Latest news with #non-MiddleEastern
Calgary Herald
03-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Hum: Korean eateries in downtown Ottawa please with punchy flavours, affordable prices
Article content For me, fried rice is comfort food. I like Maroo's kimchi fried rice ($20), available with one of those pork patties or a sunny-side egg, that adds kimchi's heat and funk and the umami lift of seaweed flakes to the mix. Article content Bulgogi, the easy-to-like fry-up of sweet-salty beef, stars in multiple dishes, from a rice bowl ($18) to fajitas ($22) to a ciabatta-bun sandwich ($19, including a side dish) in which it's joined by cheddar, grilled mushrooms, garlic butter and mayo. Choose your own bulgogi adventure, I say. They've all hit the spot for me. Article content Article content The new Maroo serves several traditional Korean soups and stews that I don't recall seeing at its first iteration. Soon-tofu and seafood stew ($20) was piping hot and significantly spicy but its shrimp, squid and mussels were still plump and toothsome. A less hearty choice was the fish-stock soup ($20) bulked up with onions, mushrooms cabbage, an imitation crab, not to mention the perfectly fried pork cutlet on the side that would have made any schnitzel cook proud. Article content Article content Previously when I've had Korean short ribs, I cooked them myself at Daldongnae, the Korean table-top barbecue eatery in Chinatown, as part of a convivial, family-style dinner. At Maroo, it was worth it to have Kim do the grilling of a single-diner's version, given the nicely charred, flavourfully marinated short ribs ($33) that he sent to our table. Article content Korean fried chicken ($22 to $38, half- and full-orders respectively) had all the right fast-food attributes — admirably crisp exteriors, sweet-savoury or sweet-spicy sauces on the side. Still, I prefer the KFC from the specialists at Pelicana inside the OK Mart on Merivale Road. Article content Speaking of other Korean-run food businesses in Ottawa, I will note two more that recently joined Kitchen Maroo downtown. Article content In Sandy Hill, close to the University of Ottawa, there's In's Kitchen, which opened in early 2024. I've paid two more cursory visits to In's Kitchen and can speak highly of its traditional, full-flavoured dishes. I thought best of its spicier items, including dakgalbi ($22), which here was a saucy stir-fry of boneless chicken, chewy rice cakes and vegetables, as well as the new-to-me and evocatively named 'troop's soup ($22), a hearty stew of pantry meats such as ham and sausage, instant noodles, plus kimchi and vegetables. Article content Article content Like Ottawa's Middle Eastern restaurants, and an increasing number of non-Middle Eastern eateries, In's Kitchen uses halal ingredients so as not to exclude Muslim customers. Article content Last fall, the takeout-oriented shop Kimbap opened on Bank Street, a little more than three blocks from Parliament Hill. Article content Kimbap is named after its grab-and-go specialty, which is not to be confused with sushi rolls, despite their similar appearances. While kimbap rolls do wrap cooked rice in seaweed, its cooked fillings can be meatier (think ham, bulgogi or bits of spicy chicken) or seafood-y (think spicy fish cakes, cooked tuna or imitation crab). Article content I've sampled some of the Kimbap's offerings, including spicy fish kimbap ($15), spicy chicken on rice ($15) and a bulgogi bowl ($16). While the smaller portions wouldn't leave you stuffed, they should tide you over, especially at lunch, and please you with freshness and lucid flavours. Article content Together, Kitchen Maroo, In's Kitchen and Kimbap make me realize that a larger wave of casual Korean food businesses have opened in downtown Ottawa in the last five years. Had I had the time or appetite to be more comprehensive, I would have gone to Maht, up the street from Maroo, or Gogiya, down the street from Kimbap.
