"The food in Korea is unique and very tasty at least that's what I feel. It all started out with our first stop at udon shop and it was totally amazing with a clear yet tasty soup base, along with it was kimchi which is one of the most common food in Korea.
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| Breakfast & udon noodles (Jeremy at right corner) |
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| Udon noodles with pickles |
Then we had lunch which consisted of grilled pork and side dishes, absolutely amazing. For the very first time I tried the banana milk and now I can't stop drinking it!
For dinner we had shabu shabu which was enjoyable and it bonded us together as we had great food and great conversations, we also had cheese toppokii which was introduced by Hafiz's Korean friend, Soo Yeon. It was one of the best food for the trip, the rice cake, ramen and sticky cheese was the perfect combination bring out the sticky, chewy and savory flavor. After that we bought cheese pizza, large ones at only 5,000 won and it sure was filling!
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| Daphne & Carine having shabu-shabu |
Tuesday came fast, breakfast was buffet in the guest house and it was not bad despite less variation, certain kinds of kimchi were introduced such as radish, squid, cabbage, seaweed and many more.
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| Buffet breakfast at Hanyang University Guest House |
Then came the pit stops in between traveling which we bought various kind of foods such as the corn dogs, donuts, toppokii and fish cakes of different flavour such as kimchi, cheese and ham.
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| Pit-stop in Yesan |
For dinner it was free and easy, our group went to Mr Pizza which served pizza with unique favours such as a lobster pizza or fish roe pizza. It also had a salad bar which we sadly didn't try as we were too full. On the way I bought some grilled intestines which were chewy and had a tangy flavour.
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| Mr Pizza |
The next 2 days were spent at Inter-burgo Hotel one of the best hotels that had a really great buffet breakfast, consisting of a variety of food from Korea infused with a western mix of omelettes bacon and waffles.
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| Buffet breakfast at Inter-Burgo Hotel |
We then had a bento lunch at Yeungnam college and the Korean students there taught us the sequence of eating such as wrapping the rice with seaweed.
Dinner came and the barbecue pork we had was truthfully the best pork dish we had in the trip so far. After dinner we went to the streets and Yeungnam students brought us around bringing us to different shopping areas and of course different snacks and food such as cheese toppokii that we craved after trying it the first time. It was also very tasty and was served in a different style where we had to cook it ourselves, a different experience! We also tried the cheese ice cream which had cheese bits in it giving it a creamy chewy yet salty ice cream flavor.
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| BBQ pork on hot plate |
The next day we had pork cutlet and beef cutlet for lunch which was very tender on the inside yet crispy on the outside. Night came and Soo Yeon brought us out to eat again, this time it was grilled chicken gizzards, chewy and unexpectedly tasty, a large portion which finished really fast. The street foods around that area was also really good such as grilled pork on sticks, hamburgers and seafood mix.
Following day was Everland and everyone had so much fun that they skipped lunch but I didn't of course, couldn't stand the hunger. I tried their Cajun chicken burger and popcorn chicken which was really crispy :).
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| Grilled Saba fish for dinner |
We had Thai and Chinese food the next day, so delicious that most of the people in our table took second helpings of rice even thirds.
For dinner we had ginseng chicken soup with a whole chicken in each bowl, really filling and refreshing, alongside was a small cup of ginseng wine to end the meal.
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| Spring chicken & abalone in ginseng broth |
Now the last day of the trip and we got to try the fresh sashimi at the fish market which was really really cheap and fresh.
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| Ariffin having his first taste of sashimi with Rakesh watching with unbelieve |
Before leaving Korea I had to have a last taste of cheese toppokii and went to the food court in the airport to have it!!!
Overall this was a really great experience and I hope to come back to Korea to try many other food that I have not yet tried."
Jeremy, DARE/2A/03
"It has been an interesting journey meeting and making new Korean friends from different universities. From the communication with Korean friends, I have learnt more about their culture and people. Personally, I felt that the Koreans are more conservative but yet friendly as compared to Singaporeans.
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| Professor Hwang with YNC and SP students |
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| Jumping for joy |
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| Friends forever |
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| Competing who can jump the highest (Hafiz, second from left) |
I love how they bow every time they greet each other. It is something unique which actually symbolises their culture. I don't think we can find that kind of respect given to each other in any parts of the world.
Also, Koreans tend to call someone older either with "Hyung" or "Noona" (for guys) and "Oppa" or "Unnie" (for girls). That is something different as compared to Singaporeans where we tend to call people by their names.
Overall, I love the unity among the Koreans. I love Korea!"
Hafiz, DNS/1A/01
