Inspirations from TVN variety show "Korean Hostel in Spain / 스페인 하숙"

It's been a long time since I last posted.  Somehow, this has become a standard starting phrase over the years whenever I "restart" my blog. Sometimes, I find myself in a slump where I just can't continue with something.

Long story short, I had many things I wanted to write about but somehow, I never finished them. I don't know whether it was just plain laziness, fatigue, writer's block or whatever it may be but I just couldn't finish what I started. And there you have it, a "dormant" personal blog which should have been far easier to maintain than my other "main blog" that is way more time-consuming to update.

What made me decide to pen something again was this Korean variety show from tvN called "Korean Hostel in Spain / 스페인 하숙". I have been a faithful follower of Na Young-seok PD's shows since "2 days 1 night" which unfortunately has gone through lots of ups and downs and is currently in limbo. Ever since Na PD crossed over to tvN, he and his team have churned out many entertaining shows, some seemingly really mundane (Three Meals A Day) or silly (like New Journey to the West) but turns out to be really interesting for some unfathomable reason. I have to admit, he and his team have that Midas touch to attract viewers although there was only one show which I couldn't finish i.e. "Little Cabin in the Woods" (too slow for me) and I haven't had the chance to watch "Trivia".

The premise of this show is very simple - the original cast members from Three Meals A Day: Fishing Village i.e. Cha Seung-won and Yoo Hae-jin head to Villafranca del Bierzo in Spain where they operate a Korean hostel for the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. Joining them is Bae Jung-nam, a model-actor, who is tasked to help Cha-jumma to cook for the pilgrims by doing chores, marketing and dishwashing. If you've seen Three Meals a Day featuring Cha-jumma before, you know that you will get hungry seeing all the delicious food he dishes out to the pilgrims. I was always craving for Korean food after each episode.

On the other hand, Yoo is in charge of facilities, maintenance and handling registration, check-ins and outs for the pilgrims. Along the way, he opens a "business" called Ikeyo (a pun on Ikea) which comes up with 14 different items under various product ranges such as Ikeyo Security, Ikeyo Life and Ikeyo Electric. This man can create virtually anything with just plywood, a hammer, saw, drill and nails! Along the way, he even gets one of the staff members to become his sole employee (Section Chief Park) and another to be his intern.

Come to think of it, every episode is quite similar in the sense that it always starts with the trio waiting for the pilgrims to come calling on their doorstep (because reservations at hostels are not allowed), they then cook dinner and breakfast the following day for the pilgrims, go about their chores after sending their guests off and repeat the same thing all over again. There was a day when they had as many as 11 guests but the last day saw no one showing up. However, what makes this show interesting is more than just the humour, the interactions between the trio, the mouthwatering Korean food and the ingenious creations of Ikeyo.

The show never projects itself as some kind of "sentimental chicken soup for the soul" or hardsells the notion that you have to go on some pilgrimage route like the Camino de Santiago in order to improve your life or solve the problems you are facing or do some soul-searching. What struck me most was how everyone had different reasons for going on the pilgrimage and often, the most difficult thing is getting started. It takes a lot of courage to take that first step on this 800km journey alone. Even if people do start off in groups or make friends along the way, there are bound to be sections on the route when you are on your own. People walk at different paces and sometimes can walk more on one day and maybe lesser on another depending on your condition. As such, it is probably difficult to expect someone to be by your side all the time on this journey. Isn't this reflective of how the journey of life is? The people in your lives come and go and ultimately, you have to be able to live with yourself and spend time listening to that voice within you. However, we are all so busy with our lives that we hardly have time to sit down, think and reflect on what we really want.

Many people go on this journey as a form of soul-searching and to spend time with themselves as they try to seek answers to the questions in their lives. Many of them are young people but you also have people in their 50s, 60s or even 70s doing this route even more than once. There was this lady from Korea who is in her 50s or 60s (can't remember the actual age), suffered an injury and could no longer play the piano which was her livelihood. As she reflected on her life story, the others felt sad for her but she chose to take it positively as a chance to take time off her work and do something she wanted to do. It's hard to be so positive and try something seemingly so daunting at that age. Although it is not a given that you may find a solution to the problems you have even after reaching Santiago but to many, this experience of going on this pilgrimage has probably helped them to come to terms with things and find a way out of the situations they are in.

