Sunday, March 14, 2004  

COEX Mall 

This is the Trade Tower in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.



It is part of the sprawling Convention and Exhibition (COEX) centre in Seoul, and includes the Hyundai Department Store, Inter-Continental Hotels, City Air Terminal and the Trade Towers.


(graphics from http://coexmall.com)

Underneath all of this is the COEX Mall, one of Asia's largest shopping and entertainment complex. It houses the COEX Aquarium, MegaBox Cineplex and lots and lots of entertainment, shopping and eating outlets. Do check out the very comprehensive website if you're planning to visit.

Getting off at Samseong Subway Station Exit 6, you'll come to the concourse area of COEX Mall, or as I call it, the Smoking Square.



You're not allowed to smoke indoors. I thought this to be interesting for the varying interpretations it allows.



Here are some shots from inside.



That's the entrance to the huge Bandi & Luni Bookstore. (sorry for the poor shot - I was distracted by the whiff of Whopper opposite)









There's always a Starbucks nearby, isn't there?



This is the shooting of a Starcraft championship match which was being telecast live on telly. Games are a big thing in Korea, with gamers earning a living playing games professionally. There are dedicated TV channels broadcasting nothing but championship competitions and games-related programmes. The COEX Mall has a huge games centre with everything from online PC games to Playstations and X-Box.



This is one of several food courts inside the mall. Note the pyramid-shaped glass ceiling.







COEX Mall is a fun place to spend the day and there's something for everyone here.

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Happy White Day 

My blog turns one month old today. Happy White Day, you all.

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Saturday, March 13, 2004  

White Day 

“Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a handsome Prince. One fine day, the Prince met the most beautiful maiden he had ever laid eyes on at the annual Spring Fair. It was love at first sight. The Fair Maiden was reluctant to reciprocate, uncertain of the Prince’s true intentions, as he is known to sow his seeds all over this fertile land. The Prince, at a loss, did not know what to do to convince the Fair Maiden of his true love.

Unaware to the Prince, the land’s most evil witch was standing right beside the Prince. The Evil Witch whispered to the Prince “buy her overpriced chocolates and candies wrapped up in adorable but unnecessary lacy wrappings and little bow ribbons and she will fall head over heels for you”. The Prince was convinced and did exactly that. The Fair Maiden accepted the lavish gifts bestowed upon her by the Prince, only never to be seen ever again. The Prince was heart broken and ordered the Evil Witch to be executed. Before her execution, the Evil Witch cast an evil spell over all men that on that fateful spring day every year, they shall buy overpriced chocolates and candies wrapped up in adorable but unnecessary lacy wrappings and little bow ribbons for their loved ones.

This evil spell was cast throughout the land for eternity and so every March 14, men all over this land will fall under this spell. Historians later learnt that the Evil Witch’s real name was The Greedy Corporation. Men all over this land never lived happily ever after.”



If you’re still wondering, tomorrow is White Day. “White WHAT????” I hear you ask. OK. Here’s the deal. We all know Valentine’s Day, right? Well in Korea, V Day is reserved for women to lavish gifts on their men. Profiteering businesses here milk the men one month later, on White Day which falls on March 14 every year. So on this day, men are supposed to do the giving and women the receiving. *sigh* Only in Korea. (oh and Japan)



See the soul-less men of this fair land on the eve of the cursed day.



Aren't they just so cuuuute and adoooorable. *giggle*giggle* Yeah right. You ain't seen the price tag yet.

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Friday, March 12, 2004  

Jajang Myeon 

Let's talk noodles today.

Unlike some parts of Asia where noodles feature prominently in local cuisine, in Korea, noodles are a distant second to rice. Choices are somewhat limited, both in terms of the type of noodles available as well as the style of cooking.

When one talks about noodles in Korea, jajang myeon immediately springs to mind. So that's what we'll have today. Jajang myeon is regarded as chinese food here. Its name is derived from the chinese words meaning "plain sauce noodles" or more literally, just plain "sauce and noodles". In my travels to many places Oriental, I have NEVER seen noodles such as this before. So this became a point of debate amongst my Korean acquintances and myself. Until today, I still cannot confirm this for myself, but I have been made to understand that certain parts of China (obviously parts I've never been to) do serve noodles of this sort. About time I take a flight to Jajang Province in PRC, or whatever name its called.

So be that as it may, chinese or otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, jajang myeon is Korean to me. For all eternity, whenever I think of jajang myeon, I'll think of Korea.

