Bonjuk & Opera

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Had a "date" with Cel and on an impulse, having retrieved from the depths of my memory, this Korean restaurant that wmw went to on one of her many food adventures, decided to grab my big baby, my Nikon D70 and try that on food.

Bonjuk is situated opposite the Lotte Supermarket in Desa Sri Hartamas and up till then I was absolutely clueless as to how large the Korean community is in KL. As we approached Bonjuk, there were Koreans walking about speaking Korean and Lotte, it turns out, supplies the local Korean community in this neck of the woods. There's a larger enclave of them in Ampang.

Anyway, I digress.

We take out seats in Bonjuk and we find out that they serve traditional Korean fast food. Sort of like the equivalent of Japanese Bento. But much spicier and instead of everything being separated, it's all thrown into the rice. The other thing was the porridge. Rice porridge. If you guessed that the "juk" in "Bonjuk" is "chook" then you're pretty much on the right track.

Having absolutey no idea what to order we asked the waitress for help whereupon this young gent calmly sidles up and takes the ordering pad and says "I'll handle this." And so we meet Andrew Kim. The owner. Who gave me the impression he was no more than 19. After some pleasantries I finally get around to asking his age (you can't just blurt out, "omigod you look young enough to be my son") and it turns out he's still a young 28. With rather large ambitions. Another Bonjuk is opening up in 1 Utama later in the year and he has plans to open in Singapore by year end. Did I mention he's 28? In any case, we ordered 2 kimchee laced dishes (a bibimbap, a hot casseroled rice and juk) and they turned out to be delightful. Not too heavy but intensely flavoured with the sweet fermented sourness and spicyness of Kimchee. There was a generous portion of beef in the rice and octopus in the "chook."

I heartily recommend the place. Not least of which is the fact that you have a great young guy taking the world balls on. I thoroughly admire his guts, his savvy, and his intelligence. If you look around the place there are pictures of him meeting Colin Powell and George Bush snr. (The more intelligent one). ;-) Obviously someone to watch.

Replete with dinner, Cel and I head over to "Romanza" a concert by my voice coach, Cha Seng Tiang and his friend Cecilia Yap who is also a vocal teacher. Both were in fine voice and I must admit it was lovely being able to take in some culture. They sang a varied selection of music from Arias, to folk songs and art songs. The thing which never ceases to amaze me is the fact that the Chinese speaking chinese community is so big into classical voice. The whole theatre was filled with people speaking mandarin.
That did not detract from the stellar performance however, and it was all in all, a lovely evening. Good food, good company, and good entertainment. What more could you ask for?

Dae Sa Kwan - a Korean Restaurant in Desa Sri Hartamas

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

At 12 my parents decided to send me off to boarding school in the UK. Gorgeous place, Prior Park College (see pics below;when I look at it through the eyes of adulthood. But at 12, it was Frankenstein's castle to a young, inexperienced Malaysian boy whose idea of cold was Cameron Highlands at night.

It was then that I met the Guards. Both of them were educationists and they presently run a very successful educational consultancy for students going to the UK or Europe.

At that point in time, I had to take an examination known as the common entrance to determine whether or not I was up to a certain level for school in the UK.

David (whom I addressed as Mr Guard for umpteen years) was my invigilator. In effect, the Guards' saw me grow up. Over the years, the friendship has strengthened and they have become lifelong family friends.

Fast forward to the present day.

David and Carmen were both in KL keeping an eye on business and called Dad and Mum as they usually do when they're in town, and fixed a time for dinner.

Having racked our brains for a couple of days wondering where to take them for food, I eventually suggested Dae Sa Kwan to Mum. Hearing that it was a Korean sort of steamboat, she readily agreed. Mum's teochew but her cantonese eating habits, which she's passed on to me, means that anything with soup must be good.

Since this was the first time the Guards' had Korean food I decide to throw them in at the deep end with Kim Chee. They're adventurous sorts in any case, and they dug in with relish.