韓式部隊鍋 Budae Jjigae (Korean army stew) @ Time-Off Taipan USJ10

May 27.2023 Dinner

@ 約一週 Time-Off Café USJ10 (click here to Google Map)

29, Jalan USJ 10/1E, Taipan Business Centre, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor

GPS Location: 3°02'54.1"N 101°35'01.7"E
韓式部隊鍋 Budae Jjigae (Korean army stew) rm$26.90 👍👍😋😋 7/10

Total bill: rm$28.50
Budget: rm$20 - rm$30++
Payment: Cash  
Cuisine: Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Fusion

Pork free: Chicken, Pork, Fish

Alcohol free: no Beer in menu

Air-Conditioning in Restaurant: Yes

Internet Wifi speed: N/A 

Digital Nomad Work-friendly Cafe: No

Electrical outlets for Digital Device: No

Free Drinking Water: No

Menu prices: + 6% SST

Order & Delivery: Table Service

On-line Delivery Service: Not sure

Indoor Seating tables: 16+ tables (2-4ppl/table) 

Outdoor Seating: No

Drive Through: No

Take away : Yes

Dine-in: Yes (Lunch and Dinner)

Happy Hour: N/A

Parking: MPSJ  

Photos taken using: Samsung Note 8
Thoughts: "樂在甜品 Let's Joy Café" in USJ10 succumbed to the Pandemic probably in 2021 or earlier; the same shop lot was replace by "Time-Off" and this is the 3rd visit:

午餐肉雞蛋三明治 Egg w/Spam sandwich w/Fries @ June 25.2022

韓式辣醬豬肉片韓式拌飯 Bibimbap with Spicy Bulgogi Pork @ July 31.2022

The Café offers a variety of dishes from many countries: Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Oriental, Malaysian, Fusion, and also a variety of Tong Shui (Desserts). 

And today for dinner is another Korean but interesting dish of "韓式部隊鍋 Budae Jjigae" (Budae means "部隊" or Military Unit and Jjigae is the term for Korean Stew); no wonder the Menu also translate it as "Korean Army Stew"! Budae-jjigae (부대찌개; lit. 'army base stew') or spicy sausage stew is a type of Korean jjigae (stew), made with 火腿 Ham, 香腸 Sausage, 斯帕姆午餐肉 Spam, 烤豆 Baked beans, 泡菜 Kimchi, 方便麵 Instant noodles, and 辣椒醬 gochujang. The dish was created shortly after the 朝鮮戰爭 Korean War using surplus processed and canned foods from United States Forces Korea bases in South Korea. Although the dish was born in the period of post-war impoverishment, it continued to be popular during the period of rapid growth, and is still popular today. There are many restaurants specializing in budae-jjigae, with the most famous ones on the 韓國部隊鍋街 Budae-Jjigae street in 議政府市 Uijeongbu (a city in North of South Korea), where the dish was allegedly first made. The dish is now a popular "按酒 Anju food" (is a Korean term for food consumed with alcohol. It consists of a variety of foods) and a comfort food cooked in a large pot for multiple people. (Source: Wikipedia)

Food today: 7 / 10 👍👍😋😋

Price: 4 / 10 😐😐
Value for Money: 6 / 10 👍
Service: 6 / 10 👍 
Ambiance: 7 / 10 👍👍
Parking: 3 / 10 😐😐😐
LRT/MRT/BRT/MTR Transport:  4 / 10 😐 (600m from Taipan LRT station)
Website: not found
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Time-Off-Taipan/

Menu: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11JL_fktov9uZpIYLZvEVTPLkTFokRSpo/view

Menu: https://www.facebook.com/Time-Off-Taipan-107583011952371/menu/
Telephone: +603-8021 6663
Operation hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm

韓式部隊鍋 Budae Jjigae (Korean army stew) rm$26.90

  

The Menu

 

The Café

  

@ Time-Off Taipan USJ10

 

韓式辣醬豬肉片韓式拌飯 Bibimbap with Spicy Bulgogi Pork @ 約一週 Time-Off Café USJ10

31 July.2022 Dinner

@ 約一週 Time-Off Café USJ10 (click here to Google Map)

29, Jalan USJ 10/1E, Taipan Business Centre, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor

GPS Location: 3°02'54.1"N 101°35'01.7"E
韓式辣醬豬肉片韓式拌飯 Bibimbap with Spicy Bulgogi Pork rm$19.90 👍👍😋😋 7/10

Total bill: rm$21.10
Budget: rm$20 - rm$30++
Payment: Cash  
Cuisine: Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Fusion

Pork free: Chicken, Pork, Fish

Alcohol free: no Beer in menu

Air-Conditioning in Restaurant: Yes

Internet Wifi speed: N/A 

Digital Nomad Work-friendly Cafe: No

Electrical outlets for Digital Device: No

Free Drinking Water: No

Menu prices: + 6% SST

Order & Delivery: Table Service

On-line Delivery Service: Not sure

Indoor Seating tables: 14 tables (4ppl/table), 1 table (2ppl), 1 high table with 4 high chairs

