Jeju Day 4: Seongeup Folk Village & the Secret Gwantangnae Restaurant

It feels like we have not left Jeju at all. We're almost at the end of the year now, and we're still not done with our Korean holiday postings. This must be the longest holiday that we've ever had. If we're a TVB series, we'd be the longest running one in history. Nee is rolling her eyes.

There's this place called Seongeup Folk Village, which was the natural stop after Seongsan Sunrise Peak.

Seongeup Folk Village used to be the administrative centre of the local government at one time. Then somehow or rather, it became a Folk Village for tourists. Putting this in the Malaysian perspective, it's almost as if Putrajaya gets recycled into a Folk Village one day, hundreds of years from now, or maybe sooner.

I hope this was not the Prime Minister's house then with traditional toilets. Otherwise his official diplomatic guests would really have to hold until the next venue.

The Folk Village, as the name suggests, showcases the villagers' way of life, how they worked & lived back then. For example, Jeju is famous for the unique fences around the village houses. Reaching up to just around knee height, the fences were probably more as an obstacle to prevent farm animals from wandering into the garden, rather than to prevent Malaysian/illegal immigrant robbers from trespassing.

However, the fences have another socio-cultural role. Usually there'd be 3 bars up. One bar up means something like 'back in a while'. Two bars up mean 'out for the whole day'. Three bars up mean 'gone travelling'. It's not hard to guess which one ours would be.

Jeju is also famous for these rock figures which you can find almost everywhere on the island. They're called Dolhareubang or Stone Grandfather. Made of volcanic rocks, they were once posted in the northern, eastern, western & southern gates of fortresses to guard the security, health & prosperity of the residents.

This post has probably misled you but on that day, we were not there to visit the Folk Village. Unbeknownst to worldly travellers & tourists out there, we were actually brought to a secret restaurant by our dear taxi driver Mr. Kim.

This restaurant is called Gwantangnae, and it's located just outside the Seongeup Folk Village.

Now what we didn't know initially was that this place was 'off limits' to foreign tourists like us. So, if we had just stupidly walked into this restaurant, we'd be Tae-kwon-do kicked out. But fortunately, Mr. Kim had the local connections & were able to pull a few strings (actually just one) & kao teem for us.

Although we got there around noon, curiously there weren't a single costumer around. This was purported to be one of the most renowned restaurants in Jeju, extremely well-featured in all major TV food shows in South Korea, as the proud owner passionately attested.

Before I could sit down, I was arm locked by the eccentric Mr. Gwantangnae himself & dragged away for an obligatory tour around the restaurant. Although he couldn't speak a word of English, you could tell that this guy was very passionate about his 'work'. On the walls were screen captures of all the TV appearances that he's ever made & he nudged me to make sure that I took pictures of those as evidence.

Then came the poses.

Believe me when I tell you that these poses were all his ideas.

Including this.

This was the only picture that we had of our dear taxi driver/tour guide/translator Mr. Kim. Although he may look like a member of the South Korean mafia taking us for a ride, behind those mysterious shades were the kindest pair of eyes that you'd ever find.

The specialty in this shop was their local barbeque black pig & pheasant meat & they were amazing.

The restaurant also makes, packages & sell their own renowned buckwheat noodles, which were so soft that they almost blended with the soup & they would most definitely melt in the mouth.

We bought a couple of packs of those noodles just to see how Mr. Gwantangnae looked like in the 80s.

The lunch spread came with Soju, the Korean version of rice wine, which came down pretty strong, but was an excellent accompaniment to the meal, cos I didn't have to drive. So I had a taste of what it felt to be a real Korean man.

These are the usual Korean side dishes galore.

This was actually one of the highlights of our whole entire trip. We didn't expect such a gracious host who would sit with us, took interest in where we came from & what we do, & even extended an invitation for us to stay with him.

Well, either that or this owner was basically Chiak Pa, Bay Pao (Eat Full, Sell Buns).

As a sign of our gratitude for such warmth & gracious hosting, we reciprocated by adding our business card to his collection.

We were also obliged honoured to sign his autograph book.

