Food
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Flaming Grilled Tteokgalbi At Dongmun Market On Jeju Island
I noticed this Tteokgalbi and cole slaw stall as I was walking around the market. There was a sizable line so my foodie assumption was that it was a must try! The allure of sizzling meat along with the sweet aroma of a bunch of different spices, certainly caught my attention.
When I peered at what was being grilled it literally just looked like a big grilled ball of meat. That “ball of meat” is known as Tteokgalbi in South Korea. It’s definitely not something I’d heard of before so I had to do some research on it.
Tteokgalbi is a Korean style meat patty with minced beef or pork. The marinade typically includes soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and brown sugar. This creates a flavorful, sweet and savory taste when combined with the meat. The brown sugar carmelizes when the meat is on the grill. The end result is a deliciously crispy and slightly charred outer layer.
Something that typically comes with the Tteokgalbi is a side of coleslaw. The coleslaw can be a mix of mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, and sugar. It contrasts nicely with the sweet and savory flavor of the meat and it’s sauce.
This particular Tteokgalbi had a couple of different types of sauce, the regular sauce and then a spicier version. I’m a big spice fan, so had to go with the spicy sauce.
The meat was a little crisp and charred on the outside. Smothered in sauce, the interior when you dig in is juicy and moist with great flavor.
It really reminds me of a Korean version of meatloaf. Just in a different sauce.
The ground pork mixture included some onion and green onion in it which adds some texture and additional flavor to the meat.
The cabbage was pretty heavy with mayonnaise. It was difficult to tell if there was anything additional in the dressing since all I could taste with each bite was mayonnaise. The dressing seemed simple but it was effective in melding a unique flavor with the meat and the meat sauce.
The combination of the heavy mayonnaise dressing with the crunch of the cabbage was actually quite tasty when eaten with a bite of the juicy meat and meatsauce.
This was a simple yet very comforting dish. It definitely conjured up fond memories of a souped up version of meatloaf.
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Sampling Jeju Island’s Famous Tangerine Juice At Dongmun Market
After enjoying food from the Lobster / Grilled Pork Roll and Abalone Butter Rice with Spicy Pork stall, I thought I could use a little breather from the food. Luckily for me there was an ideal stall selling tasty beverages in the same area.
One of the items that Jeju Island is famous for are their tangerines. Known for their high quality and delicious taste, the tangerines on Jeju Island are referred to as Hallabong. It’s a special hybrid fruit that originates from the island. The fruit is a cross between a kiyomi orange and a ponkan citrus fruit. The end result is a sweeter citrus fruit with a hint of tartness. It’s certainly something that Jeju Island takes pride in as you hear and see a lot about these tangerines.
I figured this was a good opportunity to take a break from the food and see if this well known fruit lived up to the hype.
At the stall I visited they make the juice to order right in front of you. Can’t ask for any fresher juice. The juice was ice cold and the first sip was certainly refreshing! It was a nice balance of sweet and tanginess. Very similar to a freshly squeezed cup of orange juice. At this point in the evening it was perfect to sip on after eating at a couple of the food stalls.
Moreover, it was nice to take a break, people watch, and enjoy the drink after a few salty dishes. Without a doubt it helped to wash the food down and prep me for some more delicious food.
By no means am I an orange juice connoisseur or anything, but I thought this was some refreshing and tasty OJ, er, tangerine juice.
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Dongmun Market On Jeju Island-Abalone Butter Rice With Spicy Pork
After a nice appetizer of lobster and grilled pork rolls, I made my way over to a stall I had mentally circled as a “must try”. This stall specialized in abalone butter rice with spicy pork which was prominently displayed in the front of the cart. It had my mouth watering as I walked by it and I couldn’t wait to give it a try.
By the time I made my way over to the stall there was a long line waiting for me. It was clearly one of the more popular stalls in the market place. Always a good indicator for tasty food!
While waiting in line, watching the cooks prep and work their craft was pretty mesmerizing to me. It’s certainly enjoyable to see the food cooked right in front of you. When there’s a limited menu, the cooks really know how to create everything on it perfectly. It certainly helped to pass the time while waiting in line!
When it was my time to order the choice was obvious: I had to go with the abalone butter rice with spicy pork.
It comes nicely packed in the container. The proportions are perfect.
I didn’t really taste any hint of abalone in the rice. But it was very buttery and seasoned with nori on the top. Simple and delicious.
