중앙로 - 대구

Daegu was not a destination but a stopover. I had been on the move for almost a week and needed some rest before returning to Seoul. It was my first time in Daegu; I never found any reason to visit it before. I knew nothing much about it except perhaps, it's the fourth largest city in Korea, the hottest and the city where the conservatives always achieve landslide victory with both eyes closed.

I stayed near the busy Jungang-no (중앙로, 中央路). No prior research about the place was done and no plan was made to stay there until I passed by it while taking a joy ride on a city bus. It is the "Myeongdong" of Daegu minus the maddening throng of tourists. I made several discoveries about the place after one evening walk.
 
There was a bakery with exceptional long queue. So I thought if many people are queuing, it must be good, just like if many people are looking at something, it must be interesting. They have a term for it, it's called "mob mentality". The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I bought a few buns to try and one of them was the bestseller of the bakery - "Mayak" bun (마약빵, 麻药面包）. To see how mouth-watering good it looks, watch the video below. For all the "빵순이" (bread lover) out there, Sam Song Bakery (삼송 베이커리), with almost 60 years of bread-making history, is a must-visit 맛집 in Daegu because many people say so, including me, and I am not even a bread lover.

Sam Song Bakery (삼송 베이커리), along Jungang-daero, near to Exit 2 of Jungangno Station. Quite ironic to post a picture of the bakery without queue. The picture was taken early on a Sunday morning when the shop has just open its door.

Another outlet that saw long queue was Cafe Bom Bom (카페 봄봄). The queue did not seem to die down no matter how many times I passed by. I did not come across similarly named cafes in other parts of Korea and wondered what's the buzz about. The price of its beverages ranges between 2,000 and 4,000won with most priced at an affordable 3,000won. What's more, all their drinks are sold only in large size. So I guess, their winning formula was simply big plus cheap, offering good value for money. I tried to queue but ended giving up. I was not sure if I want to spend fifteen minutes of my life queuing for a cup of coffee.

Long queue outside Cafe Bom Bom. Value for money beverages only if you can persist till the end.

I have been craving for omurice for a while after finding out the popular "Omurice" outside Kyunghee University was closed. Finally, I found one small basement eatery that sold omurice. It was called Gyeonghwa eatery operated by a middle-age lady. I could not believe for a price of 5,500won I could get a 3-in-1 meal of handmade omurice, donkatsu and 쫄면 (chewy noodle). The food quantity and quality were also up to mark. I knew I could not find such place in Seoul, so I ate there twice just to make sure I ate to my heart's content. Seoul is expensive and Singapore is ... worse.

A menu of reasonably priced Japanese food

3-in-1 meal of omurice, donkatsu and "쫄면" (chewy noodle)

How to get there: Exit 2 of Daegu's Jungang-no Station

The day I was in Daegu, spring was no where to be found. Everyone was walking around in summer clothing. That reminded me I was in the hottest city of Korea.

빙수의 천국

The "bingsu culture" in Korea has made some good evolutionary changes in the last few years. It used to be red bean bingsu or yogurt bingsu, but these days there are much more choices to choose from. Flavours like injeolmi (인절미), chocolate, strawberry, mango, blueberry and cheesecake are making bingsu much more appealing than ever. However, bingsu indulgence doesn't come cheap, it's average price 10,000won. What I like about Korea's bingsu is they don't just look nice, I always got a sense of satisfaction after every round because of the generous amount of fruits chunks and cheesecake added. Some also comes with calorie-loaded goodness like ice cream or sherbet topping. Personally, bingsu by Cafe Droptop is top in my list and Sulbing is second. Also worth a mention is bingsu by Twosome Place, it comes with a slice of nice cheesecake and a free cup of americano.

자몽베리 빙수 Grapefruit Berry Cake (Twosome Place)

팥빙수 Red Bean Sherbet (Dal.komm Coffee)

베리베리 아이스탑 Very Berry Icetop (Cafe Droptop)

블루베리 치즈설빙 Blueberry Cheesecake (Sulbing)

프리미엄 망고코코설빙 Premium Mango Coco (Sulbing)

프리미엄 생딸기설빙 Premium Fresh Strawberry (Sulbing)

약점

I have to confess I am no "expert" in Korean food. In the case of the famous Korean food "김떡순" (as in 김밥, 떡볶이 and 순대), I have never eaten the "순" despite my long stay in Korea. A colleague who was planning his upcoming Korean trip asked me for recommendation on good Korean food and I told him whatever and wherever you choose to eat, the food will likely taste good. It sounded like I was not very helpful but I really couldn't think of any special place or food in Korea that are exceptional. Every meal tasted quite alright then.

Ho Ddeok (호떡) is another food that I've never tried. It's not because one piece of this pancake contains calories equivalent to two cans of coke, I was just not curious about food in general. Maybe I should add I'm not adventurous with food.

What is Ho Ddeok? I think it should taste like "ham jin peng". That's my best effort, seriously.

