Bibimbap & Kimchi

It's been a while since I've had bibimbap, so I went to eat it. Then I ate it again... And again...

I had these within a span of 6 days. Thinking about it now is making me drool... :P


BBB from the revamped J8 foodcourt. It's very so-so...can't really describe why I didn't like it...maybe something to do with the taste and/or texture, but I'm unlikely to eat it again, unless feeling very desperate.

BBB, the organic vegetarian version. This one is fresh-tasting, with a nice crunchy texture of the vegies and nice chewiness of the brown rice. Yet it didn't feel heavy and didn't make me feel sleepy after lunch. It's super yum! I can eat this everyday.


BBB from Novena Square (Velocity) Kopitiam foodcourt, where I get my regular fix of BBB and kimchi. I've asked to skipped the chicken. The ikan bilis and kimchi are the side dishes provided as part of the meal.

I like this version, and their freshly-made kimchi, which does not taste "powdery".


I always tar-pao a box of their kimchi, which I will keep in a glass jar at home. Even then, the smell is so strong that it will "stink" the whole fridge.

Yummy...when will I eat them again?

Speaking of things Korean...

The SO and I sometimes watch Korean drama serials, but only the comedies, like "My Name is Kim San Soon" and "My Girl", two of our favourites. I've learnt a thing or two about their culture through watching these serials, such as:

* Age does make a difference - the junior must respect the elderly without question (& without questioning them!). Not only that, the junior must also respect the senior even if they are only a couple of years apart.

* It's still a mostly patriarchal society, so the men are still quite MCP while the married women must hold a subservient role. The upside of this is that the married woman can choose to be a stay-at-home wife while the husband brings home the bacon or kimchi, which makes life a little simpler (I think).

* Cosmetic surgery is VERY common, such that even before their convocation, the uni grads will think of improving their looks under the knife, so that they can take a great-looking make-over picture for their job search. Most celebrities would have had some form of cosmetic surgery (I saw the transformation on some web forum!)

I have a couple of puzzles though:

# How do the Koreans drink hot soup with that spiny, silver or stainless steel spoon of theirs, or do they usually consume food that's not hot? That spoon can take only less than half the soup (not shiok to drink) compared to the traditional Chinese spoon, and it gets very hot when dipped in hot soup, so how do they even place that hot spoon to their lips??

(Photo from Wikipedia)

# With so many folks and celebrities who had cosmetic surgery done to their faces, when they get married and have children, the Koreans are going to end up with kids who do not look anything like their parents, right? Then their kids may start to wonder if they are really their parents' son or daughter... :P

Anyhow, I for one, love to each Korean kimchi with rice, and I absolutely love Bibimbap, the Korean mixed rice. I must try to cook it at home one day. :)

Vegetarian food

Some of the vegetarian food that I've had recently, besides the brown rice chye png (vegetables & rice) combo every now and then.

Kueh Chap - Interestingly, the fishball was super crunchy/crispy, but too salty.



Herbal noodles - very nice with herbal soup and the ubiquitous mock mutton (made from mushroom stalks)



Laksa with mock cockles, which was wrongly served to me!


I'd ordered yong tau foo items with laksa gravy, including the vegetarian ngoh hiang, and this bowl arrived, also with the ngoh hiang on top, so I thought it was my order. Luckily, the other customer didn't mind having my food instead and paid more for it. I find that the regular customers at vegetarian stalls are quite amiable and willing to accept such minor mistakes without fuss.

The soup accompanying the main course of ...



Vegetarian Korean Bibimbap (organic version with brown rice)...super yum!


Instead of the usual sunny-side-up egg, it has what looked like scrambled egg, which was very cleverly made from toufu and almost tasted like the real thing. The soup has radish, carrots, soya beans and perhaps a piece of yam-cum-sweet-potato thing.