A chili based sauce coated the pork bits which were cooked to perfection. Tender and juicy with melt in your mouth bits of fat thrown in for good measure. The sauce coats the meat well and is quite tasty. A little sweet, a little spicy, it has a nice kick to it but isn’t overly spicy.
There’s also some crunchy green veggies (similar to a green onion but crunchy) in the dish as well. Getting a spoonful of the pork, cruncy green veggie, and abalone butter rice, provided a mouthful of delicious flavors and textures with the veggies providing a nice crunch. While the dish didn’t appear particularly large, it actually contained a substantial amount of well-packed food.
The abalone rice and pork offers a unique and enjoyable combination of flavors, that I’d defintely recommend!
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Garlic Lobster and BBQ Pork Wrap at Dongmun Market on Jeju Island
Dongmun Market
Dongmun Market is an expansive and vibrant marketplace filled with an abundance of souvenir boutiques and culinary kiosks scattered throughout. Without a doubt it’s definitely a major attraction for tourists in Jeju City. I always have an entertaining time wandering through these lively markets. Exploring the different kiosks and sampling as much food as possible is always a lot of fun while traveling.
One of the entrances to Dongmun Market After about 45 minutes, I made my way to the area where all the food vendors were located. I did a lap of the area, making a mental note of the places I wanted to sample. Having a food plan is ALWAYS important to maximize stomach space, lol. A good rule of thumb to live by is the longer the line the better the food. Is it accurate? Who knows! But it makes deciding on what to get slightly easier for an indecisive foodie.
Garlic Lobster and BBQ Pork Wrap Stall
The first stall I stopped at was basically the first place you see as you enter the food court area. It’s impossible to overlook. Music is blaring, strobe lights flashing, and the chefs put on quite the show with their grilling prowess. Large plums of fire shoot up from the grills as they barbeque items like pork and lobster, among other items. It certainly provides entertainment while waiting in line for your food.
Google Translate failed me here, so the name of the stall remains a mystery. Lobster was clearly the dish they were pushing here though. I opted for the half garlic-infused lobster along with the pork wrap. This combination seemed to be a crowd favorite and certainly looked appetizing.
The lobster did seem like it had been prepared a bit in advance and wasn’t fresh off the grill. But nonetheless the lobster was brimming with sweetness. A generous amount of roasted garlic was ladled over the top which complemented the lobster’s natural sweetness . The lobster seemed like it had been sitting for a while and wasn’t right off the grill and was pretty small, but it was still a tasty dish with all the garlic sauce mixing well with the sweetness of the lobster meat. Although it was on the smaller side, the dish was certainly satisfying. I can only imagine what it tastes like right off the grill!
The pork wrap consisted of bbq pork wrapped around cabbage, rice and nori. A thick,sweet and slightly spicy sauce, was superbly drizzled on top. It’s a thicker sauce and really coats and sticks to the rolls very well. The pork had a delightful crispiness to it, coupled with a fantastic barbecue char and flavor. The cabbage provided a nice crunch with every bite. The sauce paired well with this dish and added to the flavor without overwhelming it. The smoky barbecue flavor of the pork still shines through all the other elements of the roll, which says a lot of about the pork. All in all, this was a very solid barbecue pork roll!
Undeniably, roaming around these areas is always a treat. Energy abounds, with skilled chefs showing off their culinary skills. The variety of distinct smells from the many different stalls always gets me excited to eat! One stall down, many more to come!
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The Best Variety of Pancakes In Las Vegas – BabyStacks Cafe
Table of Contents
Why Come To BabyStacks Cafe?
Tired of the Strip in Vegas and looking for a nice breakfast break? Look no further than BabyStacks Cafe! This gem of a breakfast spot offers many, many, many, (did I mention MANY) different types of pancakes and…Filipino food!
BabyStacks Cafe is a very popular breakfast / brunch location on the weekends and since it’s a fairly small place, it can get quite busy.
The Menu
The first thing you notice here is the massive menu. The sheer number of breakfast items can easily overwhelm you. From the usual breakfast suspects – pancakes, french toast, omlettes – to more unique fusion like items ranging from Filipino (Adobo Fried rice) to Hawaiian (Loco Moco, Kalua Grilled Cheese). I loved the variety and diversity of the menu items.