This resonated with me quite a lot as I watched this show. My fears and worries seem to have increased as I get older. If it was the younger me, I would have dared to do a lot more without actually worrying about the outcome. Looking back now, the old me was rash but courageous but I liked who I was. It was also really satisfying to be able to achieve things which seemed impossible in the beginning.

As I grow older though, the maturity and experience gained along the way do impede my willingness to step out of my comfort zone and do the things I want to do. There is a lot more to lose. There are more consequences to bear. And there are some conditions which have changed now e.g. health condition which make it not suitable for me to do certain things. I suppose this is probably the price of growing up. You gain some, you lose some.

Of course, it doesn't mean that just by watching this show, I will be aiming to embark on this Camino de Santiago anytime soon. I don't think I can handle 800km for a start and even if I can, I might need to take a long time to finish this route. However, a shorter route on a less challenging course somewhere else might be workable. I think I have to start doing some research before actually taking that first step but I like the idea of spending some time walking to a destination and thinking about what really matters to me.

That aside, I think what the show reminded me of was how I used to be more courageous to attempt the unknown. I probably lost my guts along the way as I became more and more jaded and discouraged by many things which happened after I left school. Seeing how all these people with their own stories, achievements and setbacks embark on their solo journeys, it has given a gentle push on my back to start doing something I want before I keep regretting the things I should have done but did not do.

And who knew that you could be inspired in this way by a variety show like this? I guess it's a worthwhile investment with a decent return from spending 11 weeks on this show. ^__^

A place for comforting Korean stews - Masizzim (313@Somerset)

I've always been keen to try Korean stews locally but there were two major obstacles preventing me from doing so. First of all, many places I've been to so far tend to have such stews in sharing sizes which effectively meant that for someone like me who eats out often on my own, there was no way I could have finished the food singlehandedly. Even if I could, some restaurants had the rule that there must be at least two persons present before certain dishes can be ordered (yes, I'm referring to a particular bijin nabe which I've yet to try because of this rule). Secondly, a lot of the stews tend to use beef which I can't eat for religious reasons. It was really difficult to find a place which offers stews using anything other than beef and in a size friendly to singles.

Imagine my excitement when I heard about Masizzim at B3 of 313@Somerset. Not only do they offer the pork ribs stew, they even have it in single and double portions! Given that they emphasized the word "jjim" which means stews in Korean and claimed that their stews are delicious i.e. "masi" is short form for delicious in their name, there must be something about their stews worth boasting about. As such, there was no way I could have let this slip off my radar and thus decided to try if it was good as it was said to be.

The atmosphere of the restaurant can be considered as simple and no frills. From the outside, the restaurant looked a bit dark due to its extensive use of black and brown colours. It was pretty down-to-earth and not the flashy type of upscale eatery which you might have second thoughts entering if you are either dressed really casually or eating alone. Considering how I dress really simply due to sheer laziness and the hot weather, a place which allows me to be myself rather than worry about how people would look at me when I'm eating alone will end up in my favourites list. In this sense, Maizzim is a place which I would have no qualms coming back to. As seen in many Korean restaurants, K-pop music was blaring from the sound system which I have no problems with. If you are in a group though, it may be difficult to hear one another speak due to the music. One peculiar thing I noticed though was, I kept hearing 2NE1 songs while I was having my meal but saw Big Bang's music videos on the TV screen. Perhaps the owner has a particular preference for YG artistes? ^__^

First up would definitely be the pork ribs stew. There are three types of meat stews to choose from i.e. pork, beef and chicken. Note that for the chicken stew, the default option is spicy so for those who can't really take spicy food, you might want to keep this in mind. Personally, I'm not too good with spicy stuff too but I would probably come back another day just to try the chicken stew.

I really liked the pork ribs which were well-marinated and absorbed the flavours of the slightly spicy soup which goes well with the multi-grain rice served together. Although I ordered the single portion, there were more than 5 pieces of the pork ribs and they were mostly soft ribs which meant that there was more meat than the typical spare ribs used in bak kut teh. The meat texture in turn was soft and you could detach the meat from the bones very easily.

