Korean Cheese Ramen?! Are you serious?!

Curiosity strikes! I found these Korean Cheese Ramen in one of my local Asian stores (I think it was in Ming Sing 明星) , and I actually wanted to try it out!

Korean Cheese Ramen

You cook the noodles in a pot or microwave with the soup base and dried vegetables and ham pieces. 

Red packet is the dried veg and ham; Silver packet is the soup base; Yellow packet is the cheese powder

Then you add the dried cheese powder in afterwards. 

Add the cheese powder in

Mix and voila!

Cheese Ramen ^_^

I was a bit hesitant at first before eating these because I haven't tasted these before, but I had a go and ate the whole thing! The noodles tasted a bit bland. But the soup... the soup... it's cheesy and spicy at the same time, creamy and absolutely addictive. (^_^)b It's like having overcooked spaghetti and cheese sauce with a bit of pepper added in... 

I'm amazed the Koreans invented this!! Heheh.

I think I'm going to buy a few more of these... I can't remember the price, but I'm sure it was under £1. I don't all Asian stores have them, but have a look and find them!! ^_^

Asadal Korean Restaurant 아사달 (阿斯達) - London Holborn

I got another email from the same person who asked me to write a review for Bibimbap Soho. And so I said yes, I can write another review for a different Korean restaurant. Not a problem. This time I invited Miss Pinky first. She said yes straight away... I was advised to go between Monday to Wednesday, but the only problem was that we were only available during the weekend, and Mr Bear and Mr Smiles weren't available to join us... :( Oh well, maybe next time! So there were no offers this time round... But that doesn't matter. I got to eat Korean food again!!! (^_^)v

Asadal is a Korean restaurant situated in one of the busiest areas in London. Holborn. The area of lawyers and the place where the Royal Courts of Justice is! (I know this as I went to find this place with my cousin who once was on a placement a long time ago... It's behind the station somewhere!). I think the restaurant's Korean name is 아시딜 a-sa-dal (correct me if I'm wrong! I'm trying my best to learn Korean... But there's no time or I'm just being a lazy Geek!!). According to Wiki it means "morning land" or "morning mountain" depending on what Chinese characters are used... Chinese characters for this restaurant are 阿斯達 (Canto: a si daaht; Mando: a1 si1 da2). This means to reach and achieve in Chinese.

Outside Asadal

Miss Pinky happened to be babysitting Master H for a few hours yesterday so he was very lucky and came with us!! (This boy gets so many treats... I'm hoping when he's older and finds a job he will be doing the same... treating Miss Pinky and I to loads of food!! ^_^). It was snowing yesterday, so it was a GREAT day to eat Korean food! 


As we got there, it wasn't a far walk from the bus stop and from Holborn Tube Station. It's right next door to the station! Once you enter, you need to go downstairs. It's quite a dim lit restaurant, but it gives you that homely feeling, and I didn't see anyone complaining. Most of the diners that were there seemed to know the place already! It was a little quiet for lunch time, but maybe it's because we got there just before 2pm, and it shuts at 3pm before they reopen at 6 pm... They are closed on Sunday's as well.

Menu cover - I like!

Really dark inside!! But homely looking

Thankfully the place is warm!! So here's what we ordered...

Miss Pinky's food. She had the Jap Chae first, which is thinly sliced beef and stir-fried vegetables with glass noodles. She enjoyed it but she said there could've been more beef than veg. I tried a bit. It needed seasoning.

Jap Chae

Next she had the So Go Gi Bibimbap. This had cooked beef minced meat, vegetables (that were side dishes as well) and a fried egg. She didn't want the fried egg, so I had to eat it! Her complaint this time was that there wasn't enough rice, and it was burnt at the bottom. ¬_¬"" Hey I'm trying to be nice on this blogpost and not to be so critical!! Miss Pinky is taking this review a little too seriously!!!! I didn't try it, so I don't know how it tasted... But Miss Pinky seemed to have had a lot in the end!

So Go Gi Bibimbap

Some side dishes... I like that green one!

