Early Birthday Celebration

Went out with my ex-student,Lycia tonight to celebrate her birthday. Her birthday is actually on 6th of May but because she would be fully booked for the rest of the week, she was only free today. Oh, I went to her house to pick her up and spotted her new running shoes! I had to wear it as it was the exact colours I had been looking for. So she lent me to wear it out tonight.

Went to Liang Seah Street for BBQ Buffet at Arirang Korean Restaurant. Quite reasonably priced. About $20 per person. However, quality so-so.

The grilled fish was nice!

We were busy eating until I forgot to take a picture together with the birthday girl. So only when I sent her home, then I managed to take a picture with her!

Happy birthday Lycia! Thank God for allowing me to get to know you and pray that you will happy and will do well in your studies as you embark your journey into poly!

Mum's new dish

Today as usual, went to my parent's place for dinner. Mum cooked up a lot of wonderful dishes today, one of which is the pork bibimbap, a Korean dish. A very nice dish with pork and onions, raw cucumber and carrots, topped with fried egg and bibimbap spicy sauce. Very refreshing and healthy.



Here are the rest of our dinner dishes..


Usually weeks after Chinese New Year, my mum would cook pomelo skin as pomelo is a popular fruit during the CNY season..This dish is not for the faint-hearted. Its bitter but when the skin (the white part) is chosen properly, it would not be THAT bitter and in fact, when braised with pork, dried shrimps and mushrooms, its a very nice dish



And here are the rest of the dishes prepared by my mum and her helper.

My birthday celebration

Every year, my parents would ask me what I would like to go to eat to celebrate my birthday and this year, I decided on Korean food as it has been a while since I last ate Korean food. Moreover, my mum had a craving for that too.

So I researched over the internet and decided on Haebok's Korean Restaurant after reading some good reviews. It's a family run, simple-looking restaurant located at Furama City Centre (60 Eu Tong Sen St #03-01/02).

The boss is really very nice. He kept coming up to our table and asked if everything was ok. He also started talking to the children. He tried communicating with Caleb but despite Caleb answering him back in jibberish language, he was still quite patient in trying to understand what Caleb was trying to say.

I always enjoy the Korean food appetisers as they would have lots of varieties and you can always ask for more, without extra charge! The interesting thing was that each time I asked for more appetisers, they would come back with a whole new appetiser which I have not tried.


Usually whenever I eat Korean food, I would eat Bulgogi, soup, Bibimbap. But this time round, apart from that, I actually ordered other kinds like spicy rice cake, which was unique and interesting. Its actually a popular korean snack, stir fried with spicy sauce, with fish cake and onions.


Then I ordered Korean glass noodles which was so yummy. The kids loved it!


The seafood pancake with green onions (Pa Jeon) was also fantastic! Great with a chilli dip sauce.


Then I also ordered BBQ Kalbi (beef ribs),Bulgogi (Beef with mushrooms)and Dduk Baegi Samgyebsal (Spicy belly pork slices in hot stone pot). The spicy belly pork is a MUST TRY item in this restaurant! Its really nice with fresh lettuce and a slice of raw garlic!




We also ordered 3 different types of soup- Ginseng Chicken (MUST TRY), beef soup, as well as bean paste soup. All very different and interesting.

After having such a filling meal, the boss even came up to us and gave us 2 plates of BBQ Saba fish. Very nicely done! So yummy!


There are definitely better Korean restaurants around. But if you do not want to fight with the crowd, and don't mind this humble and plain looking restaurant that serves reasonable priced food, then its a good place to try.

2nd visit to Hyang To Gol Korean Restaurant

Today, arranged with my colleagues to go to Amara Hotel again for their lunch set which costs only about $13 (inclusive of GST). Its nice to go with a friends as we share our food.

Brought Vicky and Caleb along as well.

Vicky ordered Doiji Bulgogi-pork in hotplate for herself. She ate that all by herself as she couldnt eat what we ordered because we ordered beef which she doesnt eat.

So me and my colleagues ordered Ojingeo Bokgeum (spicy squid in hotplate), Yookgaejang (spicy beef & scallion soup) as well as my all-time favourite (in this restaurant): Wookgeoji Galbi Tng (beef short rib soup).



What I love about this restaurant is that you can order extra appetizers(though it is a lunch set promotion) and extra cold ginger tea with pine nut drink with no extra charge. They are quite generous. Or maybe my colleague just know how to persuade them to give us for free.

Here's Caleb trying to "feed" himself.


He couldnt sit long in the high chair as he became restless. So, he got down and started running about. Even the waitress carried him and played with him. He also went out to the restaurant and hit the drums which even amused the receptionist at the entrance.



Had a great time. Total for 4 of us, costs us a total of $54 bucks. Very satisfying!

Hyang To Gol Korean Restaurant

Today, I needed to go school despite the holidays to get something which I forgot to bring home. At the same time, my colleague smsed me and asked me out for lunch. CT was away in Kuantan,Malaysia for 2 days. So, I drove to school and parked my car there and then hopped on to my colleague's car for lunch.

Went to Amara Hotal (Level 2) at Tanjong Pagar for lunch. It is this Korean Restaurant that my colleague and her family always go to and she highly recommended it.

We were the first ones to arrive at the place as it opened at 1130am. I wanted to go early to beat the lunch time crowd as I know how crazy and packed lunch time would be once the workers in the CBD area all come out.

Anyway, lunch time is great as there was lunch set meals for a cheap price. We were first served with a cold appetizer cabbage soup (sourish) to start off the meal. Really appetizing!



Between me and my colleague, we shared a bulgogi and a tantalising rich short-rib beef stew (Wookgeoji-Galbi-Tng) which has this oat taste. It was absolutely delicious and goes well with the rice! (as you can see, since it is a lunch set meal, there are not many side dishes)








If you did not order the set meal and went for the ala-carte food, it will be expensive but you will be served with much more side dishes. Highly recommended to go if you are a fan of kimchi, this is the place to go as they serve 3 different types of kimchi-namely the freshly marinated cabbage kimchi, the aged (pickled for at least two weeks) kimchi, and the kakktoge (radish kimchi). This is what you get if you order ala-carte!



As we were half way through our meal, more people arrived and most customers were Korean. So, you can be certain you have a made a good choice to come here.

After everything, we were again served with a closing drink! It is to DIE-FOR!! I am missing this drink already. Its a cold, sweet ginger drink with pinenut and red date! Feels real cleansing!



All in all, I was fully satisfied with this meal! It was even more satisfying when the bill came and it costs us only $26 (for 2 persons)!

Usual price if it is not set lunch, would costs about $20 per person. But whichever price, it is definitely worth your money!

Amara Hotel Singapore 088539 , 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Level 2
Tel: +65 6220 7160
Opening Hours: Mon-Sun & PH: 1130am-3pm, 6pm-1030pm