Ottawa Citizen
03-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Hum: Korean eateries in downtown Ottawa please with punchy flavours, affordable prices
Article content For me, fried rice is comfort food. I like Maroo's kimchi fried rice ($20), available with one of those pork patties or a sunny-side egg, that adds kimchi's heat and funk and the umami lift of seaweed flakes to the mix. Article content Bulgogi, the easy-to-like fry-up of sweet-salty beef, stars in multiple dishes, from a rice bowl ($18) to fajitas ($22) to a ciabatta-bun sandwich ($19, including a side dish) in which it's joined by cheddar, grilled mushrooms, garlic butter and mayo. Choose your own bulgogi adventure, I say. They've all hit the spot for me. Article content Article content The new Maroo serves several traditional Korean soups and stews that I don't recall seeing at its first iteration. Soon-tofu and seafood stew ($20) was piping hot and significantly spicy but its shrimp, squid and mussels were still plump and toothsome. A less hearty choice was the fish-stock soup ($20) bulked up with onions, mushrooms cabbage, an imitation crab, not to mention the perfectly fried pork cutlet on the side that would have made any schnitzel cook proud. Article content Article content Previously when I've had Korean short ribs, I cooked them myself at Daldongnae, the Korean table-top barbecue eatery in Chinatown, as part of a convivial, family-style dinner. At Maroo, it was worth it to have Kim do the grilling of a single-diner's version, given the nicely charred, flavourfully marinated short ribs ($33) that he sent to our table. Article content Korean fried chicken ($22 to $38, half- and full-orders respectively) had all the right fast-food attributes — admirably crisp exteriors, sweet-savoury or sweet-spicy sauces on the side. Still, I prefer the KFC from the specialists at Pelicana inside the OK Mart on Merivale Road. Article content Speaking of other Korean-run food businesses in Ottawa, I will note two more that recently joined Kitchen Maroo downtown. Article content In Sandy Hill, close to the University of Ottawa, there's In's Kitchen, which opened in early 2024. I've paid two more cursory visits to In's Kitchen and can speak highly of its traditional, full-flavoured dishes. I thought best of its spicier items, including dakgalbi ($22), which here was a saucy stir-fry of boneless chicken, chewy rice cakes and vegetables, as well as the new-to-me and evocatively named 'troop's soup ($22), a hearty stew of pantry meats such as ham and sausage, instant noodles, plus kimchi and vegetables. Article content Like Ottawa's Middle Eastern restaurants, and an increasing number of non-Middle Eastern eateries, In's Kitchen uses halal ingredients so as not to exclude Muslim customers. Article content Last fall, the takeout-oriented shop Kimbap opened on Bank Street, a little more than three blocks from Parliament Hill. Article content Kimbap is named after its grab-and-go specialty, which is not to be confused with sushi rolls, despite their similar appearances. While kimbap rolls do wrap cooked rice in seaweed, its cooked fillings can be meatier (think ham, bulgogi or bits of spicy chicken) or seafood-y (think spicy fish cakes, cooked tuna or imitation crab). Article content Article content I've sampled some of the Kimbap's offerings, including spicy fish kimbap ($15), spicy chicken on rice ($15) and a bulgogi bowl ($16). While the smaller portions wouldn't leave you stuffed, they should tide you over, especially at lunch, and please you with freshness and lucid flavours. Article content Together, Kitchen Maroo, In's Kitchen and Kimbap make me realize that a larger wave of casual Korean food businesses have opened in downtown Ottawa in the last five years. Had I had the time or appetite to be more comprehensive, I would have gone to Maht, up the street from Maroo, or Gogiya, down the street from Kimbap.
Business Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Asean, Gulf bloc can work more closely on trade and investment, energy, digital economy: PM Wong
[KUALA LUMPUR] In a turbulent world, Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) can do more to promote trade and investment, as well as advance common interests in energy transition and the digital economy, Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday (May 27). Speaking at the second Asean-GCC Summit, PM Wong said the blocs should strengthen their ties, with the global environment now much more uncertain since the inaugural summit two years ago. With relations having been 'boosted' by the 2023 Framework of Cooperation, the blocs can build on this to 'forge even closer links', he said, suggesting three areas of focus. First, he pushed for more trade and investment, including exploring an Asean-GCC free trade agreement (FTA). Singapore was the first non-Middle Eastern country to ink an FTA with the GCC, with upgrades now being discussed, noted PM Wong. This deal can serve as a pathfinder for a wider region-to-region FTA, he said: 'Such an FTA will lower tariffs, strengthen supply chains, promote food security and enhance investment flows between our regions.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up He also suggested exploring collaboration between the GCC and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which would connect the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific economically. Combined, both groupings represent a 'significant' 35 per cent of the world's GDP, he noted. While an FTA between RCEP and GCC would be very complex, a formal partnership would facilitate trade and investment while helping to uphold key principles of the rules-based trading system, he added. Second, the energy transition is another area of common interest. PM Wong welcomed the GCC's support for the Asean Power Grid, from investing in and financing grid infrastructure, to sharing knowledge on cross-border energy transmission. 'As Asean's demand for clean energy grows, there will also be opportunities for cooperation with the GCC on this front,' he added. Third, Asean could consider a digital partnership with the GCC, once it concludes its own Digital Economy Framework Agreement this year. The Asean agreement will provide a basis for the bloc to engage external partners in this domain, noted PM Wong. 'We welcome further cooperation with the GCC on the enablers of the digital economy – including in cybersecurity, data governance and cross-border data flows.' Finally, broaching the issue of Palestine, PM Wong said: 'Between the GCC and Asean, we have always stood for an approach of engagement and dialogue to uphold peace and stability, and this is very important as we confront the ongoing conflicts in the world.' 'Singapore continues, and joins colleagues around the table, to call for an immediate ceasefire and the return of the remaining hostages.' He called for all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, and reiterated Singapore's longstanding support for a negotiated two-state solution. Bilateral meetings At the sidelines of the summit, PM Wong met the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for the first time since he became prime minister in 2024. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. PHOTO: MDDI They first met in 2017 when PM Wong was minister in attendance during the emir's state visit to Singapore. In a social media post on Tuesday, PM Wong said: 'I look forward to working closely with His Highness to further deepen our multifaceted cooperation – as we navigate an increasingly complex and challenging global landscape together.' Prime Minister Lawrence Wong with Bahrain Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. PHOTO: MDDI Separately, he also met Bahrain Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Noting that Singapore and Bahrain are small island states of about the same land size, PM Wong said: 'We share a similar outlook – always trying to find relevance and add value to the world.' Both countries have much to gain from the mutual sharing of experiences and best practices, he said, adding that he looks forward to working together to enhance their partnership.
