Korea Eats : Feasting out at Jebu Island (not Jeju Island )

Korea Today - A Feast on Jebu Island 제부도, 바다음식 열전!

 

Singapore Style : Korean Beancurd Stew (순두부찌개)





Doesn't those scenes in Korean dramas where the actors/actresses are eating piping hot stews from the pots make you drool?  One of the popular stews in Korea is the Sundubu Jjigae (순두부찌개).  It is a hot and spicy stew dish with beancurd and seafood, with an egg on stop of the dish.

 

It is actually quite easy to cook up a pot of Korean Beancurd Stew once you have the stew pre-mix.  The pre-mix is a sauce which I got mine from one of the Korean supermarkets. 

 

Koreans would typically eat this stew with rice.  For a change and to localise this, I decided to add the thick nice noodle into the stew.

 

 

 

For ingredients:

1.  Stew Pre-Mix (it can serve up to 4 pax)

2.  Eggs

3.  1 pack of Beancurd

4.  Some Thick Noodles which depends on how many persons you are serving

5.  200 ml of water

6.  Seafood

 

 

Steps:

1.  If you are using the thick noodles, cook it separately first and put it aside.

2.  Add the water and stew pre-mix into the pot. 

3.  Turn on high heat and let it boil. 

4.  Lower the heat and add in seafood ingredients

5.  Followed by eggs, beancurd and noodles.

6.  Turn on high heat for the final boil and that's it!

 

Simple, isn't it?  Taste wise, it is not bad.  If you prefer the stew to be thick and spicy, then the portion might be sufficient for just 2 persons.  If you do not take spicy food well, you will need to add a bit more water.  The thick noodles can be replaced with glass noodles too and it is all a matter of preference.

 



Related Posts:
Korean Army Stew (부대찌개 / Budae Jjigae) (click)
Cheese Ramyeon (click)

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Thai Express : Sa-nook Red Tom Yum Fish Soup

Fancy having some hot and spicy (yet affordable) Tom Yum?  Consider trying this Sa Nook set meal at Thai Express.  In Thai, Sa Nook means "fun" and it is a way of the Thai's life.

I am not sure how many knows that you can request for some cashew nuts (appetisers) while waiting for your food to be served, and it is free of charge.  The sugar-coated cashew nuts fried with lemongrass, curry leaves and dried chilli is rather addictive.  Fret not, it isn't spicy when though it is fried using dried chilli.  On days where the food quality is so-so, this might just be the saving grace.

The Sanook Tom Yum Fish Soup's portion was quite reasonable.  Came with a few pieces of thick fish slides and some straw mushrooms.  The soup was hot and spicy to the right level and would be a good choice especially on rainy days.  The set came with 3 small green curry chicken balls.  Frankly, I didn't taste much of a green curry and the texture wasn't as crispy as they look.  The chicken balls were probably made by mashing with some potato mash.  The sago with red-coloured attap seeds dessert was alright, if you are not a fussy dessert person. 

Strongly recommended by my colleague to try this Thai Style Sir-fried Kang Kong with fermented beans and chilli padi, it was indeed very very good.  We, Chinese, usually like food with the wok-hei fragrance.  That requires the chef to have good skills to cook the dishes in high heat and without getting charred, and this stir-fried kangkong has that!  As you can see, the dishes was cooked with a generous portion of fermented beans and lots of chilli padi.  But a word of caution too.  The dish is rated with 2 chillies, if you are not a fan of spicy food, stay clear from this! 

This dish is highly recommended, if you are at a lost of what to order at the restaurant.

Website: http://www.thaiexpress.com.sg/

Address: 68 Orchard Road, #03-24 Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839
Tel: +65-6339 5442

Operating Hour:
Daily: 11.30am to 10.30pm
Last order at 10pm

Getting there: Take MRT to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.  Use the underpass and take the exit that is directly linked to Plaza Singapura Basement 2.  Although Dhoby Ghaut MRT is contacted by 3 different lines [(North-South Line (Red), Northeast Line (Purple) and Circle Line (Yellow)], the station is inter-connected and it is not necessary to exit to the street level to go to the mall.  Simply look for directional signs to Plaza Singapura and head towards the direction.


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Korean Grocery Shopping in Singapore

Fellow Singaporean blogger Aini has compiled a very comprehensive list of Korean supermarkets in Singapore.  Compared to a decade again, when there was only Seoul Plaza, Shine Supermarket, Koreana Trading and Solmart, there are so many more supermarkets that have found their way into Singapore.  I personally shop at Shine Supermarket at Burlington Square and Solmart at Square 2 more often than the others because they are more accessible to me. 

Sol Mart
Square 2, #03-06 to 08
Tel: 63976421
Opening Hours: 9.30am to 9.30pm
http://www.solmart.com.sg/

Plus point: Their staff can converse in English and Mandarin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Getting there: Right above Novena MRT Station.

Opening soon at Star Vista.

Getting there: Buona Vista Station.  Walk 3 mins to the mall which is located right next to the station.

