Banned

I have been happily eating carbs in the form of rice (and ramen) in meals that in my opinion are wholesome.

By wholesome, I mean a meal that consists of carbs, protein and vegetables. Korean or Japanese set meals are ideal as they serve a small portion of rice accompanied by a protein and some veggies.

In fact chap fan can also be wholesome depending on what you choose to fill your plate.

This 3 week experiment revealed to me that if I am selective with what I eat, even if it contains carbs, I suffer no ill effects. Combine that with a 20-30 minute walk after the meal, I maintain my weight. My second meal for the day is still all meat.

But of course, it's not just about weight, there are many factors that are also important like inflammation, changes to specific blood markers and physiological effects like energy levels, mental clarity/focus etc.

Although as I said, I did not suffer noticeable ill effects (like I did in the past by reintroducing not-so-wholesome foods which were redolent in carbs/sauces), I can feel the carb load after two weeks in. I don't feel as well as I did when staying off carbs and eating it not so frequently.

This meal I am posting today made me unwell although it was within the "wholesome" category.

I have been avoiding this place because of poor service that I experienced a few years back. But heck, maybe they improved.

They remain popular among the lunch crowd as the tables quickly filled up after I was seated.

The banchans, soup and rice were served quite promptly. But the main dish took forever to come.

The kimchi was rather good.

I dislike processed food like this fishcake.

This daikon kimchi was not bad.

Taugeh is meh.

These brinjals were all right.

This pumpkin looked like it had seen better days. I did not touch it.

I liked the soup. Very flavorsome.

The rice, though it looked soggy, it wasn't.

A whole bunch of veggies which I feel was unnecessary unless if one is having the BBQ. There was another banchan which was a lettuce salad dressed in mayonnaise which I also didn't eat.

I was served this complementary pancake. It was just all right.

The clock was ticking. Fifteen minutes passed and it took three reminders before my main dish was served. I find that highly unacceptable. 

Finally the set was complete.

The pork was delicious which at least pacified me after the long wait.

The sauce served on the side was very tasty.

After the meal, I experienced a sharp drop in energy and bloating. I also felt foggy in my head. Walking back to the office I was so fatigued that I could not perform my mall walk.

It must be something in the food that I am sensitive to which made me feel that way. So, I cannot come back here, hence the self imposed ban.