After choosing your meat, you can then select the spiciness level. For a "beginner" like me, I chose Level 1 which was slightly spicy in my opinion. For those who are OK with spicy stuff, you might find this not challenging at all so by all means challenge yourself with a Level 4.

Next, you get to choose between Korean udon and glass noodles. I'm not sure what Korean udon is and how it differs from its Japanese counterpart since I ordered the latter. However, I was rather disappointed to see the flat and thick version rather than the thinner one in my stew because it tends not to absorb the gravy/soup/sauce as well as the latter. True enough, I didn't like how the glass noodles tasted. As the thick glass noodles was rather stretchy and difficult to lift from the pot, I was conscious of the fact that whenever the glass noodles snapped backwards into the pot, the gravy seemed to spurt outwards to my neighbours and myself. Might be worth considering that if you want to avoid this messy situation.

If you find that your stew is not filling enough, you can add other things like Korean rice cakes as a top-up. I didn't add any this time since I wasn't sure of the portion size. I guess if I am just ordering the stew without other dishes next time, I might want to try adding the rice cakes.

The squid and leek pancake was a hit with me too. I really dislike versions of this with lumpy spring onion or leek strips (too dense or moist so it loses its crunchiness and flavour), negligible amounts of seafood bits, seafood cut into such small bits that you can hardly taste anything or too much egg in the pancake mix thus causing it to be dense and sink rather than be crispy and light. Fortunately, the version here has very generous amounts of leek and squid in long strips. Coupled with a crispy edge and the pancake not being too thick and dense in the middle, this has got to be one of the better versions I've tasted so far locally. The only drawback was that the sauce seemed to be a bit heavy on the vinegar so the sourish taste overpowered the savoury soy sauce's flavour. Nonetheless, on the whole, it was still good enough to be eaten with the pancake.

Last but not least, to round up the meal, I ordered the peach tea in a bid to remove the spiciness left behind by the stew. Strangely enough, I didn't taste much of the tea flavour but rather this felt more like peach soda to me. It still served its purpose of relieving my palate of the stinging sensation from the stew but I don't think I'll be trying this again. I was more keen on trying their sikhye but it only comes in a 600ml size which again is not a single-friendly item so I can't order that unless I'm in a group or would like to take away the remainder if they allow me to do so. I haven't asked the staff about whether this is OK though.

On the whole, I think the experience at Masizzim turned out quite well and I was quite satisfied with the quality of the food. I wouldn't say that it has a very extensive menu but I have no issues with this lack of variety and would prefer them to focus on their specialties rather than be a Jack of all trades. Now that I've finally found a place where I can get pork rib stew in a single portion, I think I may go back to Masizzim again very soon whenever I have the craving. Next time, it might be good to have the spicy chicken stew with the potato pancake. I just hope that the spicy chicken stew doesn't use breast meat which gets really tough if you cook it for a long time.

Raise your spirits with Korean comfort food at Chicken Up (Parkway Parade)

As an amateur or should I say part-time food reviewer (I don't think that I fit the title of food blogger) who posts reviews as and when I like and given that I am no expert on food, I would never have expected myself to be invited to food tasting events especially since I'm not one of the big names in the food blogging arena. When I saw the call for applicants to take part in this food tasting event hosted by Open Rice at Chicken Up's latest branch at Parkway Parade, I gave it a shot while thinking that it would be extremely unlikely that I would be selected. As such, when I received the email confirming my selection, it was a mix of surprise and disbelief that I was going to attend my very first food tasting event! It was a tad intimidating at first because some of my fellow participants were armed with very professional-looking cameras, using additional lights or flashes or going to great lengths to arrange the dishes on the table so as to make the photos look better. Comparatively, I just brought my Sony camera which isn't even a DSLR and was meant as a countermeasure against dark lighting within the restaurant. Otherwise, I always use my mobile phone to take my food pictures. I guess this just shows how "casual" I am when it comes to taking food pictures for my reviews so I don't think I can match up to these more experienced food bloggers anytime soon in terms of skills, experience and enthusiasm. ^__^

Perhaps I should talk about my experience with Chicken Up so far for a start. I am not new to Chicken Up actually as I've been to their outlets before i.e. once in Tanjong Pagar and twice in Tampines. As such, I knew roughly what I was going to eat there before I showed up for the food tasting event. However, it seems like Chicken Up has added some new items which I don't remember seeing before which I think is a positive step towards attracting new customers and maintaining the novelty for existing ones.