Other Outlets:

West Mall
1 Bukit Batok Central Link, #04-20
Tel: 6862 8225

Tampines 1
10 Tampines Central 1 #B1-22
Tel: 6481 1558

 

Lotte Korean Mart

Tanjong Pagar Store

67 Tanjong Pagar Road Singapore 088488

Tel: 6222 1646

Opening Hours:

Mon to Thur: 10.30am to 9.30pm

Fri: 10.30am to 10.00pm

Sat: 11.00am to 10.00pm

Sun: 11.00am to 9.30pm

 

Value-added service: Free Wifi!
Plus Point: Some of the newer products can be found in Lotte Korean Mart!

 

 

Getting there: 7-min walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station


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Bugis Store
The store faces Beach Road and it is between Liang Seah Street and Tan Quee Lan Road.
Address: 101 Beach Road #01-02 Singapore 189703
Tel: 6337 5073, 9116 7125
Getting there: Bugis MRT Station, Exit D, takes 2 mins to walk to the store.
 

Shine Korea Supermarket
14 Scotts Road #01-15, Far East Plaza Singapore 228213
Tel: 6733 4632

Check out the variety of snacks!  Don't you feel like buying the entire store?

Getting there: Take MRT to Orchard Station and walk to Far East Plaza (~ 4 mins).


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Other outlets:
175 Bencoolen Street #01-10/11 Burlington Square Singapore 189649
Tel: 6238 8897

6 Raffles Boulevard #02-218A, Marina Square, Singapore 039594
Tel: 6336 0607

371 Beach Road #01-05/06 Keypoint, Singapore 199597
Tel: 6296 8541

5 Stadium Walk #02-31/32 Leisure Park Kallang, Singapore 397694
Tel: 6346 5739

Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm


Seoul Mart
Parkway Parade #B1-84A (Next to Cold Storage)
Tel: 6440 4989

Vivo City #B2-19 (In front of Giant Supermarket)
Tel: 6275 4989

Bedok Mall #B2-55 (MRT Connection at B2)
Tel: 6702 4145

Hill View 2 #01-16
Tel: 6710 7234

Headquarters / Warehouse
Tel: 6778 1004
Hp: 8128 4989 / 9780 4989

 

Online Korean Supermarket - Happy Haeyo

http://www.happyhaeyo.com/en/





The complete list can be found on fellow blogger Solelyseoul's blog....

http://solelyseoul.blogspot.sg/2007/02/korean-supermarkets-in-singapore.html

 



Happy Shopping!

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Went gaga over Goguma (고구마) aka Sweet Potato

I am never a fan of food/dishes that is made of sweet potato because they look so uninteresting.  But the variety of sweet potato made into delicious breads, cakes and drinks has changed my preference towards sweet potato (only when I am in Korea).  Look at how enticing the following are:

1) Sweet Potato Cake from Paris Baguette
2) Garlic Sweet Potato Bread from Paris Baguette
3) Sweet Potato Latte
4) Sweet Potato Cream Bread from Paris Baguette
5) Apple and Sweet Potato Bread from Tous Les Jours

Do you wanna try them too?  They are all delicious!

Taiwanese Confectionery - Sweet Musings at Star Vista

If you have been to Taiwan and tried the freshly made 太阳饼 (Sun Cake), the slightly moist flaky skin with a strong milky taste filled with malt is sure to linger in your mind for a while.  Other than the sun cake, another popular confectionery would be the 凤梨酥 (pineapple cake) which are typically in square or rectangular shape.

The sunshine has finally been brought into Singapore by Sweet Musings, a new brand name and shop in Singapore.  They are true to their commitment in bringing the Taiwanese flavour here. The owner, the chef and the ingredients are from Taiwan.  The owner had a shop in Taichung before she decided to bring it over here.

The cakes are freshly made and packed at the store.  Lots of samplings are  available for the fortune bell cake (福钟烧), sun cake, pineapple cake, earl grey egg roll, yam cake (芋泥酥), nougat except for the chilled mochi and panna cotta which comes in 4 flavours.

Prices range from $1 to $3.50. Not exactly cheap but still affordable and you don't have to travel to Taiwan even if you have some cravings for these Taiwanese sweets.

Sweet Musings
1 Vista Exchange Green (The shop at Buona Vista has moved out.  Call contact number to check on new location)
The Star Vista #02-05
Singapore138617
Tel:+65 63392885
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetMusings
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun: 10.00 am to 10.00 pm

Getting there: The Star Vista is located right next to the Buona Vista Station.

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[Jeju-do, Korea] Airlines / Flight options to Jeju

Recently, a friend asked about flights to Jeju. Jeju Airport is in fact an international airport and as such you need not necessary fly into Jeju from Gimpo (Seoul) or Busan or other domestic destinations.  And just for info, there is only 1 airport in Jeju.

 

These are the Korea-operated flights which I know that lands at the Jeju Airport.

1. Korean Air
2. Asiana Airlines
3. Jeju Air
4. Jin Air (a subsidiary of Korean Air)
5. T'way Airline
6. Air Busan

 

There are also other international flights that goes to Jeju such as:

1.  China Eastern Airlines (From China, Shanghai)

2.  Dragonair (from Hong Kong)

3.  TransAsia (from Taiwan)

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, there is still no direct flights from Singapore to Jeju. These are the options for Singaporeans wanting to travel to Jeju:

 

1. Fly to Incheon International Airport, take the A'rex train that connects Incheon Airport to Gimpo Airport.  Take a domestic flight to Jeju from Gimpo Airport.

