Biggies
Humongous orange
I saw this at my auntie’s fruit basket. I dunno where it came from or who gave it to them. You see, it’s a tradition here during the 15 days celebration of the Chinese New Year to visit your friends’ or your elder relatives houses (the young always visits the old and never vice versa) bearing fruits or gifts. So this fruit could have been from anyone.
Huge pomegranates
These fruits were sighted at the Jaya Grocer in Intermark Mall, at the basement of Double Tree Hotel by Hilton in Kuala Lumpur. I really wanted to buy one and taste it and planned to get it later on. But I forgot and only remembered after we checked out if the hotel. Ugh!#
Home Cooked Kuey Teow
My aunt took me to this kopitiam place in downtown Klang yesterday so I could try Kuey Teow.
At Cheong Foh Kopitiam
Today, she cooked her own version of the meal and as of press time, I am on my 4th serving.
Home cooked kuey teow
I set the table for my aunt, ate mimi and me
Can I just say its mouth-watering goodness is enough for me to forget that I have a lot of writing to do and that I should finish eating now he he.
First serving... Definitely not the last.
Anywho, instead of using bean sprouts, she used cabbage today. She also minced prawns to add to its flavors.
Okay enough blogging. Must concentrate on eating… for now. 😇
So This Is Bah Kuh Teh
Yup, I have been to Malaysia in 2006 but I never had the chance to eat Bah Kuh Teh until last March 2013.
You can find authentic Bah Kuh Teh along this street in Klang
My relatives, who are based in Klang, Selangor, are foodies. And when my whole family stayed with them for almost two weeks last summer, all we ever did was eat out or in and visit the malls. ‘Course we also scheduled a lot of sight seeing and day trips to LegoLand, Batu Caves, Genting Highlands and Little Europe but that’s for another blog.
For now, let’s go back to talking about Bah Kuh Teh.
This soup also has intestines aside from the original pork ribs.
Our friendly WiKi literally translates Bah Kuh Teh as a “meat bone tea.” The ingredients of the soup includes, at its simplest, meaty pork ribs simmered for hours in a complex broth of herbs and spices, including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic.
Funnily enough, despite its name, there is actually no tea ingredient in Bah Kuh Teh. Apparently, the name refers to a strong oolong Chinese tea which is usually served alongside the soup in the hopes that said tea would dilute or dissolve the numerous amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish. Well when we ate one, we ordered sodas even though my cousin and aunt were urging us to order tea hehehe.
Anywho, there are two kinds of Bah Kuh Teh: the soupy kind and the dry one. We get to try both when we went to Restoran Weng Heong in Klang.
The soup version looks like our local nilagang buto-buto but the ingredients is more than just pork ribs. Aside from the ribs, I tasted and enjoyed the intestines or bituka. The soup was served with strips of fried dough known as cha kueh [yau char kwai], which I initially thought was fried tofu.
The dough, as instructed by my cousin Sue Yen, is usually dipped into the soup. After trying one strip, I didn’t touch it anymore and just enjoyed the soup with my rice. I can’t remember if I used fish sauce (patis) or soy sauce that day though.
The dry version plus the strips of dough on the side
Now the other version of Bah Kuh Teh is also a must taste when you get the chance. Although called dry, the broth is actually reduced to a thicker gravy, to which other ingredients such as wolfberries, dried dates, dried chillies and dried squid are added. The only local dish I can compare it to is a slightly salty, slightly sweet but less spicy and almost dried adobo (or at least the way I like my adobo meal served hehe).
Unlike the soupy kind, WiKi says the dry version is supposed to have a tangier, sharper taste and is more akin to a herbal stew than the usual broth. Apparently, It is often recommended locally in Malaysia as an excellent hangover cure.
Guess I’ll try to get a hang over first before trying the dry version on my next trip to Klang. =D
Starbucks at Insadong
My husband and I were able to go to Insadong on our third night in Seoul. From our hotel in Jung-gu, we took a taxi to Insadong and the ride costs around KrW3000 (if I remember it right).
It was already around 8 or 9pm and there’s not much shop open by then. We did see a few souvenir shops open before we reached Starbucks. What we didn’t find is an open money exchange shop where we can change our US dollars to Korean won 😦
Anywho, the Starbucks in Insadong is the only Starbucks branch I visited in Korea. And that’s because it’s the only one in Korea (and the world) with the letters S-T-A-R-B-U-C-K-S written in Hangeul.
me at Starbucks
my husband's turn to pose
Apparently, the shops in Insadong are only allowed to post their shop’s names in Hangeul. Check out these pictures of the Face Shop and Etude House.
