Budae Jjigae

Budae Jjigae aka army stew was created shortly after the Korean War ended when food was scarce and many Koreans were starving.

Processed foods such as spam, hot dogs, baked beans, cheese, ham, etc were scrounged or smuggled from U.S military bases and the locals threw the American ingredients into a large pot together with an assortment of Korean vegetables, spicy seasonings and other leftovers to create a stew of sorts.

Thus, through ingenuity and resourcefulness, Budae Jjigae was born!

 My first time making the stew.

All you need is kimchi and some American processed meats and viola —  it's Budae Jjigae!

There really is no right or wrong way to make army stew because you can create hundreds of combinations with whatever ingredients you have on hand.

Steaming hot and bubbling and wonderfully hearty

Totally unhealthy but absolutely worth it!  And especially perfect on a cold, rainy night.

A video to share

gallimaufry

/ˌɡalɪˈmɔːfri/

noun

1. a confused jumble or medley of things.

And that is exactly what you'll find here — a gallimaufry of unused photos from my phone.

A bird I spotted in my garden 

Soft shell crab sushi

Pink Mexican petunia

A stray kitty

Sunset from my balcony

A stall selling steamed peanuts

Choy Sum — literally translates as "heart of the vegetable"

Lotus root

A bug with big ass feelers.  Eeeek!

Allamanda

Unused photos in your phone make good blog fodder when you are under another lockdown and can't go out and about.

Noooooo!

The headlines today.

 What is the situation like in your corner of the world?

Hometown Glory

I left my hometown for the bright lights of the city almost 40 years ago.

Although I regularly visit my parents who still live in the town I grew up in, I've been walking the same way I did before — rushing about on an errand and missing out the historic landmarks that tourists flock to visit.

Sharing the gems of my hometown that I always see but never noticed .... 

Looking through the eyes of my phone...

Our very own Trafalgar Square

That's our town hall in the background. Note the colonial architecture.

The Birch Memorial Clock Tower

Part of the neo-renaissance facade of the Hong Kong & Shanghai building — it was once the tallest building in town

You can't leave Ipoh without toting a bag or two of our legendary Heong Piah , literally translated as fragrant biscuits.

Heong Piah has a flaky crust encasing a sticky sweet filling made from malt and shallots

Arlene House

It was fun discovering the murals.

You can read more about Concubine Lane here.

Red Button Ginger Flower

When I was little, I imagined heaven to be a place where popsicles grew on plants!

Wouldn't it be nice if it were true? 

These red button ginger flowers are close to what I had in mind.

 

The button ginger gets its name from the lovely flower head that emerges as a luscious red button.

Hometown Finds

I was traipsing around my hometown looking for a coffee shop when these  murals stopped me in my tracks.

Gotta love Marilyn Monroe.

... and Charlie Chaplin...

“We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.” ― Charlie Chaplin

 

Stop And Smell The Roses

On my walk to the neighbourhood grocer...

Periwinkle

Stinking passionflower

Bird's nest fern

Jasmine

When was the last time you stopped and smelled the jasmines...er.. roses? 

I would give the stinking passionflower a miss though!