Hotel Del Luna (Youtube playlist from TvN)

One of the dramas that I can't help but re-watch. 아직도 델루나 앓이 중이라면 [#다시보는호텔델루나]

"Iceland in Three Meals" Youtube playlist

One of my favourite Korean variety ensemble cast, ever since I started watching them in Two Days One Night.

Ko Ryo Jeong at International Plaza

One issue about staying right in the heart of town is that the (more-affordable) dining choices on weekends are rather limited. The hawker centres and coffeeshops are mostly closed on weekday nights and weekends. So we often end up at shopping centres or fast food restaurants for dinner. 

After the Circuit Breaker, I started looking for more options nearby and chanced on this Korean restaurant that was not along the super busy stretch of Tanjong Pagar Road. The online reviews were not too bad and it has also been operating at International Plaza for a long time. The menu caught my eye as there were some Korean stews and dishes that are not often found at other establishments. We took the chance on this Thursday night to dine here on our own (as Y had to attend an enrichment class and had dinner earlier). 

We ordered an oyster pancake and a Cheonggukjang-jjigae (Extra-strong fermented soybean paste stew) 청국장찌개.  The latter was something I had only seen online, so I was curious how the taste would be like, as it would be much thicker than the normal doenjang stew. Even in local restaurants, I felt the doenjang stew tasted more soup-ish, compared to those home-cooked ones I see online (like on "Home Food Rescue" by Chef Baek Jong-won). This Cheongukjang-jjigae was packed chock-ful with the beans and vegetables, so much so that there was little liquid to drink with. Haha. For most palates, this is a strong-tasting dish. I would describe it as something close to what you would get if you cooked tempeh with an equal amount of broth. Thick, bean-y, substantial, and goes well with a full bowl of rice. 

Hubby gave the oyster pancake thumbs-up.  The oyster pancake was large, and the oysters were fat and juicy. While the pancake was greasy, it was crisp at the edges and not oil-logged.  What I really liked was the generous servings and taste of the side dishes provided. The spicy side dishes helped cleanse the palate after each mouthful of pancake and/or stew. And they were really well-prepared, not commercially-bought basics like potato-mayo salad or seaweed out of a box. 

The dishes were really quite authentic, compared to some of the so-called 'authentic' Korean restaurants in Singapore, which mostly only served well-known favourites like fried chicken and BBQ to go with alcohol. We arrived quite late (after 7.30pm) and I was famished, so I only remembered to take the picture of the side dishes as they were served first. 

This is definitely going to be one of my regular haunts. 

GOPIZZA (Tampines 1) freshly baked pizzas

We usually pop by Tampines Central on Sundays when we have family gatherings at my inlaws. And I chanced upon this stall in the former Kopitiam food court at the top floor of Tampines 1 (the food court is now renamed "Food Tempo"). 

GOPIZZA serves a variety of single serve pizzas with Korean-inspired flavours. The brand originated from South Korea and the pizzas are baked upon order. Talk about fresh! 

I ordered the spicy yangnyum and sweet potato mash pizza and I loved the contrasting flavours and textures, from the spicy-red marinate on the chicken to the soft sweet mash generously piped across the whole pizza. The thinly sliced onions and green bell peppers also provided a burst of crunchiness and freshness in each bite. 

Mystic Pop-Up Bar (Youtube playlist)

 I've been breezing through many dramas over weekends, thanks to Netflix. 

미스터 션샤인 Mr. Sunshine OST

As promised on my earlier post on Mr Sunshine, I managed to find the video links for the OST. 

Parking the OST video playlist here, originals from Stone Entertainment. 

 

#1. 박효신 (Park Hyo Shin) - 그 날 (The Day) MV

Drama - Mr. Sunshine (Korean: 미스터 션샤인)

I just finished binge-watching "Mr Sunshine". It has been on my watchlist since it was first broadcast in 2018, but I could not find any sites to watch it free AND with subtitles. 

So when we decided to cancel our Starhub TV subscription (contract was up and we hardly sat down in the living room to watch anything, anyway), my hubby decided to subscribe to Netflix. I took the opportunity to watch those titles that I couldnt watch on VIU or other free platforms. 

