Ju Shin Jung Korean Charcoal BBQ (주신정) in 2013 @ West Coast [Opposite Haw Par Villa]

A semi retired life, even if it is temporary, is indeed blissful! For those who are curious on what i am doing in my free time, i will tell you the answer now.

Watching Korean dramas (am currently chasing The Moon That Embraces The Sun) and laughing hilariously at a very funny Korean variety show; Running Man!

Because of the constant Korean bombardment in my free time, i have been craving for Korean food; this explained why i am here again at Ju Shin Jung although it was close to a year since i last visited this charcoal bbq restaurant. 

I am not going to say much in this post as you can find plenty of information on two existing entries (nothing much has changed actually); click here for my first entry and here for the second. 

To be safe, Alex and I ordered the two kinds of meat we are most comfortable with; Marinade Pork and Marinade Chicken at S$22 each. This is a price that has remained unchanged since my first visit in 2010.

Note that there is still a minimal order of 2 BBQ items before you can even use the grill.

The big variety of leafy vegetables, taken in abundance, is guaranteed to ensure smooth bowel movements eight hours later! 

Side dishes - some supposedly hot items turned out to be too cold even though we were one of the earliest customers that day. Oh, i hate the seaweed or kelp soup!

Our 200 grams chicken.

Our 200 grams pork! I would have preferred to do the grilling myself but given the high likelihood that i am going to burn the meat, Alex insisted on the help offered by the service staff. 

Now's the turn for the chicken! 

I absolutely dislike this purplish vegetable. My fault as i have forgotten to inform the server not to include this in the long plate of vegetables.

Depending on individuals, you can choose to wrap the cooked meat with the vegetables or in the above case, use the leaves as an edible plate. Don't just eat the meat by itself!! 

Ask for second helpings if you could manage it! In fact, you can even choose to top up for the side dishes but a word of caution; eat only what you can and don't waste food.

My favourite rice tea! Yes, you can even see the fermented rice! 

By the way, don't opt for the above seating arrangement unless your legs can stand the cramps that came after prolonged sitting in that dreadful position. 

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Location

27 West Coast Highway, #01-18/19, 

Yess Centre [Opposite Haw Par Villa]

Website

http://www.jushinjung.com/

Additional Information

To read more on my food escapades in Ju Shin Jung, click here and here.

Best Day to Start Work in The Year of Snake!

Superstitious Chinese, hoping for an amicable working environment with maximal career advancement and minimal stress, have already begun their online search for the best day to start work in the coming Snake year!

Since my younger sister has recently forwarded a document on the topic, i thought i might as well share it with all of you. Compared to the one i received last year, this version is more detailed with the inclusion of auspicious timings as well.

Strangely, the earliest date was indicated as 15th February, the 5th day of the lunar year; which means most people would have already started work since the the Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays in Singapore only covered legally till 12th of February!

Not to worry! There was a note to said that you should start work as per your company's official start date after the holidays but during the auspicious date and time, you should do all you can to celebrate and pamper yourself (the method is vastly different from last year)!

Guess many of you cannot wait to see what are your lucky date and time! As of Chinese tradition, this would be sorted according to the zodiac animal, starting with the rat. For non-Chinese, you may wish to check the following website (click here) to find the zodiac animal you fall under.

Rat

15 Feb [Friday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

19 Feb [Tuesday] - 9am to 1pm, 1pm to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Ox

15 Feb [Friday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Tiger

21 Feb [Thursday] - 7am to 3pm

25 Feb [Monday] - 9am to 3pm

05 Mar [Tuesday] - 7am to 3pm

Rabbit 

18 Feb [Monday] - 7am to 9am, 11am to 3pm

25 Feb [Monday] - 9am to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Dragon

15 Feb [Friday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

19 Feb [Tuesday] - 9am to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Snake

19 Feb [Tuesday] - 9am to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Horse

21 Feb [Thursday] - 7am to 3pm

25 Feb [Monday] - 9am to 3pm

05 Mar [Tuesday] - 7am to 3pm

06 Mar [Wednesday] - 7am to 3pm

Goat

18 Feb [Monday] - 7am to 9am, 1pm to 3pm

21 Feb [Thursday] - 7am to 3pm

05 Mar [Tuesday] - 7am to 3pm

06 Mar [Wednesday] - 7am to 3pm

Monkey

15 Feb [Friday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

19 Feb [Tuesday] - 9am to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Rooster

15 Feb [Friday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

19 Feb [Tuesday] - 9am to 3pm

27 Feb [Wednesday] - 7am to 11am, 1pm to 3pm

Dog

18 Feb [Monday] - 7am to 9am, 11am to 3pm

21 Feb [Thursday] - 7am to 3pm

25 Feb [Monday] - 9am to 3pm

05 Mar [Tuesday] - 7am to 9pm

Pig

18 Feb [Monday] -7am to 9am, 11am to 3pm

06 Mar [Wednesday] - 7am to 3pm

I am not sure if i have digested the above information correctly although it seems that it would be more worthwhile for one to take leave during the auspicious dates and truly pamper him/herself!