Enough ranting. Let's eat. This was how it was delivered, double-layered shrink-wrapped, to keep it warm.



First of all, let me just say that it tastes better than it looks! The sauce is made by frying together minced meat & lots of diced large onions, then adding stock, seasoning, thick black soya sauce and finally thicken with cornstarch. The green peas and corn bits are just for colour (if you can call it that) and doesn't really add to the flavour.



Dig in and you'll find the noodles hiding beneath that sea of sauce. The noodles used in jajang myeon is akin to Japanese udon - thick & fat yellow-tinged noodles.



You'll need to perform some finger acrobatics to stir the noodles well. That's why jajang myeon must be taken hot or else the noodles get all sticky and clumpy. Stir fast and mix well ..... and watch that white shirt you're wearing!



OK. Open your mouth. The noodles are smooth and the thick sauce is savoury with a tinge of sweetness. The chunky onions, lots of them, adds crunch to the sauce and reminds me more of cabbage than onions. Nice. KRW5,000.



Jajang myeon is the all-time favourite with kids. They look so adorable with that black gooey sauce all over their face as they try to slurp the noodles. Better clean my face when I'm done.

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Peaches Smeaches 

Biggest news of the day here in Korea. Mr. Noh was impeached at 11.56 am today. Talk about bad timing. Guess he won't be having a good lunch today. (Sorry - I just couldn't pass on that one)

Korea Times
Korea Herald
Chosun Ilbo

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Thursday, March 11, 2004  

Full Moon 

This blog is turning one month old in a few days' time. In Chinese customs, it's an auspicious event for a new-born baby. Roughly translated, it means "full moon" day i.e. the baby having gone through a full 30 days cycle of the moon. In Korea, parents celebrate their kid's 100 days' birthday. In Zimbabwe, I dunno.

So I did some housekeeping and cleaned up some broken links, removed some and added a new one, Korean Food Translated. Korean sites, especially Seoul government-related, are undergoing a consolidation exercise and so their urls keep changing of late.

If you guys wanna have a taste of South East Asian flavours, click on the following:
shiokadelicious
umami
mum-mum

These are predominantly food-related, of course. The only reason I've not added them to my links list is because I'm trying to keep the links as Korean-related as possible.

| burped @ 18:58 | link | | | top |

Don Ka Seu 

Another order-in lunch today. Man ... I gotta get out more. Today's lunch is don gga seu (돈까스). Let's pause for a moment. The romanisation of Korean words can go so so many ways that it can be confusing at times. That's why the Government has actually standardised it. This blog makes no attempt to stick to those rules(!!) so you're gonna get many variants of probably the same thing, all depending on my mood at the time of writing. Sorry. So, don gga seu = don ka seu = don kar ser = and so on. On this note, if you're gonna Google anything on the net, just be aware that Korean words can be romanised in many ways.

Let's talk food. Don ka seu (see what I mean?) is a little peculiar, in that it is both Korean and Japanese. Its name is derived from its Japanese counterpart. In most Korean food sites, don ka seu is not prominently discussed. So what is don ka seu? It's basically deep fried breaded pork cutlet.

Clockwise from top left : miso soup, steak sauce, coleslaw dressing, shredded cabbage (with 2 strands of purple cabbage and alfalfa sprout and a slice of cucumber), rice, deep fried pork cutlet, 2 slices of radish pickles, 1 pickled dill & 3 radish kimchi cubes.



Notice the coating is fluffy and fine.



Texture wise, it's kinda like tempura batter - light and crispy. It's not too oily (probably drained well before serving). Dip in the steak sauce for added flavour. Quite a sizeable chunck of meat and a real tummy filler. KRW5,000.



There are variations to this - you could have beef fillets, chicken cutlets, and even have it cheese stuffed (ala Kiev). There's also seafood like fish fillet and prawns, though these are less common.

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Tuesday, March 09, 2004  

Deliveries 

Eating in Korea couldn't be simpler. Just make a phone call, place your order, and ta-da it's delivered within 15-30 minutes. You can get ALMOST anything delivered. Once I even witnessed a hot-pot budaejiggae delivered to a home, stove and all!

I guess this concept is familiar to those in the West, but is still in its infancy in most parts of Asia, where deliveries are associated with fast-food like pizzas, the clown burger and so on.

I ordered doh si rak today. KRW5,000. This was how it was delivered. My bundle of joy!!



