That is exactly what we did tonight. If you are familiar with our past blog posts you know that we really enjoyed the food and experience at the Dino Meat Restaurant the last time we went. The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur with travel, trips, anniversaries, birthdays, and new ventures to come. To officially kick of the weekend we dined at Dino Meats with some great friends!
We were sat towards the back of the restaurant due to it being a busy Friday night. We ended up in a section that had tables reserved for a large party. We basically had the entire back part of the restaurant to ourselves until the large party came towards the end of our meal. We loved it! We had plenty of room to stretch out and just enjoy ourselves.
The large party consisted of various aged Korean’s celebrating with a lot of grilled meat and a lot of soju. We loved to watch the ladies as they all started with their hair down but as they continued to drink the soju they would pull it back into a ponytail. Each time they would take a shot of the soju their cheeks and faces would take on a rosier shade. It was incredible to watch how they effortlessly shoved the different types of meats wrapped in lettuce and other sides into their mouths. We all got a kick out of it because no matter how hard we would tried to shovel leaves into our mouths the same way it never quite worked out. Although this time I was prepared with a tide-stick just in case.
We ended up selecting some new types of meat this time. Doris and I were on a search mission for meat that we had loved the last time we were here. It was thinly sliced meat that reminded us of a cheese-steak minus the cheese from the states. There was much debate around who thought what meat it was. In the end everything was amazing and we left with our bellies very full.
After dinner everyone came back to our place to enjoy some coffee and strawberry shortcake. We ended up calling it a night before eleven because we knew we had to get up bright and early the next morning for the DMZ Tour.
This weekend it is Memorial Day Weekend in the United States, this is a time we pay tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives defending and protecting our country. Before I start the blog off, I would like to take a moment to thank the people who are currently serving or have served our country, those who lost their lives during their service, and I also want to pay tribute to the families of these truly amazing people as well. Thank you all for your selfless services that you have given us.
Ahh Memorial Day weekend, beaches, bar-b-ques and bright sunny skies! Okay, Okay! Not quite… we are in South Korea…yes, we do have beaches here and we did opt to head south for the weekend but not quite that far south.
This weekend we stayed over with some friends in Songtan. Songtan is part of Pyeongtaek and is located South of Seoul. It took us a little over 2 1/2 hours to get there but we all agreed that because we had such a great time laughing and talking that the time just flew by and did not feel like it was 2 1/2 hours.
Once we arrived at our hotel we checked in dropped off our luggage and headed for a bite to eat. We found ourselves in the Sinjang-dong shopping mall area. This area is very popular for bars, dance clubs, shops, and restaurants. It is said that approximately 230,000 tourist visit this area every year.
We have heard that many Americans like to visit this area to pick up handbags; custom-tailored clothing, shoes, mink blankets, DVD’s, etc. because the prices are incredibly low and can often be haggled even lower. Many of the Koreans that work in this location are bilingual or at least speak and understand some English. We were also greatly surprised that many of the businesses wanted US dollar and not won.
Of course we found many American staples like McDonalds, Baskin-Robbins, and Popeye Chicken, however, there were many, many small individually owned restaurants as well.
After shopping and walking all the many alleys and streets of the shopping area it was after dinner time and we thought we better make our way back to the car to head to the Italian restaurant located about 20 minutes away that Larry had recently checked out and loved.
Puffins is also located in Pyeongtaek, just outside of the US military base Camp Humphreys. Our bellies were eager with anticipation due to Larry describing how incredible his meal was there. Once we arrived at Puffins we immediately loved the style and atmosphere of the restaurant. The booths have large throw pillows and the tables have Patron oil filled candles, the lights hanging are tiffany style, the walls are covered in various shots of New York and Marylyn Monroe. It really was a 1940’s American feel throughout. However, then the sweet Korean waitress approaches the table and you snap out of the daze and realize that you are still indeed in South Korea.
We were impressed at the level of service throughout the entire meal. The waitress was quick and really spoke very good English. The menu is HUGE and features almost all American fair foods and drinks. I mean this menu covered everything from soups, salads, pasta dishes, to enchiladas and Quesadillas.
