Breaking bread at Bread and Circus Wholefoods Canteen was a week of calling for my inner being.
Its crate-to-table concept models the simple approach to eating which I find inviting, just like its many quirky scattered pineapple fruit and quaint dainty pink plates beacon me to “tea time.” It’s that light and fresh touch to the day that picks you up and motivates a wave of goodness to eat food that’s wholesome like nature intended – wedged between two slices of fresh sourdough bread with butter (mmmm).
Tower of Juices – cold pressed of course
Food
Rating: ★★★★
Definitely the must-have on the menu. Their deconstructed sandwich boxes are better suited for your adult sensibilities than the open sandwich variety as it centers on the best part of its anatomy – the filling.
Like all sandwiches, there’s nothing too complicated about its components as all boxes are assembled with a basic salad of tomato, avocado slices, cucumber, grilled brussels sprouts and sometimes a pilaf mixture, with the sauce and meat differing. However, it’s definitely the quality of each element that makes it delightful to graze on since everything was well seasoned and marinated.
Digging in separately or pilled on together on bread, it was a joy to eat both ways!
Re-imagining the canteen setting as a semi industrial warehouse style kitchen cafe at Bread and Circus would make every school kid jelly to know what their canteen could look like with a little thought.
There’s plenty to look at full of quirky cool knick-knacks and fruit display center pieces scattered everywhere with various seating styles from low coffee tables, communal tables and booth seating options making dining entertaining. It’s super chilled and relax, what’s not to like for a perfect late weekend lunch?
Service
Rating: ★★★★
I really enjoyed the staff at Bread and Circus. The 2pm crowd was a bit quiet that day so it felt nice to see everyone so nice and welcoming to see if you were comfortable at your table and causally checking in on you from time to time. It reminded me of the customer service you would expect from the States which there is a certain lack thereof in Sydney’s attitude towards customer service generally…
Pricing and Value for Money
Rating: ★★★★
For the quality and portion size of our meals, it’s certainly affordable, if not a lot more reasonably priced than some of the lunch menus out there for these types of eating spots.
With options for side, regular and sharing sizes for some of their dishes, the menu is generous for choosing different eating styles so you can stretch your cash if you want a try of everything and share.
If you’re a traveler like me who is fascinated and loves to absorb themselves into another country’s culture, then this is a post for you! Believe it or not some of my friends hate sightseeing and think its boring! Why go to another country then!!??!
Anyways, in Korea a great way to have fun and learn about the culture is at the Korean Folk Village (KFV)! This time was my second time going to the KFV and after the enriching experience I had the first time round, I knew I had to take Siree this time!
The KFV is made up of the actual folk village itself, two museums and an amusement park. I’ve only been to the Folk Village and the museums, as the theme park ticket costs extra. At the KFV you can experience over 260 traditional houses from different parts of Korea, revived from the Joseon Dynasty, a traditional Bazaar with souvenir shops stocking traditional art products as well as traditional Korean foods cooked the authentic Korean way, and engage in traditional performances and activities. The Korean Folk Museum offers in depth knowledge into Korean folk culture and the World Folk Museum offers a glimpse into the folk culture of many countries – though I’m not sure how accurate it is considering what they said about Australia was completely wrong! haha.
The entrance of the Folk Village ~ Looks so traditionalTraditional HousingNice traditional Korean style architecture. Look how detailed the roof painting is!Soo pretty!! This would look so beautiful in Autumn. I can imagine a backdrop of red/purple/orange leaves.Kimchi Pots!! These were everywhere in the village!! I wonder if they had any kimchi in them. Kimchi pots are the traditional way Koreans stored and fermented their kimchi!Cute figurines and more kimchi pots!Buddhist Temple – I love this photo!Buddhist Temple – We could actually here monks chanting from inside these traditional temple buildings.Buddhist Temple – These huge statues were at the front of the Buddhist temple gates. They must be some kind of gods or something…but I never thought Buddhists believed in gods…hmmTraditional Performances – Farmer’s music and DanceTraditional Performances – Equestrian Feats. They do pretty amazing tricks with those horses!Traditional Performances – Acrobatics on a Tightrope! The guy who does it is no joke like 80 years old or something!! I worry every time he jumps and lands on the tightrope that he will collapse and fall!The image on the right is actually thousands of paper wishes tied up into the string. The picture of the left shows how bloody cold it was!! Even flowing water has frozen!!!Wish and messages wall!~Traditional Korean methods of tortureKoreans joining in with torture methods haha!The guy on the right is making traditional Korean MasksLOL I love this Konglish!!World Folk Museum – Apparently this is Australian Cuisine!? I have never had or seen this dish in Australia in my entire life!? Sayyy whaaa??Siree and I couldn’t handle the cold anymore so we went into a traditional tea house to warm up. We indulged in traditional teas, although mine was a little sweet! Still the tea cups and saucers were so pretty!
