Review: K-Ginseng Debuts in Malaysia

We're so familiar with K-pop, Korean food & even travel packages to Korea as every other Korean item is available in Malaysia.

This year, South Korea's premium brand of Korean ginseng, the K-Ginseng (Cheon Gyeong Sam), finally arrived on the shores of Malaysia & was launched on 28th November 2013, by its distributor, Caldbeck Macgregor (M) Sdn Bhd's Health & Wellness Division. The K-Ginseng is known as the "World's Best Gyeonggi Korean Ginseng" & it was just a privilege to be attending its official launch at the Pullman Hotel, Bangsar.

One of the newest hotels in town, Pullman Hotel, Bangsar

You'll find the hotels right behind Menara TM/Kerinchi area!

This premium range of ginseng is halal-certified by the Korea Muslim Federation Halal Committee. All Malaysians can now enjoy a wide range of K-Ginseng products i.e. the red ginseng roots, white ginseng roots, red ginseng extract, red ginseng extract tonic, honey sliced ginseng, Vitality drink & red ginseng G-drink!

The Vitality Drink

Young ginseng in a bottle of sweet syrup water.

The Vitality Drink + Red Ginseng G-Drink

The red one is very "potent"! Hahaha...

The launch actually began with a press conference at 4:30p.m., but I was still at work, so I could only join the rest of the media folks later in the evening for the Gala Dinner @ Pullman Studio. The dinner started at 6:30p.m. with registration of guests & media representatives, followed by a cocktail reception & photo-taking at the Photowall.

The cocktail reception was quite interesting as they served the K-Ginseng Vitality Drink & the Red Ginseng G-Drink in addition to the usual wines. It was "UMPH-ed!". I couldn't take too much of it as my body started heating up immediately! The red ginseng drink was really power-packed & you can really taste the ginseng. Having said that, I prefer the white ginseng drink although it was actually too sweet for me.

One of the very friendly hotel staffs, serving drinks at the cocktail

At the Photowall

Miss Sharon Lee, Division Manager of Caldbeck Macgregor (M) Sdn Bhd's Health & Wellness Division (left) with another VIP whom I'm unsure of her name.

We entered the dining hall/Pullman Studio only around 7:30p.m. The 1st thing that we saw was the 3 different sweets served at each table...more ginseng products! Yums :P

Since it was a "Korean" ginseng launch, we expected to have quite a lot of elements of Korean + ginseng, but we were quite surprised to see the menu for that night! Ahahaha...so disappointed!!

Welcome note by the emcee

Anyway, our disappointments were soon set aside as we were entertained by the opening performance of a Janggu Dance Mixed with Fan Dance. Ah, at least it's something Korean...teehee...

Right after the lovely dance performance, Ms Sharon Lee gave her speech, followed by a speech from Mr Kang Hak Lee (Vice-Director of Korea Gyeonggi Government Agricultural Cooperative Federation).

Miss Sharon Lee

Mr Kang Hak Lee & his interpreter  

ENORMOUS Korean ginseng wei... 

The launch was completed when both Mr Lee & Mr Chew Ah See, CEO of Caldbeck Macgregor, signed the contract to officiate their business as supplier & distributor of the K-Ginseng in Malaysia! *woots*

'Pull the lever..."

Walla! All the K-Ginseng products available to Malaysians!

We regretted being disappointed as the load of ginseng-related dishes soon arrived at our table! Really lovely presentation, but all dishes are really an acquired taste as we were served ginseng to EAT/chew-on, something that I've NEVER done in my whole life! Hahaha...

Fresh ginseng salad

The top bits were red dates, followed by julienne of ginseng, sour mango, capsicum, & chopped walnuts to compliment all the various flavors & textures. This dish is very unique indeed. Where's the dressing though....? Hmmm...

Cold beef with ginseng rolls

 We were very surprised to find 'chunks' of ginseng wrapped with beef! Kinda difficult to really enjoy as it's sweet + bitter & somewhat dry as well. I found it strange to eat ginseng raw like this...perhaps I'm just not used to it.

I don't know what's the "green stuff" though... 

Tempura ginseng!

No kidding youuuu...it's really deep-fried ginseng! I don't know whether to be shocked, surprised, or over-joyed!

I just couldn't take any more ginseng...I started over-heating...hahahaha...

Spicy green ferns + ginseng slices cold dish

This was quite a different tasting dish, although I felt that the greens + ginseng were just too raw to chew on as well. Hahaha...

Pickled Chinese cabbage with ginseng

Did I say there wasn't any ginseng earlier in my post? I think we were overloaded with ginseng before the actual dinner started! This was slightly too sour for me & the cabbage wasn't cut into smaller pieces, so it was quite difficult to eat.

By the time we completed all the Korean-style appetizers, we were kinda "high" with all the ginseng. I felt over-energized! Hahahaha...the best is yet to come ;) Up next was the long awaited, famous Korean ginseng chicken soup, specially cooked by Mrs Young Nam Hae, Master Ginseng Chef from Korea.