I used to patronise a chicken steak house outside my campus frequently. There were only two dishes in its menu - chicken steak or spicy chicken, take it or leave it. It was hardly a dilemma, I could only eat chicken steak as its spicy chicken could set off the fire alarm. When it comes to food, I guess, less (choice) is better for me.

At 닭터 (Dr.), chicken steak or spicy chicken? 늘 chicken steak!

버섯야채죽

본죽 (Bonjuk) or 죽이야기 (Juk Story)? 죽이야기!

There are two reasons why I prefer Juk Story over Bonjuk. First, I ate more frequently at Juk Story than Bonjuk because there was an outlet just across the street from my dorm. The nearest Bonjuk outlet was 15-minute walk away. Second, Juk Story has Mushroom and Vegetable Porridge (버섯야채죽), my all time favourite, whereas Bonjuk sold only Vegetable Porridge (야채죽). "버섯야채죽" was probably one of the reasons why I didn't fall sick once despite living through three season change.

Hey, Juk Story is now in Singapore. It's renamed "J-Story" for foreign market and it doesn't just sell porridges, it's menu includes other popular Korean dishes like bibimbap, dakgalbi and budaejjigae.  It's first outlet (일호점) is located at basement 1 of Clifford Centre, second at level one Eastpoint Mall. The third, yet to open, is at Capitol. The porridge is cooked by native Koreans so the taste is quite authentic, but food presentation wise, there is still room for improvement. 이제 한국 안 가도 돼요.

Mushroom and Vegetable Porridge. For illustration purpose only. No, you won't find your porridge nicely done up for your viewing pleasure here, at least for now. However, taste wise, quite decent. 더 먹어야지!

빙수

이건 그냥 밭빙수. 싱가포르에서 파는 빙수인데 별 생각 없이 먹더니 맛이 괜찮다.

이건 예술이야. 광고용 사진 아니고 실물이다. 똑 같은 밭빙수인데 완전 다른 느낌. 역시 한국은 빙수의 본고장.

해산물파에야

In a big flat pan was Spanish fried rice covered by plentiful seafood and chicken meat. A plate of Paella Valenciana, which is what it is called, came with a handsome serving of prawn, mussels, clams, squid and a lemon wedge to remove the fishy taste. All the goodness in the ingredients was well absorbed by the rice. This was accomplished by covering the cooking pan with aluminium foil and allowing the rice to simmer in a broth until cooked. I watched them cook as I ate standing. It was a food and beer fare, there wasn't many sitting places. One serving costs 8.50€ but an additional deposit of 2€ was required to make sure you return the plate. Business was brisk. A big pan of rice was sold out as fast as it took me to polish up my plate.

Paella Valenciana. Delicioso!

소룡포 (小籠包)

In Shanghai, one food that should not be missed is the 'Nanxiang xiao long bao' (南翔小笼包). A tray of nine dumplings in 'Nanxiang' dumpling shop (南翔馒头店), located in 'Yuyuan' (豫园), is sold at ¥28 (~S$5.50). The meat filling and soup wrapped in thin skin was extremely savoury. Although nine small dumplings wasn't enough to fill a hungry stomach, the satisfaction from tasting good food made me full.

The popular 'Nanxiang xiao long bao'. Recommend: Dip in vinegar for better taste

'Soup dumpling' (汤包) is unique. You drink the soup inside the dumpling with a straw. One dumpling cost ¥28 (~S$3.50) but I don't think it's really worth the money paid. The dumpling contains soup and only soup without meat filling. So after you are done with the soup which is not much to begin with, you are left with the skin. If you expect something more, you may end up disappointed.

Unique 'soup dumpling' (汤包) - Caution: Soup is very hot, slurp with care.

The queue outside 'Nanxiang' dumpling shop was always long. However, there is no need to queue if you are eating in. The queue outside is meant for takeaway. The shop has two storeys which provide sufficient sitting space for large crowd. Furthermore, service is fast; it only takes a short while for the food to be served after order is made at the counter.

'Nanxiang' dumpling shop. Recommend: Dine in to avoid long queue

냠냠 맛있는 음식들

Warning: Food galore! Do not look at this posting with an empty stomach unless you have never tasted Korean food before. (I should have heeded my own advice)

춘천 닭갈비 - Chuncheon stir-fried chicken ribs

삼겹살 - Grilled pork belly

안동 찜닭 - Andong steamed chicken

부대찌개 - Army base stew

갈비밥- Pork ribs rice

냉 콩국수 - Cold soybean soup noodles

계란찜 - Steamed egg

파스타 - Pasta

캠벨포도

Campbell Early Grape, with a layer of frost, just taken out from fridge

My friend likes it for its "gummy taste" and strongly recommended it. I am ambivalent about my like for Campbell grape or conveniently known as the 'Korean grape'. On one hand, I like it for its rich grape flavour but on the other hand, I am dismayed there is not much flesh to chew on. I would rather have the grape made into juice or added to desserts or confections. For pure munching delight, I will go with 'meatier' option.

더운 여름밤

Fortunately, there is no Cold Stone Creamery in Singapore. For the time being, my piggy bank is safe.



