF fans, I was curious to visit.

I, too, am a big fan of beloved SF ice cream shops such as Ici and Birite Creamery. And similar to Fell + Cole owner Tristan Choi, I sometimes make my own ice cream from scratch (with David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop as my trusty recipe guide). But how did this humble ice cream shop in Seoul garner such attention, halfway around the world?

In meeting Tristan at Fell + Cole, it is clear he is a big fan of San Francisco, including its ice creams. (he is also a big Giants fan!) Tristan has nothing but admiration for SF ice cream innvators, where he draws his inspiration for creating gourmet ice cream from scratch, using the best, local organic ingredients. He makes his ice creams in small batches; with the flavors changing daily.

Tristan was quick to point out that his inspiration comes from the flavors he loved while residing in San Francisco; such as caramel and honey lavender, which are commonly offered at ice cream stores in the bay area and elsewhere. Fell + Cole’s version is called “Burnt caramel with smoked sea salt,” whereas Birite’s is called “Salted caramel”. There are flavors not limited to one SF ice cream shop. (For David Lebovitz’s Salted Butter Caramel ice cream recipe, please click here). Kalimotxo sorbet or Jesus Juice sorbet is also offered at Fell + Cole–a flavor that can be found at Humphrey Slocombe. Tristan explained that the mixture of red wine and coke is a cheap alcoholic beverage in South America

It was clear that Tristan is a guy inspired by his time spent in San Francisco; a former Bay Area resident who has nothing but fond memories. His mission was to only bring some of the flavors of San Francisco, using his own interpretation of popular ice cream flavors, to Seoul.

I was pleased to find that Fell + Cole also offers unique Korea-inspired ice cream flavors, such as Makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and Perilla Leaf. What should Tristan’s next ice cream flavor be? Gojuchang chocolate ice cream, anyone?

Visitors in Yantai Park Must Pay to Relax on Park Benches

Jen — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 16:29:12 +0000

An interesting news story reports that Yantai Park in Shangdong province, eastern China has installed coin-operated park benches that allows visitors to relax in the park only if they input coins for that privilege, or else metal spikes will ‘encourage’ the imposter to stand instead.

Peter Grosz from The Colbert Report recently shared this news tidbit on NPR’s hilariously funny Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me radio show as part of their trivia game “Bluff the Listener“, where the caller contestant has to guess which unbelievable news story is ‘true’. You guessed it, Peter Grosz’s story was the correct answer, and he explains it this way:

Life in China can be hard. There’s pollution, an authoritarian regime watching your every move. They only have two HBOs. Sometimes the only solace from your troubles is a relaxing afternoon in the park.

Well, not anymore. Visitors to Yantai Park in Shandong Province must now pay for the privilege of just sitting there and watching the world go by. Each of the park’s benches has been fitted with a coin-operated timer that must be fed like a parking meter. But if you try and sit too long without ponying up, dozens of short, sharp spikes shoot out of the bench, right into your keister.

Just when you thought the Chinese government couldn’t get any more repressive, they are literally going medieval on people’s asses.

The Chinese government got this idea of coin-operated park benches after seeing an art installation by German artist Fabian Brunsing where he created a similar bench as a protest against the commercialization of modern life. The irony must’ve somehow been lost in translation.

Would you pay for the privilege of sitting on park benches? They look rather dangerous to me, I would maybe prefer to sit on the grass.

Mao’s Last Dancer Movie Premieres This Friday

Jen — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:01:51 +0000

…Or the first American movie ever where an Asian male does ballet and falls in love with a beautiful Caucasian female.

Mao’s Last Dancer is a movie that is scheduled to appear in some theaters this Friday, August 20, based on an autobiography by Li Cunxin, a beautiful Chinese dancer (see his real photo to the right). Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) and starring gorgeous British dancer Chi Cao from the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Amanda Schull, who was the female lead in the ballet movie Center Stage, tells the true life story of Cunxin, who was chosen at a young age by the Chinese government to be trained to be a professional ballet dancer in the last years of the Cultural Revolution. As one of the best dancers in China, Cunxin came to the U.S. to bring glory to China but unexpectedly falls in love with an American woman, played by Amanda Schull. The Chinese government wants him to return to China, fearing they will lose him forever, but Cunxin makes the choice to defect and dramatic ending ensues.

The dancing in this movie is going to be spectacular; Cunxin is played by Cao, who is a principal dancer at Birgmingham Royal Ballet. Schull used to dance in the San Francisco Ballet, and the younger version of Cunxin is portrayed by Chengwu Guo, from the Australian Ballet. Who knew there were such talented male Asian dancers out there?