Comes complete with metal spoon and chopsticks .... none of that disposable crap that can put a splinter through your tongue. That pink coloured cloth doubles as a table cloth too, so you don't mess up your table nor need to clean up after. It's oh so complete. Oh, except it smells a little, that pink cloth.



Ta-da. Clockwise from top left : seaweed soup (mi yuk gook), korean pancake (pa jeon), egg & rice, spicy fish, chinese cabbage kimchi & radish kimchi.



Close-up of the pa jeon.



This is from a previous occasion. No really - I didn't have 2 sets today!! Clockwise from top left : spicy tofu (beancurd) soup, fried luncheon meat (spam) coated with egg, egg & rice, spicy fish, kimchi and vege with sesame seed.



Close-up of the black beans thingy. This was hidden under the luncheon meat in the earlier shot.



When you're done eating, bundle everything up nicely and leave it outside your door. They'll come get it later in the day or tomorrow. And NO you don't get to keep the chopsticks! Well .... you're not supposed to anyway. Shhh .....

What a beautiful system. I wonder if they do barbequed whole lamb?

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Sunday, March 07, 2004  

Street Snacks 

On the streets of Seoul, you'll likely come across stalls selling various kinds of finger food and snacks .... just follow your nose.

While I was at Myeong-dong, I came across this looooooong queue that led to this stall. I don't know the name of this snack, but the sign says "hot bar" (??). I would appreciate if someone could confirm its name though, for the benefit of all.



I'll attempt to dissect this - a flour paste mixed with diced carrots & seasoning, then rolled into a sausage-like shape, topped with sesame leaf, then deep fried.



Squirt some tomato ketchup, honey mustard and serve hot. It's like sticking a hot rod into your mouth (not that I really know how that feels!). Well, what'd you expect from eating something that came out from a hot pot of oil only seconds ago. KRW1,000.



It's texture is somewhat like that of fish cake (like odeng), but softer and smoother. I'm not sure if there's any fish paste in there, but if there is, the taste didn't come through. I've had others on previous occasions that had corn in it, seaweed, spring onions etc. So I guess there's no "standard" recipe to this. It's alright I guess, especially on a cold day, but I won't climb Mount Everest for it.



Next to this stall is another great find. The stall is called Squids 'R' Us. OK. I made that up. But yeah, you'll find all things squid-ly here.



Man! Those toothpicks are killing me.



That's the lady boss cooking up something on the grill pan. My wild guess is it's probably squid.



With my backstage pass, I bring you this shot. The squiggly bits you see are the tentacles, and the flat piece is roll-pressed squid sans tentacles.





Tentacles galore.



The batch of tentacles on the left are uncoated. The ones on the right are coated with seasoned butter before it's pan-grilled. Seasoned with what? I can't really make it out. But I taste a tinge of peanut butter. It's a little oily, but very aromatic. The tentacles are far from tough - they were soft and crunchy. Really nice.



Aaaahh .... served on a page torn out from my favourite magazine - Brides Monthly. Thumbs up for recycling.



This is the roll-pressed squid body, also coated with that same peanut buttery thingy. As with the tentacles, it's soft, tender and aromatic. Very nice. KRW2,000 for this serving of squid-ly heaven and another KRW2,000 for a similar portioned tentacles. Oh .... and I also have no idea what these things are called in Korean. For the moment, I'll just call it "squids with that peanut buttery thingy".



Aaahh ... 20 metres down the road and I see another "hot bar" (?) stall.



This one had more varieties - plain, seaweed, sesame leaf and my favourite, sausage encrusted with the flour paste.

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Extreme Makeover 

Korean ladies are obsessed passionate when it comes to their cosmetics. They go to great lengths to care for their complexion and to look their best. I'm not complaining .....

I came across this store in Myeong-dong called The Face Shop. It sells, well, faces. You can just walk in and purchase the face of your choice ...... convenient isn't it?



And if you need to overhaul more than just your face, you can pop in to the shop next door.

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Saturday, March 06, 2004  

Myeong-dong 

Myeong-dong is another of Seoul's shopping haven, albeit more upmarket and touristy compared to Dongdaemun. Myeong-dong is pretty much in the heart of Seoul's financial district.

One of the first images to greet you when you step out of Euljiro 1-ga Subway Station is the landmark Lotte Department Store. It's a posh, upmarket, designer labels type of place. Hmmm ..... a ratio of 5 sales assistants to every customer. Real cosy.