I had watched Yoo Yeon Seok's works on "Mood of the Day" (movie) and "Youth over Flowers"(travel variety) & "Coffee Friends" (variety on cafe on Jeju Island), after suffering from the 'Chilbongie' syndrome from watching him in Reply 1994. But I hadn't seen Lee Byung-Hun and Kim Tae Ri in anything else. My interest was piqued as there were frequent instances in "Coffee Friends" when the cafe customers spoke to YYS about liking his role in Mr Sunshine. 

When I watched the initial episodes, I was blown away by the beautiful cinematography. It was something best enjoyed on a large screen, not on my pathetic mobile phone screen. The first quarter of the drama was pretty draggy and full of slow-mo scenes. I started questioning myself about whether I wanted to watch another Kim Eun-sook (KES) drama. Speaking of which, I really should pen down my thoughts on her works. That will be another post. What pulled me into watching the first few episodes were the scenes of the actor Kim Kang-hoon portraying young "Yu-Jin", who was the same child actor who starred in "When the Camellia Blooms". 

I am not adept enough in writing to be reviewingthe drama but I will just share my thoughts. Having watched KES' previous popular dramas like "Descendants of the Sun" and "Goblin", I would say that "Mr Sunshine" struck me as somewhat with deeper substance than the former two titles. It required audiences to think more about the plot and character analysis than just following for the romance of the 'One-True Pairing' (OTP). Being a drama set in the early 1900s, and about Joseon and the influences of Japan and America, I was totally lost in the history aspect. Notwithstanding the historical background setting, I enjoyed some of the witty dialogue that KES is known for writing, although some of it is likely to be lost in translation(on Netflix). I will probably have to re-watch the drama in parallel with some review sites (like dramabeans) to re-relish this aspect of KES' work. 

Strong females

One thing that was striking in comparison is that KES had managed to impress with the writing of several strong female characters in Mr Sunshine. Going beyond lead Ae-Shin, I also enjoyed the multi-layered character brought out by Kim Min-jong (portraying Kudo Hina) and the other supporting actresses like Lee Jung-eun (as Ae-shin's maid and mother figure) and other badass mothers(of Ae-shin, Dong-mae and Eugene), sacrificing their all. Looking back at "The Heirs" and "Goblin", which seemed to pay more(or sole) attention to the male lead, it must really be true that the writer likes to tailor her script for a particular actor in her past works. 

Pacing

The writing is not as tight as some other historical dramas I've watched (Six Flying Dragons and Tree with Deep Roots remain favourites in this aspect) and towards the end, I felt like there were some loose ends that were not tied up and wished that the plot hadn't been so draggy in the first half. Of course, that resulted in major heartache when our ensemble of patriots fell to the enemies in the last few episodes.

The Bromance

I loved the bromance, not just between the trio Eugene-DongMae-HuiSeong, but also between Eugene and the English translator Gwan-soo, Eugene-Kyle, Eugene- Domi. The comedic elements also served to lighten the heavy historical (and often violent & bloody) aspects of each episode. 

The OST by Stone Music Entertainment

I have not looked at the translation of the lyrics of the OST songs, but while I enjoyed the music and songs, it is not outstanding. Certain songs are able to convey the sentiment (to a foreigner like myself who does not understand most of the lyrics). I loved the instrumentals though.

박효신 (Park Hyo Shin) - 그 날 (The Day)

Video link

I will look them up on Youtube/Spotify when I have time. 

Youtube playlist by Bugs - Moonlight Drawn by Clouds OST

Parking this playlist instead of clogging my youtube channel

Goblin OST Various Artists/Background Music

Been waiting for this!

Goblin (도깨비) OST | Full Album

Just finished watching "Goblin" over the weekend. This is SO gonna be on my playlist for quite a while.

Waiting eagerly for the release of the BGM tracks, though.




The official playlist below.

남과 여/ A Man & A Woman OST

I like how the main theme is arranged in different ways in this OST album.

