Korean foods will be showcased at festival

For all you lovers of kim chee, spice and everything nice along those lines, Saturday marks the annual Korean Festival at Kapiolani Park.

It promises to be a celebration of Korean culture, arts and, perhaps most important, food.

You will find several local Korean restaurants represented -- among them Ha Na Dong Dea Moon, K Restaurant, Ko Hyang Duek Jip, Yakiniku Korea House, Yummy Korean BBQ and Yunies Korean BBQ -- serving garlic shrimp, kal bi, kim bob (Korean sushi), kim chee fried rice, kim chee pancake with seafood, mandoo and meat jun.

If you dare, you can enter a kim chee-eating contest at 12:15 p.m. If you're more of a spectator, attend a demonstration in the making of ddeok bok gi (spicy rice cake), a snack often featured in Korean soap operas. Korean products and grocery items will be sold in a mini-market.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the theme "See, Taste, Listen Korea."

Admission is free. A free shuttle will run every 20 minutes from Kapiolani Community College. Call 275-3011.

Tea house opens

In other things Korean, the Myung Won Tea Ceremony Center opens Friday in the Palolo Korean Buddhist Temple.

An opening ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. as part of the 30th anniversary of the temple, formally called Mu-Ryang-Sa Temple at 2420 Halelaau Place.

The 2,000-year-old Korean tea ceremony combines pottery, music, flower arrangement, dress, tea and etiquette. The art form was nearly lost but was revived by the late Myung Won, who believed the ceremony to be at the core of Korea's spiritual and cultural heritage.

Healthy cooking

The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific is offering two cooking classes in January. Both classes run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Frear Cafeteria at the hospital, 226 N. Kuakini St. Cost is $30 per class, which includes tasting samples.

Low-Salt Cooking with Flair: Dietitian Moana Bachiller's class covers spice mixes and other alternatives to salt in flavoring foods; Jan. 19.

Leaner Cuisine: Dietitian Nancy Chang demonstrates the making of low-fat, low-cholesterol meals; Jan. 25.

Reservations are required. Call 566-3780.

To market, to market

The Kailua Thursday Night Farmers' Market is shifting its hours by 30 minutes, opening from 5 to 7:30 p.m. weekly.

"We've noticed that Windward folks like to shop early, pick up dinner and head home," says market co-organizer Dean Okimoto of Nalo Farms.

The Saturday Farmers' Market at KCC will continue its current schedule of 7:30-11:30 a.m.

Both markets are organized by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; call 848-2074.

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