Larry was right! This food was out of this world, delizioso! We started off with an order of Bruschetta. Note that they do bring you fresh warm bread while you wait for your meal as well. We all ended up ordering the lasagna because Larry had raved about it. Larry had a Seafood Linguine Fra Diavolo both dishes were incredible and there was no Korean twist to the dish whatsoever. We cannot wait to come back and visit Puffins again!
Today I got invited with a group of friends to check out Uijeongbu and experience Budae-chigae. Okay, ha-ha have I lost you yet? Uijeongbu is a city that is located south of Dongducheon (On the train it took about 15 minutes or less to get there) and Budae-chigae is a Korean spicy stew that the area is famous for.
Budae-chigae, (pronounced boo-day chee-gay) can be translated into army or military stew. This stew is typically cooked right at your table in a large pan that has the resemblance to a large hubcap (please see the pictures). This stew is shared among people and in this case we ordered three orders and still had leftovers when everything was said and done. I was told if you showed up alone and tried to order this stew they would refuse to serve you because it’s a dish meant to be shared. I’m not sure if anyone else out there finds this comical when doing a comparison to the US or not… when would a US business ever turn away a paying customer??
Traditionally this soup is spicy in taste because it is made with red pepper paste much like other traditional Korean dishes. However, we ordered two of the dishes to be toned down due to some of children and ladies preferring it that way. I personally had to try both out to see what one I favored. My choice would definitely be the traditional Korean spicy way…but I enjoy spicy foods. I wasn’t too sure to expect with the Spam. Spam really isn’t a meat of choice where I grew up, however, the spam in this soup never tasted so good!
Some of the ladies in the group showed us the restaurant of the women who first cooked up Budae-chigae. We didn’t eat there because it was much smaller than the other place that we were going to. At first we were a bit concerned because we had such a large group and it was right at lunch time. When we got to the restaurant we almost turned around because the entire first floor was packed. Two ladies came running out and called for us to come back in that we could go upstairs and the kids could run around. We were thrilled! The waitress was very prompt and threw in extra rice cakes for the road.
The history of the Budae-chigae dish is really what I found to be the most interesting. During the Korean War, the Korean soldiers did not have much to eat other than kimchi, rice and some other veggies. Meat was a rarity because of how scarce it was. Korean soldiers known as KATUSA’S (Korean Augmentation To the United States Army) found meats such as hot dogs and spam from the American soldiers and would make a meat stew out of it with the other things they had like them kimchi, veggies, and noodles.
Now how is Budae-chigae relevant to the Uijeongbu area? Uijeongbu is known as the “birthplace” of this stew because of its location during the Korean War. Today Uijongbu is home to Camp Red Cloud where the US second Infantry Division is located. When walking the streets of this town you can find tons and tons of restaurants dedicated to serving up this spicy piping hot dish.
Overall we had an awesome day! Made some more great new friends, got to try another traditional Korean dish, and got to sight see. It will be exciting to go back and explore some more!
Feel free to check out the restaurant’s Website: http://www.boyoung1129.co.kr/
Feel free to look at our pictures from Ali Baba an Indian Restaurant located in Dongducheon. The restaurant sits off the main path near the second market and old train station downtown. We highly recommend checking this place out if you want to try or crave something different.
This place is FANTASTIC and authentic Indian food! We were surprised that there wasn’t any Korean twist that typically is found on dishes that are not Korean here. We are so pleased that some friends invited us with them to try it this place out. We will be talking about the Naan for weeks!!
I met one of the sweetest ladies on the Cherry Blossom Trip and we have kept in touch ever since. Today she asked if I wanted to go for lunch with her and her sweet baby twins (One boy and one girl) to a new Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Bien, within walking distance located near both of our places. I was super excited because I have enjoyed getting to know her and her family and we have such a good time when we are together!
Right off the bat we took notice and thought it was worth mentioning that this place is super-super kid friendly! They have high-chairs, booster seats, even a changing room dedicated to children with extra supplies like diapers and such for those sometimes unavoidable accidents. Honestly, from the outside of the restaurant and the cool trendy vibe we got once inside we never really would have thought this place was this kid friendly!
