KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

The table was nicely set up before we arrived. We grabbed our seats and we were served by some cute young men who is undergoing their national service in their country.

The soup was very thick and rich that I have the ‘jelaky’ feeling after that. Look at the beautiful golden hue of my picture. Nice eh?

The croutons that top this classic salad are wonderful and the very creamy dressing is as good. I love the fact that it is sprinkled with abundance of peanut powder too.

Escargots taste anything but ordinary. They are tender, and the garlicky snail butter is very good.

Next up is the succulent, rich, delectable tiger prawn that is done just right to taste. I love the grileed aubergine and zucchini very much!

This juicy and succulent tenderloin is bursting with flavor. It is complemented by a great sauce that enhances its flavour. Suyen had her virgin taste on steak because she was too shy to push this away in front of Rome’s family. She reckon that this was really good too.

Great food, great wine and great companion makes a perfect night. It was great catching up with Rome’s dad after the dinner at New Paris 6 months ago.

After dinner, Rome’s parents brought us on a city tour at night. The neon lights of buildings and street lights all come together to create a beautiful night spectacle. We passed by the blue house, the famous N tower and Han River. Seoul at night is overwhelmingly beautiful and I just keep gasping in the car.

After city tour, we headed to a Jim Jil bang (family sauna) place. The idea of going there is a bit daunting for us Malaysians (you will know why later). Women are seen with pink coloured outfits and men wear the blue coloured outfits at the common area.

This is amazing! Pictures and signatures of all the korean actors and actresses who had made their way here occupied the wall before the entrance.

We went inside the infernally hot rooms called han heung mak. It is a dark cave like stone structure with amethyst stone and a small and narrow opening. We sat on potato sack for a few minutes and we are sweating like a cow. Now I know how the muffins and tarts feel in my oven. The han jeung mak reportedly increases your metabolism as well as helping to relieve shoulder, head and neck pain. It also improves skin quality and loosens stiff muscles. After the 36 Celsius hot room, we entered into a 18 Celsius cold room.

Finally, our most feared moment has arrived – naked shower time. There are designated shower area for men and women. *Phew*. Koreans have been bathing in public since ages ago and it seems so normal for them. I startled by the sight of naked women walking around the shower area. Finally I gave in and walked into the shower area with my friends. *blushing*. It was a nice experience after all. Ajumas are scrubbing each other from head to toe with a special exfoliating glove. They must be squeaky clean because I can see all the dead skin cells coming off.

For 5000 won to 10000 won (rm 20 to rm 40), you can go for the sauna and shower, workout at the gym, and even stay overnight here. Suddenly I realize that it is the cheapest form of accomadation, way cheaper than backpackers dorms. On my next visit to Seoul, I shall stay at some Jim Jil Bang place.

The table was nicely set up before we arrived. We grabbed our seats and we were served by some cute young men who is undergoing their national service in their country.

The soup was very thick and rich that I have the ‘jelaky’ feeling after that. Look at the beautiful golden hue of my picture. Nice eh?

The croutons that top this classic salad are wonderful and the very creamy dressing is as good. I love the fact that it is sprinkled with abundance of peanut powder too.

Escargots taste anything but ordinary. They are tender, and the garlicky snail butter is very good.

Next up is the succulent, rich, delectable tiger prawn that is done just right to taste. I love the grileed aubergine and zucchini very much!

This juicy and succulent tenderloin is bursting with flavor. It is complemented by a great sauce that enhances its flavour. Suyen had her virgin taste on steak because she was too shy to push this away in front of Rome’s family. She reckon that this was really good too.

Great food, great wine and great companion makes a perfect night. It was great catching up with Rome’s dad after the dinner at New Paris 6 months ago.

After dinner, Rome’s parents brought us on a city tour at night. The neon lights of buildings and street lights all come together to create a beautiful night spectacle. We passed by the blue house, the famous N tower and Han River. Seoul at night is overwhelmingly beautiful and I just keep gasping in the car.

After city tour, we headed to a Jim Jil bang (family sauna) place. The idea of going there is a bit daunting for us Malaysians (you will know why later). Women are seen with pink coloured outfits and men wear the blue coloured outfits at the common area.

This is amazing! Pictures and signatures of all the korean actors and actresses who had made their way here occupied the wall before the entrance.

We went inside the infernally hot rooms called han heung mak. It is a dark cave like stone structure with amethyst stone and a small and narrow opening. We sat on potato sack for a few minutes and we are sweating like a cow. Now I know how the muffins and tarts feel in my oven. The han jeung mak reportedly increases your metabolism as well as helping to relieve shoulder, head and neck pain. It also improves skin quality and loosens stiff muscles. After the 36 Celsius hot room, we entered into a 18 Celsius cold room.

Finally, our most feared moment has arrived – naked shower time. There are designated shower area for men and women. *Phew*. Koreans have been bathing in public since ages ago and it seems so normal for them. I startled by the sight of naked women walking around the shower area. Finally I gave in and walked into the shower area with my friends. *blushing*. It was a nice experience after all. Ajumas are scrubbing each other from head to toe with a special exfoliating glove. They must be squeaky clean because I can see all the dead skin cells coming off.

For 5000 won to 10000 won (rm 20 to rm 40), you can go for the sauna and shower, workout at the gym, and even stay overnight here. Suddenly I realize that it is the cheapest form of accomadation, way cheaper than backpackers dorms. On my next visit to Seoul, I shall stay at some Jim Jil Bang place.