Like I previously mentioned, there’s a TON of different types of pancakes. From Banana Cream pie, Carrot cake, S’mores, Mocha Chip, to many other unique flap jacks. There’s types of pancakes I’ve never seen on a menu before. If you’re a pancake fan, then this is the area of the menu that will certainly both grab and hold your attention.
Despite all the delicious and in some cases, strange sounding pancakes, I settled on Lolo Rick’s Adobo Fried Rice. I was pleasantly surprised, and excited, to find Filipino food on the menu and immediately focused my attention on the Adobo Fried Rice when I saw it. Chicken adobo, a Filipino staple, typically consists of chicken thighs cooked with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and various spices. It’s a combination of savoury and sweet and is quite tasty. I’d never tried it in fried rice nor have it wrapped in a giant omlette so I was looking forward to it!
The Food
Lolo Rick’s Adobo Fried Rice – Massive amount of fried rice wrapped in a omlette like egg The fried rice itself had shredded chicken adobo and rice and it was all wrapped in an omlette style egg. This was a LOT of food that also comes with a side of nicely seasoned potatoes.
A massive adobo fried rice egg burrito 
The chicken was very tender, oozing with flavor, and the rice was soaked in adobo juice and really soaks up the flavor. Each bite is very flavorful with that familiar savoury and sweet flavor. The egg is light and fluffy and basically makes this a fried rice burrito wrapped in egg. If you’re a fan of the Japanese dish omurice, it’s comparable to that, or at least is the same concept with a different spin.
In search of more meat It’s a very filling and delicious meal. However, my one small gripe was that the rice to meat ratio wasn’t great. There was a lot of rice in this which becomes noticeable just because there’s nothing else in the fried rice besides the adobo.
My friend got the strawberry pancakes and let me sample. Topped with a generous dollop of whip cream and powder sugar with a side of strawberry syrup the pancake texture was fantastic. It was light and fluffy and the strawberries were sweet. I will definitely try to order a short stack of pancakes in order to try one of those unique types of pancakes that BabyStacks Cafe offers.
Strawberry pancakes! Overall, BabyStacks delivers with it’s massive menu and unique breakfast items. There’s literally something for everyone. The special items and pancakes, you just can’t find those at every ordinary breakfast / brunch kind of restaurant. It’s certainly worth a visit and the drive from the strip if you’re a foodie.
I can’t wait to come back on my next trip to Vegas to try some more delicious food!
Additional Info
BabyStacks Cafe has seven total locations with six in Las Vegas and one in Henderson.
Check out the menu and info about all the locations here! https://babystackscafe.com/
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SPICY PORK DUMPLINGS at Shinsegae Department Store Food Court in Busan
The Shinsegae Department store in Busan is a massive shopping center. I hungrily stumbled upon one of the food courts while cruising through the center near it’s closing time. It’s a shame that I found it when the department store was near closing.
The food court is HUGE. By the time I found it though most of the stalls were closed or cleaning up and closing for the night so it was slim pickings.
Fortunately, I was able to find a stall that had some dumplings. I purchased a few pork dumplings and some spicy pork dumplings.
The pork dumplings weren’t too bad but the meat filling to dough ratio was kind of lacking. It didn’t seem like there was enough filling in these. It didnt help that it was closing time and the dumplings had probably been sitting there for a decent amount of time so the fresheness factor wasn’t there either.
The filling itself had decent flavor but it was tinged with some sweetness. Not entirely sure where that was deriving from but I wasn’t a big fan of that kick. Overall the pork dumplings were decent but didn’t really stand out in any way.
The spicy pork dumpling was the same but was wrapped in a different dumpling wrapper. The spice was a pleasant surprise and had some kimchi in it which added a satisfying crunch to each bite.
Outside of that, the flavor was largely the same as the regular pork dumpling with that same small hint of sweetness. I enjoyed the spicy dumpling more than the regular one due to the spice and the crunch the kimchi added. It had a much better ratio of dumpling to filling as well.
I’d love to go back to the food court on the next visit to Busan just because there are so many options and it would be interesting to see the place bustling with hungry shopppers.
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KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN @ Gorilla Brewing Co in Busan, South Korea
I wanted to check out some local brewed beers in Busan and found Gorilla Brewing which sounded like it had a great of variety of beers on tap, which it did. I sampled a couple of the IPA’s, which were great and also put me in the mood for some fried chicken. Fortunately, fried chicken was on the menu with a couple of seasoning choices.
