Beyond Food: Learning Korean

Happy Hangeul Day!

Gonna start learning the Korean language after being hooked to Korean Dramas and Webcomics this quarantine! (Late joiner to the Hallyu wave).

The number of English subbed Korean shows I’ve watched this year exceeds all the shows I’ve watched in the past years of my life. I think I just watched 2 english subbed dramas prior to this year, plus a few episodes of those shown on local tv, which are already dubbed. I’m a late joiner to this Korean wave as I’ve started out as a Japanese language and culture fan since a looong time ago. And I also studied the Japanese language a while back and took JLPT N5 and N4. Yep, language learning (beginner level) is sort of a hobby of mine. Is it weird? 🤣

➡️Goal: Be able to understand around 50% of the dialogue in dramas, and read around 50% of the raws of webcomics
➡️Bonus Goal: take the TOPIK exam level I or II in 2021 (souvenir!)
➡️Focus: Reading and Listening

And with this, I’ll be posting a Korean snack or food from a Korean restaurant every week, along with a short progress update!

October 1 – 9: Memorization, Familiarization

Click the item to go to the page I used for reference:

✔️Korean Alphabet
✔️Question words
✔️Directions
✔️Particles – topic, subject, object, additive particles
✔️Verb/Sentence endings – must do, want to do, going to, can not
✔️Pronouns (I and You)

Just touching base with different basic topics for the first few days to be able to form basic sentences… Haven’t decided on a program structure yet or if I would follow any pre-made study plans online.

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#GastronomersBeyondFood : Learning #Korean It's #Hangeul Day! 한글날! Gonna start learning the Korean language after being hooked to Korean Dramas and Webcomics this quarantine! (Imma late joiner to the Hallyu wave). ➡️Goal: Be able to understand around 50% of the dialogue in dramas, and read around 50% of the raws of webcomics ➡️Bonus Goal: take the TOPIK exam level I or II in mid 2021 ➡️Focus: Reading and Listening And with this, I'll be posting a Korean snack or food from a Korean restaurant every week, along with a short progress update! Full text in the blog. Link in bio💕 . October 1 – 9: Memorization, Familiarization > Korean Alphabet > Question words > Directions > Particles – subject, topic, and object particles > Sentence endings – must do, want to do, going to, can not > Pronouns – I and You Just touching base with different basic topics for the first few days to be able to form basic sentences… Haven't decided on a program structure yet or if I would follow any made study plans online. 📸 Food in photo from #Soopong Ortigas Center #thegastronomersdiary

A post shared by The Gastronomer's Diary (@thegastronomersdiary) on Oct 9, 2020 at 6:00am PDT

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Backlog Post: Bangus

Way back in 2014, we dined at Bangus and used our online discount voucher. This restaurant’s specialty is obviously bangus (milkfish) as seen in the numerous bangus dishes in their menu. But we opted to try their non-bangus offerings. We also ordered rice to complete our Filipino meal.

Spring Chicken

Half roasted chicken served with gravy as the poultry of the day.

Sizzling Tapa

I was craving for a saltier viand and got this beef tapa. Some slices were tender enough but some pieces were a bit rubbery. I liked that it was actually sizzling when served and not just presented on a cold sizzling plate

Branch visited located at: Main Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Backlog Post: Barbara’s: Buwan ng Wika Flashback

The month of August is known as the “Buwan ng Wika”, a month where language and culture is celebrated. In schools, activities for this month often include a presentation of native Filipino dances. And a taste of culture and Filipino dances (plus a dinner buffet) is what we got for this trip.

Note: This post will be more about the place than the food

Last 2014, we went to Intramuros, a walled city in Manila, to eat at Barbara’s. We bought an online discount voucher for a dinner buffet plus cultural dance show at Barbara’s.

We arrived earlier than the buffet start time so that we can hear mass at San Agustin Church. It is the oldest stone church in the Philippines and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Old houses turned into establishments are found along the cobble stone street. Barbara’s is one of them. It’s just across San Agustin Church.

After enjoying the place, we move on to the dining area, which seems to be the attic of the house.

The buffet choices were simple. Among the choices of viands, pasta, and salad, what I liked best was the pumpkin soup. It was thick and had a hint of sweetness. I had several bowls of that.

A number of cultural dances were performed. Here are some screen shots from the video I took.

Mabuhay!!

Branch visited located at: Intramuros, Manila

Rita’s Italian Ice: Italian Day Out (Dessert)

Here’s part 2 of our Italian themed food trip. After Mama Lou’s, we went to Rita’s to get some Italian ice goodness. A long line greeted us. The place was quite small, just enough space to line up and make your order.

Waiting in line, we saw some orders being prepared.

There were a lot of choices of flavored ice.

Our orders! Two orders of gelati – Italian ice topped with custard.

My friend got the cherry flavored ice and vanilla custard. The cherry ice had a hint of sour and some pieces of crushed cherries. Creamy custard completed this gelati.

I wanted to get the cookie dough ice but they already ran out so I got this marshmallow peanut butter ice. For my custard, I chose a mix of light vanilla and coffee in an effort to neutralize the sweet ice. Indeed the ice was sweet, as if I was drinking peanut butter s’mores! The light vanilla was a little less creamy and sweet compared to its original vanilla counterpart. The coffee was not too sweet as well but still just as creamy.

Branch visited located at: UP Town center, Quezon City

Mama Lou’s: Italian Day Out (Lunch)

Recognized as a place to get good Italian food, Mama Lou’s is the first destination of our UP Town Center Italian themed food trip.

I have been wanting to visit Mama Lou’s in BF Homes ever since I heard about it from my cousin. For this visit, I went to its UP Town Center branch with my friend. It was lunch time and we did not make any reservations so we were put on the waiting list for a while.

After a few minutes, we were given a table outside and some complementary bread. This came with salsa and pesto.

Poutine with additional bacon

The poutine with additional bacon arrived soon after.

Fries glistening in its gravy-cheese glory. Maybe it was just me but the gravy had some kind of pizza taste in it. Perhaps from meat, tomato, and spices?

Risotto Tartufo Funghi

It was a longer wait for the risotto. Finally, this truffle dish arrived.

Slices of cheese and mushrooms on top of rice in a round plate, this photo does not capture how flavorful this dish really is. Truffle cream provided a different taste. The creaminess and cheesiness reminded me of carbonara.

Watch out for part 2 of our Italian dessert! Any guesses?

Branch visited located at: UP Town Center, Quezon City