Map:
Folk Village Map
Transportation
From anywhere in Seoul, you can either catch a train to Gangnam Station (line 2) or to Suwon Station (Line 1)
From Gangnam, you want to catch bus 5001 – 1 from the main bus bay area. It can be little tricky to find the correct bus stand, so if any problems, ask someone. DO NOT trust the transportation directions on the Visit Korea site!!! They have the wrong bus number!! Half our day was gone trying to find bus 5000 – 1 which does not exist!!! (I believe the bus number has since been corrected.)
From Suwon catch bus 37 or 10-5.
Opening Times
Winter: 9AM – 5PM
Summer: 9AM – 6:30PM
Cost
Ticket entry: 15,000 won includes the Folk Village and the museums. That’s less than $15. Entry to the amusement park costs extra.
Performances
Farmer’s Music and Dance: 11AM and 3PM (MAR – OCT) 2:30PM (NOV – FEB)
Here is part 2 of our Themed Cafes and Restaurants Post. For the restaurants please read Part One here.
Now onto the cafes! Korea is filled with cafes and all of them are so lovely!
I have never really been a cafe type person one, because I don’t really like coffee and two, the idea just never really appealed to me. That is, until I went to Korea. In Korea, it seems as if every cafe as its own little vibe going on which is so welcoming, so calming, so cozy and so comfy. I love the atmosphere that each cafe seems to be able to create. Cafes in Korea are the best places to chillax with friends and the best part of all – you only ever have to order one drink and you can stay there as long as you like – seriously – people do work on their laptops for hours! You never get that “can you leave now?” vibe from the waiters!
Unfortunately, I’m yet to find a cafe in Sydney that has quite the charm of a Korean cafe! But I intend to keep searching~
One of the first cafes we went to in Korea really captures this charm and vibe that all Korean cafes seem to have in common.
See this is what I mean, what would you call this vibe?? I just love it so much!! It’s so homely!Message walls/trees seem to also be a common feature of the Korean cafe culture. They are basically a collection of photos, drawings and hand written messages that people stick up on a wall or hang up on a tree in the cafe.You might be thinking…why is this photo here?? Well, another common trait in Korean cafes is the presence of notebooks whereby people use to draw, leave messages or play games with friends. Most amazingly, you wont see one penis, curse word or sexual image in these books!! Can you just imagine what kind of things would be in these books if a cafe were to include them in Australia…? Yeah…let’s not even go there..Some more cafe decor!
One of the many cafes Siree and I stumbled across was actually a couple cafe! We walked in not realising, and it was filled with couples! None the less it was a really amazing cafe. I loved it and it’s vibe! It totally lived out those Christmas scenes in Hollywood movies where its snowing and cold outside but the stars of the movie are cuddled up inside their immaculately Christmas decorated homes, by the fireplace…*sigh*…so lovely.
Yum!!
Some delicious food and drinks commonly sold in Korean cafes, which are not sold or easily found in Australia include:
Pumpkin Lattes – seriously delish!
Chestnut Lattes
Green tea lattes
A variety of teas – floral, fruity, herbal, traditional – sometimes there are mixes of all of these.
Waffles, sweet breads, parfaits
Tips:
If your looking for cool cafes, majority of them are located up in the second level of buildings, so when searching don’t just look for places on ground level, look up!