The Parkway Parade outlet at the first floor of the shopping mall feels much bigger than the Tanjong Pagar and Tampines outlets partly because there are two sitting areas separated by the walkway. The Tanjong Pagar outlet felt more cramped as the tables were rather close to one another while the Tampines outlet also had similar issues as it isn't a proper shop space within the Century Square building. Lighting-wise, the Tanjong Pagar outlet was on the dark side since it was within a shophouse and there were not many windows to let in the natural light from outside while the Tampines outlet could be a bit dark if there was a lack of sunlight coming through the full-length glass windows as one side of the restaurant was facing the building. Comparatively, the Parkway Parade outlet felt less restrictive in terms of space and the warm orange lighting  made it feel cosier. The shop space area houses the bar counter on the left, the sitting area in the centre, the kitchen at the back and a series of wall display shelves on the right containing bottles of food items such as spices and fruits. It might be good to fill up the entire display area as some bottles were empty so it didn't look as nice as it could have been. The first row of the shelves were also not lighted up so by fixing that, the whole display would stand out more prominently.

The other seating area outside the shop space can be likened to be semi-al fresco because there are no walls on the boundaries so you would be able to look across to other restaurants near Chicken Up. The borderless design makes the area look more spacious than it actually is. In addition, you don't need to bear with the heat like in the Tampines outlet because the outdoor seats there are exposed to the elements. In the Parkway Parade outlet, you get to enjoy an al fresco feel in air-conditioned comfort. Based on this reason alone, I think customers would be happier to sit in the "outdoor" area than if they had to contend with the heat, dust from vehicle traffic or even the haze which is becoming an annual issue when the winds are not in our favour.

Being a Korean restaurant, there is no lack of Kpop music as the BGM which should attract young people who like Korean pop culture and food. I heard a number of my favourites during the entire tasting session which I think is good in improving the dining experience. Ever since the Korean drama "He who came from the stars" (별에서 온 그대) became a hit, chi-maek (치맥) i.e. fried chicken and beer has suddenly become a very attractive combination to many people. For chi-maek fans, you would be happy to know about the chi-maek buffet offered by Chicken Up at its Tanjong Pagar, Tampines, Buangkok and of course Parkway Parade outlets where you can eat an unlimited amount of chicken wings with beer or soju at a fixed price. On most days, ladies can get this deal at $35++ each while gentlemen who are expected to be able to consume more, have to pay a $10 premium on top of this amount. Note that if you are coming on a Friday, there would be a surcharge of $20.

For customers who may be clueless about what to order especially if this is their first time here, Chicken Up provides a list of their best-selling food, drinks and desserts on the first few pages of its menu. Although not everyone may like what's popular among the masses, it is helpful for those who may have difficulty deciding even after going through the entire menu. With the presence of photos as visual aids, this allows customers to see at a glance what to expect. In the event that they are interested in a particular item, they can then refer to the detailed menu for a list of what goes into which dish and the spiciness level. For those who may have special dietary concerns due to various reasons as religion, I would recommend that you check the ingredients list before ordering. In my case, I keep a lookout for dishes which contain beef or beef-related items when I dine out so that I would not eat such dishes unwittingly. As such, Chicken Up's efforts in trying to provide the list of ingredients is indeed commendable and helpful to people like me. I wish more restaurants would be more considerate in this regard.

First to be served was the pineapple soju (파인애플소주, $30). Even before the top of the pineapple was removed, the sweet scent from the fruit was hard to ignore and it looked good visually. The small soju shot glasses were used to serve this type of soju. Much as I'm not really into alcoholic drinks, the pineapple soju tasted better than I expected. A note of warning though, because the sweetness of the pineapple soju is picked up by the tongue first before the taste of the soju kicks in, you may be tempted to drink this at a faster pace than your body can take it. It would be recommended to go easy on the drink because soju's alcohol content varies from 16.7% to 45% so there is a risk of getting drunk before you finish your meal. Perhaps not drinking on an empty stomach and pacing yourself would be the best way to ensure that you can enjoy this drink without causing any undesirable effects after your meal.