Outdoor Seating: No

Drive Through: No

Take away : Yes

Dine-in: Yes (Lunch and Dinner)

Happy Hour: N/A

Parking: MPSJ  

Photos taken using: Samsung Note 8
Thoughts: Second visit to USJ10's "約一週 Time-Off Café", and for dinner today is a rm$19.90 "韓式辣醬豬肉片韓式拌飯 Bibimbap with Spicy Bulgogi Pork". The bowl comes with 白米 white rice topped with 泡菜 Kimchi, 蘿蔔絲 Shredded radish, 玉米 Corn, 烤豬肉 Pork Bulgogi, and 生菜 Lettuce with 韓式辣醬(苦椒醬) Korean spicy sauce "Gochujang". The new Café that replaces "Let's Joy Café" at the same Shop Lot, offers not just some Western choices (Burger and Pasta), but also Japanese, Korean, and Oriental dishes plus a good selection of Dessert choices as well. 

비빔밥 Bibimbap (韓式拌飯) is a Korean rice dish with "Bibim" means "Mixed Rice" AND "bap" means "rice"; therefore it is mixing various vegetables and meats with rice. The mixed rice dish is one of the most representative Korean dishes. Bibimbap (混沌飯 Hondon-ban) appear in 韓國歷史書籍 Korean History Books as early as the 16the Century, an extensively customizable food with a variety of ingredients that can be used in its creation. It probably came from 早期的農村朝鮮人 early rural Koreans taking leftover vegetables, sometimes having meat, with rice and mixing them in a bowl.

Food today: 7 / 10 👍👍😋😋

Price: 5 / 10 😐
Value for Money: 6 / 10 👍
Service: 7 / 10 👍👍
Ambiance: 7 / 10 👍👍
Parking: 3 / 10 😐😐😐
LRT/MRT/BRT/MTR Transport:  4 / 10 😐 (600m from Taipan LRT station)
Website: not found
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Time-Off-Taipan/

Menu: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11JL_fktov9uZpIYLZvEVTPLkTFokRSpo/view

Menu: https://www.facebook.com/Time-Off-Taipan-107583011952371/menu/
Telephone: +603-8021 6663
Operation hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm

韓式辣醬豬肉片韓式拌飯 Bibimbap with Spicy Bulgogi Pork rm$19.90

The Menu

  

The Café

 

@ 約一週 Time-Off Cafe USJ10

 

午餐肉雞蛋三明治 Egg w/Spam sandwich w/Fries @ 約一週 Time-Off Cafe USJ10

25 June.2022 Dinner

@ 約一週 Time-Off Cafe USJ10 (click here to Google Map)

29, Jalan USJ 10/1E, Taipan Business Centre, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor

GPS Location: 3°02'54.1"N 101°35'01.7"E
午餐肉雞蛋三明治 Egg w/Spam sandwich w/Fries rm$16.90 👍👍👍😋😋 7.5/10

Total bill: rm$17.90
Budget: rm$20 - rm$30++
Payment: Cash  
Cuisine: Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Fusion

Pork free: Chicken, Pork, Fish

Alcohol free: no Beer in menu

Air-Conditioning in Restaurant: Yes

Internet Wifi speed: N/A 

Digital Nomad Work-friendly Cafe: No

Electrical outlets for Digital Device: No

Free Drinking Water: No

Menu prices: + 6% SST

Order & Delivery: Table Service

On-line Delivery Service: Not sure

Indoor Seating tables: 14 tables (4ppl/table), 1 table (2ppl), 1 high table with 4 high chairs

Outdoor Seating: No

Drive Through: No

Take away : Yes

Dine-in: Yes (Lunch and Dinner)

Happy Hour: N/A

Parking: MPSJ  

Photos taken using: Samsung Note 8
Thoughts: The Taipan shop lot address was previously "樂在甜品 Let's Joy Café", now take-over by another similar style of Café called "約一週 Time-Off Café". The new Café remain much of the interior renovations of the previous Café and offers and extensive menu of 日本料理 Japanese, 台灣料理 Taiwanese, 韓國料理 Korean foods, and limited 大馬料理  Malaysian dishes. AND the choices are:

Western (Pasta, Burger, Chicken Chop, Fish steak)

Korean (Bulgogi, Korean Fried Chicken, Tteokbokki etc)

Japanese (variety of Chicken & Pork Dons etc)

Sandwiches (Egg + Spam base)

Taiwanese (Pork-based rice/noodle dishes)

Oriental (Hong Kong Spam Egg rice, Indomee, Thai Spicy Fried chicken rice)

Desserts (Traditional Tong Shui, Chilled desserts, Mochi, and Kakigori)

Today's dinner is a rm$16.90 "午餐肉雞蛋三明治 Egg w/Spam sandwich w/Fries", a Sandwich with lightly toasted breads with 煮雞蛋 boiled egg, 午餐肉片 spam, 生菜 lettuce, 番茄 tomato and 大薯條 large fries on the side. 