Hardcore Themed Cafes!
Unlike the general Korean cafe vibe, there are numerous cafes in Korea that go ALL out!! Here are some of our experiences:
Hello Kitty Cafe
Wow. Always in my life I have wanted to visit one of the notably famous Hello Kitty cafes. I have always been jealous of seeing my friends photos and finally, I was able to experience it myself.
If there was one word to describe the Hello Kitty Cafe it would definitely be PINK OVERLOAD. Okay two words! So much so that it kinda makes things hard to see, the lighting on your face is terribly unflattering (would not recommend for first dates! haha) and the photos didn’t turn out so nicely because of the light! But it does keep with the vibe so all’s good!
We forced brought along two of our male Korean friends to this restaurant and upon entry, they instantly commented on their masculinity decreasing …! However, being the good hosts they were, they swallowed their pride and joined in as enthusiastically as they possibly could haha. We appreciated the effort..
Wow, it looks so majestic! Haha any man would be scared of this buildingInterior decor! Pretty cool right. I mean they have Hello Kitty shaped chairs!!!The food is also Hello Kitty themed!Our drinks :) So cute!Our entire order!
If I’m to be really honest, the food here is only mediocre, but then again you don’t really visit the Hello Kitty cafe to eat spectacularly good food. You visit for the vibe and novelty, and judging by that aspect, visiting The Hello Kitty Cafe is worth it.
Directions:
Follow the pink line on the map
Original map from Visit Korea website.
From exit 9 out of Hongik Station, walk straight along yanghwa – ro and turn left into Hongik – ro. Turn right into the third street on your right. The Hello Kitty cafe is hidden up a little alley street, so keep an eye out on your left. The cafe is clearly visible when looking up into the alley.
Cats Living – Cat Cafe
Right next to the Hello Kitty Cafe, is Cats Living – a fully fledged cat cafe with real cats running around!! I’d only ever seen cat cafes whilst watching my favourite KPOP stars visiting them in Korean Variety shows, so naturally I always wanted to visit one myself – after all I love animals!!
But I have to admit, it was not exactly what I was expecting…I guess TV really does put a glossy shiny bubble of shazaam over everything, making it look extra spiffy that you tend to forget about the possible negatives of such a cafe. I mean the cafe looked nice and some of the cats were kinda cute too (SOME WERE SERIOUSLY EVIL)…but the smellwas terrible!! I was honestly not expecting that at all! I don’t know what part of my brain put together the fact that a place with 12+ cats all in one room would not smell, but I was so shocked that I actually remember saying to Siree “I don’t want to do this anymore..” I don’t know I guess the thought of eating and drinking in a place with such a smell was kinda off putting…
Nevertheless, it was a very unique experience and I’m glad I did go even though I felt highly uncomfortable…
And I guess after a while you do get over the smell…
The front!Cute signage! I love this aspect of Korean cafes and their use of signs and drawings. Also I may be mistaken here…but I think they spelt “open” wrong haha. Konglish! Love it!Some of the cute cats! I like the ears on the one of the left hahaThe cat on the left was so cutely tragic. Poor thing was so old and I felt sorry for its eyes!!The decor was also very fitting. I though this idea was really cute.More of the interior. I really liked that cage chair!Nawww. Siree and I couldn’t tell how many cats were bundled in here – I’d say 3? Maybe just two lol!
Directions
Follow the pink line on the map
Original map from Visit Korea
From exit 9 out of Hongik Station, walk straight along yanghwa – ro and turn left into Hongik – ro. Turn right into the third street on your right. Cats Living is located right next to the Hello Kitty Cafe so keep an eye out for that in an alley on your left ( Cats Living is not visible when you look into the alley way only the Hello Kitty Cafe is). As you walk towards the Hello Kitty cafe you will see Cats Living.
Price
The entry fee to the cafe is 8,000 won which includes a drink. The drinks provided here are the standard drinks you might find at Starbucks, so they aren’t that great but its better than nothing. Again though, you visit for the cats not for the food/drinks.
Tips
When you enter Cats Living there is a protocol foreigners may not be aware of.
