Ansan : Food in the Cookhouse

August – December 2012.
Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Unlike the canteens in NUS, the canteen in Hanyang University is operated by a contracted caterer like Singapore Food Industries and Foodfare Catering did for the Singapore Armed Forces. The caterer that provides the food for the students in its cookhouses is Shinsegae Food. Overall, I found them okay and the food changes every day. For 2000-2500 KRW per meal, it was really cheap. However if you prefer to eat at the residence halls, it cost more, around 3000-3500 KRW.

These were being served at the Residence Halls. Nothing special, we gave up eating here because it was getting more expensive and the cookhouse at the Lions’ Lake is nearer to the building where our studios are.

Beef Bulgogi was on the menu several times and it was okay actually. I just didn’t like the salad that tasted like it was dressed with margarine.

Beef Bulgogi again, realized kimchi is now missing from the picture? After 3 weeks in South Korea, I was getting tired of kimchi, radish or cabbage form.

This is Spicy Pork Bibimbap before rice is added into the mix. It tasted like what you can get at the hawker centres when you order spicy pork BBQ. Just that the rice here is pearl rice.

Fish is rather rare, but when it do appear, it came in the form of canned tuna or dried fish in a soup. 

This is a Tuna Mayo Bibimbap.

This cost only 2000 KRW, it is Soup with Assorted Fish Cakes and Udon.

I could barely taste the honey in this Honey Garlic Chicken served with Rice. Tasted just like chicken in sweet sauce. The chicken I remembered was horribly tough. A mini Korean panjeom was served as a side dish.

The Budae Jjigae was hot, spicy but very satisfying. If you do travel to Korea someday, don’t miss out on their jjigae (stews).

Kimchi Fried Rice with shredded seaweed. Nothing to complain about, rather addictive actually.

Andong Chicken Stew is quite famous in South Korea. It is a spicy chicken stew that supposedly originated from Andong, known for its hahoe village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pork Bulgogi served with Rice. My friend's order.

Japanese/Korean Style Curry served with rice. Honestly, I think the Korean style curries are more gravy like without the fragrance you find in Japanese ones.

This is Chicken Soup with a peppery kick. We enjoyed this very much because it was a break from the usual Korean dishes. Packed with scallions, this reminded us of a good old chicken soup in Singapore.

Curries, they are always yellowish in the cookhouse. This one came with chunks of chicken. The creamy salads always tasted like salads with margarine for some reason.

This is a Chicken Mayo Bibimbap. Miserable portions of pitiful looking fried chicken.

Braised Chicken with Rice, you could spot the dubboki in it. The chicken meat was quite tender and it tasted like our soy sauce chicken.

Tteok Galbi is minced meat patty. This one came with lots of gravy and some fried rice. The egg fried rice in Korea always tend to be bland and dry, this was no surprise.