And of course, how the music stirs memories of the melo film, the stunning snowy landscapes and the love that was not to be.

Shopping King Louie OST Full [Shopaholic Louis OST]

Feel-good, happy romcom.

Watched "Coffee Prince"

Last week, I started on a new TvN drama 'Goblin' (official title "Guardian:The Lonely and Great God") and was so caught up with it that I re-watched the premiere episodes (ep 1-2)  nonstop whilst waiting for the next episode (ep 3) to be available after a week. Check out its trailer here.

I decided to catch up with one of the lead actors' Gong Yoo's previous work, one of the supposed classic K dramas "Coffee Prince". Here is the link to the MBCClassic youtube videos, though I watched my version on Viu.

OST - "Reply 1988"

'Reply 1988' OST Songs

• CJENMMUSIC Official

I started watching "Reply 1988" after watching "Love in the Moonlight" and "Jealousy Incarnate". Partly because I wanted to see Park Bo Gum's and Go Kyung Pyo's previous works and also because it was on my KIV list .

Although I do not belong to the same generation as the leads and the songs are foreign to me (cos they are mostly in Korean), I enjoyed the storyline for the bromance and family stories. And of course, I was spared all the angst of "finding the husband", that was characteristic of the Reply series, because I only started watching after the whole drama was over.

Hwang Chi Yeol (Korean singer)

In the earlier post on "Moonlight Drawn By Clouds" OST, I promised more on Hwang Chi-yeul (See wikipedia). Here we go.

The youtube playlist below is by Sarah Bosch, stringing all 8 videos of Hwang Chi-Yeul's journey through the Chinese version of "I am a Singer" season 4.


This second playlist is by nikaicafe.

When his version of the MDBC OST was released, I was so excited I actually played it in the car for my husband to listen. And he could identify Hwang's voice as he had been watching some of the Chinese singing programmes. Now I am wondering whether to marathon "I am a singer" Season 4... Hahaha
😀

OST - "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" by Bugs

Bugs (벅스) is a South Korean music company I first came across when searching for the lovely soundtrack of the 2016 hit drama "Moonlight drawn by clouds".

Below is the playlist of the Moonlight drawn by clouds playlist on Youtube.


My favourite of the list has to be the Lee Young version of "Because I Miss You"
[M/V] 그리워 그리워서 (이영Ver.) (구르미 그린 달빛 OST) (Moonlight Drawn by Clouds OST). The feels you get when listening to his voice, even though you do not understand a single Korean word being sung. *Swoon*

More on Hwang Chi-yeul in a later post....

Kongguksu for lunch

I had made a batch of soyabean milk from scratch for the first time (soak soy beans overnight, remove skins, blend, boil, strain) and was racking my brains to figure what else to do with the massive containers of soybean milk that resulted. It was all my fault for keeping that packet of dry beans in my pantry for too long and forget about it. So it was expiring soon and I did not have the energy to make another batch within the next 2 weeks. 

Then I happened to be watching one of the episodes of #3MealsADay, where they were grinding beans (See Series 2 Ep 9), so I tried something similar. I usually google for recipes, but #maangchi (https://www.youtube.com/user/Maangchi) is becoming my go-to reference for Korean food cooking demos and advice. This Kongguksu 콩국수 is made simply from whatever I had on hand

Simple steps: 

Cook some meesua, drain water, rinse under cold water; 

Pour chilled soybean milk over noodles; 

Serve with cherry tomatoes and shredded cucumbers. 

It was a cool and refreshing lunch! yummy...

Watched "Wonderful Days | 참 좋은 시절 | 美好时光"

A rather long (50 episodes!) Korean drama on family and forgiveness. With quite a few typical K-drama makjang elements. Initially watched it for the female lead, Kim Hee Sun, after watching her in "Faith", but was glued to the finish for the bromance between Lee Seojin and Taecyeon.

Watched "What Happens to My Family? | 가족끼리 왜 이래"

Funny Korean drama revolving around a widower and his three children. Watched it totally for the eyecandy. Haha