Upon entry, you are required to take off your shoes. Your shoes can be locked away in a locker and you will be provided with slippers.
Sanitize your hands at the door.
Charlie Brown Cafe
I think out of all the themed cafes, Charlie Brown was my favourite. Maybe because I really love Charlie Brown – I think the drawing style of the characters is super cute! Also I remember watching the cartoon series when I was younger – it was so cute and hilarious!
The front of the cafe! It looks so cute! Charlie is soooo cute!!One thing I really liked about the Charlie Brown Cafe was that they actually served your drinks in actual Charlie Brown mugs, whereas the Hello Kitty Cafe and Cats Living served their drinks in paper/plastic cups.More of our drinks! Snoopy and Charlie Brown dusted chocolate.Cuteee!I liked all the figurines that decorated the cafe! Especially seeing the way Snoopy’s character has changed through the decades.Our buzzers were too cool!Cool lighting!
Directions
Follow the green line on the map
Original map from Visit Korea
From Hongik station, exit via exit 9 and continue walking straight along Yanghwa -ro. Turn left into Hongik – ro and walk straight until you reach Honik University’s front gates. Facing the gates, turn right down Wausan -ro and turn into the second street on your right (it should be after a small park). Continue walking straight down that street, down the length of the small park.
Get ready to get salivating because these next series of posts are all about the unique food experiences on our Korean Trip.
Whilst the entire trip was filled with amazingly grand and ultra delightful banquets of delicious foods…
You jelly????
….there are just wayyyyy too many photos and experiences for us to show all of them in one blog post. So I’m going to focus on those places that went that extra step further…to the level of themed restaurants and cafes!!
We would be lying if we said that everyday of our Korea trip we were all outgoing and did adventurous Korean things, completely immersing ourselves into the culture. Bu alas, some days we reserved entirely for eating. Yes eating. Whilst inside Siree lies a little piggy that enjoys her food….inside Talyssa the mammoth of all little piggy’s lays dormant, only to be epic-ly released during meal times. In fact I actually LOST weight in Korea because Siree couldn’t handle eating 3 meals a day + snacks. Level up Siree, level up!
Onto the restaurants~
Whilst we saw many themed restaurants in Korea, there are just so many places that look amazing to eat at, that we really only visited one themed restaurant (cafes are another story…).
We were guided by some Korean friends to a restaurant named Flying Chicken – a military themed restaurant in Hongdae. When Koreans do a theme, they go all out. The chairs, to the tables, to the utensils/drinking glasses, to the entire interior design was military themed. We even got served these crackers/biscuits, which our Korean friends kindly let us know that they were a typical snack they ate whilst doing their compulsory military service.
We went to Flying chicken at night – I don’t think it’s open during the day. It is located above the Bar “Vinyl” which is popular for its robot shop front and for serving alcoholic beverages in zip-lock bags!!The interior decor! It really does have a military vibe!Even the lighting has a military vibe!Here you can see the beer served in the military container. Our Korean friends told us they drank from these shaped containers whilst doing military service. You can also see the ‘military biscuits’ we were served.Spicy chicken!! Sooo yummy!Can I just say, that I am so thankful we came here with Korean friends. Amongst our side dishes was some rice wrapped in seaweed and a boiled egg – If we had come here by ourselves Siree and I would have had no idea what to do with it or that we were suppose to mix it in with our chicken! haha
Food Specialty:
Spicy chicken dishes.
Directions:
Follow the blue line on the map.
Original map from Visit Korea
The map makes the restaurant look really far away, but its not actually that far. From exit 9 of Hongik Station, continue walking straight on the road you are on (Yanghwa – ro) and turn left into Hongik – ro. Follow the road all the way up until you get to the front gates of Hongik University. Facing the front gates of Hongik University, turn right and walk down Wausan – ro. Flying Chicken is located next to a 7-11 and above the popular bar “Vinyl.”
Address:
411-1, Seokyo-dong, Mapo-gu.