Side view.



Next to Lotte Department Store is Lotte Young Plaza. This young plaza opened late last year and caters to the younger crowd. I feel jaded.



It gets interesting at night. Notice the changing room overlooking the main street?


(stop squinting! there isn't one, perv)

Some street shots of Myeong-dong taken at 4.30 pm. It's just a sea of humans. There's a handful of tourists too.











I enjoyed my day in Myeong-dong. It's a great place to walk around aimlessly, lots of eye candy, lots of good food. Good night Myeong-dong.

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Friday, March 05, 2004  

Kim Bap 

Kim Bap is synonymous with Korean food. There are even Korean pop songs written about it! Kim bap can be found literally everywhere in Korea - look around the corner and you'll probably find a kim bap store.

Kim bap is a generic name for rice rolled up with laver (dried seaweed) - kim meaning laver and bap meaning rice. It can be taken as a snack-on-the-go, or as a complete meal in itself. There's plain basic kim bap, kimchi kim bap, bulgogi (beef) kim bap, sausage kim bap, cheese kim bap, and the list goes on. My personal favourite is the tuna kim bap and the mixed (mo deum) kim bap, which has a little of everything.

The basic "toppings" are always the same - laver, steamed rice, pickled radish and cucumber, carrot, green vege, crabstick, fishcake & fried egg omelette; all cut into long strips. On top of these basic ingredients they then add the "extras" of your choice - like kimchi, sausage, cheese, tuna etc.

The store I usually frequent is called Jong-Ro Kim Bap, which is a popular franchised chain. You can eat in, take-away or have it delivered to your home.

This is a typical kim bap assembly plant. At my store, we have a four-handed lady who does great kim bap.



Today, I'm having the tuna kim bap (KRW2,500 per roll).



This is called odeng - which is basically fish paste or fish cake. It should be familiar to those living in South East Asia. Cost KRW2,000.

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White Neighbourhood 

My neighbourhood turned white after the snowstorm. Scenes from last night.





And this morning.





Happy Shawn? :o)

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Thursday, March 04, 2004  

The Day On Which Insects Appear From Their Holes In Earth?? 

It's been snowing all day today. This is expected to continue all night till tomorrow. And it ain't even Christmas.

It seems there's a special term coined for this occurence - "Gyeongchip".

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Wednesday, March 03, 2004  

Hae Jang Gook 

This place opens 24 hours. Great for late dinners like tonight (10.45pm).



Not crowded at this hour. That's good. It's usually crowded during lunch and dinner time.



This is different from the hae jang gook in my earlier post. That was kong na mool hae jang gook (bean sprout). This is pork bones hae jang gook (sorry - I will get the full korean name of this the next time I visit - I actually wrote it down but misplaced it). They gave me a whole bunch of side dishes as is usually the case with any Korean meals. I asked them to take it back (so as not to waste) as I wasn't in the mood for any side dishes. I just kept the fresh chilis and sam chang (bean paste chili sauce).

[ update - the full name is "pyeo da gwee hae jang gook" (뼈다귀해장국) ]



This hae jang gook is made from bones stock, various seasonings, kimchi veges and chunky pieces of pork thrown in.



Nice soft fleshy meat chunks. Not tough at all. They just peel off. Nice texture.



Cost KRW5,000. To me, this is just so-so. It's OK, but not great. I prefer the "oomph" of the kong na mool hae jang gook.

This place also serves gam ja tang (potato soup), which I think is the more popular choice here. Will try that next time.

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Tuesday, March 02, 2004  

Nescafe 

Whenever I need a coffee quick fix, this is what I take - Nescafe. Six 180ml cans of sugar-ed milked coffee for KRW1,400. Good deal.



There's several brands in the market, like Lotte, Maeil, Maxwell House and even Starbucks. But I'll pass on Starbuck's bottled Frappucino at KRW2,600 per bottle. Some of the other brands are a little mild for me. This one is just nice.

| burped @ 21:38 | link | | | top |

Monday, March 01, 2004  

Taegukgi 

Band of Korean Brothers Taegukgi. Nice.










(..... and that's why I'll never make it as a movie critic. Oh and bring a box of tissues)

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Sunday, February 29, 2004  

Let's Speak Korean 

Like clockwork at midnight every weekday, I stay up late (well, I sleep late every night anyway!) to catch Let's Speak Korean - a 10 minute TV programme shown over Arirang TV (on SkyLife) at 12.20am. It's a great show, concise and to-the-point. However, it's tough taking notes while trying to catch everything said on telly (OK, I'm really slow up there).