Master H has grown to love allsorts of food! And I think he is getting his expensive taste for food from me!! Hah!! He first had the Tang Su Yook which is deep fried sweet and sour beef. He asked me later why it looked like that (see picture), and not like how Chinese restaurants do it? I don't know! I tasted a few. It tasted good! But this also needed seasoning! A little more salt maybe?!

Tang Su Yook 

Next he had the Bokum Myun. This was just seafood, vegetables and noodles. Master H didn't want any squid... and surprisingly he didn't want the mussels, so I ate them... It all tasted goooood!! Just like Chinese style food!! No seasoning needed in this dish!

Bokum Myun

Master H's Miso soup

Finally here's my food. By the way, I had an Oolong Tea. Miss Pinky had a Green Tea and Coke, and Master H had a 7-Up! ^_^ I had the Bin Dae Duk, which is a traditional Korean pancake made with ground green beans. They looked appetizing  But again it needed more seasoning! :( Luckily they provided some soy sauce in a small dish, otherwise I don't think I would have enjoyed it!

My oolong tea

Bin Dae Duk

Next I had the Soon Tofu Chigae. This is a spicy soft tofu soup with clams with a raw egg that was still cooking and served with some sticky rice. Yummy. This is good for you if you have a cold or trying to warm up from this bout of bad weather! No seasoning needed here!!! It was really filling, and I didn't have any dinner afterwards... Wow!

Soon Tofu Chigae

Close up of the Soon Tofu Chigae... It spilt at the edge...

Let's Eat!!! My fried egg and mussels is in the middle of the table ¬_¬""

We got a piece of orange for dessert too... :)

Sweet orange

As we were leaving, Master H told me to take some pictures of the dolls by the toilet. They are pretty cute. (Miss Pinky said I should also mention about the toilets ¬_¬. They were fine!).

The rest of the dining area

Cute male doll in traditional Korean clothing

Cute female doll in traditional Korean clothing

I think this is a couple getting married in traditional Korea clothing

So overall, Asadal is a nice restaurant for lunch, some mixed views between us about the lighting, the food was ok but some needed seasoning, or they could've offered some seasoning items on the table (i.e. salt, pepper, soy sauce...). Miss Pinky said this is better than Arirang, as it was spacious and relaxing, and she would definitely come here for dinner one day (just not when she's busy at work). Master H liked the food (of course he did, he chose the expensive items!).

Total cost came to £57.60, under £20 each. Not bad. There's no service charge at lunch time, but I believe there is a 10% charge during the evening meals.

This is Holborn... It still snowed when we were leaving!!

My geeky rating: 4/5 and Miss Pinky's rating: 3.5/5 (she wanted to join in the rating!)... So an average of 3.75/5 (but stick to my generous rating!!).

Good points:
- Good spacious restaurant
- Good service (I didn't experience the rudeness as other bloggers had)
- Didn't feel rushed to eat my food even when they were closing at 3pm!
- Food was really filling
- No service charge at lunch time!!

Bad points:
- Menu lists and pricing on the website needs updating (I compared the bill prices with the menu on the site - they are not the same)
- Food needs some seasoning... a bit bland...
- Food is a bit pricey (but it's in a high end area... I would expect that!)

Address: Kingsbourne House, 229-231 High Holborn, London WC1V 7DA (right next door to Holborn Tube Station, you can't miss it!!)
Telephone: 0207 430 9006

Website: www.asadal.co.uk

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Bibimbap Soho 비빔밥 소호 - London Greek Street

I really only wanted to blog for fun. I believe I am not a super blogger. But now I truly know why people like to blog (especially about food)! ^_^ ...

I really like Korean food. Since my experience at Arirang last year I really wanted to try out more Korean restaurants. I kept seeing them but I found myself not going into them because I had no one to go in them with me. :( I found Bibimbap Soho 비빔밥 소호 on the Internet a while ago (and way before I was emailed by a kind person from Bibimbap Soho XD). 

