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Sunday 30 September 2012

7 To Dos During Chuseok Festival!


Happy Chuseok! If you're in Korea now you'll find the streets and shops in Seoul to be quite deserted. Why? Because Chuseok is a time for Thanksgiving and most of the families will return back to their hometown to gather with their families and have good meals :)

Originally known as Hangawi, this major harvest festival is celebrated with a 3 day holiday; in which the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is the peak! It's similar to Chinese's Mid Autumn Festival! In contrast to what we Chinese do (eat mooncake and play with paper lanterns), there are a few things you should know about Chuseok!

1. Roam the streets of Seoul if you are in Korea
Because it's a major holiday, most people will be back and you'll be happy to see one less crowded Seoul. Try roaming Hongdae during a normal day and during Chuseok - that area will suddenly make you feel as if you are in a "Resident Evil" scene - quiet and lifeless. I spent my Chuseok last year in Hongdae roaming around the streets and was glad to find Family Mart opened to provide us a bowl of ramyeon!

2. Try songpyeon 송편
Osaek Songpyeon - 5 colours represents the harmony of nature

Glutinous rice to me who's a Malaysian Chinese was either "lo ma kai", or "nasi kerabu" or "nasi pulut". It's amazing how people use it in different variations at the Korean made this traditional Korean food from glutinous rice as well. Songpyeons are a variety of "tteok", or so called rice cakes and they are a symbol of the traditional Korean culture. Made into a cute half-moon shape, it carries different fillings in it such as red bean paste or sesame seeds

3. Dance to the moon
Traditional dance during Chuseok - Ganggangsullae
Well, not literally. :) Ganggangsullae can be watched at various cultural folk villages. In the olden days, young and old women used to dance in a circle at night under the moonlight in their traditional hanbok. They would hold each other's hands in a circle and the circle rotates. You'll find them singing as well and the dance can last as long as until before day breaks. This 5000 year old Korean dance is mostly performed in the southwestern coastal province of Jeollanam-do. 

4. Play Yutnori 윷놀이!
All of us looking at the sticks. We played this at the Namsamgol Cultural Village.
4 sticks, 1 board, mal (tokens) and 2 partners or 2 groups help you kick start the game! It's a traditional game played with lots of excitement and tension - well at least to me! You need to get your mal from one station to the last station based on your scores. The excitement comes when you are able to cast more than one at a time, or when your mal lands on a station occupied by the opponent's team because you can return kick your opponent back to its starting position!

To get to the Namsamgol Cultural Village:
Take subway Line 3 or 4
Exit 4 at Chungmuro Station
Walk along Hanongmaeul-gil street for 5 minutes

5. Wear hanbok 한복!
BEAST in their hanboks!
This is a festival where people are visiting each other in their pretty traditional Korean dress - hanbok! It's during Chuseok festival when a lot of Kpop artist managers will make sure the artists and artistes have their very own Hanbok pictures to send a Chuseok message to their fans in Korea and all around the world!

The day when we dressed up as the Queen, the King, and the Princess (me!)
6. Watch your Kpop love on Chuseok specials!
KBS Chuseok Special 'Idol Crown Prince' filming
Just like how we always have our Chinese New Year specials, or Hari Raya specials; Koreans have Chuseok specials as well! Two specials that I'll be watching is KBS 'Idol Crown Prince' which has several members from BEAST, 2PM, 2AM, Infinite, SISTAR, KARA, 4Minute, Secret, APink; and who am I going to eye on? Nonetheless than 2PM's Taecyeon! The next is MBC's new special "Miss and Mister Idol Korea" on October 1st featuring 8 girls groups and 8 boy groups including KARA, Secret, 4Minute, 2PM, MBLAQ and more!



7. Say "Have A Great ChuSeok"!





Saturday 1 September 2012

FOOD: Korean Dessert Cafe @ Namoo On The Park

Anyong!

This is my first food entry! I've been hearing about them for weeks. Namoo On The Park is a Korean Dessert Cafe Bistro at Publika and they showcase Korean desserts with a modern twist; you can still find main dishes fusion style. We have many Korean restaurants serving everyday meals here, but Namoo introduced something new to our taste buds, which is definitely not the usual Bi Bim Bap or Bulgogi. :)

"Namoo" means tree in Korean and that's their mascot at the Entrance too!
Nice story behind the business!
Mat Tang. RM14.90
For the sweet tooth, Mat Tang will not go wrong for you. It's a warm delicacy made of caramel coated sweet potato, pumpkin, rice cakes and nuts. It's quite starchy and sweet. Good enough for 2 - 3 people to share the carb load. We're glad we had our main course first then only to this or else I guessed we will never be able to finish our main course. Why? Answer as below!

Bulgogi Taco/Tortilla. RM 19.90
The Bulgogi Taco totally blew me away. If you love fusion food, get this to have a taste of Korea meets Mexico. It's bulgogi (Korean marinated beef) wrapped in tortilla, or you can choose burger as well. I would suggest to go for tortilla wraps - healthy and seems like it's a bigger portion! I'm very glad that Bulgogi didn't let me down! Salad and potato wedges accompanied these bulgogi tortillas and I must say they have one of the best wedges I've tasted!

Namoo also offers a variety of Korean cakes, compared to other Korean restaurants in Malaysia. Their top hit is Sweet Potato cake and Sweet Pumpkin cake. I kind of saw most of the table had one. Too bad I can't order more but it looks really really nice! 맛있겠다! But I'm wondering why didn't they bring in more Korean rice cakes in as I tasted so many varieties in Korea - am sure there are more to offer the Malaysian market!

It's a cosy place for youngsters to hang around and for families to spend time together while the kids play at the park. Definitely going back for another round.

Check out K-popped's chat with the man behind Namoo here!

Namoo on the Park — Korean Dessert Cafe & Bistro
Address: Publika, Level G3, Lot 4A, Solaris Dutamas, No. 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Monday – Sunday, 11am – 10pm
Telephone: 03 – 6411 6698
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/namoocafe
Pork-free

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Korean Word Of The Article
맛있겠다!
mashiketda!
Delicious/Tasty/Yummy!