Jeannie's Wedding

Flew down to Los Angeles for J & J's wedding on the weekend of the 26th. Both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding were held in the heart of Koreatown. Happy to report the ceremony went off without a hitch and the newlyweds are off happily honeymooning in Maui. Phew. One more wedding off the list. During trips down to the Southland, I always enjoy a visit to the Koreatown Galleria (link here) and its bustling food court on the top floor of the multi-level mall, presumably located so that the wafting odor of kimchi jjigeh floats safely above the delicate cashmere and silk garments on display in the boutiques below. The concept of blending the uniquely modern American fixture that is the mall food court with a decidedly Korean panoply of dishes and snacks is quite the spectacle. The steaming and pungent pots of soups, stews, and noodle dishes coupled with the bustling noises common to any food court combine to create an experience truly embodying the notion of the hyphenated Korean-American community. During our swing through the gargantuan supermarket on the ground floor, we also came across what was apparently the only American branch of Howondang, an exclusive high-end purveyor of traditional Korean pastries and rice cakes (link here and photos here). Their care in packaging small bite-sized delicacies reminded me of the same care and reverence exhibited by the pastry staff at Fauchon (link here) off the Place de la Madeleine in Paris. During our honeymoon last November, T and I wanted a quick snack during our walk through the food hall at Fauchon. We pointed to a miniature eclair coated in a festive neon-orange-colored icing. The attendant then grabbed the eclair delicately, almost reverently, with a special pair of tongs and then proceeded to wrap the morsel in three layers of packaging with the final step being placing it in an ornate gift box complete with a silk ribbon. The ritual of opening the gift box elevated what would have been an otherwise mundane act of downing an afternoon snack. Places like Howondang and Fauchon are rare pleasures.