Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | San Nae Ri 산내리 북촌점 @ Insadong

Was in Seoul last year during autumn, and was looking for hanjeongsik 한정식 or Korean table d'hote to try. Had to abort first attempt at Samcheonggak as we failed to secure a reservation. Second attempt was a walk-in at this restaurant in Insadong, called San Nae Ri (山内里).

signboard to San Nae Ri

There were plenty of locals that day, and we were the only tourist in sight. Informed the lady at the door that we would like to lunch there and she motioned for us to wait a while. Was watching the other customers and seemed like this place is popular with elderly folks!

A table was available for us, so we were ushered inside pretty quickly. This place requires guests to remove their shoes, prior to entering the dining area.

dining room

decor

Our dining room was quite spacious and there were just three other tables occupied. Menu is in Korean, and service staff speaks only Korean. My friend does not take beef and as with most hanjeongsik, the lunch full course menu does contain beef dishes. Staff was helpful though we had difficulty in communication. As there were 2 dishes that contain beef, she would change one item to soup while one of the beef main course item remains.

Course menu starts from ₩30,000 and minimum of 2 pax. Individual set meals of one main dish, served with rice and side dishes are available too with quite affordable price tag.

The cold dishes were served first. Quite like the tangy white kimchi. Salad was refreshing with the sesame dressing. The portions are meant for 2 pax but in actual fact, the portions were more than generous.

white kimchi

salad in sesame dressing

meat salad

We could not figure out what kind of meat it was but it tasted tender, almost like venison. Very likeable.

Next dish, was an icy cold dish of frozen fish slices with spring onions, cucumber, spicy sauce and topped with ground peanuts. Truly exotic and can't help wondering if we were eating this the right way...

cold dish - sliced frozen fish

Thankfully, the next seafood was spicy octopus and it tasted very good. Very tender and pretty spicy. Served with blanched kongnamul 콩나물 or bean sprouts.

spicy octopus 낙지볶음

Next up, the main course of braised beef ribs. So glad we didn't trade this dish away as it was excellent! (and it was all mine! *hiaks hiaks*)

braised beef ribs 길비찜 with mushrooms

The ribs were huge and the meat was fork tender. So yummy and flavourful. The mushrooms were meaty too.

peppery fish soup

Originally, beef doenjang jjigae 된장 찌개 is in the menu, so we exchanged it with this soup. Tasted quite peppery, which was nice in cold weather.

fried fish with spicy sauce

fried pumpkin

The fried fish was rather dry, and not much flavour. The fried pumpkin, on the other hand, was fantastic. So sweet, and soft. Almost like a dessert.

We were already feeling full by then. Little did we realise, the course meal comes with rice set.

kimchi soup, blanched spinach, kimchi, pickles and rice

The rice was so good. How can we not eat the rice? Plus the pickles, and the spicy kimchi really did work up the appetite again. It was like a dilemma; can't eat anymore but felt the need to finish. The soup was tasty too. Loved the bean paste soup~

Lastly, we were served a bunch of grapes and a cup of omija. The grapes were super sweet. Similar to kyoho grapes.

to end the meal

The meal costs ₩60,000 nett for two pax, and both of us ended up being super duper full! An interesting experience indeed.

TODAI @ Marina Bay Sands

Can you believe how fast time has snucked past? Still remembered when TODAI first landed in Singapore. In a blink of the eye, fast forward to 2015 and TODAI is celebrating its 4th Anniversary! 축하해요!

As such, TODAI Marina Bay Sands is offering a March promotion of "Experience Birthday Dishes around the World at TODAI". Interesting to not only find out, what dishes do the other cultures eat during birthdays but we get to taste them too without having to leave the country.

experience birthday delicacies from various continents

When we think of TODAI, what's the first thing that came to mind?

cold crab legs

steaming hot

There were plenty of people during weekdays, so only managed to snap a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

oysters

sushi

pizza

tempura items

desserts - chocolate fountain

When thirsty, an iced cold draft beer is always a welcomed.

draft beer, order from table (alcoholic drinks not included in buffet)

My choice starters? Crab leg and oysters. Liked the briny oysters best.

cold seafood

The sashimi was pretty good too, especially the swordfish and salmon belly.

sashimi moriawase

Done with the cold, in with the hot food. But before that, a swig of that beer. Yums.

oxtail stew, spicy pork belly, beef short-ribs, crispy tempura pumpkin, teppan beef tenderloin and escargot

The oxtail was likeable. Tender yet firm texture, sweet sauce but not overly so. The short ribs was thin, slight chewiness, sweetish but tasty. The paper thin pumpkin was crispy but a tad oily but deep fried pumpkin always tasted soo good!

Beef tenderloin, best eaten when sliced into smaller pieces. I gobbled one (hey, it looked bite sized okay!) and it was hard to chew but when sliced into quarters, it transformed into tender flavourful bites.

Escargot, was one that I couldn't fathom. How do you cook an escargot that it became so tender yet crunchy? Similar to button mushroom texture. Amazing.

deep fried battered scallop balls, grilled wings, sausage, more crab and stir fried asparagus with prawns

Back to birthday dishes, what are the customary food that one eats? My Hokkien grandma would cook mee sua soup with pork and mushroom slices, and a hard boiled egg for her sons' birthday.

Chinese custom usually associates longetivity in birthday dishes such as longetivity buns and noodles. Live long and prosper!

shoutao 寿桃 - longetivity bun

yi mein 伊麵 - longetivity noodles

In Korean shows, we always see the birthday boys and girls having miyeokguk, or sea vegetable soup in the mornings of their birthday. This soup is highly nutritious in calcium and iodine, and women consume it after giving birth.

miyeokguk 미역국 - seaweed or wakame soup

But I didn't know that Japchae is also a birthday dish. Nice. Love these sweet potato noodles that's chewy and smooth.