The watermelon soju (수박소주, $38) was served in an entirely different manner though. First of all, one bottle of soju was poured into half a watermelon with the fruit removed which set off the first wave of white smoke flowing out and collective responses of amazement among the participants. Another bottle of the soju was then emptied into the watermelon as seen from the picture. The soju was then served in droplet-shaped bowls which were much bigger than the soju shot glasses. Comparatively, this may not go down well with the casual drinker because the strong soju taste hit the tongue in such a manner that it felt like scalding due to hot water. The watermelon taste was not as noticeable when compared to its pineapple counterpart which I assume to be that the soju overpowered the taste of the watermelon.

Frankly speaking, for people who can hardly drink or only drink once in a while, the watermelon may not be suitable for you. For those who can hold their liquor well, this would be good if you are eating in a group and the aesthetic appeal of this item would definitely lift the atmosphere of your meal outing as soon as this gets served on your table. On the other hand, if you are new to soju and can't really boast about being a good drinker, go for the pineapple soju which is less intimidating and easier on your palette. Portion-wise, it would be less likely for you to get drunk since the volume of the pineapple should be lesser than that of the watermelon.For those who may be wondering, the type of soju being used here is Sodal 쏘달 from Jinro which contains 16.9% of alcohol.

Makguksu (막구수, $12) which is essentially cold buckwheat noodle salad, was one of my Top 3 favourite dishes during the food tasting. Besides buckwheat noodles, there were vegetables such as cabbage and carrots, seaweed shreds, one-half of a hard-boiled egg and a vinegar-like dressing. Even before the ingredients were mixed, this dish already gave off a refreshing aroma even though it was not a hot dish. Despite being slightly cold, the makgusu offered an unique combination of sour vs. spicy (the dressing) and soft vs. crunchy (the noodles and the vegetables) thus making it a very appealing appetiser to begin the meal with. Portion-wise, it's good enough to be shared among a few people so for people who must have their greens and carbohydrates, this would be a pretty good choice to get started.

Topokki with cheese and seafood (해물치즈떡볶이, $20) would be a dish popular with those who like spicy food. Most topokki dishes in Korean restaurants tend to have just the deok (rice cakes), the odaeng (fish cakes) and hard-boiled eggs or with ramyeon at times. However, Chicken Up's version chooses to do away with this convention and adds seafood such as squid and scallops along with glass noodles and onions to the standard ingredient of deok. A generous amount of shredded cheese is placed on top thus giving the dish a thick and gooey texture once it is mixed into the topokki's spicy sauce. Be warned that this can be quite stimulating on your tongue so for those who are not too good with spicy food, you may wish to reconsider your choice. For those who relish spicy food, this should be a very attractive option. As for those who can't take beef-related items just like me, note that there is beef seasoning used in this dish.

The seafood pancake (해물파전, $18) here was also somewhat different from the traditional version elsewhere. In many Korean restaurants, the seafood pancakes are usually thin with crisp edges and presented as a big full circle. Sometimes, they are cut up in pieces of different sizes in the kitchen while at times, they are only cut and served at the table. The version here lined up the four square pieces of the pancake neatly on the plate and each slice was comparatively thicker than the norm. However, I found that the proportion of the batter was more than what I would have preferred so I could hardly taste the spring onions and seafood bits within the pancake. The dipping sauce was also modified to become somewhat similar to chili sauce with a savoury twist as it contained chili sauce, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sugar and undisclosed spices. This is quite different from the usual soy sauce with spring onions and chili used elsewhere. Perhaps it's a matter of old habits die hard but I do prefer the traditional sauce when eating this dish. Given the price of this dish, I also feel that the portion may be too little and the small number of pieces will probably mean that it's going to be harder to share this dish in a large group setting unless multiple portions are ordered. For a small group though, this will be just nice as compared to the larger traditional version. I guess the suitability of a dish really depends on how big your dining party is.

