We have booked our hotel for the trip to New York City in late November. We will miss Macy’s Thanksgiving  Day Parade which is the week after, as well as the famous Christmas decorations of the city put up right after Thanksgiving. Oh well, we can’t have it all.

The Stanford Hotel is situated right in the center of Manhattan. It is located on 43 West 32nd street between Fifth and Broadway and just steps away from all the attractions & things to do in Midtown Manhattan. We will have immediate access to all the major midtown business and major tourist attractions. We are only a few minutes of a walk to Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, Jacob Javits Convention Center, the Empire State Building, the Broadway theater district, Fashion district, and the Manhattan Mall.

I had contemplated booking a lower-priced one out in New Jersey – which claims to have excellent bus service to and from Manhattan – but we want to see and stay in New York for the nights as well. We won’t be going out much at night as I will be traveling  with my by then eleven-year-old daughter. It will be nice just to stroll up and down the street, while staying near the hotel, to see the famous lights, hear the big-city sounds and do some serious people-watching. And November in New York City will be cold – another reason for getting a hotel nearby, therefore limiting the wait at a dark and drafty bus-station to get back into the cozy warmth of our hotel room. I wonder how cold it will get…

Another factor for staying in Manhattan is that I tire easily even after only three hours of shopping. It will be so nice to have the hotel in walking-distance to go back and take a rest – and unload some shopping bags, too.

Last, but not least. Our hotel is in Korea town as well, where I will have my favorite food – Korean cuisine – at hand. I was told I should try Sul Long Tang (beef soup) at the restaurant Gam Mee Ok, which serves supposedly the best Sul Long Tang in the whole world.

One of the pleasures of travelling is the discovery of culinary delights. In our international community we don’t always have to travel to discover new dishes as we get to sample ethnic food at the Frankfurt International School’s annual Worldfest, always held in May.

Many different nationalities give their support to the parent-teacher group by preparing their traditional food for sale. Among those specialties is Bulgoki, a Korean-style beef, served with rice.

This type of beef cut from Handok in Oberursel is the best one around. It is not only of best quality, but also pre-sliced for your convenience.

Asian supermarket Handok in Oberursel

How to make Bulgoki

Ingredients:

- 1 packet of pre-sliced Bulgoki meat (about 500 gr) from the Handok meat counter (€ 12.90 per kilo)

- 150 ml of Bulgoki Marinade (€ 3.90 for a 560gr bottle)

Instructions:

- the meat needs to be cut further into bite-size strips (half an inch wide)

- add Bulgoki marinade and mix well (I usually do this by hand, using the plastic bag it came in as a glove for kneading the meat

- optional: add a Tb of honey, 2 Tb of soy sauce, 1/4 of a freshly grated onion and rings of green onions

- let sit for one hour

- fry without any oil or butter

Bulgoki marinade and beef

… ready to eat

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