 

2. Transfer to Jeju from nearer countries such as Bangkok (Jeju Air, Jin Air, T'way Airline), Philippines (Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air), Hong Kong (Jeju Air) or Taiwan (Air Busan, T'way Airline).  This way, you shorten the travel distance by avoiding going all the way up to Seoul, which is located at the northern part of South Korea, and then travel down to the southern tip of South Korea.  However, this option is feasible if you plan to depart from Jeju at the end of your trip.

 

3.  If you are in Busan or Cheongju, you can easily book a domestic flight via Jeju Air or Air Busan to Jeju.  If you are in the bigger cities such as Daegu, Gwangju, Jinju, Pohang, Ulsan or Yeosu, take the Asiana Airlines or Korean Air.  If you are in Gunsan or, Wonju, take the Korean Air while you are in Muan, Asiana Airline would be your only choice. 

 

There are many options available.  Have fun exploring!  Enjoy Jeju!

Related Posts:
- Korean Air Promo - Singapore to Seoul / Busan / Jeju (click here)
- Minjunggak Guesthouse in Jeju, Seogwipo City (click)

For more food updates, please visit my Facebook page!

 

Korean Fried Chicken - Nene Chicken at Star Vista [네네치킨]

Are you a fan of fried chicken?  Joining franchises like BBQ Chicken from Korea, a new kid has landed into the sunny island of Singapore.  That's really good news because Nene Chicken adopts a fast food concept which means it is more affordable. 

 

My friend was a little shy to pronounce "Nene" and particularly the dish Nene Pop since it sounded like the local way of saying boobs.  But really, there is nothing naughty about it since this is a Korean chain. Nene (네네)  means Yes Yes in Korean ;)

 

Though the fast food restaurant is a little cram, I prefered to eat the chicken when it is freshly served.  The waiting time was slightly long, maybe 10 mins, since the chicken is only fried upon ordered.  I ordered the Bulgogi Fried Chicken, Nenebap and Nenepop.  My favourite amongst these 3 is the Bulgogi flavoured fried chicken.  The chicken is tender, juicy and marinated just right.  Nenebap is a DIY mixed rice where you mix the salad vege, chicken with rice.  Nenepop is a little fun.   The popcorn-size fried chicken is placed in a small bowl on top of the soft drink.  This is convenient as a quick take away meal.

 

To experience the real Korean style of eating fried chicken, a small thrash bin is placed on each table for you to throw away the chicken bones.  It would have been perfect if you could have the fried chicken with beer.  The Koreans call it Chi-maek (치맥) which means chicken and beer.  This culture is so strong that there is an annual festival in the country.

 

Nene Chicken currently has delivery service but limited to selected areas in the West.  So in the meantime, since there is only 1 store, you have got to head down to Star Vista is you want to get your hands on the Nene ;p

 

Nene Chicken
1 Vista Exchange Green, Star Vista #01-24 Singapore 138617
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun, 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tel: 6694 5489 | Delivery 6222 6363
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nenechickensingapore


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You may also like to check out this posting on Korean Fried Chicken:
- BBQ Chicken
- Kkul Dak
- Korean Fried Chicken Culture

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Plain Vanilla Bakery at Holland Village

In the recent couple of years, the cupcake business has made a comeback in Singapore.  It used to be that the cupcakes were a home-based business, but these days, there are more shops being set up at shopping mall and estates such as Holland Village.  Cupcakes these days are look pretty and tastes good too!  Some cupcakes look so pretty that you would not bear to eat it.  For some, they look simple and perhaps, you would not hesitate that much before you take your first bite.

Plain Vanilla isn't plain and boring as the shop name may suggest.  Instead, it is almost the totally opposite.  There is a good choice of cupcake flavours and the icing. The cupcakes are baked to the right moisture.  If cupcakes are too small for you, check out their layered cakes!

Website: http://www.plainvanillabakery.com/
Address: Holland Village  •  34A Lorong Mambong, Singapore 277691. (Located on the second floor opposite Harry's Bar and above El Patio Mexican Restaurant & Wine Bar.)

Getting there: Exit Holland Village Station Exit B, walk along Holland Ave and turn right into Lor Liput.  Facing the food centre, turn right and walk along the pedestrian walkway.  You should pass by Pho Hoa, Tony & Guy Hair Salon before arriving at Plain Vanilla Bakery.



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Godiva Chocolate

Godiva Chocolate is said to have come a long history, since it was first founded in the 1920s in Belgium.  In recent years, the company had been sold to companies such as Campbell Soup. 

I had recently tried the 85% cocoa chocolate bar and can't convinced myself that I am totally impressed with the retail price that I saw at the shopping mall.   In fact, the best way to get the chocolate might be at the airport duty free shops which costs less than half the retail price. Alternatively, join the Godiva club and purchase the chocolate online.  Your wallet hurts less these ways.