park your bengch: BIBIMBAP!!!

Bibimbap!!!...hmmm kinda sound like "Mmmmbop" by the Hanson's, yeah Jody? The very first time I heard this word was from the Korean drama series "Full House" which of course starred by none other than RAIN! , so it turned out it was a dish, a local Korean cuisine... but what made me obsessed about it was , when I found out recently that this was THE fave foodie of RAIN!
and he actually ate it here in Singapore, during his visit here last January 21 (yup!that was what my FIRST blog entry is all about!)... so he craved for that during his rehearsals and actually went to Telok Ayer near Chinatown and landed in MANNA restaurant!
From that day on, I was obsessed with BIBIMBAP!! curious...yep, definitely!...
so after our Saturday lec...the strong crowd of four trooped down to eeeeh, nope not to Manna resto as originally planned ( due to agoraphobia , impending CNY, you see!...Near Chinatown? get it?!!!) we settled for Takashimaya...because according to my readings there is a Manna resto there, so we seek hi and lo for it...tanananan!

it's a kiosk, located at the Takashimaya Food Village...aja! aja!....hmmmm, NOT! so we now really settled upon much consultation with my sis-in-law to Crsytal Jade Restaurant-Korean Cuisine (there were actually 3 different CJ!)

This is the hallway of the Crsytal Jade Korean resto i managed to snapped at...while we were waiting for our turn... 30 minutes we went back and witnessed an actual drama going on... between an irate customer who waited for so long and a helpless receptionist in traditional-inspired Korean gown...nah, i didn't have the pic and if just in case i have it...ah ah ah not polite to post it...so as i was blogging... except for The bibimbap. we have no idea well, other than kimchi of course, what to order... on the MENU...a set meal good for 4 people (that's us !) it's consisted of more than 8 courses excluding the 6 side dishes (ban chan) and fruits...

this is the ban chan that our set meal has ( according to my sis-in-law the side dishes are complimentary and refillable) but the unnies did not offer to refill and none of us dared to ask anyway... so there's the soy bean sprout salad (TOGUE)

spinach salad

pickled (fermented) cabbage - The kimchi

This is the first time I've tried chestnut jelly ( or I've tried before but I didn't know it was a chestnut jelly! aish). Served cold, the texture is firm and slightly chewy, it's flavor is provided by the savory and spicy sauce, in which I detect soy sauce, chili, sesame seeds, and spring onion. then came the barbecued stuffs...ahhh all at once... Here, the waitress asked us if we wish to do the cooking ourselves...hmmm it's better they do it for us, we are not that confident on our cooking skills, perhaps next time when we have a lot of practice (read: go back to this resto again! wink! wink!). First served on the hotplate... the Bulgogi (Korean marinated beef)

the Korean pork

the Korean chickenthe Korean pork's collar (neck) the BIBIMBAP being whipped up by the ajuma hahahaha , we pleaded to her not to put the entire chili paste in the mixture... so hmmm aja!aja!...turned out it's not as spicy as we expected , so we digged in!
There were some bits of crispy rice crusts. The stone pot was so hot that it browned the rice at the bottom of the pot. The bibimbap was sweet, spicy, savory, moist, and sticky,the verdict - Yummy!
These noodles are called dang myun, made from sweet potato. They resemble glass noodles, these are thicker and chewier. The jap chae here is really awesome! The flavors of the ingredients, noodles, and seasoning are perfectly mixed. It's as good as our pancit bihon!

This pseudo-omelet was beautifully fried till golden and crispy but turned out it's a Korean pancake. The stuffings were spring onion, squid, prawn, and i saw chili. It was pretty good. I especially liked the crispy edges, it comes with a sauce . Although this will turn greasy once it becomes cold...tsk tsk

and they served the thickest, yummylicious beef broth...

we were actually debating while waiting for the fruits to be served... Question: What is the national fruit of Korea? probably that's what they're going to serve us... wait...wait...wait...