There are two types of fries being offered here i.e. the bulgogi fries (불고기프라이스, $18) and the kimchi fries (김치프라이스, $18). As the bulgogi fries contain beef, I would not be able to give an accurate assessment of that since I did not sample this dish. However, the kimchi fries which are covered in a mayonnaise-based sauce with melted cheese, spring onions, shallots and shredded chicken which had been cooked in chicken stock contains a mixture of different flavours coming together to deliver an unique taste. The sourish kimchi coupled with the sweet mayonnaise and cheese, the crunchiness brought about by the vegetables and the texture added by the flavoured chicken shreds combine to create a new type of fries that isn't so common out there. The only flaw I notice is that the fries at the bottom of the tray tend not to be covered by the sauce thus it might be good to have an option of ordering more dipping sauce for those who find themselves running out of sauce or would prefer to have more of it. Surprisingly, despite the use of kimchi in this dish, there seems to be a lack of the signature spiciness from the kimchi so for those who are concerned about spiciness, it looks like it won't be an issue for this dish.

Jabchae (잡채, $14) is a stir-fried dish made up primarily by glass noodles, spring onions, carrots, onions, capsicum and sesame seeds. The version here which I also chose as one of my top 3 favourites, was nicely flavoured without an oily aftertaste. Even when left to cool (because we were busy taking pictures), the glass noodles remained springy instead of becoming a messy lump. Although there are some versions of this dish which contain pork or beef, Chicken Up's version doesn't. As such, for those who are looking for a noodle dish to satisfy their carbohydrates need and yet doesn't want to consume more meat or wants to eat some vegetables, this would be another viable option just like the makgusu introduced earlier on. However, the key difference between both dishes is that the makgusu would be more suitable to be an appetiser while while the jabchae is more like a side dish to be eaten together with the main course.

During my last visit to Chicken Up, I did not notice that there was budae jjigae (부대찌개, $30), also known as army stew on the menu. I'm not sure if this was newly added recently though. The strange thing is that, it is known as Ugly Tang Stew even though the Korean name printed on the menu remains as budae jjigae. Apparently, this name was given to represent the mixture of the ingredients in the stew which look rather messy because there are many types of items inside the top. Budae jjigae apparently started as a food item for soldiers where they added anything they had into the kimchi-based stew because food was scarce then. There are no fixed rules on what must go into this dish but as far as I could see, the standard items of ramyeon, deok, ham, luncheon meat (not sure if this is the SPAM canned meat from Korea), chili, spring onions, onions, macaroni and cheese were all there. As for the soy beans (not baked beans) and enoki mushrooms, they probably aren't considered to be part of the menu for budae jjigae. The soup is also a bit different in the sense that the gochujang (chili paste) is mixed into a kimchi-based soup but here in Chicken Up, a clear stock made of chicken is poured into the pot while the gochujang is shaped into a sphere, placed on top of the ingredients and blended in when the soup boils. As such, the taste here is somewhat lighter and not as spicy than the usual budae jjigae.

Looking at the photo, it is evident that the pot was almost full by the time the soup was poured in. It can be a bit difficult to stir the contents without some of the soup flowing out of the pot. As such, it might be better to use a bigger pot if possible e.g. the flat-type big pans usually used for budae jjigae. Otherwise, it would be best to pour in the soup over several times to avoid the contents from overflowing.

Finally, here are the leads at Chicken Up i.e. the fried chicken! There are three flavours available i.e. ganjang (soya sauce), yangnyum and spicy. During the tasting, we were given the first two flavours to try.

Korean fried chicken is done differently from the usual style of fried chicken we get elsewhere as it is deep-fried twice and coated with a sauce using a brush after deep-frying. As such, this is said to be the reason why Korean fried chicken is less greasy and crunchier than its competition. It is also said that Korean fried chicken restaurants tend to use small or medium-sized chickens which have more tender meat thus contributing to the popularity of this dish.

