Kimchi Chronicles Launch Party at Spice Market

One of the fun parts of being a food blogger is being invited to cool events.  Sometimes, like in this case, I’m not sure if I should post about it, because it isn’t like you can go to this restaurant and eat the things I ate.  However, you can watch the TV show that this event was promoting, so I suppose I will blog about it… and you can live vicariously through me.  Does that work…? 

To celebrate the launch of a new show, KimChi Chronicles, I was invited to the red carpet private event at Spice Market recently.  So… I’m not really sure how it happened, but I was granted red carpet access so I dorkily waited outside to take pictures of some of the main stars of the show. 

First to arrive was Heather Graham.  I have to say, she looks amazing.  Considering her age, she really does look great; it’s funny because you might say “she damn well should, she has enough money to take care of herself,” and while that’s true, that doesn’t mean all celebrities do.  She just looked really good. 

Next up?  Hugh Jackman and his wife.  Yep, that’s his wife.  He’s a lot shorter in person than I thought he’d be- just an inch or two taller than me (and I was wearing kitten heels, so no, that wasn’t why). 

He and his wife stayed close to each other the whole night, damn, no opportunities for me.  (Before I went to the event, I told my BF that I was going to meet Hugh Jackman and if there could be a special exception to The List we keep since I’d actually be in semi-close proximity to Hugh.  I don’t even find him particularly attractive, but heck, why not?  In any case, BF said, “Oh hell yeah!!!  Totally, go for it. I’m going to tell all my friends my girlfriend is hot enough for Wolverine!”  Of course I responded, “Even if I don’t hook up with him, I’m hot enough for him!  HMPH!”  Hahahaha.) 

Finally, here’s a picture of Jean Georges Vongerichten with his wife, Marja. 

They make a really good looking couple, don’t they?  They were very sweet together.  He was a very charming older French gentleman; I love that. 

Please excuse that all of my photos are taken sort of between people’s heads.  I’m not papparazzi so I stood behind the real papparazzi, to be fair and let them get the better shots.  Hey, I’m not getting paid for these photos… so I don’t need them to be awesome.  I just thought it was cool to be there. 

Even cooler is that he was wearing sneakers with his $3,000 (at least?) suit.  Sure, they were Prada sneakers, but they were still sneakers!  Very chic and casual.  Love it. 

Then I went inside and started stalking the cater waiters as they passed so I could try everything.  The event was held at Spice Market, JG’s large space in Chelsea, which the press release bragged would be turned into a “Korean night market for the night”.  First up was this tuna tartare spoon.  The picture is blurry and so is my memory of it: it wasn’t good enough for me to want another one, but not bad enough that I remembered it. 

Next was a plate of ginger fried rice topped with a fried quail egg that was dusted with something crunchy.  The ginger wasn’t very pronounced in the dish, which was good for me since I don’t like ginger… I really liked the quail egg though.  Runny and delicious! 

A bit of pajeon or Korean pancake.  Tasty but not remarkable. 

A shot into the open kitchen as I waited on line to get some rice and banchan/na mool. 

The platters that were out kept getting replenished – here’s a shot of some spinach and some marinated cucumber slices. 

So here’s my plate with kimbap, pickled veggies, bean sprouts, and rice.  The funny thing is, I was standing there, right in front of the open kitchen, taking pictures of my plate – this shot with flash because it was so damn dark in there – and I look up and notice JG flitting back and forth in the kitchen, checking on what was going on and if things were going well.  And then. 

Who walked right in front of me in the kitchen, with no one else even paying attention?  That’s right, Wolverine himself.  I looked surprised, and I sort of nodded at him, and he saw I was holding my camera, so I yanked it upwards to take a picture (without flash!), and he cocked his head at me.  His wife never even noticed.  I probably should have reached across and tried to touch him… haha. 

Moments later, Heather and her boyfriend, Jason someone or other (semi-famous, perhaps), also walked by.  I got some terrible blurry shots of her walking the way Hugh had, but when she came back, she was busy sampling all the food everywhere.  I thought that was awesome.  You’d think some women don’t eat or whatever, but she was chowing down and I loved how her appreciation of food came through very obviously in her actions.  I never saw her without a plate the whole night, and in my eyes, that earned her the cred necessary for her involvement in an amazing show such as this. 

This horribly blurry shot segues into the next cool story of the night.  That man with the glasses?  Yeah, that’s Stanley Tucci.  After I wandered away from the open kitchen, I turned around to see where the cater waiters were to stalk them some.  I saw this man and thought, “He looks like Stanley Tucci,” and at first didn’t think much of it.  Then I looked again and realized, “Oh, he looks like Stanley Tucci because he IS Stanley Tucci.”  Duh!!!  He saw me looking at him so I turned away, but then tried to take a stealth shot.  Not very good but you get the point. 

And a few minutes later, a cater waiter bearing these bulgogi lettuce wraps walked by, and people descended on them.  I walked over and went to grab the last one when a hand shot out and snagged it.  Do you know whose eyes I looked into when I glanced up to see who stole it from me? 

Yep.  Stanley Tucci. 

Stanley Tucci stole my freakin’ bulgogi lettuce wrap. 

A few minutes later, when I managed to eat one, I realized why he’d stolen it. 

Cuz it was that damn good.  Hahaha! 

A chicken skewer with a chili lime dipping sauce (you can’t see it, but it’s dipped on it already).  Tender and tasty. 

A samosa which I didn’t like that much, and a hot dog of sorts which was OK. 

Green tea ice. 

Naeng mool?  Some sort of cold noodle dish.  Very refreshing. 

Crab ball.  Meh. 

Kalbi slider, which was also really, really good.  Tender meat on fluffy bread… I ate two of these.  Honestly, there was a bunch of stuff that I wanted to eat more… later on there was a fudgy dessert that was awesome, and lobster rolls wandered by twice but I couldn’t fit any more food in my belly.  I had to leave at that point from just how full I was! 

I want to thank JG and Spice Market for their insane generosity and wonderful hospitality, and most of all for the incredible food!  It was such a lovely night.  I even got a photo of myself on the red carpet before I left, but I don’t think I’ll share that here 😉

Be sure to watch Kimchi Chronicles – check local listings for times and channels (I can’t seem to find any for my area, but it’s supposed to be on PBS) – a really wonderful show starring Marja Vongerichten exploring the cuisine of her culture and sharing it with many other people, such as Hugh Jackman, Heather Graham, and more! 

Please note that I attended this event courtesy of Kimchi Chronicles and their PR. I want to thank them for their hospitality; however, I was under no obligation to post about this event, positively or negatively, and do so of my own free will. You can take that as you will.