Gorilla Brewing Co Menu I went with the original since I just wanted plain fried chicken without any kind of sauce.
I have to say the orginal was the perfect choice. It was fried to perfection. Not oily at all. Every bite brought a very satisfying crunch. Lightly salted but very tasty. The meat was unbelievably moist.
I’m so used to fried chicken that is dripping oil and parts of the chicken being overly tough. That definitely wasn’t the case here. Probably the most moist fried chicken I’ve ever had. Served with a dipping sauce that is slightly sweet but not overly so, with a good spicy kick to it. It complemented the chicken well. The portions were amazing as well. This was a lot of chicken to work through.
If visiting Busan and craving some local brewed beers and tasty fried chicken, Gorilla Brewing is certainly worthy of a stop!
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SPICY Braised Mackeral stew in Busan, South Korea!
While walking around the Haeundae area in Busan, I stumbled upon an alley that was filled with various seafood restaurants. Taking a look at the menus, something that caught my eye was a spicy looking braised mackeral stew.
I hadn’t had it before but it looked delicious so I decided to give it a try!
One of the many tiny seafood restaurants in the area 
Braised mackeral stew! The dish comes out in a large bowl which is placed on the burner on the table and kept boiling hot. You then ladle yourself hearty servings of the delicious bubbly stew. The main dish is accompanied by a number of side dishes as well which is par for the course with any Korean meal. It’s a ton of food. There’s a good number of large, meaty chunks of mackeral in the stew.
The sauce is flavorful with a blend of different spices and is slightly spicy with a touch of sweetness, which I loved. The mackeral is tender, flaky, and really soaks up the flavor of the sauce.
Each bite is packed with flavor. The veggies in the stew also really soak up the sauce and add another texture to the dish as well.
Scooping some of the sauce along with a chunk of the mackeral and some veggies over rice was absolutely delicious and quite a comforting, filling meal.
Korean braised mackeral stew is definitely a dish that’s packed with flavor and is worth giving a try if traveling through South Korea!
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DELICIOUS DONUTS at Cafe Knotted, Busan, South Korea
Knotted is a popular donut chain in South Korea with many different types of uniques flavors in a cute cafe setting. This particular branch in Haeundae is quite new.
I definitely had a tough time choosing which ones to try since they all sounded so interesting. I went with the classic vanilla and the lemon sugar donuts. I wanted to get more but was still pretty full from a big lunch so had to settle for “just” two.
The donuts are so light and fluffy with sugar sprinkled over the outside. I could have eaten a couple more of them since they were so light to be honest. Looking back I’m disappointed I didn’t!
The donuts are chalk full of flavored vanilla and lemon cream. I was surprised after taking my first bite. Sweet, rich, and very flavorful, the vanilla and lemon cream filling were very satisfying.
Something else that makes the donuts so delicious is that they aren’t overly sweet, which it being a donut filled with flavored cream you would think it would be VERY sweet but it’s not at all.
I would definitely recommend stopping by and giving Knotted a try if you come across it during your travels through South Korea for some unique flavored donuts!
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Spicy Wheat Noodles -Yukjeon Bibim Milmyeon in Busan
While visiting Busan I made my way down to one of its most famous beaches, Haeundae. It’s a nice little walk from the subway to the beach with a main strip leading down to the beach that has shops and restaurants on both sides of the street.
On the walk to the beach I noticed a place serving cold wheat noodles which is a very popular dish in South Korea and something I definitely wanted to give a try.
They had regular wheat noodles and spicy wheat noodles so of course I had to opt for the spicy.
The presentation of the noodles is fantastic and it looks essentially like the photo on the menu.
The wheat noodles were topped with half an egg, vegetables, radish, fish, with a nice sprinkling of sesame seeds on top. The bowl of noodles is served nice and frosty. You can literally see some ice in the bowl!
The sauce is a flavorful combination of sweet, sour, and spicy, with none of the flavors being overly dominant. It all combines for a very tasty experience.
This type of noodle is definitely chewy and your jaw can certainly get a workout eating through this, lol. You get a nice mixture of the chewy noodle, with a crunch from the vegetables and another soft texture with the fish pieces.
This splendid bowl of frigid noodles definitely hit the spot on a warm day. The combination of flavors and textures made this a memorable first taste of Korean spicy wheat noodles and I look forward to grabbing another bowl of these delicious noodles!
