Signs That Your Man Is Crazy About K Dramas

He suddenly wanted chicken & beer instead of chicken & coke...

He suddenly wanted jajangmyeon instead of Indomie Goreng as midnight snack..

He went for HK$68 kimchi ramyun breakfast instead of HK$29 Satay Beef Nissin Noodle set.

I am speechless for the next ones...

He's definitely gone kdrama kpop cray cray.

All thanks to the recently crazy popular drama My Love From Another Star :D

Sponsored Post: K-Food & CN Blue Video Plus My Kimchi Ramyun Omelette

Are you a fan of Korean food? Do you remember your first Korean food experience? Mine sent me back years ago when I was studying in Sydney. I lived with Korean flatmates, and one of them is an amazing cook. She introduced me to homemade Korean food. I remember the flat always smelling of kimchi as my flatmates made a huge batch and we always had our fridges full of them. Interestingly, I was not in love with Korean food in the beginning, I was probably not as adventurous an eater as I am now. The thing that really got me hooked was… Shin Ramyun instant noodles (well, of course – isn’t it the official international student food?). We always had boxes of ramyun to survive on a student budget, and I still eat them often - up until now :)

I love Korean food a lot more now – thanks to my obsession with Kpop & Kdramas. Anyone with me on this? Tell me I am not the only mad and obsessed ahjumma here. Whenever I see my idols slurping a bowl of ramyun… (I don’t wanna finish this sentence, can you finish it for me?)

Here’s a video of one of my favorite Kpop groups, CN Blue – promoting Korean food. My bias is Jung YongHwa – liked him since You Are Beautiful (I love rooting for the underdogs), and he looks so charming in this video – especially on 00:47 mark where he’s promoting Citron tea. Cuteee! Are you a CN Blue fan? Who’s your bias?

Apart from enjoying my ramyun as per the cooking instructions with a lot of sinful toppings, I also love turning it into an omelette.

Very easy and tasty. Perfect for breakfasts or cut into smaller portion as a snack. I added kimchi, spam, and cheese too. My favorite combo!

The perfect snack for watching more Kshows and Kdramas 

A cup of citron tea would be lovely too.

Enjoy!

“This post has been sponsored by Korean Department for Agriculture and Trade, but all thoughts are my own"

Dry Kimchi Nongshim Ramyun - Korean Dry Instant Noodles

OMG!
Remember my #1 guilty pleasure, Indomie Goreng?
Finally. Nongshim made a dry version of their kimchi instant noodles, which is my #1 favorite instant noodle soup.

PS. In case you're wondering, nobody's holding me at gun point or paying me to write this. I am really just a truly Indomie Goreng and Nongshim noodles fanatic :D

If you love Nongshim noodles and you saw this package...

...grab it.

Actually, I didn't get to try this noodle, due to my current extreme aversion to strong flavors, such as garlic. SC gave it a try, and while he was inhaling the bowl, I could smell all the things I didn't wanna smell (one of them = garlic), from a meter away.

I strongly suggest NOT to eat this before or during dates.
Unless you plan to always stand at least 3m away from your date (restraining order?), or your date has a chronic sinusitis/fully blocked nose.

I added a couple of pork dumplings and freshly chopped corriander because...when it comes to noodles, I don't do plain.

Take a look at this chewy, springy, tasty goodness...

...I can't wait to give it a go.

Meanwhile, you'd have to trust SC on this one.
His verdict?

The empty bowl says it all.

He even said that this could be a strong competition to my favorite Indomie Goreng.
Whatttt???!!! The little nationalist girl inside me screamed "Nooooo...."

Korean Potato Noodles with Beef & Mushroom Broth - My Simple Christmas Dinner

This was my Christmas dinner.

If you were expecting some gorgeously golden turkey, tender and juicy steak, super-creative-fancy side dishes, and beautifully crafted desserts, hmm...there was none :P

All the shopping, photo hunting, cleaning & decorating totally consumed me.
That's my official statement.
The reality? I was (again) too lazy to plan anything, and spent most of the day with my ass planted in front of my computer watching my favorite drama series :D

Aaaanyways...
I found this pack of fresh Korean Potato Noodles at City Super (HK$36), and it's a gem!

Update: a HK twitterer who's familiar with Korean food informed me that there is actually very little potato element in this noodle. Interestingly, it is marketed as "potato noodles", probably to attract spud lovers like me. Potato or no potato, give it a try and see if you like it :)

What did I do with it?

Made a simple broth of fresh shitake, straw mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, beef and chicken stock. Meat, vegetables and carb all in one pot. My kind of lazy meal.

Beef & Mushroom Broth
- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 cup of beef (HK$20)
- 1 cup of fresh shitake, sliced
- 1 cup of straw mushrooms, sliced
- chicken/beef/vegetable stock
- half a head of large Chinese cabbage, sliced
- olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar

In a medium sized sauce pan/pot, Saute garlic in a bit of hot olive oil, add sliced mushrooms. Hello, kitchen, you smell good! Add stock, bring to boil, add cabbage, cook until it reaches the desired softness, adjust seasoning if necessary, add beef.



While the cabbage was cooking (before dumping beef into broth), prepare a pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to instructions, drain, divide by portion per person, and place in a bowl.