Mrs Young Nam Hae, introducing herself & sharing her experiences with us 

THE Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup

SO TASTY! Huge pieces of ginseng were found in the bowl of soup...most of us had 2 soup-bowls full! Yummy! My face turned red instantly - proves that my blood is circulating well with all the goodness of Korean ginseng throughout the night (and it's not even the main courses from the menu yet). 

Were you expecting that that's the end of all the Korean ginseng that we could get for the night? Oh nono...check this out!

The "Happy Water" Soju

This is Korean's answer to vodka. The soju is actually clear, smells like ethanol, & tastes almost like vodka. But the "power" added to this bottle comes from the tiny 3 grams-sachet of Korean red ginseng extract tea!

There were bloggers at my table who were very "happy" after drinking almost half a bottle of this "happy water"! 

After all the ginseng dishes were served, we had our usual Chinese dishes for dinner, followed by some lucky draws & live band performances :)

The ladies at my "bloggers + media reps" table

L > R: JQ Lee, Jess, Jacinta, PerutBesi, Wendy. All of them except myself are beauty/lifestyle bloggers :)

I really thank God for blessing me as the "1st prize winner" of that night's lucky draw! I received a box of Korean Red Ginseng worth USD400!!

3rd prize lucky draw = 300g Korean white ginseng worth USD200
2nd prize lucky draw = 150g Korean red ginseng worth USD200
1st prize lucky draw = 300g Korean red ginseng worth USD400
Grand prize lucky draw = Korean red ginseng worth USD600

People have been advising me to drink Brand's essence of chicken with the late nights that I have, but hey, God's way of taking care of me is indeed over-whelming!

Yums! There's ginseng in the house now!

This may help with my late nights of work ;)

Ahahahaha...thinking back, the whole scene when my name was announced was quite hilarious. I jumped up & screamed!! (I've never gotten so excited for a long time!)

Ginseng is something that I would never spend money to buy (at least not yet) since it's very expensive & what did I get in place of the Brand's essence of chicken that I've been advised almost everyday by various people to drink?

Welcome to my kitchen, you premium Korean red ginseng! I've never had such a big box of ginseng root in my room/kitchen...next year's Chinese New Year time can really celebrate oh!  *screams with excitement* It may just be "good grade" ginseng & not "earth grade" nor "heaven grade" ginseng, but I'm thankful nonetheless :)

My "lucky draw prize" + everything else in the goodie bag :D

Korean Red Ginseng Extract Tonic was a large part of the goodie bag! 

Wah, really "pou" man...this is like Yomeishu, but the Korean-version... 

I am excited to see K-Ginseng's health benefits (anti-carcinogenic, anti-oxidant, & improves liver health) spreading across Malaysia & in my own life as well...hahaha...time to take the red ginseng tonic daily!

What an exciting night we all had that day! Thank you Integrated Public Relations (iPR), Caldbeck Macgregor (M) Sdn. Bhd. & Gyeonggi Provincial Government for a wonderful, laughter-filled & fun-filled night! An enjoyable event, no doubt!

p/s: The full range of K-Ginseng products will soon be available in all Chinese Medical Halls (Traditional Chinese Herb shops) and also major supermarkets such as Aeon-Jusco & Isetan. Any enquiries can be made to Caldbeck Macgregor at their contact numbers below.

Retail prices:

• Red Ginseng Extract Tonic 720ml: RM249.00/bottle (my opinion: good gift for Christmas & CNY to those who are looking into getting a healthy gift for their loved ones)
• Red Ginseng Root 300g / 150g: RM1190.00 (300g)/ RM609.00 (150g) per unit
• Red Ginseng Extract Gold 240g / 120g: RM919.00 (240g) / RM469.00 (120g) per unit
• White Ginseng Root 300g / 150g: RM569.00 (300g) / RM299.00 (150g) per unit
• Honey Red Ginseng Slice 20g X 5’s: RM195.00 per set
• White Ginseng Vitality Drink 120ml: RM10.90 per bottle
• Red Ginseng G Drink 100ml: RM7.90 per bottle

More information can be obtained from K-Ginseng's website here.


Caldbeck Macgregor Malaysia (M) Sdn. Bhd. (19320-U)
9, Jalan Pemaju U1/15, Seksyen U1
Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park
40150 Shah Alam, Selangor
Malaysia.
GPS: E : 101.56627° H : 3.09239°
Tel: (+603) 5569 2283
Fax: (+603) 5569 2383
URL: www.caldbecks.com
Email: enquiry@caldbecks.com





 

Pullman Hotel, Bangsar
1, Jalan Pantai Jaya, Tower 3
59200 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 2298 1888
URL: http://www.pullmankualalumpur.com
Email: info@pullmankualalumpur.com
FB: Pullman Bangsar


Ginseng overload :P