We found this one single experience to be one the most memorable ones we had in our stay in Jeju. It wasn't just about good food. It was the authenticity of the place & most of all, the warmth, generosity & sincerity of the host. And this was one of the reasons why we love Jeju.

The Dabai Story

The best Dabai (O-lam in hokkien and kra-lan in Foochow) in Sarawak, a kind of local olives, are reputed to come from Sibu. There are usually available towards the end of the year. Prices range from RM12 to even 18/kg. This is one of the few things that my mum would definitely hoard back from every single one of her Sibu trips, without fail.

The preparation for Dabai traditionally includes soaking them in lukewarm water. Normally, these little delicacies will be washed in plain water and placed into a bowl of lukewarm water and soaked with a plate covering for about 20 min to 30 min or so.

But this is where the complexity sets in as the water temperature & the soaking duration has to be just right. The temperature has to be that you can place your hands in it. Any slight miscalculation & the whole thing would become inedible, hard and waxy.

The story goes that once upon a time, because Dabai originated from Sibu, many Kuchingites upon being introduced to them for the very first time, tried cooking them. They fried, stir fried, boiled and obviously ended up puzzled about how Sibu people could actually eat this ridiculously hard thing.

There exists another simpler method of preparing Dabai which we've heard of only very recently. The good thing is that this new method requires none of that temperature control & soaking. All you need to do is to wash and wrap them up in a plastic bag and freeze them. After completely defrosting, they are as soft as they can get. Season them with sweet (optional) dark soya sauce and sugar. And there you go! They transform into highly addictive morsels.

But this is not the end of the story yet, at least for people like Greg. His Dabai journey begins when everyone else finishes. If you're eating Dabai, and you're anywhere near him, you'd need to surrender the seeds to him, otherwise he gets upset.

Dabai seeds can actually be eaten. I know that part is true cos Greg has eaten them many times & he's still alive plus I haven't seen any Dabai plant growing out of his butt.

The seed is really hard as Greg would attest. You can see him pounding them away with the pestle & mortar, & debris will be flying off 10 feet away. When the nut breaks away, it reveals a fresh green nutty like filling inside which Greg would meticulously pick out with a toothpick.

Sometimes I wonder if Greg really likes Dabai, or that he's just trying to gulp down as much as possible just so that he can have the seeds later. But I think whatever it is, as long as he's doing the pounding & the picking himself, he can do whatever he wants.

Basil Chicken with Calamansi Lime

I am such a lousy gardener that the only thing that is kinda surviving are my thai basil and pandan plants. But Greg's Aunty Gim Ai is such a wonderful gardener that everything thrives. Just yesterday she gave me a whole bunch of calamansi lime and kedondong straight from her garden.

So, here's another simple recipe that cannot fail. With the tanginess of the basil and refreshing taste of calamansi lime (in Hokkien S'ng Kam), this dish will definitely conjure your senses.

Feed about 4:

1/2 no of big kampung chicken* or 1 medium free range chicken

Seasoned with:
3 tbsp of light soya,
1 tbsp of dark thick soya
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 teasp of salt and pepper
1 tbsp of chinese cooking wine like hua tiaw
1 med no of brown onion/5-6 no of red shallots, chopped finely
5-6 slices of ginger
5 no of calamansi lime
2-3 tbsp of sugar

* i used this because i had a few huge gorgeous kampung chicken all the way from Sibu. I think you can only get solid looking fellows around that region nowadays. Chickens here no matter what the sellers claim looks sickly and underexcerised. Almost like child abuse!

1) Season chicken for an hour before cooking.

2) Heat up wok/pot with some oil and stir fry onions with ginger till fragrant and light brown. Add basil leaves.

3) This is followed by the chicken without the seasonings. Stir fry till chicken is all coated with basil, ginger and onions.

4) Add 1/3 cup of water to the seasoning and add into the chicken. Bring to a boil and turn to small fire to cook for 35- 45 min depending on your chicken till soft. I pressure cook for 30 min last night but that was overcooking (meat were all falling off the bones). Try pressure cook for 20 min.

5) Finally add sugar and lime, stir and taste for sweetness and sourness.

Get ready your rice or porridge! I still had some left from last night. So tonight will just be steamed prawns and vegies with this.