The waiter was incredibly helpful with setting up the two highchairs, helping wheel the buggy out of the way, and getting our table started with hot tea and water.
The menu has pictures of each dish as well as Korean and English translations. The menu focuses on Vietnamese Pho (of course). The dish is pronounced “fuh” and consists of noodles made from rice and is often served with Vietnamese basil, lime, bean sprouts that are added to the soup by the diner. The soup uses fresh, beef bones, whole sides of brisket and flank, traditional herbs, aromatic vegetables and skinless chicken breasts to develop a very savory broth.
Once we ordered the waiter came by with Sprouts, Jalapeños, onions, and radishes for the Pho dishes. He pointed out and explained that the two sauces were for the steamed red bean buns that we ordered as appetizers.
Mary and I both enjoyed our Pho dishes. Mary ordered the seafood pho and I had the brisket pho. We decided to try Tau Sar Bao (Red Bean Steamed Buns) as an appetizer that was really different but overall tasty.
Most of the pho dishes on the menu ranged from $7,000w on up but note they are a large portion the both of us left much of the broth and some of the steamed buns.
Overall I feel this place deserves 5 out of 5 on everything from the food to the service. We both said we really think this place will make it here!
Please feel free to check out the pictures and if you get a chance to check the place out feel free to let us know what you thought.
A friend and I decided to take a walk and grab lunch along the way. We ended up stopping in a few places but changing our minds until we saw the Han Deli sign on the second floor of a building location in New City. The restaurant is located conveniently close to the Dongducheon- Jihaeng train station.
Woot-woot! A deli, or so we thought… ha-ha! There really isn’t anything deli-like about this place except for the name and the decor. There are no cold-cuts, veggies, or salads awaiting you to create the perfect sandwich. No, what the “deli” does feature on the menu is about a half-dozen spaghetti dishes, almost a full page of cutlets, all sorts of chicken in different sauces, and of course seafood. Don’t worry the menu features nice pictures of each dish as well as Korean and English translation.
First you will be given the menu when entering the restaurant and when you decide what you are having you go to the counter place your order and pay. Once the food is ready the staff will bring the food to your table. The restaurant is more westernized with scenes from New York and had tall tables and chairs. The young girl taking the oders spoke broken english but really made an effort to try to communicate everything about the order with us.
The prices are fantastic! We had the fish cutlet for $5,600w and the chicken ball Doria for $5,900w. This fish came with radishes, rice, and two decent sized pieces of breaded fish. Much to our surprise the fish was really fresh and really tasty. The chicken ball Doria was just as tasty and had balls of breaded chicken, some sort of rice with a sauce that reminded you of marinara, and cheese melted on top.
We both agreed we would eat here again and try something new. We were told the menu changes seasonally so what we enjoyed this time might be gone next time depending on when we get back there again.
The website is http://www.hansdeli.com . I apologize in advance the pictures are from my iphone.
We have to tell you about our dinner at Wawoori located in the New City area, Dongducheon, jihaengdong 684-4, South Korea. This place was DELISH!
We were told a good rule of thumb to follow here in Korea is if we are unsure of how the food is at a Korean restaurant look to see how busy they are around dinner time. It was almost 20:00 and this place is packed.
As soon as we hit the door to the restaurant we could smell all the good things we were about to order up. We were quickly greeted and invited into the restaurant and led to our seats by our waitress. We took notice that the restaurant featured traditional Korean style dining on the floor off to the right through an archway, as well as a section with large tables and chairs directly when you enter the restaurant.
The menu was easy to navigate because it features both pictures of the dish as well as the Korean and English version of what it is. Our waitress was so sweet! She spoke broken English but was so helpful and kept checking to see how we were doing with our grill and drinks and food.
