Kebab? No, It's a Falafel Sandwich

Yup, since I couldn't eat any meat....hmmm just ordered this vegetarian falafel which was delicious. hmm so yummy. I never thought that I could go into a Turkish kebab restaurant since it's always like a no-no for me to go inside. Of course, the only reason was no other than me being a vegetarian. I have been so oblivious that there are other menu I could choose from. Better yet, I could actually order things without meat in it. 

Well, it's my preconception of Kebab is all about...what Kebab restaurant is all about. This kind of thought kept me from even...stepping my feet inside the restaurant.

So, every Friday after Friday prayer, lots of my friends just cannot wait to go in line and order their favorite Kebab. It's halal, to give it a plus...advantage. 

Then....a whole new world of possibility just opened up for me: Falafel. Veggie Falafel.

Home-made Fresh Sandwich

agak tak mood mau mkn mlm.apa....hingga akhirnya tercetus keinginan tuk mkn sandwich veggie. 

Oh...di rmh ada hash brown potato...dan itu dibuat sbg pengganti patty...

ada jagung manis pula.

lengkap sdh. Sandwich enak segar buatan rmh. Makasih, Ma.

#edisipusingmaumknmlmapa

Savaro: Malaysian Restaurant

Today was Mas Chairul son, Ghazy's birthday. He invited us to celebrate the occasion in Itaewon right after the Friday prayer. We're planning on having the meal at Indonesian restaurant: Siti Sarah. But...boy oh boy...it's fully booked. So...we went to  Savaro, a Malay food restaurant.

I love the cozy area where we could see the chefs prepare the food.  I learned that Savaro is an abbreviated word that comes from "SAvor our AROma"

There were 17 of us including the newest member of our big family.

Orangutan was visible in some parts of the restaurant.

Got this nasi lemak. Of course. ..I didn't eat the chicken. Mama took over!!

Some of us...@ Savaro. I think the relatively expensive price was due to the fact that this place is situated right in a strategic street of Itaewon.

Hyosowon: The 1st Vegetarian Restaurant Ever!!

Well, I really never thought that there would be this fully-booked vegetarian restaurant in Seoul. Not that I am being oblivious or anything, it is just that I did not bother myself trying to search for one.:) 

WEll..with the meat-eating culture so rampant:-) (sorry for my language)...in Korea, I just thought that it's a slim chance for me to even find one-I mean the veggie restaurant. 

But I was wrong...

Then..came along the day when Mr. Lee cw...asked us to have lunch together. At first..I was adamant since ..going out lunch taking along my whole family would only mean....one thing: making sure that all the food is halal and then...making sure that all of us can eat the food....:)

to our suprise...Mr. Lee took us (literally) surprised us by taking us to this ....vegetarian-restaurant. 

It's lunch time..and we got to wait for our turn to be served...well, it's buffet, of course.

But..we were so oblivious of the fact that even vegetarian restaurant has become somewhat an IT-thing to hang out in Seoul--at least for some. 

well...it's been a year ..wait..more I guess...the last time we met..was like in 2012 in Spring..so..it's a good thing that we could meet him again. Well, he used to be teaching at our university back home in Jogjakarta.

so..he was like...'Wow the kids have grown up...!" 

okay..this is the interior the restaurant where we savored our first all-vegetarian-food-restaurant.--> Hyosowon. 

After having our lunch, we're now ready for another adventure... 

oh..right..it's December and the Christmas-season was like all over the place.

where were these taken? at Sadang station!

Halal Restaurants @ Itaewon

Itaewon: dubbed as the multicultural space where international restaurants are scattered around the neighborhood to cater the need of both Koreans and expatriates residing in Korea...or even tourists visiting Korea. 

It's nothing sort of spectacular or anything. I pass this neighborhood once a week at least...so..the sight and sound or the mere existence of halal restaurants to suit the need of Muslims in Korea...are out of my curiosity since they look as a natural thing to be. Well, halal restaurants near the Masjid...what's so unique about that? 

But then..when it comes to considering that this happens in Korea, one should remember one thing..that it used to be like 'finding a needle in a haystack' to find any halal restaurant. So..the flourishing business of halal restaurants in Itaewon should be deemed as a progress in motion for Muslim community in Korea. 

Next to Western chain food or vis a vis other global brands, the existence of halal restaurants specializing in Muslim-friendly food is a good way to acknowledge the fact that Korea has indeed embraced Muslim culture.*

*Though I got to admit that this should spread in other areas as well (not exclusively in Itaewon area).