Outside Bibimbap Soho

I'm surprised they don't use their Korean name outside of their restaurant, but it's modern age, so thumbs up (^_^)b for keeping up with the times! At the time I was just searching for a cheapish Korean restaurant to go to. There have been mixed reviews from a lot of people in London, Koreans and non-Koreans about this place. I suggested to my friend Mr Bear a while ago to go with me... and we were supposed to go here for his birthday in September 2012, but he is such a busy social bear!!! And now it's February 2013!!! So hurry up Mr Bear, find us a time and date for us to go! And don't forget to bring along Mr Smiles!! :D

Bibimbap 비빔밥 (pronounced: pi-pim-pap) is a national Korean dish which means 'mixed rice' according to Wikipedia and on Bibimbap Soho's website. ^_^ In this dish is a mixture of egg (raw or cooked), meat (mainly beef), vegetables and the most obvious ingredient white rice, which is served in a warm bowl! (More like a very hot stone bowl!).  The ingredients are mixed in the bowl and cooked at the same time. Bibimbap Soho offers 10 varieties of this dish, and I couldn't wait to try one of these out. :D But as well as the national dish they serve other food, like noodles, salads and rice dishes...

Had to take a picture of Girls Generation ^_^

Bibimbap menu

When we arrived I had thought a table was reserved for us. But unfortunately it wasn't. To make a reservation there must be a group of 10 or more people. However the staff were very polite and accommodating, which I am extremely grateful for, as they sat us at a table that was suitable for 2 people (but with an extra chair of course)... All we wanted to do was sit and EAT! (I only had 3 pancakes and some cookies for lunch :( ...). 

This is a very modern Korean restaurant. It has a lot of photos surrounding the walls. Unfortunately we didn't have our picture taken... I guess it was because it was too busy, there was a long queue of people and service was running more smoothly than usual... Keep guessing geek... :P

Inside Bibimbap Soho... Couldn't get a better picture... :(

Here's what we had...

Drinks first
I had the ice lemon tea, Mr Bear had a hot root tea and Mr Smiles had a coke. 

Coke, ice lemon tea and hot root tea

Side dishes
Mr Smiles started off with the Chilli Squid. It was very crispy, and the dip that came with it was very tasty! I like! Mr Smiles really liked his starter too!! :D

Chilli Squid

The dip is very nice!! Mr Bear said he could have it with anything! ¬_¬"

I had the spicy rice cake a.k.a ddukbokki. Oh wooooow!! This was soooo tasty! Next time I make ddukbokki I want it to be as tasty as this!! :D

Yummy Spicy Rice Cake ^_^

Mr Bear had the kimchi pancake. Now, when I made kimchi chigae one time and brought it to the office it really smelled and I had put him off kimchi... Luckily, these didn't smell that bad and were very, very yummy :D Mr Bear said he LOVED them AND wanted MORE!! ^_^

Kimchi Pancake - Thumbs up from Mr Bear!!! ^_^

Pickles
Both Mr Smiles and I ordered the kimchi. I've had several types of kimchi before. The tinned one which is my favourite, the chilled one in a jar is very tasty and my least favourite the refrigerated packet version shipped from Korea. This one tasted like the refrigerated packet. :( It has this bitter taste that I don't particularly like. But for some reason Mr Bear and Mr Smiles enjoyed it!

Kimchi

The Bibimbap!!!
The moment finally came. The three of us ordered three different bibimbaps. Mr Smiles had the Dol Sot with a fried egg. Very light in taste, and nutritious looking. Yummy!

Dol Sot

Mr Bear had the Beef Bul-go-gi with a raw egg. This was great, well the beef was! The beef tasted like it would melt away in your mouth.

Beef Bul-go-gi

And I had the Beef Fillet. I have never eaten raw beef before. But it tasted so good. I think I could sense there was some sesame oil. And the mushrooms were so tasty. ^_^

Beef Fillet - tasty ^_^

Beef Fillet all mixed up and ready to cook in the bowl!