Larry and I came for the duck and that is what we decided to order. We chose a platter that cost about $35,000w but really could have fed four people. The platter consisted of duck, pork belly (reminded me of juicy thick bacon), ribs, and some very good sausage, and a delicious sweet potato. The platter also comes with sides of kimchi, Jalapeños, onions, a Korean version of potatoes/pasta salad, and another side that we were not completely sure of.
Larry and I were both so glad that we walked to the restaurant because we ate so much food! Although, Mmmm… now just thinking about how amazingly juicy and tender everything was at this very second makes my mouth water! We will definitely be making a few trips back to get our duck-fix.
Please feel free to check out our pictures and comment. The restaurant is a chain and has a website however, it is in Korean www.wawoori.com.
On our walk back home we stopped by 7gram a coffee shop. Larry ordered his usual and I tried out a sweet potato pumpkin latte. My latte was actually very good! I think this might become my regular drink of choice at 7gram.
It’s Friday night, Hmmm what to do? What to do? Why not go check out Herb Island? That is exactly what we did! Herb Island located in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do. South Korea.
Herb Island is only a few miles north of Camp Casey the Army military base in Dongducheon. It’s not actually an “island” so do not be fooled by looking for an actual island. However, there are so many sights, tastes, and aromas to take in when you visit this peaceful place.
Here are basic directions if you are traveling by car like we did- In Uijongbu, take road 3 that leads to Dongduchon. After driving past Dongduchon, keep going until you see road 344. Seeing road 344 that goes to Chosongri, turn right and go straight until you see Samjongri Elementary School. Herb Island is behind the school.
When you make it to Herb Island you will be greeted by a worker at the bottom of the hill where you will have to pay a very small entry free. Then prepare yourself for a short steep uphill drive to get to the parking lot. Woo-Hoo! You have now made it to Herb Island!
When we first arrived we immediately went inside the greenhouses. Here we loved following the long paths through each twist and turn and smelling and taking in all the flower and plants had to offer. This is a great area to take all sorts of pictures.
Next we headed into our first shop. This shop had all sorts of little trinkets and crafts. We started to take a picture but we were quickly told that we were not to do so. Oops. We found this place to be neat because they were selling handmade candles, and furniture pieces to fill a dollhouse.
After checking out the first shop we walked down a hill made of all uneven stepping rocks to where they had a small animal petting farm.
After checking out the animals we headed over to the stage area that is surrounded by a waterway where you can take little swan boats or get inside of a giant plastic bubble and run on top of the water. This looked hilarious. Larry tried to convince me to try it out, but I wasn’t having any of that craziness. All I could picture was a hamster on a wheel like trying to get somewhere fast but not being successful.
We then found ourselves in front of the herb-island museum. This place was pretty neat! We walked around a bit checking out the history and such. We both fell in love with some of the photos that were handmade with herbs grown on the site to form a large picture. The price was a bit steep hah so we stuck to just admiring them for the time being.
After the Herb island museum we followed the path that leads us up to the bakery. Honestly, I could smell this place when we first pulled in the lot with my super nose. I knew we were definitely stopping in this place! We wanted to buy everything because everything they had smelled and tasted so delicious. We ended up with bread that had cranberries and a beautiful topping on it. It’s sinful but you know us…
We were both really ready to eat dinner after the trip inside of the bakery. We grabbed dinner at a sit down restaurant located within Herb Island called the aroma-eating village. Everything featured on the menu is served with herbs. Even the water is refreshing with hints of lemon balm, rosemary, and a teeny bit of sugar.
We both ordered bibimbap, as we explained in previous blog entries as a traditional Korean dish typically with rice and vegetables. This bibimbap is a special blend of seven herbs and has a sauce on the side that is made from 16 others. It’s so neat you just mix it all together adding however much you want of the sauce and rice and eat it. We took a few pictures of the dish so you could see what it looks like. The dish is served with sides of kimchi and a warm broth.
Herb Island also has a library, an aromatherapy room, and another more formal restaurant on site. Oh and I can’t forget about Larry’s favorite – The full body massage chairs. He raved about them the last time he went to Herb Island.
If you are ever in the area or want to get out of the city and take in the mountains and fresh sents of herbs we suggest that you check this place out! Friday night was a perfect time to visit as we are told that weekend days such as Saturday and Sunday are packed.
