Mmm...Spicy fermented cabbage. My favorite!

I was so proud of Melissa and Jack on Sunday.

After our afternoon at the science center, we decided to get dinner before we caught the subway back home. We took a walk through the standard food court that is on almost every block in Singapore, but Melissa wasn't too interested in the offerings there. We then went down the escalator one floor where they had a few more places to eat. McDonald's, KFC, a Korean place, and a few others. Trying to avoid another meal of chicken nuggets, we decided to give the Korean joint a shot.

Please allow me to go on a little tangent here.

I've been to Korea many times for work. As a culture, the Korean people are a pain in the ass to deal with in business, but the most gracious hosts I've ever been honored to meet. As gracious hosts, they've offered me many of their favorite foods. Some, like Korean style barbecue (Kalbi), are delicious. Others, like the jellied thing I couldn't identify, are not quite as tasty.

The staple of every Korean meal is Kimchi. They eat it with every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner, without fail. It's not Korea without Kimchi on the table. To make Kimchi, you chop up a vegetable, usually cabbage, and put it in a clay pot with chili sauce, garlic, salt and other spices. Then, you let it ferment (rot) for a while. Tasty.

The point I'm trying to make is that aside from a few select dishes, the Korean style of cooking would not have been my first choice for Melissa and Jack to introduce themselves to Asian cuisine.

The fact that Melissa looked at the menu outside the restaurant and said she'd try it really surprised me, but I didn't want to discourage this opportunity for them to try something new. We walked in to the the most orange place I've ever been and took a seat.


Melissa ordered the chicken hotplate, we got Jack a plain chicken cutlet with rice, and I had a traditional Bibimbap (bowl of rice with a bunch of meat an veggies).

While Melissa's meal was basically sauteed chicken and veggies, the seasonings were decidedly Korean. Way to spicy for her usual tastes. She really did try though. I was proud. She made a real effort to try something new.

Jack ate all of his chicken and half of Melissa's plain white rice.

As usual for me, I ate everything.

This weekend I'm going to bust my butt cooking anything Melissa wants for dinner.

JACK'S CHICKEN

MATT'S "RICE AND STUFF"

MELISSA'S CHICKEN AND VEGGIES