Korean 'Fast' Food Take

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My recent blog post on Korean cuisine introduced the basic concepts of what to expect on a Korean meal and it also focused on ‘banchan’ or the side dishes popular to the Korean eating experience.  For its 2^nd installment, I will feature two of the best places for my self- assigned term:  Korean Fast Food.  It is through these establishments that Korean food was made known to the general masses with their less threatening ambience, menu selection and primarily due to the affordability of meals.  I am referring to 1^st Avenue in the main Mac Arthur Hi-way of Balibago, Angeles city and Mr. Ramyun which is now in almost every place I know in the metro.  Both of these establishments are accessible, almost always open during wee hours of the night (after work) and have relatively nice staff.

TOUR 1:  1^st Avenue

Located in Balibago Angeles City, this place is not hard to find.  It is strategically located along the famous Mac Arthur Hi-way and is next to popular spots like McDonalds Balibago and a new Seven Eleven store.  It’s famous orange signage invites hungry souls to visit it.  Do not, however, get discouraged by the seemingly narrow space because the venue actually stretches at the back where a more spacious area awaits the customers.  The ambience, I would say, borders on the informal, fast food slash drinking hub type.  The winning point for choosing this place is that I see a lot of Koreans frequent this place so it must be good.  In terms of menu selection, they have quite some on their list and if you do not know the Korean language, it would be a bit difficult trying to figure them out.  I wish they’d have more pictures instead or at least descriptions.  Price-wise, I’d say they have theirs grouped into two.  On one side are on the average to above average range with some of the items priced almost as if you were in a fine dining restaurant (must be the type of ingredients I say).  The other side, the one which would be more appealing to people are the more ‘popular’ Korean fares so even without photos, newbies would have it easier deciding.  I am talking about their Ramyun and Kimbab line-up.

Ram-what? Kim-say again? To level off our understanding and for the benefit of those who have not tried anything Korean, let me give a crash course description of what ramyun and kimbab are.  Ramyun is the Korean equivalent of the famous Japanese Ramen (or Lomi of the Southern Tagalog).  It is spicy, flavorful and usually with spring onions, eggs, chili and various toppings. Kimbab, on the other hand, is the Korean’s take of a sushi roll.

In 1^st Avenue, they have quite a number of ramyun options.  The most affordable is the Babae Ramyun (I still don’t know how it is pronounced) at about 55 pesos per bowl.  The other Ramyuns usually have various toppings that differentiate one from the other.  I have so far tried the cheese, dumpling and kimchi variations.  Good news also for the ladies as a typical order of ramyun can be SPLIT into two so no wastage there for the ‘not-so-hungry’ customers.

I haven’t gotten a chance to know who the owner is but when I do, I would ask for a more extensive feature especially of their menu options.

TOUR 2: Mr. Ramyun

 This player I would say started it all.  It became an instant hit with the younger residents of Angeles City with the establishments of mini-shops that offer Korean fares.  Not only are they restaurants, but they also are a ‘food shop’ where people can buy instant noodles (that’s a big smile for those who want to extend their Korean ramyun experience to the comforts of their homes) and some nice desserts (Fish Ice cream anyone?).  Below is a photo I got from their facebook account where customers can see (and decide) what type of food to take.  One of their advantages is that they already divided their offerings into options for a ‘full meal’ and the other to give just ‘half’ of the usual servings.                 

 Yes, that’s about three (or four counting Jiampong style) levels of ‘hotness’ you can choose from.  Or just simply advise the team when you order should you want yours mild (or extra hot).  And while we are on the topic of noodles, Mr. Ramyun also has their ‘Mr. U-Dong’ line-up.

A break from the usual kimbab offering (which they also have, by the way) is the Riceball.  It will remind some of the popular siopao but instead of a bun, it is rice that covers the stuffing.

One of the nicest location of Mr. Ramyun is the one located at the Angeles-famous Bale Harencia.  There are several ways of going there.  One is to ride the yellow Villa-Pampang bound jeepneys and the other is to ride the blue C.Point Hi-way PUJs.  It is strategically located next to Holy Angel University so this place is commonly frequented by students.  Below are some of the photos I have when I recently visited their place.  