Side Note – Korean Bars
This isn’t technically a themed restaurant, but I thought it was an interesting cultural aspect to include…especially since I thought these places were just another type of restaurant…turns out they are actually Korean style bars! Unlike bars in Sydney, which are more of a social event amongst randoms, a Korean bar is completely friendship group orientated, with the seating being confined to separated booth spaces. Why I decided to include this here, is because the bar we went to was decorated all cool – like!
So cool!One thing I love about Korean drinking culture is that when you buy a drink, boy do you get value for money!! Not only is the drink significantly huge (check out the beer above!) but you can actually taste the alcohol inside, for example, mixed alcoholic beverages like Vodka lemonades!! Alcohol in Korea is affordable and non stingy, which seems to be the opposite of Sydney – over priced with zero alcohol! The picture on the right shows the anju we ordered. When drinking at Korean bars, it is customary to order some food snacks with your drinks. You must always do this!!
Location:
This particular bar was located near where we were staying in Gaebong. Korean bars however are practically everywhere in Korea and easy to find.
Talyssa checking in – beware people, this post is gonna be a long one!!
Becauuuuuuuuuuuuuuse it’s about Hongdae!! I. absolutely. love. Hongdae. It’s so refreshing to be in a Hipster-esque place style wise, fashion wise and people wise, minus the arrogant, overly pretentious, clique-ish, self-entitled hipster attitude that unfortunately accompanies much of the hipster crowd in Sydney. Seriously. Sooo nice and refreshing.
I really wish Sydney had a similar place to Hongdae so I could at least describe to some extent how awesome Hongdae is…I guess Newtown might be the closest, but seriously, it doesn’t even compare. Actually scrap that. Newtown is nothing like Hongdae. Period.
We set out on our first venture to Hongdae to visit the Trick Eye Museum. Online there was absolutely no information on the Trick Eye Museum – nothing about how to get there or where it was located…so basically we took a giant stab.
Our giant stab lead us instead to a tourist information center (pink dotted path on map below). I really recommend coming here if you don’t know where to go or what to do. The customer service is amazing – they are extremely helpful and super friendly.
Not knowing where the Trick Eye Museum was, the staff provided us with maps and hand drew directions on them for us. On top of this, they gave us info on specials and Grand Korea sale cards so we could get as many discounts as possible during our trip!! How nice right!?!
Even with our amazing directions, the Trick Eye Museum wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to find…I’ll let you guess why:
It’s like completely hidden right?!?!!?!?!!? I was expecting like some separate building which was quite large with considerable signage since it is a tourist spot!!! We walked passed it once or twice – it was hard to see!!!
You do need to set aside a fair bit of time for the Trick Eye Museum – the museum itself is broken up into sections (we almost missed one section). On top of this, there are three galleries and a cat museum. We just did the museum and it took us approx 3-4hours?
You definitely want to come here at a time where people are usually at school or work…seriously…otherwise there are huge lines and a stack of couples left, right and center. If you don’t know it now, you will definitely find out when you go to Korea that Korean couple culture is INTENSE. There has never been a time in my life where I wanted to be more in love. I was like damn…I want a Korean man right now, they appear to treat their girlfriends so well!! *Filled with envy*
— End of sidetracked tangent —
So what exactly is the Trick Eye Museum? Basically it is an interactive museum revolving around a new concept that stimulates your creativity and imagination through the Trompe-l’oeil (eye tricking) technique through vision. To achieve this, the museum features a mixture of artworks and 3D installations you can interact with and take photos of, so you end up looking like a part of the picture.
A bonus – according to the brochure:
“…The trickeye artwork helps you learn aesthetic senses of form and also stimulates your creativity, which leads to the activation of your brain. Your logic and thinking abilities will enhance!”
LOL! Woahh okay I’m sure these paintings aren’t that miraculous! None the less, they are still awesome. Now onto the photos!
