Today, we planned to meet my dear friend from my KU days as an exchange student. As she was working near Samseong Station, we decided to grab lunch at COEX Mall around 12:30pm. It was really really far from Seoul Station though.
Naeng Myeon
This is a special summer treat, unique to Korea. Fresh, handmade noodles were submerged in ice cold soup and served together with sliced cucumber and pear, to chase away sweltering heat of the summer.
With my beautiful friend
So sorry to have made you late in going back to office after lunch ^-^
COEX Mall
This is actually one of the largest underground shopping centers in Asia. On top of the usual cinema, restaurants, game arcade, cafes, brand name stores and Hyundai Department Store, COEX Mall is home to an aquarium and Kimchi Museum.
How to get there: Samseong Station, Line 2, Exit 5 or 6
Check out my new hoodie!
I scored it at Dongdaemun the previous day :D
Seoul's Business District!
Bongeunsa Temple
Located just across the road from COEX Mall is the Bongeunsa Temple. Bongeunsa definitely provides a sharp contrast to all the Gangnam's skyscrapers surrounding it.
Built in 794, this temple is home to over 3000 Buddhist scriptures. The Institute of Tripitaka Koreana was also established here for translation of Buddhism scriptures into Korean in the 1960s. This temple played a vital role in preserving Buddhism in Korea over 12 centuries of its existence.
If the city life is getting too much for you, there is always a temple stay program to try!
How to get there: Bongeunsa Temple Station, Line 9, Exit 1
Peaceful juxtaposition of modernity and tradition
Garosugil
We left this serene temple around 3:30pm and headed to Garosugil. It is a beautiful tree-lined street, filled with cozy cafes and pretty boutiques, not dissimilar to Samcheong-dong. On top of the usual high street fashion chains, this area is littered with charming vintage shops and unique local designer boutiques to ensure that your purchases are not always mainstream.
Intriguing architecture
Beautiful, photo-worthy storefronts
This is quite an ideal place to pick a cozy cafe, sip a cup of tea and do people-watching.
Quaint little vintage store
As a ginkgo tree adorned street, the most beautiful time to visit would be late spring, summer and early autumn when the trees don't resemble skeletons without leaves.
Although this is still a shopping street, it doesn't give off a frenzied, chaotic vibe, instead it is quite relaxing to take a stroll. We dropped by Abercrombie & Fitch as well as Line Friends Store & Cafe to do a bit of retail therapy. A&F clothes were cheaper than in Singapore. Being big fans of Brown & Cony from Line messaging app, we also purchased pretty cute t-shirts from the Line store for just 10,000 Won each!
How to get there: Sinsa Station, Line 3, Exit 8
Insa-dong & Tteul Gwa Da Won (뜰과다원)
Although our initial plan was to enjoy a break at Godiva Cafe in Garosugil, we didn't go there in the end due to the 30 minutes waiting time for a table. We headed to Insa-dong around 6pm instead, as we still haven't had a traditional tea house experience. But we indulged on some street food first (hotteok & fried potato twisters) before we ambled into a Korean traditional tea house.
I just couldn't resist these fried potato twisters.
We ended up in a charming tea house called "tteul gwa da won", located on Insadong 8 gil. Branching out on both left and right side of the main road of Insadong, there are smaller alleys, with even numbered streets (gils) on one side and odd numbered ones on the other side.
This teahouse has both indoor and outdoor seating, inside a welcoming hanok.
Despite the chilly temperatures, we opted to sit in the outdoor garden with its peaceful and relaxing ambiance.
The lady who seated us was so kind to turn on the heater and passed us quilts to stay warm!
I ordered jujube tea while Mister ordered ginger tea. The generous teahouse served complimentary Korean rice cakes for free!
Cozy Interior of the teahouse
It was relatively empty as we were there during dinner time. We were pretty sure the teahouse would be full after 8pm, when people are in search of a comfortable place to relax and catch up over a cup of tea, after enjoying their dinner.
Shot of the tranquil alleyway which led to the entrance of teahouse
The extremely white signboard, on the right of the black one, bore the name of the exquisite teahouse we visited.
We had a lovely time, sharing quiet conversation over hot tea, in an elegant hanok home. Hot tea here do taste divine, especially in a chilly weather. If you are in need of a holiday from your activity-packed vacation, we recommend you to take a breather here.
How to get there: Anguk Station, Line 3, Exit 6
Address: 6-4, Insadong 8 gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Sinchon & Edae
Thanks to snacks and tea we had, we were not really hungry so we decided to buy back dinner. That way, we could eat whenever the hunger pangs strike, back in our apartment. Mister recommended a beef rib soup restaurant in Sinchon so we took bus there.
As soon as we alighted from bus, we were greeted by this scenic view of Sinchon.
Then, we got greedy and decided to also buy street snacks from Edae. I meant we would be leaving Korea in less than 36 hours and the next time we could enjoy these Korean goodies would be years away. So what the heck, just enjoy life while we could. YOLO you know :D
While waiting for bus to hop over to Edae from Sinchon
I couldn't get enough of picturesque cherry blossoms, along the streets of Korea!
Remember those tents from Korean drama? Well, you can easily spot those in every neighbourhood, especially in Sinchon & Edae!
Spicy fried chicken with rice cake and hash brown will always be my no.1 fav street snack in Korea! Mister's fav blood sausage sundae, egg bread and rice wine makgeolli made for a perfectly delectable supper. Unhealthy meal but who cares! We were on holiday :D
You know what, we overestimated our stomach capacity. After all these mouthwatering street food, we simple couldn't handle our supposed dinner of beef rib soup. We just left it in the fridge and agreed to have it for lunch after our short excursion to KINTEX for "My Love From Another Star" filming set exhibition.
Adios!
xoxo
Miss N
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