Fortunately, I can now review these episodes via VOD streaming over at Arirang TV's website. If you're a novice student of the Korean language, give this a try. You'll need to register first though (one-time free registration).

It helps that Lisa Kelley is a cutie.

[ update : interestingly, right after I posted the above, this article appeared. Talk about coincidence. ]

| burped @ 18:39 | link | | | top |

Long weekend 

Tomorrow is a public holiday here in Korea - Independence Movement Day.

Nice long weekend break. Think I'll go watch Taegukgi. Luckily, screening Korean movies with English subtitles is a growing trend, a move which I most welcome. Only select, not all, cinemas offer this though - usually Cine Core and CGV Myeong-dong. You can check out the viewing times of English-subtitled movies here. There's also a pop-up map to the cinemas with contact info and directions. Nice.

| burped @ 17:33 | link | | | top |

Saturday, February 28, 2004  

Of Doota and Korean Shoes 

My shoes are killing me! I need a bigger pair. So off I go to my favourite shoe store at Doota. Doota, or more specifically, Doosan Tower, is a large shopping centre in the Dongdaemun Stadium vicinity. This area is definitely a shopping hotspot.

Doota, like Migliore, Freya and aPM, is basically a multi-storey building, with each floor housing many independant vendors of the same category - e.g. 1st floor - women's clothing, 2nd floor - men's clothing, and so on (accessories, children's stuff, shoes, household etc.). These shopping centres also have great food courts. The next time I eat there, you can be sure I'll post it here. Doota is my favourite because, in my opinion, it's the most tourist-friendly and everything is price-tagged. However, like everywhere else in Korea, you can never avoid the perpetual "May I help you?" syndrome of the sales people.

So I braved today's gloomy wet weather to get to Doota, thinking my feet will thank me for the new shoes. This is the scene in front of Doota at 5.30 pm today.



Guess what? Doota is closed for renovations or spring cleaning (I can't tell really - I need to learn Korean!) until 14 March 2004. Hmm...... Because of the closure, some of the more enterprising shops have taken to setting up stalls on the sidewalk. Until it started to rain again and everyone packed up in a hurry.



Speaking of shoes, is it just me or are the design of Korean men's leather shoes (for office/formal wear) rather peculiar. Have you noticed that these shoes get really flat towards the front. I mean really flat. I won't say that I have large feet. Just normal-sized feet. But I can never squeeze my toes into these shoes. So I guess I can never buy leather shoes here. My feet are really small, honest! I finally ended up getting my shoes at Migliore.

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Friday, February 27, 2004  

Pizza Etang 

I've slipped into a routine of late - every Friday for the last several weeks, this ritual involves pigging out on pizza while laughing at the starving contestants on Survivor All Star. Today is no different.

My neighbourhood is swamped with pizza joints - they should just rename this place Pizza-dong. We have the regular "branded" culprits - Pizza Hut & Domino's - and also the home-grown pizza chains mushrooming around Korea. While pizza lovers all over should be familiar with the usual variety - super supreme, hawaiian (pineapple), chicken, pepperoni, mushroom, vegetarian etc., Korea has its localised variants e.g. bulgogi pizza & potato pizza. Is there a kimchi pizza? I don't know.

20 metres from my office is a Pizza Etang outlet, one of the many Korean pizza chains. While my usual choices are either Super Supreme or Cheese Crust Pizzas, they've recently introduced 3 new varieties - Sweet Potato, Mexican Taco & Garlic Pizzas - all of which I've never tried. So I went for the Garlic Pizza and the Mexican Taco Pizza.



This is the large Garlic Pizza (KRW9,900).



Toppings - pepperoni, mushroom, minced beef, pineapple, cheese (of course!) and a white creamy herb & garlic sauce.



You can really taste the aromatic garlic flavour. This is traced to the creamy sauce that is used as the base instead of the usual tomato-paste sauce. Nice combination of toppings, and the chunky sweet (canned) pineapple does well to take away some of the sting from the garlic. I love it. Really nice change from the tomato-based pizzas. Strictly for garlic lovers, though.



This is the large Mexican Taco Pizza (KRW9,900)



Toppings - pepperoni, onion, capsicum (green bell pepper), pickled green chilis (jalapeno), cheese (cheddar and mozarella) and a tangy spicy sauce.