That would not be a problem for me! 

^_^

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The document was supposedly created by a person named See Han Teen and you can visit his/her official website www.jmine.com.sg to read more on your luck for the coming year. 

[Photos of zodiac animals were taken in Chong Yi Miao (崇義廟) at Sengkang]

Skewers of Hot Goodness @ Chin Swee Temple [Genting Highlands]

Buddhists don't eat meat; a fact known to many. 

Yet tucked along the walkway that leads to the pagoda in Chin Swee Temple is a shop that offers food like hotdogs, fishballs, crabstick etc on wooden skewers! 

Our minds were not thinking straight that day. The cool weather at Genting Highlands was instinctively telling our brains how comfortable it would be to have these hot stuff in our mouth! 

I guess that could rightly explain why gluttons can never achieve the ultimate Nirvana state often talked about in Buddhism. Hell, just the mere sight of food bubbling in a pot of hot oil was sufficient to excite my saliva glands! 

Anyway, choose from four types of sauce to dress the finished products and you are good to dig in. 

By all accounts, we enjoyed all the freshly fried stuff we picked and there wasn't a single word of discontent from the Gang of Four even though we all agreed the weather played an equally important role here. 

No matter what, the food was good enough to warrant another order! 

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Location

Along the walkway towards Thousand-Buddha Pagoda

Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands

Price

Only RM 2.00 per skewer! 

TBE6AM4PPVBQ 

Inside the Supertree @ Silver Garden [Gardens by the Bay]

Against the backdrop of the busy Singapore Straits, the much talked about Supertrees are collectively a spectacular sight even though we are all aware they are man-made structures.

But when Cavin saw an unblocked path leading into the core of the tree, he just could not resist his curiosity to step in for a better look! Every supertree is made up of four components; the concrete core, the trunk, the planting panels and the canopy. 

The core, as we see here, is the main support pillar and also the one that helps to collect rainwater for the gardens' usage whereas the purple pipes are the main frame holding the planting panels that give the supertree the unique appearance.

Plants to be placed on the supertrees are specially selected and for all 18 supertrees, over 162,900 plants of more than 200 species were used!

Given the magnitude of the species and that one of the consideration criteria is the plant should not be commonly found in Singapore, i wonder if these plants are indeed suitable for the country's hot, humid climate. 

Personally, i don't think so.

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Location

Gardens by the Bay

Singapore

Ji Ji Wanton Noodle Specialist [山仔頂基記麺家] - Char Siew Wanton Noodles @ Hong Lim Food Centre [Chinatown]

Whenever my ex colleague, Sandra, mentioned the hawker centre near her mom's place, i would always talk about the famous wanton noodles helmed by three ladies. 

Instead of spouting goodness about the noodles, i was relentless in my complaints that it was a great disappointment and i could not understand the rationale for its long standing popularity! 

Since i have yet to blog about it, i thought it would be a good chance for me to try it again and then publicise it negatively in this personal ranting space of mine. 

Or so i thought....

I would like to say sorry to Ms Sandra Chui.

Why? The following paragraphs would reveal the reasons for my apology. 

Food appreciation is never-ending and experience would only enhance the taste buds; enabling a person to discern the bad from the worst and the premium from the best. My life experience on eating is not yet there but i was so bloody mistaken in my initial opinion of Ji Ji!

From the look of the ingredients in the bowl, i could hardly contain my excitement as this was likely one of the most enticing looking wanton noodles i have ever seen; thick slices of fatty char siew, chunky stewed mushrooms and splatters of crispy shallots and yummy pork lard.

The signature yellow noodles appeared to be slightly thicker than the commonly used mee kia and had a stronger "kee (or akaline)" taste that some people dislike (for example, David Sng)! However, the dark gravy did a fabulous job in masking the "kee-ness" somewhat and the eventual combi was drop dead delicious!

I almost ordered a second bowl! Thank god my mind was strong enough to remind me again and again that having another bowl would seriously compromise my aim to reduce weight before Chinese New Year.

Soup wise, it was a bit light yet savoury enough for me to call it refreshing. Unlike wantons in other places, these miniature dumplings contained more meat and hence, resulted in a more satisfying bite! That would have explained why some patrons that day would separately order a big bowl of wanton soup in addition to the wanton noodles.

Maybe i should do the same the next time i am there! 

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Location

531A, Upper Cross Street, 

#02-48/49, Hong Lim Food Centre

Price

Char Siew Wanton Noodles - S$3

Additional Information

Diners who do not feel like having wanton can also consider other noodles choices like Chicken Feet, Chicken Cutlet, Soya Sauce Chicken, Fresh Prawn Dumplings, Curry Chicken and even Ipoh Horfun.