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

There is this new food kiosk near to where we go for the gym making 'Korean Egg Cakes'... at PhP 20 per piece.  Not so sure if you have these on other places too, but it's the first one of its kind that I saw here.  I'm going to do further research...

 

Starting off with Banchan (KOREAN SERIES PART 1)

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“And the Koreans have invaded the town (nope that’s me with a smile).”  Yes, more than the uber choreographed music K-Pop videos, more than the fast-paced koreanovelas, and definitely more than Grace Lee (ehe, sorry for the ladies who might not be able to relate, just click on the link and find out) the Korean culture has slowly and steadily melted with our existing culture.  This blog’s food house feature will showcase what we call ‘Korean Fast Food’, dubbed as such because there have been many nooks established with the very basic dishes served fast minus all the intricacies of offered by fine dining experience.  Lower those eyebrows for a minute (especially the ever conservative foodies) but for me, if it’s good food, it doesn’t have to come with fancy plates and silver wares.  But before I officially go on in this what I perceive as a 2 or 3-part feature, let us go first with the basics.

Crash Course to Korean Cuisine

The web is ‘steaming’ with lots of information if you type in Korean cuisine.  Here are some of my the basic information I gathered which are think are vital before you proceed reading.

                >>From Wikipedia

Korean cuisine is said to have originated from the ancient prehistoric traditions in the Korean Peninsula evolving through a complex interaction of environmental, political (rich indeed, ehe) and cultural trends.  It is largely based upon rice (hurray for Filipinos), vegetables and meats.

Commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and gochujang (fermented red chili paste)

Korean food can be largely (and loosely) categorized into groups of “main staple foods”, subsidiary dishes and dessert.  The main dishes are made from grains such as bap (a bowl of rice), juk (porridge) and guksu (noodles).

               

>>From About.com

Korean food stands out from other cuisines with the many (and very delicious) side dishes (banchan) (special note:  also sometimes spelled as panch’an) that are served during meals.  (This is actually my measure of the authenticity of any Korean resto/food nook.  If they don’t serve banchan, then they don’t know their food, ehe)

The number of side dishes can range anywhere from 2 to 12, but everyday meals feature at least a few.  These side dishes will come in small bowls and can be anything from vegetables to meat to seafood prepared in any number of ways.  An important note also is that except for the banchan, the Korean dishes are all served at the same time, so there are no separate courses like in Western cuisines.

TYPES OF BANCHAN 

(a)   Kimchi – the most popular one and it is almost unimaginable to not have this one in every meal.  Sadly, I know plenty of people who shun away from this by the mere sight (and smell of it).  I think an authentic Korean meal is never complete without this.  Just in case you don’t know what this is, it is referred to as the fermented veggies (usually cabbage – Napa / baechu), seasoned with chili peppers and salt. On my checklist this is a definite CHECK!

(Photo credits - wikibooks.org)

 (b)   Namul – refers to steamed, marinated, or stir-fried vegetables usually seasoned with sesame oil, salt, vinegar, minced garlic, chopped green onions, dried chili peppers and soy sauce.  This one also gets my check and have tried it once or twice already.

(Photocredits - justbento.com)

 (c)    Bokkeum – is a side dish stir-fried with sauce (like pork stir-fried with kimchi, etc.).  Tried this one too and is highly recommended.

(Photocredits - photofinder.com)

 (d)   Jorim – is a dish simmered in a seasoned broth (as in tofu simmered in a soy sauce mix).

(Photocredits - Asiansupper.com)

 (e)   Jjim – refers to a steamed side dish (eggs and or fish in hotpot, etc.)

(Photocredits - mykoreankitchen.com)

 (f)     Jeon – indicates a variety of pan-fried dishes (like potato pancakes, spring-onion pancakes, etc.).  Tried this one too.

(Photocredits - fortychestnuts.com)

 (g)    Japchae – sometimes a dish in itself, but is also offered as part of the banchan set.  It refers to glass noodles accompanied with a variety of vegetable and beef in a slightly-sweet garlic sauce.  A must try for all!

(Photocredit - ifood.tv)

There you have it.  Literally just the 'starters' take of a long series.  Watch out for the next post on one korean resto I really like visiting very often.  How about you?  Do you have any particular place that you can share to other readers?

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