Etude House
The Face Shop
Of course, we didn’t go there for the coffee but for the souvenir mugs which I simply had to buy as pasalubongs. Felix and I bought ceramic mugs which costs from KrW 5,000-7,000 as gifts for our bosses. I also bought my friend a tumbler that says Starbucks in Hangeul for KrW 13,000.
Here’s some other pictures we took while in Insadong.
Insadong Street
i dunno what this shop is but i like its exterior
Seoul Korea Again this June
Yep, you read it right! I’m going back to Korea from June 12-15 but this time, I’m touring Seoul with my husband, my siblings Chi and Blu and their spouses Raffy and Beth. Cousin Pammy is also joining us and I think her hubby Allen already got a ticket too.
You might wonder, why go back again when I was just there last December 2009? Well here are the reasons:
1. Cebu Pacific Airlines offered a super low seat sale. Since I felt that I haven’t seen enough of Korea yet, I figured why not return again? This time, no more snow so we’ll be able to go anywhere we like without fearing the cold hahaha.
2. I still have to visit other filming locations such as the Nami Island and the Fullhouse beach house near Incheon Airport. I also wanted to see 63 City Observatory (My Girl), Lotte World amusement park and the Star Avenue there (I’ve been to Lotte Duty Free Shop’s Star Avenue before).
3. Despite pigging out to the max last December, I wasn’t able to taste jjajang myeon and some other Korean dishes (I’m making a list now). I learned about Jjajang Myeon after watching Se7en’s character deliver said dishes in Goong S drama.
4. I have yet to explore Namdaemun. Heck, we’ve barely seen Dongdaemun last December so I’m sure we’ll go back there again hehe.
5. I was hoping to catch live performances but so far, I haven’t heard or read about concerts or shows for June… sigh. But just the same, I have subscribed to http://www.visitseoul.net for monthly news about Seoul so I hope I’ll get an idea of what’s on from their email.
6. If we still have the time, we’re definitely exploring Namsam again. Who knows? Maybe this time, I’ll be able to ride the cable car in order to find Gu Jun Pyo’s writings bwehehehe.
Wow, Korea! – Part 1
These are just a few things I loved about my tour in Korea:
EVERYTHING, HI-TECH
Yep! Everything seems hi-tech from my point of view. From watching my favorite k-dramas, I noticed that most of the apartments have electronic door locks. Just imagine my delight in finding our hotel room’s door is like that too.
No ving cards to insert as keys. They just gave us this small remote unit (about 2-inches big, I think) and we press its button while pointing it at the electric lock to open the door. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of that small gadget.
AUTO ON & OFF LIGHTS
My family (at leas
t from the Manansala side hehe) and I are basically scaredy cats. We are afraid of ghosts and talking about scary things. Now, if I was not familiar with how the lights from entry ways would automatically turn on and off in every modern apartment, I would have been scared shitless in our hotel room.
The Hyundai Residence hotel in Jung-no, Seoul is set up more like a residence than an actual hotel room. Our room is equipped with a washing machine, kitchen area (where there’s an actual gas stove, cabinets for grocery storage, ref, and sink for washing dishes).
When you enter, on your right is the kitchen & washing machine while on the left is the door to the bathroom.
On our first night, I think my sister was a bit surprised when the lights in the entry way automatically turned on and off. She’s not a fan of k-dramas unlike me so she thought someone or something else turned it on and off wehehe.
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
I love how everything can be reached by subway so that traffic is not an issue. But I also love how spacious their buses are or is it because we were just fortunate enough to ride one during off-peak hours hehe.
And if you’re not up to taking the subway or the bus, you can always take the more expensive route: ride a taxi.
They have 2 types of taxi. The smaller one has a cheaper flag down rate (KrW 2400 if I remember right) while the bigger one and more expensive one (called Deluxe taxis or “mobeom” comes in black color with a yellow sign on top) has KrW4000-4500 rate (ata).
Oh, by the way, there are also some pasaway taxi drivers in Korea too who asks for a certain amount instead of using the meter. Just like some of the taxi drivers in Manila hehe.