This story reminds me slightly of my own ballet teacher, albeit without the defection. She was also chosen by the Chinese government at a young age, trained and was given a full scholarship to study in New York City. Given their similar backgrounds (my teacher is such a gorgeous dancer), I’m looking forward to seeing Chao and Guo’s performances on the big screen this weekend.

-Read the Wall Street Journal article for a profile on Li Cunxin, the movie and his current career as a stockbroker

Japanese Cat Videos Robbing Americans of Productivity

Jen — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:19:29 +0000

Maru the Cat, arguably the cutest cat in the world, resides in Japan and was recently covered in a New York Times article talking about the popularity of dogs and cats among the American audience. Slightly chubby, Maru‘s star power comes from his penchant for jumping into boxes, tight spaces (i.e. sticking his face in a paper bag) and his adorable antics, winning him over 56 million views on Youtube. The NY Times article argues that we are so busy watching cute videos, we aren’t getting anything “done” in the U.S.

Another personal favorite of mine is Oolong the rabbit, also from Japan, with a unique talent for balancing objects on its head, such as pancakes, a waffle and a teacup.

Hee Seo: First Korean Soloist Ballerina at The American Ballet Theater

Jen — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:42:50 +0000

Hee Seo, a ballet dancer with the New York based American Ballet Theater, will be promoted to soloist this August. Recently cast as Juliet and other amazing prima ballerina roles even as a corps dance member, Seo stands out among the crowd with subtle grace and beautiful natural smile. As the first Korean to be promoted at American Ballet Theater, I hope she inspires many young dancers.

Seo began dancing in Korea at the Sun-hwa Arts Middle School, then made her way to the States to finish her training and became a professional dancer.

Joining Japanese ballet dancer Yuriko Kajiya in the soloist rank,I like this recent trend of ABT’s Asian dancers that are being promoted, so best of luck to them. Next in line? I put my money on Chinese ballerina Zhong Jing Fang.

Asian Countries Makes a Strong Start for the FIFA World Cup 2010

Jen — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:00:56 +0000

Every four years, I turn from a ballet and classical music fanatic to a crazed soccer fan. This year brings the same, with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Just recently started: shockers such as Spain’s loss to the Swiss yesterday (yikes!), the U.S./U.K. tie thanks to the butterfingers of the British goalie, host South Africa’s devastating loss to Uruguay.

The Asian countries have rocked the cup so far: Japan wins their first World Cup game ever away from home against Cameroon, North Korea slipping past Brazil to score a goal, surprising even their fake fans in the bleachers (Chinese actors hired to support the North Korean team), and South Korea scored two graceful amazing goals against bumbling Greece, winning 2-0.

Asia–fighting! Onto the next formidable foe. For hilarity, check out Gawker’s convincing argument on why you should root for North Korea.

[NOTE: This post was written prior to the South Korea's loss against Argentina.]

A Bridge in Nanjing, A Hero: Chen Sah

Jen — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:44:36 +0000

One of my favorite podcasts is This American Life, a radio show that tells stories of “ordinary people,” with each show focusing on a simple theme. This particular podcast was titled The Bridge, covering several unique stories about bridges all over the world. The first story focused on the Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, China, popular among suicide jumpers — with a special man Chen Sah who spends his weekends on this four-mile bridge, saving people who intend to commit suicide. Imagine, a four-mile long bridge, busy with car traffic and pedestrians, with one man going back and forth on it on a lone scooter, determining might be a “jumper” as opposed to a passerby.

Chen Sah reports he has saved approximately 174 people from jumping off of this bridge. He also write a blog about the people he saves, and the ones he doesn’t. For some of the blog posts in English, click here. (Note: you need to bypass the “donate” page.)

(Flickr photo credit: Browncar)

So You Think You Can Dance: The Return of Alex Wong

Jen — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:55:22 +0000

Good news for So You Think You Can Dance fans, because Alex Wong is back! A gifted ballet dancer who most recently performed with the Miami City Ballet as a soloist, he initially auditioned in Season 5 but had to leave due to his contractual obligations with MCB. He is back on the show, and sadly not listed on the MCB website anymore. Hopefully, Alex will return to Miami but he wowed the judges in his audition with the solo above yesterday.

I hope Alex’s audition highlights the talent that spills out of the pores of ballet dancers everywhere and that male ballet dancers aren’t just feminine princes on stage anymore. Ballet dancers like him are incredibly athletic, beautiful, strong, (and sexy, in my opinion) and their talents extend easily to many other dance forms.

Ballet dancers historically have come oh-so-close to winning in past seasons SYTYCD. Danny Tidwell, being the most obvious example, was an amazing dancer, but as the season went on, adjectives such as “aloof”, “cold”, “proud”, “unemotional” were tossed around by the judges. I hope Alex can win them over this season. He definitely has my vote.