Similar to the Garlic Pizza, this pizza is not tomato-based. Instead, the sauce is BBQ-ish with a wallop of Tobasco - real spicy and sourish. The pickled chili adds further fuel to the already burning tongue. A real zinger of a pizza. Yummy!



It's KRW9,900 for one large pizza and KRW14,900 for two. Good deal if you can finish two large pizzas *burp*. Pizza Etang is cheaper than the other "branded" chains like Pizza Hut and Domino's where a large pizza can set you back KRW25,000 to KRW29,000. Oh and by the way, the ever naked Richard Hatch was kicked out of Survivor All Star tonight.

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Thursday, February 26, 2004  

Gobaksa Jip has Disappeared 

Gobaksa Jip is the name of a restaurant in the Sinchon/Ehwa Womens' University area in Seoul which serves a wicked bowl of naeng myeon (cold buckwheat noodles). I also love their excellent pan-fried bin dae tok (mung bean pancake). Superb!

It's been operating for decades and is well-known amongst Seoulites. Recently, I visited the place again but to my disappointment, the restaurant was no longer there. Help . . . . I need my bin dae tok fix!

Does anyone know where Gobaksa Jip is now?

| burped @ 11:26 | link | | | top |

Wednesday, February 25, 2004  

Kimchi Jigae 

Kimchi jigae is one of those things in life that grows on you. I used to be put off by it initially. But ever since I found this place, it's really grown on me. So much so that I really miss it when I'm abroad.



Kimchi is synonymous with Korean food. 'nough said. Jigae means stew. I especially like the way it's done here - kept warm over a stove. There's nothing worse that a cold pot of kimchi jigae.



What you get is a steaming hot pot of chinese cabbage kimchi in stock soup, with sliced pork, tofu (beancurd), onion leaves, sliced flour cake, chilli powder and all-important instant noodles (ramyeon). It's hot, spicy & sour - yummy. Kimchi tastes different when cooked versus eaten raw. In a kimchi jigae, it actually taste a lot like preserved salted vege found in Hong Kong (note to self - kimchi IS preserved salted vege - silly fool!). If the soup dries up, ask the ajumma for a top-up. It's free complimentary!



Cost KRW4,000. It's probably not as good as this renowned one, but still nice.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004  

Hae Jang Gook 

The sky was real gloomy today. The temperature has dipped a little, due to the almost 48 hours of continuous rain over the weekend. Anyway, I had hae jang gook for lunch today. Actually, I've been having this for lunch for the last couple of days. Guess it's the flavour of the week.

Hae jang gook is sometimes nicknamed "hangover soup". Guess its a great kick-starter after a night of heavy soju-ing drinking. My only exposure to hae jang gook previously was a spicy pork bones soup. But this particular variant of hae jang gook is called kong na mool hae jang gook. Kong na mool is bean sprout, yes? But this bean sprout is of the larger variety, and not the typical teeny weeny bean sprouts most are familiar with.

This place, in Bundang-gu, is really popular.



It's usually very very crowded during lunch time. I had a late lunch today (2.45pm) and found no problem getting a place.



As with most Korean food, it came piping hot. Notice the bubbling soup? Hottttt!! You get rice in seafood-stock soup, large beansprouts, topped with kimchi, a sprinkle of sesame seed, chili powder, spring onion leaves and an egg.



You can eat it as it is. But the real kicker is when you mix the condiments that comes with it. That's kimchi, sliced green chilis, dried salted seaweed, heavily salted beef strips (in some brown sauce) & salt-fermented shrimps. Where's the salt? Hehehe .....



The salted shrimp thingy is similar to "cencaluk", a salted preserved shrimp condiment found in Malaysia.



So mix everything in and ta-da, it's ready to eat. Real yummy ..... more so on a cold wintery day.



Cost KRW5,000. FatMan says "Highly recommended".

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Monday, February 23, 2004  

Doh Si Rak 

This is the food court at the Carrefour hypermarket. It is typical of many such food courts located within shopping malls and departmental stores in Korea. This particular foodcourt has approx. 30 stores serving all types of Korean food.



Food courts are great if you're unfamiliar with Korean food, because the stores have mock-up of the dishes displayed at the counters (as depicted below). Tonight's dinner was doh si rak. Basically it is a bento-type set meal comprising of soup, rice, main dish and a variety of side dishes. There are many types of doh si rak to choose from, depending on your appetite and budget.



