Daegu Restaurant Review – 소담정 (Soh-Dahm Jung)

Continued from here.

After a few minutes of walking around the lake, we headed to the restaurant called 소담정 (Pronounced as "Soh-Dahm Jung"), well known for Korean medicinal cuisine. Yak Sun (약선) or Food therapy is based on oriental medical theories to promote well being and prevention of diseases.

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Most food was catered to suit one’s physical condition and many of the restaurant’s orders came from hospital patients craving for healthy meals.

Side dishes for the rice wrapped in lotus leaf

When we first arrived there, we were served with a few plates of appetizers. To be honest, I expected a decent tummy filling meal because I did not have my breakfast yet. The appetizers all came in small portion for a table of four people.

The food (Check the ratings below) - Colorful huh?

The best - Fried fish with soy sauce! 

After the appetizers, individual dishes were brought out to be served. The meatballs were good – not too sweet and they were so chewy (Rating 3.5/5), fried fish (It reminded me of home because the fish was perfectly cooked unlike in most places I had tried – 4.5/5), roasted duck (so-so, there are better places for it – 3/5)... 

There was also the mushroom, dried orange with slices of garlic/bamboo shoot dish (OMG, my mouth! I hate raw garlic/bamboo shoot! I don’t eat them! 1.5/5) and common Korean side dishes (반찬) such as Kimchis, seaweed, etc. 

The last individual dishes served for lunch were the beef slices with tteok or rice cake (Rating – 3/5), Korean jelly (2.5/5) and the rice wrapped in lotus leaf (Soft, smells good – 3.5/5)

The persimmom-shaped tteok! 

Anyway, I am very strict with the rating so a low rating does not means the food is so bad. The most unique dish was the tteok that looked like dried persimmons (Rating of 3/5 for its uniqueness). Finally, we finished our lunch with a toast of Korean Ginseng tea (a 3.5/5!)

Good till the very last..

The end.

After lunch, we had the tea ceremony. We were taught how to bow in a Korean traditional way before the tea was served to everyone. It was quite interesting to know the complicating steps in preparing a cup of tea. It was not easy either for the tea presenter because everyone looked forward more to drinking tea than learning about the culture and manners.

I was more interested in learning about the types of teas, the most expensive tea, history of tea and the medicinal purposes of tea. The Korean tea history began in Year 828 when the Korean King asked his subjects to plant the tea around Sangye Temple and Haem Temple (Hopefully they are correct). Tea from Korea originated in China.

Snacks for tea time - a requirement.

During the Shila Dynasty, two princes ordered 10,000 people to plant tea and to drink it. To cut the tale short, the rest as they say is history. Tea has 5 tastes. The bitter taste means it’s good for digestion and it has important role in making the “taste” of tea. Spicy flavor in tea is good for the lungs, sour taste means lots of Vitamin C and it is also good for the heart, salty is good for the spleen and the sweet taste of tea is for relaxation.

When preparing tea, the most important criterias are the warmth of the tea cups and water. Tea pots and cups must be warmed in advance before the tea leaves were added and when pouring the water, there must be a sound.

Daegu Social Media Team (I am not in the picture).

Restaurant Business card (In Korean).

Getting there? (Click on it for higher resolution)

The lady who prepared our Korean meal. 

According to the tea presenter, ginger tea is good during cold weather and green tea is best selected as an ideal drink in hot weather. The restaurant provides tea drinking session and it is best to book beforehand to check the availability of tea session.

Why Daegu - Su Seong Lake, what?

When people travel, it is usually more important to visit all the places of interest than to try and taste all the local food. In my case, I would rather taste the local food more than visiting places of interest. Daegu is still unknown to most people outside Korea. Although Daegu is the third largest city in Korea, many people still prefer to visit Seoul or/and Busan.

Around 국채보상공원 (National Debt Repayment Park) near the Lotte Cinema

In Daegu, the best place to eat is still everywhere. Daegu is a conservative city and during the recent Korean election, the conservative party (or the Saenuri Party of Korea) won the election here, so do not expect many liberal people living here. Nevertheless, Daegu with the slow pace of modernity is the best place to try Korean food. 