KHU students get free waffle when we flash our student card at the Kyunghee branch. Ice cream was nice but expensive.

단골

I am not a gourmet. I won't go around looking for good food, let alone queuing up for them. However, I do go back for good food and they need not be excellent, just good food will do. My standard is not very high to begin with.

I was a regular customer of "The Story of Porridge" (죽이야기) because it is very near to my dorm. I like their "Mushroom and Vegetable Porridge". A bowl costs 6,000won (~S$7) which is relatively expensive. But if I compare it to "Abalone Porridge" (their most popular porridge) which costs 12,000won (~S$14), the price looks quite decent. Fortunately, I am not a big fan of abalone. The other porridge chain, "The Original Porridge" (본죽), sells only "Vegetable Porridge" (without mushroom) for 6,000won. So I think it is more worthwhile eating in 죽이야기. I have lost count of the times I had been there.

I was also a regular customer of "Omurice" (It can't get any simpler) because it is near my campus. My favourite dish is called the "Roll Sausage Omurice" which costs 6,500won (~S$7.50). I like how the roll sausage was pan-fried till slightly charred. A scoop of omurice followed by a slice of sausage was a perfect combination. In Singapore, omurice simply means plain white rice (not fried rice) topped (not wrapped) with omelette. I think that's doing omurice a great injustice. I prefer the omurice in "Omurice". Somehow, I feel there is passion in their cooking.

금강산도 식후경

The scenery of Mt. Geumgang is said to be very beautiful. Despite that, there is a Korean proverb which says you can only appreciate the scenery of Mt. Geumgang after your stomach is filled. "A hungry man is an angry man", I don't think anyone will disagree "금강산도 식후경" (金刚山也是食后景). I shall stop showing scenery pictures temporarily for today. Let's 'eat' instead.

Pearl-like fish roe and rice served in a hotpot. This 'Al-bap' (알밥) may not look nice but its smell and taste were very good. I especially like eating the burnt rice on the side of the pot.

What is there to say about kimchi? Give me another dish, please.

돈까스

The other day, while having dinner with friends in a Japanese restaurant, I spoke about how Japanese like to eat crushed sesame seeds. It is not that I know a lot about Japanese food; I just have this experience of grinding sesame seeds in a Japanese chain (in Seoul), Saboten, who pride themselves for selling the original Shinjuku donkatsu.

In Saboten, donkatsu is not served with sauce poured over it. You are required to make your own sauce mix. They will provide you with a small bowl with roasted sesame seeds in it. The bowl has a rough inner surface and you are required to use the small pounder provided to crush the seeds by either pounding or grinding them against the rough wall. Once the seeds are well crushed, they are mixed with donkatsu sauce squeezed out from a bottle. The sauce mix is now ready for you to dip your donkatsu pieces in.

A donkatsu set in Saboten cost KRW10,000 ($12.50SGD) which is twice the price of donkatsu set sold elsewhere. I heard from a friend that there is also a Saboten branch in Parco Marina Bay, Millinia Walk, which sells its donkatsu set for well over $20. I am not too sure if I will pay that price for my fix after having it cheaper in Seoul.

Anyway, Saboten means cactus in Japanese and it is not a pure Japanese word; its origin is traced back to Portugese or Spanish. But to me, it means donkatsu. I believe, that is also how the owner would want every customer to remember them for. I must say their donkatsu is the best I have eaten in Seoul. However, don't take my word for it as I don't really eat that much donkatsu to be able to give a fair and objective judgement.

Saboten outlet near KHU

Saboten's donkastsu is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Sound quite standard but I don't think it is easy to get the meat to be tender so they really do a good job. The picture above is not taken in Saboten; it is for illustration purpose.

그림의 떡

오메기떡

모시잎송편

약식

여주산병

진달래화전

인절미

All the "ddeok" above may look delicious but they cannot be eaten. They are fake, just exhibits in the Ddeok Museum located in Jongno.

먹고 놀고 자고

Ate this bowl of '윈톤' (dumpling) in a Chinese eating house in Samcheongdong yesterday. 5,000won for 8 small ball of dumplings was kinda expensive. But then, not many things are cheap in Samcheongdong. Perhaps I should have tried their 'Tianjin Baozi' which seemed more value for money (Baozi is bigger in size).

After lunch, it was Caramel Frappe at a small coffee stall opposite.

Yesterday dinner was a treat at a Chinese restaurant called 'Shangri-la' near to KHU's main gate. A very expensive treat I must say. The bill came up to 120,000won for 3 persons. I felt indebted.

After-dinner coffee at 'If' cafe was on me. My Caramel Macchiato came with a free slice of sweet potato cake.

'Feasting' continues this afternoon. The above dish is called '콩불'. The dish came with a heap of crunchy 콩나물 (bean sprouts) and a handsome serving of juicy 'samgyeopsal' slices.

This afternoon ended with an ice cream treat at Cold Stone Creamery. The above green tea ice-cream mix is called 'Green Envy'. Don't 'envy' me, get yourself a 'Green Envy' too and don't forget that waffle. 맛있어^^