[Korean Food] First Specialty Store in Kimbap and Tteokbokki : Rolling Rice

Are you a fan of Korean Street Food such as mini kimbap (rice rolls), tteokbokki (rice cakes) and summer dessert patbingsu (shaved ice)?  Most Korean restaurants in Singapore serve main course dishes such as jjigae (stew), rice or noodles dishes and Rolling Rice is probably first to specialise in serving Korean street food in Singapore.  They are perfect for a light meal or something easy to take out, including their patbingsu.

Rolling Rice has more than 10 outlets in Korea and a few store globally including in Japan and Philippines.  I am really glad that they had chosen Singapore as part of their global expansion.

 

The outlet is conveniently located at the basement level of The Central.  It is the first stall that you see when you take the escalator from the street level.

Check out the menu!  There is a great variety of mini kimbap as well as tteokbokki in addition to popular Korean rice or noodle selection.  What I really like is that there is a selection of tteokbokki cooked using the Korean-traditional gochujang or the western-type cream sauce.  For those of us who have tried School Food (in Korea), Rolling Rice's concept is very similar to School Food's!

 

On my first visit to Rolling Rice, I was on vegetarian diet, and the silken tofu salad was perfect for me!

A wide selection of Korean drinks is available to go with your meal... The can on the left is Orange, center can is sujeonggwa, a traditional fruit punch made from dried persimmon, cinnamon and ginger, and the can on the right is shikhye, a traditional Korean sweeten rice punch.

Main course 1: Cream sauce tteokbokki.  This is similar to having pasta, just that tteokbokki replaces pasta as the staple ingredient.  The cream sauce is pretty light.

Main course 2: Spam (or luncheon meat in our local terms) kimbap.  It is basically rice roll with spam and pickled radish.  It comes with soy sauce to dip the kimbap, if you prefer a little savoury taste.

Main Course 3: Rice cake and dumpling ramyeon.  This is cooked using Korean instant noodles with pork or kimchi dumpling and sliced rice cakes.

Dessert: That's the main reason I was there for dinner - the patbingsu.  It is quite difficult to get patbingsu in Singapore.  Other than Paris Baguette (PB) and Seoul Yummy (SY), I do not know if any other restaurants that serve patbingsu.  Personally, I find the patbingsu to be the most authentic compare to PB or SY, even though it does not taste exactly like what you can get in Korea itself.  Good thing about the patbingsu at RR is the choice of regular ones with red bean or milk-flavoured / nut-flavoured patbingsu.

Take-away is also available for patbingsu.  The dessert will be packed in a container as well as in chiller bag!  The service stall are very friendly and easy going.  Do check it out!

Rolling Rice
The Central, Eu Tong Sen Street, #B1-49
Tel: 6222 0801
Opening Hour: Monday to Sunday 10am to 10pm.  Last Order is 8.30pm.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RollingRiceSingapore
Website: http://www.rollingrice.co.kr/

Getting there: Take MRT to Clarke Quay Station and take the connected exit to basement 1.  It is located near Crystal Jade Bakery. 



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[Korea Culture] Keep Calm and Enjoy Your Pepero

Do you know that Korea has 15 national holidays in a year?  In 2013, every month except in April, July and November, there is a national holiday!  That means me truly envious of their office workers!  In addition, there are 3 special days which aren't declared as national holidays, business establishments may declare as non-working days!

To top it up, Korea has Fun and Romantic days that fall on the 14th of EVERY month!

14 January : Diary Day where couples and friends exchange yearly planners.  Important dates such as anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions are marked down on their brand new planner.  That explains why book stores are stocked with beautiful planners by year end!

14 February : Valentine's Day.  On this day, ladies present chocolate to the person they like.

14 March : White Day.  It is the men's turn to present gifts to the person they like.  The custom in Korea is such that men should present a gift that is worth 3 times more.

14 April : Black Day.  Designated specially to the singles who will gather to eat Jjajangmyeon (black bean paste noodles) on this day.  Black is a symbol of feeling depressed.

The lists of holidays on the 14th goes on....

There is a new observance which arose in the 1990s when a couple of young teenage girls from Busan exchanged Pepero sticks, a cookie stick snack coated with chocolate, as a wish to grow tall and slim.   Pepero Day started when it became more popular.  Another legend says that Pepero Day started since the date "11/11" resembles 4 sticks of Pepero.  This is observed by young people and couples who exchange Pepero sticks on this day! 

Regardless, another day of observance means another day of fun!  So, just keep calm and enjoy your Pepero!

[Seoul, Korea] Exploring Korean Traditional Markets in Seoul on Subway Line 5

Korea is knowingly a country with deep history and colourful culture.  Every country, especially developed countries are fighting hard to preserve their traditions and roots.  However, at times, traditions have to give to the modern world.  As travellers, how would you claim that you have benefited from your travel if you have not had the chance to appreciate history, culture and tradition?