The ganjang chicken wings (진짜 유명 간장 지킨윙, $12) which interestingly is listed as "very famous ganjang chicken wings" in Korean on the menu, had a light sheen on their skin due to the glazing of the soy sauce which also played a pivotal role in making the skin moist to the taste. Unlike other deep-fried chicken wings which may tend to be either too oily or dry on the surface, the presence of the ganjang helps to accentuate the flavour to a certain extent and retains the moisture in the skin. In addition, the deep-frying method used to make the chicken wings also played a key role in sealing the natural juices of the chicken meat without drying it out. Although it would be good if the flavour of the ganjang could also be tasted in the chicken meat rather than just at the skin level, this might make the entire dish a bit too salty to my liking so I think the current method of just coating the ganjang still works best. On the whole, this version of the chicken wings ranks in my top 3 but I think that there is a limit to how many I can eat these at one sitting because the soy sauce becomes a bit too heavy on the palate after a while.

On the other hand, the yangnyum version (양념치킨윙, $12) looked very different from the ganjang version as the chicken wings were coated in a red and sticky sauce which typically consists of gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste), ketchup, garlic and corn syrup. White sesame seeds were then sprinkled on the chicken wings as shown in the photo. For those who prefer a slightly spicier version of the chicken wings, this should be suitable for you. Even for people who may not be a fan of spicy food, the level of spiciness in this dish is still manageable to a certain extent. Similarly, the meat of the chicken wings was still tender and juicy just like the ganjang version. Personally, I think that this would taste best when eaten with alcoholic drinks such as beer and it doesn't feel as overwhelming on the palate even after eating multiple pieces.

In conclusion, the entire tasting event was very enjoyable and I found it to be a great eye opener. This review turned out to be much longer than I initially expected so if you have read this till the end, thank you for your time and attention and hope that you were not bored by this. Special thanks goes to the staff at Chicken Up who tried to make us comfortable and answered the numerous questions we had and Open Rice for giving me the opportunity to try this new outlet. Till the next tasting event then!

The latest trendsetter in town - Caffebene 카페베네 (Vivocity)

It seems like many people are very excited about the arrival of Caffebene, a South Korean cafe chain, in Singapore, considering the number of times I've been seeing pictures of the food and drinks there on various social media platforms. Pardon me for being ignorant but even though I've heard of the brand before, I've never tried it in South Korea so I don't feel the hype or get what it is all about. Nor am I a fan of bingsu (similar to our local ice-kacang in a sense) which is said to be one of the biggest selling points of Caffebene. It certainly does look appealing but the portion size is indeed daunting for a person to finish especially in this season when it rains almost every afternoon. Last but not least, as for the coffee which Caffebene takes great pride in, it will probably never win me over because of the fact that I don't drink coffee at all.

So why did I go there anyway if there was no strong pull factor in the first place? Well, let's just say that I was being curious. Hearing people rave all about it, I thought that it was only right to pop in for a visit and see if it really is as good as it seems. Knowing that it will probably be a long wait on weekends, I deliberately chose a weekday afternoon to visit the first outlet at Vivocity. Much as I would expect the place to be crowded as it is the school holidays now, about 95% full on a weekday afternoon with office workers, tai-tais, families with kids and teenagers forming the bulk of the customers is really not my idea of a chill-out cafe.

Before I visited the cafe, I did some research online to see what kind of items it offers on its menu. In the food department, there are waffles, honeybread, gelato and bingsu while for drinks, there are coffee, frappeno and non-alcoholic cocktails to choose from. However, when I was at the cafe, there were also cakes and sandwiches that were not mentioned on the site so I'm not sure if these will be offered all the time. Based on the selection so far, this looks like a place which I'll probably swing by for desserts after the main meal rather than have a full course meal at.

Currently, there is a promotional discount of 20% off for beverages to celebrate the opening of the cafe. I chose the cold peppermint tea which was rather refreshing and not too sweet to go with the dessert.

As for the dessert, I chose the walnut-base waffle with Korean rice cake which came with some walnuts and a generous portion of soybean powder sprinkled over the waffle along with some almonds and walnuts. The aroma of the waffle was very noticeable from the moment it was handed over at the counter and further accentuated by the soybean powder. Much as I don't really like the thick and dense waffle, I thought it was still done pretty nicely and tasted good without the usual accompanying syrup or ice cream. The rice cake had a red bean filling and due to the heat from the waffle, became really soft and easy to chew. Surprisingly, the rice cake went well with the waffle despite being vastly different types of desserts. My only grouse is that the soybean powder kept falling onto my clothes with each mouthful of this dessert so be sure to shake the excess powder off to prevent this from happening.