I chose their most expensive "special" set (KRW6,000). It had a diluted yuk gi jang(spicy beef soup), fried fish, a bulgogi/spicy bulgogi (thinly sliced beef) combo + assortment of side dishes. The interesting thing was the rice. It is not your typical white rice variety, but purplish in color. This is quite common in Korea, along with rice mixed with grains like oats, barley etc. Thumbs up. Real nice.



Desert? OK OK, if you REALLY must know . . . . . . .



One observation though - whenever Koreans ask me what's my favourite food, and I tell them it's doh si rak, they look at me bewildered or in disbelief! Am I suppose to answer bulgogi? Or galbi? But I really do like doh si rak. Why is this? Anyone?

| burped @ 22:50 | link | | | top |

Wednesday, February 18, 2004  

Mr. Stomach's Flashbacks 

From time to time, when Mr. Stomach has nothing interesting to shout about, I will post stuff from the past. Yes there are occasions when Mr. Stomach will be eating just boring ole stuff, which would be hardly worth posting. Below is one such example. So go ahead and start drooling! Hehehe . . . .

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Tony Roma's 

Christmas eve dinner was had at Tony Roma's in Gangnam-gu. It's located about 100 metres from Gangnam Subway Station exit 5 - real easy to find.



Here's their trademark The Original Baby Back Ribs (KRW27,300).



The pork ribs were delicious and finger-lickin good. Go for The Original instead of the St. Louis Red Hots Ribs (yes that's not a type .. it's "Hots" with an "s"). Besides coleslaw, you get to choose 1 additional complimentary side dish, from baked potatoes, buttered rice, french fries etc. I had the corn-on-cob.

In the background, we have the Onion Loaf (KRW7,500), another of Tony's speciality, and the Baked Potato Soup (KRW5,300). The Onion Loaf was nice, if you're not averse to oily fried food. Best taken hot from the fryer, it comes with a variety of dipping sauce (side plate). The potato soup was very nice, much better than their clam chowder. The Onion Loaf was complimentary because I brought along this coupon. Yes, I'm cheap!

For deserts, it was the Chocolate Brownie (KRW6,800). Nothing to shout about here.



I've also tried another of Tony Roma's outlets in the Myeong-dong area (downtown Seoul). I prefer the Gangnam outlet to Myeong-dong which is located at the basement level and offers no view. This Gangnam outlet is on the first floor (ground floor being street level, if you're not familiar), feels less claustrophobic and a better overall ambience and atmosphere.

Tony Roma's is all over the place. I've tried Tony Roma's in Bangkok and I've heard it's extremely popular in Singapore too. You can check out the full menu, prices and other specials at their website.

| burped @ 23:15 | link | | | top |

Sunday, February 15, 2004  

Turkish Delight ..... not! 

Went searching for food in Itaewon today. Itaewon has the only mosque in Seoul, up on a hill (I've heard this is an infamous hill for other notorious reasons *wink*). It is therefore not surprising to find a small minority of muslims living in this area. For the same reason, you'll also find a butcher selling halal meat (halal : meat slaughtered in accordance to Islamic rules) here at wholesale prices (e.g. boneless mutton fillets for KRW8,000/kg), and stores selling Asian spices like cinnanom, cardamon, aniseed, cloves, curry powder etc. I even found Thai green curry powder!

I decided to try out Salam Restaurant which serves Turkish food. It is situated just next to the main entrance to the mosque. I had the lamb shish-kebab (KRW7,000), moussakka (brinjal-based dish) (KRW4,000), rice (KRW1,000), turkish bread (KRW1,000) and turkish tea (KRW4,000). They also have a set menu - for KRW15,000, you get a lentil soup, salad, main course, bread/rice and tea/coffee.

I did not have my camera with me at the time, so no photos to go with this post. Sorry!

I need to be blunt here. It was not a good meal. The "lamb" was poorly marinated, dry and tough. It should read mutton and not lamb, as they're different! The moussaka was pre-cooked and microwaved before serving. I had expected pillav long grained rice, but it turned out to be just plain rice of the Korean variety. The bread was just ordinary and the tea, the pride of Turkey, was actually just Lipton teabags disguised.

OK. I'm ranting. Sorry.

[ appendum - I found their website after posting the above ]

| burped @ 23:35 | link | | | top |