One of the different kinds of optical illusions at the museum. These were paintings on the floor which when looked at from a certain angle, looked 3D
Nothing better than a warm drink on a frosty Korean winter day..Siree’s part time job.This illusion was awesome!! Jokes, Siree is just a midget and I’m a giant.Love struck. My expression is good no? That’s what I call dedication.It’s not everyday you get to be up close and personal with a RhinoI love my sushi!!She was like this the whole trip. What a junkie!Nicki Minaj right there.Siree’s tactic for stealing the Museum’s food.Being posers in typical Korean style LOLSiree’s typical ‘pretending to be on the phone but really I’m just a poser’s’ pose
These are only some of the AMAZING interactive artworks – there are many many more cool ones as well. All in all, The Trick Eye Museum is a great experience, a lot of fun, good laughs and results in some pretty awesome photos that friends and family were highly amused by.
For more info on the Trick Eye Museum such as transportation and pricing, check out the bottom section of this post.
The rest of Hongdae is pretty amazing. It’s just a really nice place to go to just chillax with friends. There are super cute and relatively cheap fashion boutiques (the pinkage wig store is also here, but we were slightly disappointed with it!!), really cute cafes, awesome street food, epic clubs for amazingly great clubbing adventures, and just an overall really nice youth atmosphere – really safe, REALLY nice people, and no drunkard idiots – you can actually make real friendships.
The Hongdae Charm
Hongdae by day. I don’t know why, but I really like the look of streets like this…maybe because it looks quite foreign from what we’d find in Sydney.This is along one of the back streets of Hongdae where most of the clubs are. This street also connects to Hongik Uni. The shopfront you see in the picture named “Mama” is actually a club. This is what most of the clubs in Hongdae look like – they usually have a small black-painted entrance with the club’s name on it in large white text. Inside you usually go down a set of stairs to the clubbing area.Very naice. LOL. Opposite Condomania is NB1, where we had our awesome clubbing experience!!This believe it or not is a restaurant. How nice is it?!!? This is what I mean about Hongdae, its style is sooooo nice!!Pizza restaurant up close…completely diggin’ this styleAnother restaurant. Pretty~Cute, I love Hongdae!!I don’t know why, but Korea tends to have a thing for owning a shop pet (usually dogs). Cafe’s have them as well, we found it was fairly common. This one belonged to a cute accessory store in Hongdae.HOW NICE ARE THE CAFES!?!?! Seriously Sydney!! Get your act together!!hehehe Master Roshi!!Yup! Love Korean couple culture. So freaking cute.Hongdae at night. Look at these cute shops!! I wish we had something like this in Sydney. I love Korea’s concept of using really visual store fonts/windows, and the clothes are just too cute!Hongdae at night. I really love Hongdae at night – it comes alive!Hahahaha this photo says it all!! “Why am I here?!” “I hate my job”
Food
Look at that preparation. Look at that skill. As soon as we saw it, we had to try it.BEST. CHICKEN. EVARRRRR!That block right there is butter. Yup. Buttery Goodness.Although I’m not a huge fan of sweets, this was delicious – buttery, sweet and savoury all at once. YUMMMMOur dinner. This was delish!! Spicy seafood hot pot. We also ordered a kimchi pancake…but unfortunately that was not so good…FREE ICECREAM AT KARAOKE!! Seriously Korea’s service is AMAZING!!!! You never get that kind of treatment in Sydney. It is seriously all these small things that make Korea really stand out and your holiday much more enjoyable!
I LOVE HONGDAE!!!!!!!!! Soooo good!!
Map
Map of Hongdae
Transportation:
For the general area: Take subway Line #2 to Hongik University Station, exit #5.
For Tourist Centre: Take Exit #5 out of Hongik University Station and follow the pink dotted line on the map.
Trick Eye Museum: Take exit #9 out of Hongik University Station and follow the blue dotted line on the map.
Address: B2 Seogyo Plaza, Seogyodong 357-1, Mapogu, Seoul.
Pricing: 13,000won Adults, 11,000won Students.
Opening Hours: 10:00AM – 9:00PM
Website: www.trickeye.com
How long should I spend there?
There are sooooo many things to do in Hongdae that Siree and I came here on many different occassions. You definitely need a day to look around, but you will find you need to come back here to dedicate time for shopping, checking out some of the awesome places to eat and to visit places such as the Cat Cafe and Trick Eye Museum. This is also a great place to hang out with friends, so if you have Korean friends, you will find yourself hanging out here with them often, as Siree and I did.
