Discover Busan: The Perfect Blend of Traditional Korean Culture and Modern Entertainment

Are you planning your first trip to South Korea and wondering where to go? Look no further than Busan! This vibrant city offers a unique blend of modern city life and traditional Korean culture, making it the perfect destination for first-time travelers. In this article, we'll explore some of the best things to do in Busan and why you should consider adding this city to your travel bucket list.

You Need To Try These Local Dishes in Jeju Island, Korea

When in Jeju Island, eat as the locals do. There is no better representation of a local culture than through its food - an element molded by the ingredients of its surroundings and the lifestyle of its people over history and time. 

Jeju's local cuisine is one such an example. With its unique location in the south of South Korea and surrounded by sea, Jeju has access to ample seafood. Its inland landscape and climate invites for great farming opportunities as well. So if you're planning a visit to Jeju Island post pandemic (because I am!), you can rest assured that some of the food here will simply be out of this world. 

Here's a list of 10 local dishes to try on Jeju. Make sure to bookmark it! 

The Next Spicy Noodle Challenge is Here! Grab Daebak Ghost Pepper Cheese Now Available at 7-Eleven

It’s getting hot in here! If you like all things spicy, you’re going to love the new instant noodle at 7-Eleven Malaysia. Following the overwhelming response of Daebak Ghost Pepper Combo Pack last October, t7-Eleven has just released the long-awaited Daebak Ghost Pepper Cheese edition that is sure to satisfy any noodle fan's cravings for some extra spiciness. 

Korean Kombini, emart24 has landed in Bangsar South

Another Korean Kombini has arrived in Malaysia and we are excited! I got a sneak peek of their exclusive Korean snacks from its I’m e and No Brand private labels prior to the store opening and I must say I am addicted to their snacks!

emart24's first Reserve Store in Bangsar South looks sleek AF and very befitting of its surroundings in the hub of Kuala Lumpur's rising tech companies. Their new trendy, stylish and artisanal convenience store is stocked with fresh Korean street food, aromatic coffee, Korean snacks, and an extensive K-beauty range all in a lifestyle-first concept.

Korean Egg Roll (Gyeran-mari 계란말이) Recipe

This Korean dish is so easy I have no idea why had taken me so long to try it out. I bought an omelette pan from Don Don Donki for this purpose and until now, it has just been used to fry bacon. But nevertheless, making Korean Egg Roll also known as Gyeran-mari (계란말이) is super easy. You can even make it with the usual frying pan for a bigger portion. 

[App Review] Skipping Queues with QueQ

In case you haven't noticed, Malaysians love to queue. We will queue for good food, hipster cafes, over-priced limited edition UT shirts, sneakers and even a McDonald toy. We are undoubtedly a very patient lot but let's face it. When waiting in line, we are literally wasting away precious time that could be used for something else.

Case in point, queueing for food. Take Korean chicken specialist, Kfry in 1Utama for example. I remember walking past it several times when I was shopping there and there was always long line outside it for lunch and dinner. Of course I was intrigued because if there is a queue, it must be good.
And it was.

A quick glance around the crowded restaurant told us that their signature cheesy fried chicken bumbuk was the thing to order. We went with the honey mustard flavour in anticipation of the cheesiness and was treated to a show of the oozing mozzarella cheese being melted and wrapped around the boneless fried chicken by the staff. To keep the freshness and texture of the cheese, half the chicken would wrapped up first and once you're ready, the staff will come back and do the second half.

Another dish I recommend was the Ju Meok Bap aka korean rice balls. We ordered the ham and cheese mix and once again, the staff helped us mix and roll it up into mini bite-size balls. I personally found it to be so yummy with its explosion of flavours and textures that I ended up taking home the leftovers. The rice balls was perfect as a snack.

The sizing at KFry are massive and if shared between 4-5 people, the bill works out to be quite reasonable and you get to try out a lot of different dishes. The Tteokbokki came with a generous portion of seafood, cheese (yes, more cheese!) and between the three of us and the aforementioned dishes, could not be finished in one sitting. This also was packed and taken home. Having anticipated the consquence of their portion sizes, Kfry was ready with containers for us to take home our food. Maybe if you're planning to eat here in future, bring along your own containers :)

Now what would dinner be without dessert. No matter how stuffed we were, there was always space for dessert and upon the staff's helpful recommendation, we tried the super refreshing and super yummy orange bingsu. OMG, forget full. It was like our stomachs opened up again to accept this cold milky citrusy dessert and the best part was, it came in a mini size chilled metal bowl to maintain the finely shaved ice.

