New Wonjo

Thinking of having Korean BBQ for lunch/dinner? Great call. Hit up New Wonjo on 32nd St, tucked between 5th Avenue and Broadway.

I went there the other day for dinner with two of my pals, and we ordered the Marinated Meat Combo #2, which was perfect for a party of 3. It came with chicken, beef and spicy pork. We also received a complimentary spicy tofu soup, known as the Soon Doo Boo Jigae.

Soft tofu cubes floated in a pool of steaming red broth, garnished with chives and other spices that contributed to the strong, exotic flavor.

One of my favorite things about Korean BBQs is the wide variety of healthy little appetizers that accompany the main entrees. We didn't even ask for these. The waitress just laid the plates on our table until there was no room for anything else. Kimchi. Flat rice strips. Steamed vegetables. Salted black beans. Fresh lettuce.

Well, I guess we were off to a healthy start! And then our meat platters arrived. We waited patiently as our waitress grilled the meat in front of us. A suction tube hovered above the grill to absorb the smoke rising from the meat. The spicy pork was my favorite out of the three. Marinated in a special sauce, it was the epitome of perfection. It was spicy enough to test your taste buds, but mild enough to keep you lunging for another piece.

My love for Korean BBQ has brought me to several places, but New Wonjo is definitely a winner. It's worth every penny. For what you pay, you get quality food and decent service, along with a quenched appetite.

Gyu Tan Don

Dish: Gyu Tan Don (ox tongue rice)
Cost: AUD 10 or less
Venue: Menya


Let's leap halfway across the globe from Manhattan to Melbourne, a thriving city in west Australia.
Melbourne is very much like Manhattan because of its fusion of cultures, outrageous traffic, strategic grid roads and ample arrays of international cuisines.

When I was there in 2011, I was introduced to the infamous ox-tongue rice, known as the gyu tan don. It's a Japanese dish consisting of marinated ox tongue slices served over a bed of fresh white rice, garnished with sweet BBQ sauce and spring onions. (Gyu - ox, Tan - tongue, Don - rice)

Menya is supposedly the best restaurant in Melbourne for this exquisite dish.

Honestly, I had my doubts about the gyu tan don because the thought of tasting ox tongue just seemed, well, nasty. Despite my Asian background in appreciating what the public considers "weird animal parts (eg: liver, feet, etc.)" I was rather skeptical about the ox tongue.

But because my Melbourne friends made such a big deal about how delicious it was, and also because I noticed a lot of customers standing in line specifically for the gyu tan don, I decided to let my conservative guard down and give it a go.

It tasted like beef, but better.

It was juicy and marinated to perfection. The tenderness of the meat surprised me - I was expecting something a little rubbery or gross - but this was great! It was garnished with salt, pepper and special Japanese cooking sauces.

Soft, succulent and almost sweet... it was a tantalizing delight to my evening.

The best dishes are the ones that surprise you, rewarding you with a memorable taste for venturing out of your comfort zone.

Photographed and written by Carissa Gan.

From The Kitchen: Chilli Pan Mee

Dish: Chili pan mee

When you live abroad, you long for the comfort of home. Chili pan mee provides that sense of comfort for me and my other Malaysian housemates. If you're a Malaysian studying abroad and you're craving for a bowl of chili pan mee, you're at the right page. 

This recipe is meant to feed 10 people, but you're free to tweak it for yourself. :) Oh, and if you're not fond of chili, you can omit the chili in this.

Ingredients:

• 13 eggs
• 1 pack self-raising flour
• Minced pork for 10 people (depending on how much you want to serve per quantity)
• Fried onions
• Spinach
• Ikan bilis (anchovies)
• Chopped onion and garlic
• Maggi sauce (or other bottled chili sauce), Singlong sambal ikan bilis, chili flakes (or you could make your own chili - blend garlic, onion and chili with salt and pepper and a little bit of water)

Pan mee (noodles): 

1. Mix some flour and a little bit of water together with three eggs. 

2. Fold the mixture over and over again until it becomes dough. 

3. Make sure it's not too sticky so you can pinch/cut it into thin slices. 

4.Roll the dough to a very thin, flat shape (like a very flat pancake) 

5. Slice the dough to make noodles. Or just tear it with your fingers if you want to save time!
6. Throw your noodles into a pot of boiling water. You'll know it's cooked when it floats up.

7. Take your noodles out and drain the water away. Apportion them into bowls.

Eggs: 

1. Fill a pot with water. 

2. Immerse the eggs into the pot of boiling water and start to boil for 2 minutes. 

3. Drain the water out and take the eggs out. Crack the eggs and place them on top of the noodles.

Minced pork: 

1. Marinate with sugar, salt, pepper. 

2. Heat the pan with oil. 

3. Throw in some chopped up onions and garlic. Fry till fragrant. 

4. Throw in the pork and fry with some oyster sauce, sesame sauce. 

5. When fully cooked, apportion the pork into the bowls.

Ikan bilis (anchovies): 

1. Deep fry until golden brown and serve them in bowls.

Fried onions: 

There are two ways to do this:

A) Buy the pre-fried onions. They are usually sold in packs.

B) Do it the manual way. Chop onions into smaller pieces, coat them with corn flour and deep fry. Serve in bowls.

Soup: 

1. Boil water and add some soup flavour (eg: Adabi/Knorr Ikan bilis). 

2. Wash spinach and throw them into the soup. 

3. Leave to boil and serve in small bowls.

Chili: 

1. Throw in some chopped onion and garlic into boiling hot oil.

2. Fry until fragrant and add some maggi chili sauce, SingLong sambal ikan bilis and chili flakes (or the blended chili).

3. Add a little bit of water (so it doesnt dry up and burn).

4. Fry the chili till dark red and serve into bowls. (if you put too much water, it'll make your chilli wet. so it depends if you like yr chili wet or dry.

 Although the preparation takes a while, the result is always satisfying!


Photographed by Timothy Ho and written by Vivian Kuan. 
Images edited by Carissa Gan.