Japchae 잡채

From the exotic countries of Nigeria and Ghana, here are its birthday dishes; Jollof Rice and Oto.

Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice is kind of paella-like, in the sense of its moist rice texture and taste. Appetisingly sourish, and with some spices.

Oto

The Oto is a sacred dish, and eggs in Ghanaian culture symbolizes purity and fruitfulness.

But where's the birthday cake?

From Russia, we have the 4-layer birthday cake. It's a doppleganger of rainbow cake! Rich, buttery creamy and not too sweet.

Russian 4-layer Birthday Cake

At TODAI, one gets to experience not only tasty food in its abundance and variety, but also an appreciation of different cultural context and meaning, especially in these birthday dishes from around the world.

After a whirlwind tour of the world cuisine, let's wind down by having desserts.

For some, dessert would mean wine and cheese.

Sauvignon Blanc (not included in buffet, chargeable)

cheeses

For most of us, desserts mean cakes, sweets and ice cream!

pretty

cakes galore

If you are at TODAI in March, you may even get a chance to win TODAI Free Pass. Check out the March promo at TODAI's website.

Special thanks to Brandon and Nisha for your hospitality, and HGW for the invite.

잘 먹었습니다~

TODAI SINGAPORE

Location: #b2-01 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018972
Contact: +65 6688 7771
Website: http://todaisingapore.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TodaiSingapore

9-course Cold Crab Treasure Pot Feast 九大簋之凍蟹宴 @ Mouth Restaurant 地茂館

Mouth Restaurant has been around for the longest time, but you probably might not know that they have two branches. One at 22 Cross Street and the other one at Plaza Singapura. If you're visiting the Cross Street branch, it's just opposite of Hong Lim Complex.

Mouth Restaurant @ 22 Cross Street

table setting

The Cold Crab Treasure Pot Feast consists of 9-courses. Let's begin, shall we?

braised dou hua soup with fresh crab meat 鮮蟹豆花羹

Thick soup of silky smooth tofu, contrasting with tiny slices of crunchy carrots. Each slurp accompanied by shreds of fresh crab meat. Nice start to line the tummy with some warm comforting soup. Black vinegar can be added to suit individual preferences.

After that, was a deep fried appetiser of long spring roll with goose liver sauce. Served hot, with crispy exterior and nice crunchy prawns inside. Enjoyable snack. One stick per pax.

fresh prawn long spring roll with goose liver sauce
鹅肝酱竹竿卷

Next up, Teochew style cold crab where no sharing is required. Yes, one whole crab and all yours to enjoy.

Teochew style cold crab 潮州凍蟹

Teochew cold crab dish was simply steamed crab, served chilled. The meat was pretty easy to get through. Light natural flavours.

chilled roe

After devouring the crab, we moved on to the start of stronger flavours; Sautéed prawn balls with cream of Chardonnay sauce with rock melon.

Sauteed prawn balls with sweet rock melon 哈蜜当妮虾球

The sauteed prawn dish earned extra points with its presentation. Loved the sweet melon balls and even more so for the prawn. Crispy batter and juicy prawns. Lovely spice too. One prawn is never enough!

Braised fish maw with garlic infused abalone sauce
乾烧炬蒜魚鰾

First time trying fish maw cooked in this format. Usually, it's either in soups or something that has more sauce. This style was nice too as the fish maw chunks had fully absorbed the sauce, but yet its texture wasn't too mushy, neither was it too hard.

Next up, an individual plating of fried fish fillet with Thai sauce. Liked the cheerful colours on that plate.

Fried fish fillet with blended Thai sauce
辣椒酸汁香魚

close-up view

Fish was expertly battered and deep fried till golden brown. Fillet was moist and firm. The blended Thai chili sauce was certainly very appetizing and refreshing! Polished off all the fruits, vege and fish off the plate. It was that good.

Crispy Sakura chicken meat in honey black pepper sauce
冰花胡椒脆鸡

The chicken in honey black pepper sauce was served in a small hotstone pot. Chicken was boneless and tender, coated in thick sauce that tasted familiar. If you had eaten Mongolian pork ribs prior, then this would be similar tasting. An enjoyable dish that was served piping hot.

You may have tried squid ink pasta but have you tasted squid ink char siew bao? Mouth Restaurant imports the squid ink all the way from Italy to create this novel bun.

squid ink char siew bao 墨汁叉烧包

Was actually anticipating a burst of umami out of the bao, but it tasted just like a regular char siew bao. A good char siew bao that is. Sweet, juicy char siew fillings with slightly QQ buns. Yums.

Speaking of bao, of course one mustn't miss the much raved lava buns 流沙包. Not part of the 9-course set, but it's available via ala-carte.

baked lava buns 流沙包

thick savoury 'lava' waiting to burst out

The last course for this feast, was the dessert of double boiled white fungus with wolfberries in rock sugar.
Sweet and nutritious to end the feast.

Double boiled fungus with wolfberries in Rock sugar
明目杞子黄金炖银耳羹

The above 9-course Cold Crab Treasure Pot Feast is priced at $33.80 nett per pax with a minimum of 4-pax. However, there are extra charges imposed if one orders this feast with less than 10-pax.

Do look out for deals such as this promo via qoo10: http://list.qoo10.sg/g/423301990

For parties of 2-pax and a Citibank card holder, you might want to check out this other promo instead.

For promotion validity dates and other terms and conditions, please refer to the restaurant's website or contact the restaurant directly.

Thank you Daniel, for the invite.

Mouth Restaurant

Location: 22 Cross Street, #01-61, China Square Central, South Bridge Court Shop House, Singapore 048421
Tel: 6438 5798 , Fax: 6438 5623
Website: http://www.mouth.com.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mouthrestaurants