Profiteroles

Banana Cream Pie

Eclairs

Key Lime Tart

Tier cake with simple and classy ornaments on display, it is beautiful piece of art.

SugarWorks creation by one of the crew in Just Heavenly Pleasures

Eat with your eyes first. I’m so tempted to buy everything back but towards the end of the day, the cakes were almost sold out. I managed to get the sticky butterscotch, yippie!

A zebra can never change its strips. Floggers or food paparazzi , as usual, have to flash out their camera on FOOD. Other than desserts, these goodies below are offered for sales too. Nicely wrapped in fabric gift bags, it makes a good gift for occassions.

I met Swee San, someone who I stalked her blog since ages ago. It was a coincident that she used to blogged in a blog named Just Heavenly with her friends last time, and now she is a new addition to the production crews of Just Heavenly.

Jackson and Kampungboy

Jason and Kampungboy

Nigel was telling us that he was having stage fright but the next moment he stood up there, he gave a very heartwarming speech to us, the audience.

Highlight of the day, the Wicked Pitches, a local a cappella group on stage. We are truly impressed by their beautiful renditions.

It was great meeting with the floggers. I never ceased to be amazed by the giggles and laugher of fellow bloggers. A friend of mine told me that food bloggers are a cheerful bunch of people, it is true indeed. Rendezvous with friends or people who enjoy good food adds untold pleasures to our life. Not to forget, all the best to Nigel and Allan too!

Just Heavenly Pleasures

Lot 1.05 & 1.06, Ground Floor (opposite Chef & Brew)

Epicure, No. 1 Jalan Medan Setia 1,

Damansara Heights,

50490 Kuala Lumpur

Contact No : 03-22879866

(Off. number in Bangsar)

Operating Hours : 11am -6 pm

From June onwards 11 am – 9 pm(Closed on Sundays)

My favourite food would be Dim Sum by all means. I’m blessed to grow up at Ipoh, the land of good food, particularly good dim sum. Dim Sum literally translated, means “touch the heart” (order to your heart’s content). It may be derived from yat dim sum yi (????), meaning “a little token”.

Having a meal in a dim sum restaurant is known as yum cha (??), it used to be a favourite activity of my family on Sunday. Now that we have grown up and dad and mum has retired, they would yum cha almost every weekday after their daily routine of jogging. We will still visit Foh San or Ming Court on a crazy bustle Sunday when everyone is home.

The ever famous Foh San and Ming Court dim sum is a famous haunt by tourists for some scrumptious and variety of dim sum. A little advise here, either go there as early as 7 am or as late as 11 am. Its hard to get a table during peak hour, and after you get seated bring your bill to the cart and take your own dim sum as the waitress are too busy to entertain you. I have categorised my collection of dim sum pictures into these:

Koreans have bindaeduk with these pickled sweet onion. It is crunchy and the taste is less empowering than malaysian onion.

Everyone was taken on the heels of the bindaeduk, it’s a pas de deux in the mouth. Priced at 10,000 won (RM 38), the bindaeduk was laden with prawns, octopus and vegetables.

This particular stall was featured by SBS TV channel before. They must be really well reputable and famous around Jong No area huh?

Our first meal and also last meal (because it tastes soooo good) at Seoul would be this Jjim Dak place. At exit 4 – Hyehwa Station, we walked over to this place for Jjim Dak. The dish in question is a specialty of the Andong region. I promised you that this is probably the best dish you can find in Korea.

“It’s only braised chicken afterall”. Set aside your poultry skepticism because this is a real good stuff.

The menu list only one main dish, which is Jjim Dak. The larger portion costs 30,000 won which is about rm 120 while the smaller portion costs 22,000 won which is about rm 88.

Nothing beats a bowl of steamy hot rice when we are abroad. Only difference is the red coloured grain. Does anyone know what is this called?

Kimchi is an acquired taste with very tangy, potent, startling taste. Koreans have kimchi in every single meal that I have to politely swallow it down. I liking for kimchi is slowly accumulated that I nolonger find it unbearable.

Jjim Dak is served with a bowl of acidic taste white liquid with some raddish crunch. The koreans told us that a sip of the sour cold soup could relieve spiciness and yes, it does help.

It arrives on an enormous platter in an autumnal colour tune. Jjim Dak is a mixture of marinated chicken, glass noodles, vegetables, and spicy soy sauce. We enjoyed it immensely. The translucent glass noodles is made of sweet potatoes. Surrounding the chicken meat is a gaggle of carrots, potatoes, onions, zucchini, and dried chilies. The gravy has a perfect hint of sweetness and spiciness that goes very well with the rice.

Two enormous plate of Jjim Dak for 10 pax resulted in food wastage. Korean Version of Sprite is also our favourite drink in Korea. It tasted and looked like Sprite but there is something special about it.

On the second day we headed to Jeju Island. Jeju Island is a land of myths. The island is inhabited by 18,000 gods and goddesses and is full of myths about them. The gods have been deeply involved in all aspects of the lives of the Jeju people.

It is a famous travel spot for Koreans and Japanese, since the attractions are geared towards tourists, most of the entrance fees can be quite hefty. Trust me, the spectacular view will make every penny spent worthwhile.