In conclusion, would I go back to this cafe again? Well, the crowds can be rather intimidating and I certainly don't fancy sitting in a noisy cafe to relax. Having said that, I thought that they had a few items which I'm pretty interested in so I may just return for the sake of trying them out on a day when the hype has sort of settled and I won't have to jostle for space with the other customers. The issue is, going by the crowds I saw, it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon which is definitely good news for the cafe.

Lunch at the K-town: Sampo Korean BBQ Restaurant

Tanjong Pagar is known to be a place where there are many Korean restaurants around so it's an easy thing to find something decent and authentic enough if you are craving for some K-food. This is located at the Peck Seah Street Heritage Court just 5 minutes away from the MRT station and is usually packed during lunchtime. I try to go there after 1pm to avoid the crowd so that I won't have to queue up or share tables with others.

Anyway, back to the food here. Sampo serves a standard 6-piece banchan which changes depending on the day you come. Portions aren't big but you can ask for refills if you need. During my latest visit, I got the pork bulgogi lunch set and a pajeon (Korean seafood and spring onion pancake) to share so it was definitely a meal which satisfied my taste buds and made me full. Lunch set prices are generally on the low side so that's probably why it attracts the people working in the area. At dinnertime, if you are looking for Korean BBQ at your table, the prices will be slightly higher. I have never eaten here before at night so I have no idea how different the spread may be or if the taste differs. From what I observed during lunchtime, most people get the lunch sets which can be BBQ meat, soup or noodles so I guess the night crowd would probably order mainly BBQ meat with drinks to round up a hard day at work. And it does look like this place is serious about their meat because some of the better cuts can really leave a dent in your pocket. ^__^

A taste of Korea - BBQ Chicken Singapore

Lunch on weekdays is usually simple fare for me but once in a while, a little treat is needed to keep the engine going for the rest of the work day. My first encounter with BBQ Chicken was when it first opened at Downtown East and I remember being impressed with what I ate then. In recent years, the franchise has expanded to other parts of the island so it's been much easier to get access to Korean chicken cuisine nowadays.

Since it was during the lunchtime promotion when I visited the outlet, I got the 1-for-1 offer which allows you to order a main dish and another salad/soup/side dish/pasta etc. This is the smoked duck salad with citrus sauce which I got that day as part of the offer. It was good that the vegetables were scrunchy while the citrus sauce didn't seem overly sweet and could take away a little bit of the saltiness in the smoked duck slices. Overall, this was a pretty good salad which met my expectations.

And this is the main dish i.e. jerk chicken with two sides. I chose mashed potato and coleslaw to go with the chicken. The coleslaw's quality can vary at times so it was a relief that this visit happened to be one of those where the coleslaw was up to standard. I usually order jerk chicken since I like it for its moist and flavourful meat. Once in a while, I would order the Korean fried chicken which somehow differs from the fast-food versions from chains like KFC, Popeyes or Texas. Maybe it was the spices used or the cooking method should be different. I've not tried the Korean fried chicken at places like Kko Kko Nara so I can't really tell if the fried chicken here is indeed authentic or has been modified to fit the local tastebud.

Something odd this time was that instead of the usual drumstick, it was a piece of chicken cutlet. I wonder if that had to do with the fact that I ordered an offer set compared to ordering it ala-carte. I think the texture of the meat does differ depending on the part used so I do pay attention to this when ordering meat dishes. Despite this hiccup, the dish still lived up to its usual standard and did not fail to disappoint in terms of flavour.

Upon leaving the restaurant, I was a bit surprised to see Cha Tae-hyun appearing in the promotional ads. Since when did he become the personality for BBQ Chicken? ^__^ I haven't been to any BBQ Chicken restaurant for a short while and I remember not seeing him during my last visit. The 1n2d exposure must have brought some new ads or jobs to the boys so it's a good thing after all to see Tae-hyun's ad outside of Korea. It's interesting to see his myriad of expressions on these ads just as what he shows in 1n2d. If you are a Cha Tae-hyun fan, you should head to any BBQ Chicken outlet and look at him for all you want while munching on Korean fried chicken.