One of the wealthy areas in Daegu (like the Gangnam region in Seoul) is the Su Seong region. The main attraction of this place is the high end restaurants around the area surrounding a man-made lake. The restaurants are of upwards 30 USD for a simple decent meal and most ordinary people from Daegu do not go there to dine. 

Around the area, there are lots of good restaurants, coffee shops, nice houses and even a small amusement park. Nevertheless, the centre of attraction for most people is still the lake.

Unbreakable devotion. Hoot~!

Where's my saw? Itchy hands... ^^

A brief history - Su Seong Lake was constructed during the Joseon Dynasty for agricultural purpose but during the Japanese occupation, it was furthered repaired after years of neglect. Now there are trails and health facilities available for the people and during May to October (at between 8 and 9 pm everyday), there would be a light fountain show for around 30 minutes.

Around Su Seong Lake (수성못).

Su Seong Lake at night. (Source: Daegu City Website) 

Getting there: Take bus number 403 to Suseong (수성못) from the downtown (I took this bus from National Debt Repayment Park - Check above). Look for the bus route at the bus stop for more confirmation.

Take Bus 403 there

The lake is also just beside the Deurangil (들안길), a 2.3km-long street famous for its high end restaurants. Among them is the Denbachi restaurant, this is the place to enjoy the scenic view of the lake while eating food cooked by renown chefs. However, it is very expensive to eat there.

In my next post, I would be writing about my review of a nice little restaurant visited by me. This restaurant is located a walking distance from the Su Seong Lake. Do check out for more coming soon.

Turkish Delight @ Daegu

I've been to Seoul, I like Seoul and it also cannot be denied that the best Kebab in Korea is in 이태원 (Itaewon, Seoul). Itaewon is usually crowded with foreigners and is well known for the many foreign restaurants, great concentration of foreigners unlike in any other places around Korea and it is also an infamous transvestites infested area.

Well, I'll leave the transvestites for next time. Anyway, every time I am in Seoul, I would be in Itaewon (Ankara Palace - highly recommended!) for the kebab. Check out this link for the directions.

Star Kebab in Daegu, I see some meat..



Ankara Picnic in Seoul, heaven-icious!

In Daegu, it is difficult to find any Turkish restaurants serving kebabs. The only place to get a decent kebab is at Star Kebab. This restaurant is located not far from the middle of downtown but I do get lost sometimes while on the way there.

The menu list



The entrance to Star Picnic

It's quite hidden on the alleys but you can get the direction in this website (This is also an English online magazine about happenings and events in Daegu) for the site map of my downtown Daegu. The dishes there look authentic but the set meals are a bit expensive and may not worth your money. Oddly, my biggest complain is the fries. Although, it is uncommon to eat fries with kebab, the fries are extremely flaccid and looks like they re-fried the leftovers.

Shall we say this is a "photo map" there?

Nevertheless if you would like to have a decent Turkish meal, make sure you drop by to the one and only Turkish restaurant at the Daegu downtown.

Summer 2011 : Back to Korea

I wish my summer vacation was a little longer. Bounded by scholarship regulations, 1 month was only how long the duration that I can be back home. My journey back to Korea was interesting and I did bring more stuffs back than I had ever expected. I bought a travelling backpack in Malaysia, the big one you see when people go backpacking or hiking so I stuffed it with things that are fragile (such as cookies and lots of it) and heavy (so as to reduce the main luggage limit). ^^

Luckily after all these years working out, carrying more than 8 kilos on my back was still bearable. My main luggage (24.5 kilos) was actually nothing in particular - gifts for friends and some "bribe" to the pretty teachers (if there are any.. *stares*) in my department (Just joking lah!). Gifts for friends and some for myself. Of course, my laptop bag too. Since I often travel to Korea in and out, it's best to take advantage of the few loopholes if travelling by premium airlines (like the Malaysia Airlines).

Malaysia Airlines allows each passenger to take up to 20 kilos but somehow, it's stated 20 ~ 25 kilos. So it's okay to bring up to 25 kilos per trip. Budget airlines like AirAsia are all together a different story - bring only how heavy you are suppose to carry.