An American staple for more than 80 year, "午餐肉片 spam" or Luncheon Meats is a Pre-cooked Pork-based canned meat product. SPAM was invented in 1937 (during the 大蕭條時期 great Depression periods) by 荷美爾食品公司 Hormel Foods Corporation based in 明尼蘇達州 Minnesota, 美國 United States. SPAM only became popular after its wide consumption during World War II. AND It was World War II that made Spam international because 美國士兵 American GIs brought it all over the world. For that, SPAM went from 罐頭必需品 canned necessity to American Icon, and cans of SPAM becomes a necessary 

BUT 荷美爾食品公司 Hormel Foods created SPAM with the intention to boost the sales of 豬肩肉 Pork Shoulder that did not sell well in the United States. The primary contents of SPAM are 豬肩肉 Pork shoulder, 火腿 ham, 鹽 Salt, 水 water, “馬鈴薯澱粉 Potato starch", and 防腐劑 Preservatives; AND for many years Nutritionist have raised concerned of the high content of 脂肪 Fat, 鈉 Sodium, and 防腐劑 Preservatives in the canned SPAM product. SPAM is so popular in the USA, in that it is said that it is 30% of American household diet and that is partly due to the affordability of this Canned Meat Product. 

The SPAM short for "Special Processed American Meat" product is probably one of the most influenced American canned meat product around the world:

夏威夷 Hawaii - "夏威夷風午餐肉飯糰 Spam musubi" (lNigiri topped with cooked SPAM)
夏威夷 Hawaii - 夏威夷漢堡王 Burger King Hawaii (Burger with SPAM since 2007)

波多黎各 Puerto Rico - Sandwich de Mezcla (Sandwich bread with SPAM+Velveeta+Pimentos)
英國 United Kingdom - SPAM Yorkshire Breakfast, SPAMish Omelette, and SPAM Hash
菲律賓 Philippines - 午餐肉配大蒜炒飯 SPAM with garlic fried rice or with Sunny side egg for breakfast
中國 China - SPAM-like canned pork products called "午餐肉 Luncheon Meat"

香港 Hong Kong - Popular meat choice for Rice/Noodle dishes, 餐蛋治 Luncheon meat sandwich
日本 Japan - 午餐肉漢堡 SPAM Burger, 沖繩炒雜錦 Okinawan Chanpurū
南韓 South Korea - 午餐肉海苔飯捲 SPAM kimbap (rice and vegetable filled seaweed roll)

BUT SPAM in United States or even in the United Kingdom had a somewhat dubious reputation, of it being associated with "貧困食品 Poverty Food". However, it is such a popular food alternative that it is a much cheaper alternative to fresh meats and the fact that it need not be refrigerated (has a shelf life of 2 to 5 years!) unless it is opened. AND before the turn of the century, the American SPAM or Trademarked SPAM-like canned products was said to be consumed in more than 40+ countries and especially popular in Asia. By the 1990s, Spam's perceived ubiquity led to its name being adopted for "unwanted, unsolicited digital communication that gets sent out in bulk", as we now call "垃圾郵件 SPAM email"!
From an American article, SPAM, the affordable, long-lasting canned meat product, has historical high sales volumes during the 冠狀病毒暴發 coronavirus outbreak in 2020 and 2021. For reasons such as 錢包友好 wallet friendly, 多功能性 versatility and 可靠性 reliability of the Spam canned product have skyrocketed during pandemic as people would stock up the product during the lock-down periods, it is so versatile in American that many people just eat straight from the tin with a slice of bread and some fresh greens. And for many who stayed at home during the 行動管制令期 lock-down/restricted movement periods in Asia, 午餐肉 SPAM can be easily prepared not just as a sandwich, but a quick 炒飯 fried rice, and an alternative meat choice for 白米 white rice and 方便麵 instant noodles.

Food today: 7.5 / 10 👍👍👍😋😋

Price: 6 / 10 👍
Value for Money: 7 / 10 👍👍
Service: 7 / 10 👍👍
Ambiance: 7 / 10 👍👍
Parking: 3 / 10 😐😐😐
LRT/MRT/BRT/MTR Transport:  4 / 10 😐 (600m from Taipan LRT station)
Website: not found
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Time-Off-Taipan/

Menu: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11JL_fktov9uZpIYLZvEVTPLkTFokRSpo/view

Menu: https://www.facebook.com/Time-Off-Taipan-107583011952371/menu/
Telephone: +603-8021 6663
Operation hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm

午餐肉雞蛋三明治 Egg w/Spam sandwich w/Fries rm$16.90

 

The Menu

The Café

@ 約一週 Time-Off Cafe USJ10