All three bibimbap dishes ^_^ .... tasty....! The sauces were tasty too! :D

All in all, it was a good meal. I think I wanted more of the side dishes than anything else! By the way, they don't serve desserts (probably because of customer turnover as Mr Bear pointed out), but there is a coffee shop opposite called Lick that serves ice cream... although it's very expensive ice cream!

Total cost came to £54.20 (and fortunately we got a £10.40 discount, as I was told I would be able to have 2 free side dishes, but we still gave them a small tip even though there was a £5 service charge... Korean restaurants seem to like charging their customers a lot!)...

I think Miss Pinky is going to be jealous... I did invite her, but only if Mr Bear didn't want to go. She wasn't happy that she was second choice over Mr Bear! Hah! Next time Miss Pinky, next time. ;)

I can say that Mr Bear and Mr Smiles were very happy with what they had! I felt like I have introduced them to Korean food of which they have never had before. ^_^ I am such a proud geek.

As we were leaving more people were coming in... 
I would definitely come here again but probably when it's more quiet.

감사합니다

My geeky rating: 4.9/5 (lost a 0.1 mark because of the reserving issue)

Good points:

- Love, love, loved the side dishes. I want more dduboki! ^_^ Mr Bear wants more kimchi pancake! Mr Smiles loves the kimchi :)
- Friendly and polite service (even when rushed and had a busy service)
- Love the pictures on the walls
- Enjoyed the bibimbap

Bad points:
- Didn't have a reserved table
- Service charge of £5 (that's too much)
- Not entirely cheap but worthwhile

Address: 11 Greek Street, London W1D 4DJ

Telephone: 0207 287 3434

Website: http://bibimbapsoho.co.uk/

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Mandu 만두 (Korean Dumplings)

I have to be honest. I love dumplings. All sorts. Big, small, boiled, fried, steamed, Korean, Chinese, Japanese. You name it!

I finally found the one type of dumpling I have always wanted to try out. Mandu 만두. I am thankful to have an Asian supermarket (Longdan) to introduce these. (Sorry if these are sold elsewhere, but I have never seen these around before!).

As you can see, they are very big compared to the Chinese and Japanese dumplings. Chinese ones are meatier and and can be big or small (depends on where you go). Japanese ones tend to be small (their gyozas). For some reason, the first ones I found are vegetarian. Didn't like these very much because they had this doughy, uncooked type stuff in it that made it taste weird. These cost under £3.

Vegetarian Mandu

Back of the package

Mandu 

Uh, mandu again from the side

Close up ^^

And the second lot I found are vegetarian but it's beef flavoured. I think they use protein to substitute the beef. Pretty cool! As it does taste a little meaty and better than the vegetarian ones! These cost under £4.

Vegetarian dumpling (mandu) - beef flavour

They're still frozen here :P

Now they're cooked!

Another close up!!

However both smell very strongly of chives! So watch out for chive breath!

Nevertheless, mandu is a popular Korean dumpling. And I think I will try them with some Korean ramyun (noodles / ramen) next time! ^_^

Drinking Korean Alcohol

Sometimes I hate Korean dramas because they always make me cry! Argh! And when the actors and actresses get depressed they always start drinking! Hah! So of course, what they have I mus try ^_^ So first off I tried was soju.This is the most popular and cheapest alcohol served in Korea. In the UK, they only sell the original flavour it's around £6 a bottle (a bit expensive for a small bottle). It's very, very strong, just like taking a vodka shot... but it felt 10 times more lethal! 

The next drink I tried was this blackbean soya drink... It tasted like that blackbean soyabean milk I posted earlier. Can't remember the price though...

Next one (I have shown a pic of this before when I went to Arirang) is Hite, I'm not sure if this popular in Korea but I love it! A little cheaper than soju and the blackbean drink ^_^.

Last drink I tried is this wine. It cost £5. I haven't finished it yet, but it is pretty strong stuff.

If you want to try Korean alcohol you can get soju in China Town and Japan Centre. But the best place to get Korean food (although a fairly expensive place) is Centre Point food store which is along St. Giles High Street (opposite ASSA)...


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