Hanging Out at Madtongsan II

Meeting up with friends is always a good thing but it gets even better when you are actually meeting up with friends from home! I guess that is the nice part of having friends who travel a lot, the chances of catching up are heaps better and makes me miss home that little bit less.

As a regular visitor to Brisbane, it was a no brainer picking our dinner choice as J too loves Madtongsan II. And while dinner was later than usual, it was great to be able to get a table immediately instead of waiting in line.

A night out with friends calls for some drinks and the usual suspects of Makgeolli and beer did the trick. Nothing like gulping something nice and cold to start off the dinner!

A must order for us is a serving of piping hot Soon Dubu Chigae (Spicy Beancurd Stew). Chockful of mussels, prawns and beancurd, this savoury stew is comfort at its best.

Japchae is another favourite and it has never disappointed. Glass noodles cooked with plenty seafood and vegetables, this is a very moreish dish and we could not stop picking at it!

We decided to try something new and the Spicy Chicken and Cheese looked interesting. Arriving on a sizzling hotplate, the dish looked more like a pizza without the base. Smothered in cheese, this dish needed to be eaten while it is hot before the cheese hardens. It was very savoury but the spice level was a little too much for us. It would be good to have by itself with mugs of icy cold beer though, but not entirely sure if we will order it again.

Dinner was as always satisfying, but the company was what made my night. J has always been my Madtongsan II buddy and that makes the restaurant so much more special to us!

Madtongsan II

I always have a problem when picking a place to eat in the city. While we would love to dine at somewhere new, we never like to be disappointed with a bad dining experience. In times like this, we just head to our usual hangout Madtongsan II.

Apart from the Lemon Soju, I love sharing a drink of Makgeolli (an alcohol made from a mixture of rice and wheat).

The food has yet to disappoint and when we are not in the mood to pig out, the individual portions are perfect. This time I had the Spicy Pork with rice and I am salivating just thinking about it now. Apart from the long snaking queues one encounters during the weekends, Madtongsan II is the perfect place to have a casual dinner with awesome food and reasonable prices in the city.

Long time no see!

Can't believe a month has passed! Sorry I have not updated in a while, the job hunt and setting up the place has been a huge distraction. :)

It's the start of August, and winter will soon be over. I love how the cold nights bring about the craving for something, hot, soupy and full of flavour. It is times like this that I miss having hot piping bowls of clear soup chockful of ingredients.

I have been surfing a this food blog  (came highly recommended by a friend - thanks Candice!) for a while now, and the Lunar New Year Guk recipe caught my eye. Korean rice cake soup with egg strips and beef, how can one resist that? It wasn't long before i made my way to a korean grocery store and bought the necessary ingredients!

I was so hungry I forgot to take a photo before eating. >.<

There wasn't any beef brisket at my local supermarket, so I made do with beef shoulder. The broth did not reduce in the time stated, so it was left to boil for a while longer. I was also lazy to prepare the egg strips in two batches - egg white and egg yolk, so I made one beaten egg mixture

The result? Chewy slices of rice cakes, savoury beef and paper thin egg strips to add texture to the bowl of home made goodness. This winter warmer is now a must have in the house and it's all thanks to Aeri's Kitchen for providing the recipe!