I understand now why there was always a queue outside KFry but thankfully for my experience, I could skip the physical queue. Instead, I used the QueQ app on my phone to secure my spot in line while I went to my car to drop off some stuff before dinner. All I needed to do was pick the restaurant, in this case, Kfry 1Utama and key in the number of people in my group and just keep an eye out of the calling number on the app. The app even shows how many numbers are ahead of you in the app which is a helpful indication of how busy the restaurant will be. As for me, the timing was perfect because just as I was walking up to the restaurant, my assigned number appeared on the screen and my group was quickly ushered in.

I will admit - there is a rush of glee to see the looks of envy of those waiting outside. I wonder how many downloaded the QueQ app after that. For now, the app has limited vendors on board with only a few eateries like Kfry, Yut Kee (!) and Dotty's Pastries and Coffee. However, I look forward to seeing the popularity of the app pick up once they have more well-known restaurants and events available online. I do know of several restaurants that could benefit from this (cough pizza mansion cough).

Another aspect of it that would be useful to the community would be its usage in hospitals and civil service offices. Imagine using the app to queue for you when renewing your passport. Hah, no need to wait outside the doors before office hours.

QueQ is available on both the Google Play Store for Android users and App Store for iOS users. For more information, go to the official website.

Disclaimer: This post was an invited app review by QueQ with its partnering eateries one of them being KFry but all opinions here are unbiased and are entirely my own.

Delayed Obsession: MBLAQ

I finally truly understand the madness behind the KPOP pandemic that has been wrecking Malaysia for the past decade. Why?

Because I finally caught it in the form of MBLAQ, a KPop boy band founded by the entertainment and talent company owned by Rain. 

It started with one very cool and emo song, It's War. I had it on repeat in my playlist for the longest time ever and then I started rewatching the music video (again...and again...and again). 

And then dance version of it. (Anybody wanna teach me the routine ar?)

Bite Hopping with 1Utama & the Butterfly Project Part 2

In this part of Bite Hopping through 1Utama with the Butterfly Project, let me introduce you to the eateries found in High Street. After covering most of Food Street (which you can read about in Part 1 here), the next part of my foodie mission took me to High Street lower ground (LG). 

[Non-halal] But before that, on my way to the former new wing of 1Utama, I dropped by this hidden little hideaway for my Bak Kut Teh fix, Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh. How do you find it? Just look out for a giant bowl next to the escalator on the lower ground floor and it is right next to the Chinese medicine store, way inside. 

Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh is famously known for their string-tied meat that ensure the meat remains firm and succulent when it is boiled in the herbal soup. It comes served on a ceramic burner to make sure it is constantly hot as you slurp on it. And it just so happened that when I was here, it started pouring cats and dogs outside. Talk about the perfect weather for piping hot soup and pork!

Bite Hopping with 1Utama & the Butterfly Project Part 1

Today's installment of Bite Hopping was brought to you by 1Utama Shopping Centre in collaboration with the Butterfly Project. Being the 4th largest shopping mall in the world, you can be really spoiled for choice in terms of food in 1Utama. Spoiled rotten like a kid in Candyland.

Thanks to the Butterfly Project, I got to try out some of 1Utama's hidden food treasures last weekend as part of their Blogger Wonderfood Adventure. My mission, should I chose to accept or not (I did, that's why I am doing this anyway) was to explore, eat, taste and photography 15 selected outlets of the lower ground (LG) floor. All within a 5 hours time limit from 11am to 4pm.

As soon as I collected my food passport to collect stamps from the outlets and my goodie bag from the registration counter, I started mapping out my foodie route for the next five hours. (cue Mission Impossible music)

Let me start by introducing you to Food Street, located in the LG Promenade area directly beneath Isetan if you need a landmark to find it. There is a good number of eateries here that can satisfy any sort of craving be it local or international, sweet or savoury.