But the drivers in Korea gets more points in my book because if you ask them to take you somewhere they are not familiar with and the GPS is not of much help (yep, all their taxis are equipped with GPS), they will whip up their cellular phones and personally call the contact number of the place at no extra cost to you.
This happened to us several times whenever we wanted to take a taxi going back to the hotel. Although we have the map and business card (complete with the landmarks, address and contact number of the hotel), they still can’t find our hotel and they had to call for directions pa.
YUMMY FOOD
Man 0h man, did I pig out in Korea!
Unlike in my previous trips abroad, I think I spent more on food during our Korea tour. It seems like we were always hungry, especially after being outdoors. Is it because of the cold weather or were we just really hungry hehe.
Anywho, I’ve finally tasted Odeng or fish cake, spicy rice cake or “tteok-bokk-i” and bibimbap, just to name a few. Would you believe I had to go to Korea before I can sample bibimbap even though you can buy in Manila too hehe.
Our favorite meals, of course, involves grilling beef and pork and eating rice or noodles. We discovered this Yakiniku place in Dongdaemun and we simply had to return there for lunch on our last day.
I discovered something the first time we ate at a Korean restaurant just near our hotel. Me squatting for long hours (the whole duration of the meal) is not a good idea. It’s a bit uncomfortable for me, promise! Just lead me to a Korean resto with actual tables and chairs and I’d be in glutton’s heaven bwehehe.
To be continued…
Annyeong, Seoul!
Who would have thunk that after watching Boys Over Flowers I would be itching to see Seoul, Korea? I have seen Lovers in Paris before (was it way back 2006 or earlier?) and even Fireworks and Hotelier but never got fully hooked to Koreanovelas, until BOF, that is.
Besides, my top-5 must visit countries are (not in any particular order) Ireland, Spain, US, New Zealand and Germany.
Ireland, because I’d like to think that I used to be Celtic (thanks to the influence of my historical romance novels). Spain because of our Kastilaloy roots (at least from the Rosellas side hehe) and US, New Zealand and Germany because I have relatives there so that means I could easily save up on accommodations and food expenses hehehe.
Anywho, as a result of my addiction to Koreanovelas, touring Seoul became a dream early 2009. By June 2009, I started imagining stalking my favourite actors and actresses and having endless photo-ops in the various filming locations of my favourite series. As early as August, I‘ve researched about all the interesting places Korea has to offer and I’ve even downloaded materials so I can learn Hangeul.
My target was to tour Korea by the second week of January 2010. I figured, by December, I’d be able to apply for a tourist visa and providing financial documents would not be a problem thanks to the incentives from our office.
When there was a seat-sale from Cebu Pacific for Manila-Incheon-Manila in late October, I hesitated booking a seat. Imagine, the 2 way fare then was just around P8,000. But since I was not confident enough to get a tourist visa (although my sister has been telling me that those various visa stamps from our previous travels would be big factor for my approval), I still did not buy a seat.
In November, when my auntie-slash-boss decided to tour Korea by December 2009 with my uncle and cousins and invited some of her staff to join them, one part of me immediately became excited at the opportunity.
But I almost didn’t join them. The catch, of course, is paying P18,000 plus for the 2-way ticket. No more Go-fares by then. But my sister Chi, who was going with my niece Sophia, managed to convince me to go with them since it would be better to tour in a group.
You see, as an added incentive, my officemates (who are mostly my relatives) and our families gets to tour various Asian countries. From December 2006 up to 2008, we have been to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. Our airfare, accommodation and even meal and transportation allowance, of course, was shouldered by the company.
So despite fears of risking almost P20k (if you include all travel taxes and airport fees) in case my visa application gets denied, my sister still booked and paid my ticket. My auntie even booked and paid for our hotel even before we started applying for our visa.
She was that confident that our application will be approved since she, thru her company, has been sponsoring our overseas trips since 2006. We can certainly prove that, individually, we (1) have enough financial resources to cover our trip; (2) have stable jobs waiting for us; and, (3) we love to travel as can be seen thru the many visas stamped in our passports.
So, aside from (individually) passing those visa requirements, our generous tita-slash-boss also wrote the Consul and vouched for us. And one week later, we finally got the visa stamp we need for entering South Korea.
And two of the many highlights of our trip, of course, are… drum roll please!
1. Playing fan girl by visiting some of the filming locations of my favorite series; and,
2. Getting to experience my first Snow… lamiiiiig!
To Be Continued…
Foxy Blogera 
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