What Kim Jong-Il wants, Kim Jong-Il gets - and apparently that's ravioli.The North Korean leader ordered the opening of the country's first "authentic" Italian restaurant and reportedly spared nothing in getting the recipe right.
Although plagued by food shortages, North Korea bought wheat, flour, butter and cheese in Italy for the eatery. Cooks were sent to Naples and Rome for training after they made "errors" in the kitchen, the Chosun Sinbo newspaper reported.
"General Kim Jong-Il said that the people should also be allowed access to the world's famous dishes," said Kim Sang-Soon, manager of the restaurant in Pyongyang.
The Japan-based paper, considered friendly to North Korea's communist regime, said the restaurant is a hit. "I've learned through TV and books that pizza and spaghetti are among the world's famous dishes, but this is the first time that I've tasted it," said patron Jung Un-Suk, 42.
The paunchy Kim's penchant for fancy food is well known, and Italian food is one of his favorite cuisines. In 2004, an Italian chef told how he was hired to teach North Korean army officers how to make pizza so they could cook for Kim.