high on time zones

as food bloggers, we often go to great lengths to try out a new dish. often you will need a reservation or a referral to a rather pricy or inaccessible new restaurant. after hearing tales of a legendary bibimbap in just such a place - way, way, up in the sky - i decided to seek it out.

37,000 feet above the pacific ocean and just minutes past the international date line, i finally found what i was looking for. no referral was necessary, but reservations are a must. and the meal is, well, kinda pricy. korean airlines flight KE1, from tokyo to los angeles. this is not your grandmother's airplane food. well, maybe it is. if your grandmother flies korean air and likes bibimbap, like the old lady sitting next to me.



note that i am using the present tense, because the real modern miracle in all of this is the connexion wi-fi that is currently FREE on the airplane! nothing beats blogging live from um, an airplane, about um, bibimbap. if only they served ramen.

anyway, let's get down to the meat (and veggies) of this:




the rice is that microwavable pre-packaged kind you can find in better korean supermarkets. why they didn't think of this until now is my question.




the wakame soup is surprisingly faithful to the better stuff in k-town diners. everything rehydrated properly. i assume this is what happened becaue i couldn't see behind the curtain. the stewardess did come by to ask if we wanted bibimbap or the "western" meal moments beforehand. i assume this is when she counted heads to go pour the water for the soup. and no, i have no idea what the alternative dinner was.



i never knew that korean red chili paste is called gochujang. this particular version was a bit on the sweet side and unfairly spicy for the majority of non-korean diners (especially considering the pithy small restrooms in this establishment). it's totally tubular however.



mix it all together and you get exactly what you paid for.




actually, you get a whole lot more!




blurriness due to turbulence



fellow diners

price: $400 - $2500 per person depending on season and destination