봄비로 시작이 좋아

It is raining outside. Spring rain and coffee are escaping with me from Seoul. Why do I feel that Seoul is so crowded and suffocating these days?  I want to escape to a place where there are no high-rise buildings and traffic jam and far from the maddening crowd. The distant misty mountains and the humming bus engine are making me sleepy. I don't have to wake up for the next 2 hours which is good. Living in the present is happiness.

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!

싱그리스의 힘

I have kept this posting in draft mode for donkey's years. Since this year "simi" (everything) also SG50, I think this posting on Singlish is appropriate to be the first post of 2015.

Let's start by explaining the meaning of the Korean slang 쩐다 or 쩔다 in English.

According to Daum dictionary, the long-winded explanation:

"감탄사로 좋은 상황, 나쁜 상황 가리지 않고 쓰며 상대방에게 적극 동의를 표하거나 놀라움을 표현할때 쓰는 말"

In short, the word can mean both “awesome” and “awful”. This slang which originated from Incheon can have direct opposite meaning depending on the situation, the tone and the body language of the speaker. This is how far I will explain the word in English as it's probably getting confusing by now. However if you know Singlish, you will know how to use it in no time. Look at the examples below and figure its meaning. Singlish explanation in bracket:


Situation: Friend late for appointment:
Expression: 와.. 너 진짜 쩔어 (Wah, you really (too much) ah)

Situation: Met a very helpful man
Expression: 와.. 저남자 쩐다 (Wah, that guy really (nice) ah)

Situation: Met a unreasonable and rude person
Expression: "아... 쩐다 진짜 (Ah, really really (like sh*t))

Situation: Had a very fun and wonderful time yesterday
Expression: 야, 우리 어제 정말 쩔지 않았냐? (Eh, yesterday really really (fun) hor?)


More Singlish expressions below. Like I used to say, it is easier to master Korean using Singlish:

bo kor leng (That's impossible)
설마

cheem ah (I have problem understanding you)
이해 못 해

don't know why ah ...
왠지...

liddat also can? (How is that possible?)
이럴 수 가?

like that lor (not really good, don't really like it)
별로야

mai blur leh (collect your mind)
정신차려

song bo? (do you enjoy it?)
좋아?

song song gao jurong (very good, very enjoyable)
되게 좋아, 끝내줘

up the lorry (die/breakdown)
죽었어 (인간) / 고장났어 (기계)

giam (stingy, can also means salty)
짜다

싱그리스 마을으로 환영합니다

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.

일출 산들바람

I have been wanting to set up another blog. In fact, I have created it last year but did not come round to make it live. Photographs will take centrestage in my new blog. It won't be just any photos but those that meant something to me. In a way, it will be a more personal blog.

When it came to naming the blog, I have two titles in my mind originally. One of them was "Memography of Hanguk" ("memography" as in "memory" and "photography"). It can be resolved to mean the memories and photographs of Korea. The other was "Sunrise and Breeze". I used "sunrise" and "breeze" as a euphemism for "hope" and "dream", the motivational forces which sent me to Korea. As I prefer subtle expression, "Sunrise and Breeze" became the name of my new blog. You can view it as a spin-off from "Mountain and Field", as I won't be covering new ground in it.

It would seem weird to be setting up a new blog when I am in a "semi-retired" state. One thing is certain, update for the new blog won't be as frequent after the current stockpile of photos run out. Some photos may have appeared in this blog before but I have blown them up for reposting. So while stocks last, here is "Sunrise and Breeze".

Tomorrow, I will wake up early for the sunrise and morning breeze.

행운

Lucky Book Store earned its fortune by selling school textbooks to students in the neighbourhood of Joo Chiat. In its prime, there was demand from six primary schools in the vicinity to fulfil. Subsequent relocation and closure of schools sealed its fate. Today, the only reminder of its existence is a pillar, intentionally left unrestored, that has its name painted on. Even that, the wordings are slowly fading into history.

Being lucky is to be given an opportunity. It doesn't matter how long the door was open, so long as it was open, I can never say I'm unlucky. I have been presented with many opportunities in life; I may not have made the most of them but I consider myself lucky because when everything comes to an end, I still have memory.

꽃보다 할배 할매

I have a group of life-long friends who will grow old with me. Perhaps one day I will organise a group tour for them to Korea. We can have our picnic in Naejangsan under the autumn foilage, waxing lyrical about the wonder of nature and life. We can have our nostalgic moment at Haeundae beach, exchanging past secrets, regrets and shared memories till distant fishing boats' light lit up the night sea.

Who's afraid of aging?

Autumn foliage at Naejangsan - a beautiful end to an awesome spring

Peaceful Haeundae Beach - a rare moment when we can sit side by side till the end of the day 

버리지 못한 습관

I discover a habit I have not been able to kick after returning from Seoul, that is looking out train's window. I used to confine my vision within the cabin but now, I am always looking out, not at the scenery, but at the openess. Even when the train is crowded, the stress of city life escapes me when I am looking out. I can never forget those days how I always got excited as the train was crossing the Han River.

Crossing Hangang on a rainy day

인생을 즐겨라

천천히 인생을 즐겨라. 빨리 갈 때 당신이 놓치는 것은 경치뿐만이 아니라 당신이 어디로 가는지 왜 가는지에 대한 통찰을 잃는다.

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. - Eddie Cantor

Are you rushing today again? Where are you going and why? Following someone else's footsteps because of faith, trust or love may not always be desirable. There is no shortcut in life that does not come with trade-off. Ultimately, we have to find the answers in ourselves. How wonderful it would be to proclaim, "I am on my way.", after we know what we covet all along. I know I am on the right track when I quit the rat-race.

Red Dot Design Museum (Maxwell Road)

Street art by Lithuaian artist Ernest Zacharevic (Victoria Street)

Bauhinia kockiana enjoying abundant sunshine (Chinese Garden)