Modern departmental stores are fancied by many people.  It is convenient, chic, trendy to shop in the air-conditional place.  The truth is traditional markets are an essential part of Korea.  Many locals and even expatriates still visit the traditional markets.  For travellers to truly immerse and appreciate a foreign country's culture, take some time to visit such history too.  Many may have already heard of Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market, let's try exploring 3 other traditional markets - Kwangjang Market, Gongdeok Market and Yeongdeungpo Market. 

Kwangjang Market (광장시장) is said to be the nation's first traditional market, established in 1905.  The 2-storey building is huge and has multiple sections including silk, clothes, beddings, handicrafts, shoes, agricultural, marine, household and of course cooked food.  Impossible it may sound, there are approximately 5,000 shops under the roof of Kwangjang Market.

In this traditional markets that I have visited, almost all would have grocery shops selling traditional sweets and rice cakes.  During autumn season, rice cakes are of abundance and are made using freshly harvested fruits and vegetables.

Never underestimate the food quality at the traditional markets.  The food are fresh, delicious and likely to be cheaper compared to what you would pay for in restaurants at the popular tourist spots in Gangnam, Hongdae or even Myeongdong. 

Two dishes that are highly popular in the Kwangjang market are the bindaetteok (빈대떡), Korean-style pancake made using grounded mung bean, green onions and mung bean sprouts.  There is no meat in the pancake and it was known as the "poor man's pancake" because only the rich can afford to eat meat.  But now, it has become a popular snack in the markets that a few stalls occupy the centre section in the market, taking centre-stage.

(grinding of mung bean)

(Pan-fried bindaetteok)

Another popular snack in the Kwangjang Market is Kimbap (김밥).  These are small rice handrolls filled with carrots and picked daikon radish.  The owner is over 80 years old and isn't shy to admit that her kimbap is most delicious.  In fact, the kimbap were so delicious that it was openly known as mayak kimbap (마약김밥), literally means "drugged kimbap",  It may sound misleading but the kimbap isn't drugged.  It was meant that the kimbap are so delicious that once you tried it, you will crave for more.

(Mayak Kimbap)

Another traditional market, Gongdeok Market (공덕시장) is an unassuming place that is famous for pork trotters and Korean fried snacks.  It is known as the Gongdeok-dong Jeon (means pancake) Alley.  Not being a fan of pork trotters, I had tried the Korean fried snacks, which has a huge variety that it is quite a pain to decide what you should pick.

The fried snacks includes a spread of vegetables and mainly seafood.  The items could be individually priced and it could be by weight.  For this huge serving for 4 persons, plus side dishes, rice and makgeolli, it costs under USD25.  Quite kind to the pocket and it is a great hub for food.



Crossing over now to the other side of the Han River, Yeongdeungpo Central Market is yet another huge market that is situated in the administrative district in Southwest Seoul, where the National Assembly, skyscraper 63 Building and trendy shopping mall Times Square are also located.

The market was established after the postwar period and had been the central place to distribute goods in the district including food, clothings, industrial, live produce etc.  There are 600 over merchants and shops found in the market. 



(wholesaler for cooking oil)

What particularly struck me along the food alley was the number of stalls selling sundae (순대), a dish made by steaming or boiling pigs' or cows' intestines and stuffed into blood sausages together with other ingredients such as cellaphone noodles, barley, rice, kimchi etc.  The sausages are then cooked into soup or deep-fried.

Although the boiling pots of soup looking appetising, eating intestines is not something that I fancy.  Perhaps I may buck up my courage to try if I attempt a few more trips to Korea and learn to appreciate the dish better.  But if any of my adventurous readers are courageous enough to try, do let me know if it tastes good!

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Kwangjang Market (광장시장)

Address: 6-1 Yeju-dong, Jungno-gu, Seoul

Operating Hours: 7am to 10pm (timing may vary from shop to shop)

By subway: 1) Jongno 5-ga Station (Line 1, Exit 8); 2) Euljiro 4-ga Station (Line 2 or 5, exit 4)



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Gongdeok Market (공덕시장)256-10 Gongdeok-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul

By subway: Gongdeok Station, (A'REX, Line 5 or 6, Exit 5)


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Yeongdeungpo Market (영등포시장)
18 Yeongdeungpo 5-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul

By Subway, Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station, (Line 5, exit 3), walk 25 m along the exit direction

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Korean Snack - 떡볶이 Ddeokbokki Cracker

Surprised to find this at NTUC! How about having this snack for lunar new year? It's red and represents auspicious, why not right?