Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant

A phonecall was all it took to dissolve any dreams of spending spring in New York with my younger sister. Come next april, I will be embarking on another internship rest after my last exam paper. This leaves me with not just barely any time for a holiday, but maybe just enough hours to switch mental modes.

What can I say? After watching my sister titter about late nights in the office in her Ferragamos and Enzo Angiolini, I realised the "must-haves" in life are accompanied by the "must-dos" such as long working hours, postponed vacations and possibly a non-existent love life.

Gasp?! what am I saying?! I know you are probably staring at your monitor, wondering what kind of message I'm sending out. What about the non-materials like a peace of mind, love and yadas? The truth is I firmly believe that you should slog it out, re-pay your parents (or at least assure them that you can take care of yourself without financial help from them) before you live your dreams.

You got that right baby.

ANYWAY with the recent showers of unblessed inconvenience that we've been receiving, all I really needed was a bowl of steaming, scald-my-tongue broth.



Alright, I really don't need that tongue-numbing bit but in dire need of something to warm myself up (yes, I do happen to live in the tropics and on the equator), I wouldn't say no to the company of some hot and spicy kimchi chigae. The kimchi stew was loaded with kimchi, tofu, glass noodles, spring onion and onions. I hogged it hoping that others would bean curd stew with clams, which was too briny for my liking.


Bean curd stew with clams


Marinated Beef

My carnivorous sister of mine was very taken with the barbequed beef ribs. To my untrained tastebuds, it was faultless.. then again, I don't think anyone could remain impassive, in the face of these love-me-tender short ribs.



On the menu, octopus was the supposed feature of the above dish. However, the waiter kindly informed us that it would be squid instead octopus and I thought, "No biggie.. since both are deep sea creatures.. with tentacles.." Just as I thought: regardless of the spice factor or yum barometer, this marvellous squid stir fry hit homerun on both accounts.



The thing about having mackeral is that after eating, the taste/smell stays, no wait, CLINGS FIRMLY onto your esophagus and entire top half of your digestive system so you literally smell mackeral, burp mackeral even after the meal has been washed down. Pretty. Nasty. Stuff.

But still, the discomforting aftermath wasn't about to stop me from digging into the utterly palatable mackeral. Lightly grilled and bursting with flavour, the easily tug-away flesh had me hooked (line and sinker).



Forget Mary. There's something about Auntie Kim.

It seems like the perfect place to re-introduce Koreanophobics to the mouthwatering wonders of kimchi chigae, bulgogi and bibimbap. For authentic Korean grub just stone's throw away from home, I just can't think of a better place.