**

Sights around Penang Island



Penang Custom Office Building, built circa 1907



Ferry, preferred mode of transport before the Penang Bridge was built




Penang Bridge and the Betel Nut Tree ("Penang" was derived from the tree's name)



Penang High Court at night



Funfair is coming to town! - at Queensbay, Penang

My holiday in Malaysia was great. If I had more time, I would be able to do more things that I wouldn't even dream of in Korea. I always want to know how some swimmers would be able to dive underwater and jumping from the board (No time to learn this, unfortunately). I am curious to learn how they did it so I enrolled myself in a proper swimming class.

"Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks?..."

At first I thought I was already too old to learn but thankfully, with a helpful and very patient instructor, fueled with determination to learn and the couldn't care less attitude about drowning and so on- I finally did it! Yes! At first I was drinking chlorinated water all the time (maybe phobia.. phobia of depth.. :P) and really, it didn't feel nice when the water enters the nose like being stuffed with a flowing pipe. Ah... the bloop bloop bloop..

Anyway, finally able to go deep underwater and float up without using legs, unaided. Weird huh? The thing about most swimming classes are that they tend to focus only on swimming styles (such as breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke and butterfly) and not on how to swim/float when we have cramps in the leg or stomach. Highly recommended to find Mr. Neoh at Permata Swimming Court in Penang (if you are interested to learn from him)

Since I swim almost everyday (minus weekends) and was already exhausted by end of day, the vacation passed faster than I thought. Other than going out with friends and family, I cannot even recall how this vacation was over so quickly. Sigh.

**

We have many things we want to achieve in life. Henceforth, I try to make my university life something different from high school so as there can be more varieties in my somehow monotonous life. Contrary to popular belief that university and high school's life are totally different, it's almost the same (or maybe while I am in Korea). Here everything is about studies and only during free time, outdoor activities or hobbies can be done.

Though I'm not saying to neglect your studies but to be good at things we young adults are now ought to be now besides only studying. Maybe improving communication skills? or our social skills? or even be involved in sports? I have a short list of things I want to achieve, goals that I couldn't achieve during high school. One of it is participating in athletic track event. During high school, maybe because I was a bit unhealthy and it was impossible to even run and outbid any cikopek classmates. :P So secretly, I made it a goal to participate in track event one day and not getting last place anymore.

Guess what? I won 3rd placing in Inter University 400 m race!!!

**



Postcard from Penang

Where to eat in Penang, Malaysia? Penang State consists of an island (half the size of Singapore) and a large swath of land on the mainland. Since I am from the island, firstly any tourist should do when coming to Penang Island is to try the food and it's the Indian Muslim food - Nasi Briyani that I would recommend first besides the famous Penang Assam Laksa. The most mouth watering Nasi Briyani is at Kapitan restaurant next to Queensbay Mall. With a quarter tandoori chicken served with the uh la la briyani rice. It was heavenly..

Of Curry Mee for my belly at the Alley



KOMTAR tower



Along the lane for..



Curry Mee!

Chinese food? Nah. Okay, in my opinion, the best Penang Chinese food is still Curry Mee (PS. It's non halal). Instead of going to hotel or the Old Town restaurant serving expensive curry mee - Why not head to the stall by the street next to Kinowak School Uniform Supplier (I think the shop's name is somehow wrong) with KOMTAR building full in sight.

Meal by the sea

It was delicious but with no chunks of meat (only 2 meat balls), yet it's okay since it's fairly cheap (less than RM 3 or 1 USD per bowl). Over here I ordered the famous peanut soup. Tasted so-so but it was tasty the previous week. Also, do drop by at the restaurant next to Tarbush in Tanjung Bungah. They served excellent dishes with nice beach scenery.

**

My university semester will start again next Thursday. The feel of going back to classes is quite exciting. This time, I took all major subjects with no non-major classes in between to back me up with better results. :( Trying not to be pessimistic since this feel could spoil my day. Aiyah... Sup Sup Soi lah (Translation - Easy as peanuts *Was trying to be sarcastic*). Yet.. Nothing is impossible! 아싸!

Have a fabulous new semester!