Post-Presentation Dinner

The first mid semester thesis presentation just finished and as a convention, we had dinner together to celebrate the completion of presentation. Some of our friends had finally finished their 1st stage of a series of stages before the D-Day to thesis defense. Our friends from Tunisia, Tawaded, just finished her 'turn' on presenting some parts of her thesis. Well, at least she is relieved to know that the first 'stage' had just passed.

Then..it's dinner time... 

But..oh no....we went to a chicken house and I could not eat meat. Being a vegetarian and as for Tawaded, she's not a vegetarian....but surely she could not eat it as well since it is not halal. So, instead, we had veggie porridge and pumpkin porridge that --not so surprising--my friends on the same table wanted to take a chance to taste them. Oh well..it was fun.
Congratz, Tawaded and other friends.
I made a song for them (the rhythm is the same as that of 생일 축가합니다 in Korean.

중간발표 축하해         (생일 축하합니다)

중간발표 축하해         (생일 축하합니다)

논문심사때 까지         (사랑하는 뭐뭐 씨)

남은 것을 준비해        (생일 축하합니다)

And my friends burst into laughter...

Halal Cosmetics....

Never thought that I would find this in Korea. Well, what do you know..

As for the food, Muslims in Korea usually go to Itaewon 

where halal restaurants are lining up just around the area. 

But, for Halal cosmetics in Korea? Well, I guess this is one solution. Daeduck Lab. * Need to scroll through what this company has to offer.

Never thought about it before, though.

For those living in Indonesia or Malaysia or any countries where majority Muslim do not need to worry about their cosmetics (since most of them have halal label on them), this halal cosmetics is an everyday 'encounter'. 

But, what about in Korea? Sometimes or most of the times, we never (do not want to) consider of this issue?

So, it is a very interesting thing that a Korean company raises this issue.

A Day Full of Shopping

OK, first...I'd better make this clear that.....this is is not something to brag about. 

The very fact that I did some shopping at three different places at the same day does not necessarily mean that...I love shopping-spree or something. Rather, --just look at the receipts (OK, just the names of the shops, not the items that I bought)---it just shows the inescapable consequences of having to buy -stuffs-

at those places.

'Tis Friday and yes...one of the must-do lists on the day was....buying some halal meat at Itaewon.

 The only place that I could think of buying those halal meat was surely Itaewon, no other place. 

It's Friday and as usual....on my way to the Masjid, I stopped at the Foreign Market to buy the food item we need in a weekly basis.

Then, what about Watsons?  OK, I got to admit that this was purely an impulsive urge of 'having to' buy some Indonesian snacks that only Watsons provides. It's not necessary to tell right here what I bought....but..this shop particularly sells some Indonesian stuffs that I love. 

Then...Lotte Mart? I thought I could get enough for one day..but as I was on my home..I remembered just one thing that I forgot to buy....and for that reason...

Lotte Mart became my last stop for that Friday shopping spree(?)

Kimbab & Rapukki (김밥 & 라볶이), plus Halal Pringles!

kimbab & rapukki

After three weeks of being in Korea,  I finally had my first kimbab & rapukki. 라볶이와 (야채)김밥을 먹고야말았어요!!! . It's just a matter of time. It was actually a coincidentally coined dinner since my friend was actually eager to eat fish. Since I do not (yet) know many places, we just ended up going to the place where kimbab being the main dish. Upon finding the menu, we were excited as I myself could find the rapukki that I had been wanting to eat since my arrival 3 weeks ago. Then, as for my friend, he got what he wanted in the first place, it was something like kongchikimchibab (꽁치김치밥??) I am not sure whether it is correctly spelled. :)
However, it was comparatively cheap. I got to pay 4,300 Won for both kimbab and rapukki that made my belly somewhat full...:)

Then, off we went to E-Mart (again and again) for another shopping of (nothing more than) rice and more snacks--only this time, I got a halal snack, since it is made in P&G Malaysia's Original Pringles that I love so much. I bought 4 cans of Pringles for only 6,500 Won. It means it only cost me a mere 1,600 for each can. A good bargain considering one single can cost 2,500!




See the small Halal sign there?
How come that this Halal-signed product could ever be here? Because it is marketed in Asean and Korea.
I think Korea should start considering having most of its products verified Halal since more and more foreigners (especially those coming from Muslim world) come to Korea. Just look at Australia and the UK or the States where more and more Halal products are increasingly marketed into the domestic market.
It is high time for Korea to do so.