When to come to Hongdae:
You should experience Hongdae both at day and at night. There is always something going on in Hongdae, expecially at night, so it is definitely worth checking out. For example one night we went to Hongdae, there was a HUGE outdoor silent disco going on. FREAKING. AMAZING.
Soooo I just had my birthday, and as I grow older I’ve been really keen on the idea of someday living by myself. Living with your rents has its benefits for emotional/support needs but up until recently I really do want my own place. To work. To live in an image of what I want to live in as an independent adult (hmmm… does that sound right?). And Pinterest DOES NOT help! All those gorgeous pictures of interiors ahhh makes me jealous!!
And with the ultimate home needs to be paired with an ideal surrounding. If you have ideas of living in a sweet zakka neighbourhood like me, Samcheongdong gives off that vibe of calm and space, which is pretty funny seeing as Korea is always so fast paced. Even walking! When we both came back we really felt the change just by walking down George Street in Sydney. The human traffic was so different it felt like a lazy Sunday walk in the park in the heart of the city compared to our rushed 1000 pace a second while in Seoul.
Walking through SamcheongdongRecognise this street? It’s the setting of a scene in Coffee Shop Prince. Over the walls are two girl middle/high schools buildings. I wouldn’t mind going to school here :)
On the opposite side of the very touristy Insadong, Samcheongdong is definitely quieter, fusing that picturesque small neighbourhood stroll with its many (many) cafes, contemporary art galleries and handmade jewelry stores. You can also find some handmade clothing and nick-knack shops as well as the Bukchon Hanok Village and Gyeongbokgung Palace but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to visit. Definitely a great spot for couples who want some alone time and street walking real-estate ;)
One thing I noticed in Korean coffee cafes is the term “hand drip coffee.” Before Korea, I have never heard this expression being used as a marketing term for coffee consumption except “french press” (which is a different process). Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of espresso unless it’s affogato but I appreciate the art of a good smelling cupa :)
Unfortunately a lot of the jewelry stores have a “No Photography” sign so I had to take a lot of cafe fronts instead lol
Although Samcheongdong Sujebi is a must eat on tour itineraries for the area, Talyssa and I decided to try out this famous restaurant called Meokswidonna that’s popular for its tteokbokki. Ahh street food, what we do for your unhealthy empty carbs over healthy meals. Oh but this isn’t any ordinary tteokbokki. This has class it was even featured on television. Choose your favourite toppings and…. BAM!
Better than pizza any day!
Look how beautiful it is! Mmmm cheese and ramyun, and all for $8 per person!
I dare you to find a place that let’s you have seafood and beef for $16 of this size. I DARE YOUUUU!
Waaah cheese is in the same category as beef and seafood! I never really enjoyed American cheese (commercial Australian cheese is more natural being less processed in my view) but in this case, I will adjust :)
Walking down a bit further into the heart of Samcheongdong the scenery changes with distinctive slope-side shops with stone staircases to climb to the higher levels. Though mainly cafes, the look mixes the modern with traditional making it very charming to just walk and explore.
Oink!Guess who?
It’s a letterbox! How unique!
It became a ritual that after walking a bit, it was cafe time! So we stopped over at Palette Dessert Shop to grab some…
Macaroons!
So the verdict? Very nice! I guess if I was to compare it to a Lindt macaroon the ganache is more gooier, which I really enjoyed as you can really taste the flavour. I got the salted caramel of deliciousness.
Though Palette is known for macaroons, they had other cakes available as well.
Need a Map?
How to get there
To get to Samcheongdong take the Subway Line 3 and is 570m from Exit #1, Anguk Station.
Duration
Hmmm I would say 2-3 hours. Maybe longer if visiting the Bukchon Hanok Village and Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Tips:
Meokswidonna has a bit of a queue so line up early to get a seat. Though some of the wait staff knows a bit of English, the menu is completely in Korean and Japanese.
Samcheongdong has too many cute cafes to try on a full stomach.
Until next time, later tatters! :)
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