Author: Alex Chua
Have you tasted DEATH? I almost fell off my chair when I attempted the Seoul Yummy’s one-day only Dak Bokkeum Tang on an insane scale of LEVEL 5 Spiciness. Comes in a set at $49.80, this fire-spitting Spicy Braised Chicken Stew includes a free appetizer (kimchi pancake) and a free dessert (Patbingsoo), the latter is a lifesaver to which your tongue will surely cling into.
While I can relate to the intense charm of spicy food – that fiery kick in the mouth and lingering ‘shiokness’ aftermath – this stir-fry chicken stew is more like a knockout. My tongue got numbed immediately after a few sips of the broth and rendered senseless when bite into the juicy chicken chunks and crunchy carrots and potatoes. The Korean Ramyon, all soaked up with the delicious goodness, was a mixture of joy and torture to sip onto. It was an indescribable feeling. It was umami in overdrive to which the experience was surprisingly quite satisfying, or ‘shiok’, and anguish about.
Needless to say, we didn’t finish the whole pot – aka out of the spicy challenge.
Of course, once you hit rock bottom you can’t go anywhere but up. The CN Green ($11.90) Bingsu was a saviour to the volcanic eruption in my stomach. The green tea ice cream drizzled generously with green tea flakes and cornflakes, were smooth, refreshing and a fun play of texture.
Would I take up the challenge again? Sure, perhaps for the next time I will go for middle-of-the-road Level 2, the 20% spiciness as labelled on the menu ‘For The Adventure Seekers’. Just to get the kick out of it. Anything more would be just ‘Seoul’ insane.