Pour broth over noodles and enjoy is subtle deliciousness.
Perfect for post-holiday-season recovery :D

I don't do "subtle" very often.
So enjoy it while it lasts :)

Kim Mi Korean BBQ - HK Style Korean BBQ Lessons

All you can eat Korean BBQ?!! How about the diet? The upcoming sun-bathing holiday? Well, screw 'em. I couldn't have possibly thought about diet facing all these yumminesses. When I saw these juicy oysters, especially after they got gorgeous browage all over them, the only D-word I could think of was DELICIOUS.

..and then E-AT, and F-ASTER, and G-OBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!!!
There are many Korean BBQ joints in Hong Kong (naturally, the flavors have been very Hong Kong-ized), but we love Kim Mi. Each table of 4-6 has its own enclosures, for privacy (yes, we like to gossip when we dine with friends, surprise surprise), which is really rare in Hong Kong, the ones which gave you enough space and privacy normally are really bad for your budget ($$$$$).


The star of the night was the beef ribs. They are tender, juicy and super tasty, especially if you get some of those melt-in-your-mouth bits of fat. Heheh! Bye bye, waist! See you next summer! The thinly sliced ox tongue was also good. They're so thin, you practically have to pick them up as soon as you place them on the hot, sizzling bbq pan.

Another thing we love about Kim Mi is..
The Hong Kong Style Korean BBQ 101
Our experienced servers normally walk back and forth to check that we're having fun, enjoying our food, and most importantly not screwing up the BBQ or burning the place down!
Thus, the friendly uncles will give us some BBQ lessons.
We'd like to thank the uncles, who made us the Korean BBQ patrons we are today. Couldn't have done it without you, Ah Suk! This one's for you! (I seem to have forgotted that I am not here to receive the Oscars)

What have we learnt?
1. Always keep the BBQ pan full, empty pan burns fast
2. Always BBQ seafood, which does not release oil, together with meat, or anything that releases fat, to prevent the non-fat items from burning
3. Do not pour oil all over, especially before placing the food. Lay your food on the pan, and just pour a little oil in the middle. The oil will travel to the sides of the pan
4. Chicken wings, capelin, shrimps and fish should be placed on the outer side of the pan, where the heat is not so strong, allowing them to cook slowly, once they are done, you can get some brownage going by placing them in the middle of the pan for a short period of time. Cook them together with some meat in the middle. Keep the meat always going, never let the pan go empty
5. Eels should be placed skin down, grilled until golden, and flipped only once
6. Squid should be placed scored side down, held with metal chopstick, then let cook
7. Try to refrain from always flipping everything you grill (believe me, it isn't easy, flipping them around is so much fun!), they only need to be flipped once

The first few times we visited this place, we actually felt really nervous every time uncle passed our cubicle, the exact feeling I got during my school exams. Nowadays, we confidently laugh at our clueless neighbors when they were "taught" by uncle, only to find out that we are still doing it wrong. LOL!

Korean BBQ study is a lifelong process I guess...there's always something new to learn in every visit.

Can a ship have two captains?

Maybe it can't, but our little BBQ can have two strong male chefs, who handled most of the cooking.

My main job was to take crappy pictures and eat.

Hmm, I use my DSLR with 50mm lens to take pictures, and it is not the easiest thing to manouver. To take some of these shots, I had to stand on my chair (thank God for private cubicles) or stood wayyyy outside the cubicle!!! (Loz has some shots of me doing just that, I'll add the pictures later).

The capelin, eels, chicken franks and beef ribs. Yum!


Fancy some frog legs? Or baby octopus? You got 'em!

What else went down that night?

"Someone" scored a hole-in-one, dropping a piece of succulent grilled fish right into Loz' glass of tea. Ehm, not my kind of cocktail.

You know who you are! ^_*
--------------------------------------------
Kim Mi Korean BBQ Restaurant
74-84 Sai Yeung Choi Street South
2/F Mongkok City Centre
Mong Kok
Try to be there before 7pm to avoid dinner time mad rush!

Kimchi E-Noodles

It's so good to be back to the kitchen. Despite Beijing's yummy treats and gorgeous, spacious, and luxurious hotel room, there's no place like home.

A home is where my..........
- large bottle of sweet soy sauce
- comprehensive collection of instant noodles
- huge sack of rice
- boxes of coconut milk
- crappy photo studio
- cheap but best hair dryer
- many bottles of almost finished fragrances
- wardrobe overflowing with clothes, bags and jewellries I hardly wear or use
&
- sous chef
.......................are LOL!

I was in the mood for kimchi flavored anything, and I miss the chewy but soft texture of e-min (not e-mail, it's e-noodle as in "e-fu noodles")...so I've decided to make

Kimchi E-Noodles

E-Noodles
Sold in large plate-like pieces, dip it into hot water to soften and try to get rid of as mush oil as you can


Cabbage Kimchi
I love its instense flavor. It bites.


Prawn balls and Taiwanese Pork Mushroom Balls
Remember, always accessorize


Nicely Marbled Thinly Sliced Beef


Recipe
(serves 4)
- 2 large pieces of e-min, softened
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 red chilli, finely chopped
- a small bunch of spring onions, roughtly chopped
- 1 cup of kimchi (adjust to suit your taste)
- prawn balls, meat balls, beef (or any other choice of meat/shrimps/anything you like)
- fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce (or sugar)

Saute garlic, onion, chilli, add meat, kimchi, noodles, add sauces, add spring onion, mix well, serve

Sharing this with Presto Pasta Night Gang ^_^

Oh, and home is also where my Internet (with huge bandwidth) and food pictures are ^_^