AMUSE BOUCHE: LISA LING

By Sara Faith Alterman

Journalist. Television Personality. Foodie? Lisa Ling is full of surprises, including a penchant for cartilage and the Food Network. Between traveling all over the globe for National Geographic Channel , serving as a special correspondent for Oprah Winfrey, and planning her upcoming wedding, she doesn't have much downtime. New Asian Cuisine caught up with Lisa mid-whirlwind to get the scoop on her exotic and practiced palate.

NAC:  We hear that you just returned from North Korea. LING: Resources are pretty scarce in North Korea but because we were foreigners I'm pretty sure that we were being treated much more lavishly.  There was kimchi at every meal.  I'm pretty much a kimchi addict.  There was very little beef despite the fact that beef is a staple of the South Korean diet.  There were a lot of canned foods, a lot of vegetables, lots of eggs, and white bread, surprisingly enough.  I was told that there may have been a bit of dog in one of the soups they were preparing.  When I'm in another country, I try to be as accommodating and gracious as possible.   I was there for work, under the auspices of being part of a medical team.  Certainly there was a risk.  But it was the one place that I wanted to see myself, the most.  No one ever gets in.  I was the only American in the country.  I was so eager to see it for my own eyes.  NAC:  Do you cook?  LING:  I don't cook at all.  I just am not good at it.  It's not like I have any opposition to it.  I don't really enjoy doing it.  And I'll just eat everything before it hits the pan, anyway.  But I am a huge foodie!  I watch the Food Network

obsessively.  I eat out every single meal.  I'm a total creature of habit.  I have my favorite restaurants in all different cities.  Almost all of them happen to be Asian restaurants.  NAC:  What are some favorite restaurants in New York, this month's Destination city? LING: I'm addicted to sushi at Gari.  I think Gari might have the best sushi on the planet.   I go to a Korean barbecue place in Koreatown called Kang Suh.  I also love Gam Mee Oak, another Korean place.  They serve interesting cartilage dishes. I love cartilage.  There's no food that I won't try.  It tastes kind of gooey, like jellyfish, but it's more meaty.  Jelly fish is crunchier.  Also, Dim Sum Go Go, which is delish.   It's in Chinatown.  NAC:  This month is Mother's Day.  Any fond memories? LING:  One time my sister and I woke up at 4 in the morning to try and cook salami omelets for my mom.  By the time she woke up, it was really cold, and it was more of an omelet soup.  And because she's such a good mom she ate the whole thing anyway.  It's only now that she admits that it was absolutely horrible.  NAC:  Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!  What will you be serving? LING:  We are serving Dim Sum, and also the most famous dumplings outside of Taiwan, from Din Tai Fung, They never do events, but I begged and pleaded.  We're going to have some sushi chefs there, and we'll have Korean Bulgogi, and Korean pancakes and an assortment of Asian beers.