Jonga Jip Korean, Eastwood NSW - Revisited

Jonga Jip Restaurant in the north-western Sydney suburb of Eastwood has opened another outlet, this time in front of the rail station along Railway Parade and next door to the Eastwood Hotel.  This is in addition to their original restaurant at 87 Rowe Street. The second place has a homely feel, although with the same press ring bells on dining tables, which are spread out across two shop fronts, with two levels for guests. Above, a potato ball takes pride of place to whet your appetite before the arrival of your mains.

With my first bite, I was agreeable to the sea bream roe mixed with rice and other concoctions (picture above).  This was, all at the same time, crunchy, refreshing and tasty, reminding me of cous cous, but not quite.  The dish turned out to be more veg than anything else, with fresh, pickled and sliced versions all served in a heady and yet subtle sensation.  My friend had a tofu soup.

The collection of entree dishes are what always impresses me at Jonga Jip.  They range from salads
(photo above) to spiced up  potato-based creations (picture below) and are served in smaller flat but round utensils that always have a dash of gravy, spice and garnishing.  Such entrees include tofu, seaweed, jelly pieces (final picture below),  pickled radish, bean sprouts, cucumber slices and more.

The seafood shallot pancakes or Pajeon are still in super size and should serve a hungry family of four right.
Marbled short ribs and Bibimbap could be seen served at other tables when we were there.  What caught my eye was a dish that combined kimchi with mashed potatoes in a heady mix called Ban chan, symbolic of East meeting West.  After Saturday lunch, I was introduced to a nearby cafe, called the Cafe Bom, where I had a filtered drip Dutch coffee and an intensely tasty Italian green tea flavoured gelato served in a Korean contemporary setting of wall papered surroundings with Euro styled tables and chairs.  It had been a most interesting Korean-themed Saturday afternoon.

Tan Dinh Cathedral - Saigon, Vietnam

With a strong Gothic, Roman and Baroque style plus obvious French roots, the 136 year old Tan Dinh Cathedral along Hai Ba Trung in District 3 in Saigon glows  - from the distance and close up - with a distinctive and elegant presence and stature. I was fascinated with the gabled roofs, its tower standing at 52.6 meters, a bronze cross, sizable gardens, fish scaled roof tiles, strong porticoes and its obvious pink outer walls.  There is a school on its grounds and also a statue of Christ with out stretched arms.

Inside the Cathedral, there are shrines to Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Martin de Porres and also to Catholic martyrs of Vietnamese background.  The layout of pews, richly stained windows, arched columns and some austere non-trappings are all evocative of Catholicism and yet evoke another time, another place.

Tan Dinh is near by the Pasteur Institute, the Tan Dinh Markets and the Women's Museum.  The nearby markets offer a variety of fascinating produce, live, dried and fresh.  Binh Tay and Ben Tanh are examples of other popular markets in Saigon, referred to as cho.  The picture below shows a view of Hai Ba Trung in Saigon, standing from the front of the Cathedral.

Nha Trang, Vietnam - Long San Pagoda

At the foot of Trai Thy Mountain, in Nha Trang, lies the Long San Pagoda. This is recommended for any visitor to Nha Trang who wants a break from the beach and scuba diving scene and understand better the grassroots life of the locals. It has a unique address of 22 October 23 Street.  There is a bell pavilion, a Sleeping Buddha, a giant pink coloured container and a strong sense of tradition and heritage.

Mosaic murals and motifs are scattered around the main shrine hall, from which you can see two illustrative examples - a legendary animal above and the Chinese script for "fa" or prosperity in Mandarin, below.

Standing at 14 meters tall, the representation of the Gautama Buddha occupies the highest point in the complex, sitting on a lotus blossom with a circumference of 7 meters.  The long dragons protecting them are 7.2 meters long each.  This Buddha overlooks the city and the ocean, in a classic and traditional repose of 'sitting on  mountain and looking at the sea".  One walks up a couple of squat outdoor staircases from the main shrine hall and is rewarded by views from a vantage point.

There are visibly three levels to walk up when you approach the Long San from a busy street side in an inland part of the city. You can walk back from this temple complex back to the Nha Trang tourist and ocean waterfront in under 30 minutes, after ducking hordes of motor cycles and walking past various forms of commerce.  here in Long San, you can savour  the tranquility and timelessness of patience, compassion and architecture.  For the latter, it is evident there are strong influences from not just China, but from Kampuchea, Thailand and India.