Please feel free to check out our pictures or the Herb Island Official website: http://www.herbisland.net.
We scanned the below items in from a flyer obtained at Herb Island (Sorry it’s not the best quality).
Of course we had to check out Itaewon while we were spending our weekend in Seoul. Yes, yes, we know that Itaewon is a major tourist section of the city catering directly to foreigners. We do respect this section of the city for that purpose and know that it is not a true representation of Korea. However it was close to our hotel and we wanted to go see what it was really all about.
Itaewon’s shopping area is 1.4 km in length, it stretches from the U.S. 8th Army Base eastwards towards Hannam-dong and has over 1,000 different little stores. The area is known for its night life scene with many bars and nightclubs to choose from. We noticed there are many street vendors selling shirts, jackets, and caps, scarfs, food, etc. trying to capture the late night buyer’s fancy.
While in Itaewon we checked out a few Irish pubs, grabbed a bite to eat, and strolled along the main street as well as some tucked away alleys, checked out various street vendors and little shops. We snapped a few pictures of the places that we were near or checked out and though we would share with all of you.
First stop Buddha’s Belly for dinner. It was Friday night and we were starving! We started out trying to find a restaurant called the Maple Leaf restaurant that was said to serve traditional Korean food (we are sure more Americanized) but after walking around and around for 20 minutes we figured it must have went out of business. Our bellies finally did the talking and screamed feed me when we were standing out in front of a place called Buddha’s Belly. Buddha’s Belly is located just above Ushmania restaurant (2nd floor) 673 Itaewon 2 Dong, Seoul, Korea; it’s located in the Hamilton Hotel Alley. In this area you can also find Indian, Italian, Korean, American, French, Greek and other nice ethnic foods.
The menu is Thai and the chef is actually from Thailand. We still noted a bit of Korean flair in the dishes we ordered but were really impressed with the overall meal.
We didn’t capture any pictures to share as the atmosphere consists of a smaller private sized dimly lit room. The décor had a sexy-sleek appeal to it. The entrees are rather reasonably priced and cost on average 12,000-18,000 won. The service was really speedy and we enjoyed that because we were both starving!
We started off with some chicken skewers that had a peanut dipping sauce. We both ordered dishes of Pad-See-Ew and a glass of wine. Each dish at Buddha’s Belly Thai restaurant is accompanied by pots of wet and dry hot chilies and Thai fish sauce so you can season your food to taste.
Overall we both agreed that we would go back to this place if we had to.
After dinner we went grabbed a coffee at Paris Baguette (The Korean comparison to Starbucks – well if Starbucks served up tons of delicious baked goods) due to the fact that Buddha’s Belly doesn’t serve coffee on the menu. We then continued to Stoll the alley’s and found ourselves in front of the Wolfhound Irish Pub.
The Wolfhound Irish Pub is located in another small alley down from the Gecko’s Terrace. Sorry bloggers we don’t have the address to provide on this one. We will continue to research for a more direct location. We were able to capture a few pictures of the place for others reference.
We enjoyed the Irish Pub atmosphere. It didn’t feel like we were still in South Korea while inside. The crowd consisted of military, teachers, and tourist in the area. The bar has two levels and features a selection of draft beer as well as mixed drinks and foods.
We enjoyed ourselves, had some drinks and decided to continue checking out what else Itaewon had to offer.
We found ourselves at Baby Guinness and Sam Ryan’s Sports Bar and a hot dog vendor (mmmmm…that tasted more like Kielbasa) before we decided to call it a night.
The next day we headed to Gyeongbok Palace. The palace was one of the first places that Larry got to check out when he first moved to Korea. He was really eager to share the experience with me so we thought with the beautiful weather this weekend we should take a tour and snap some pictures along the way. The address to go see the Palace for yourself is Seoul-si Jongno-gu Sejong-ro 1-1.
The term “Gyeongbokgung” means palace greatly blessed by Heaven. We took an English speaking tour lead by a Korean college student. We captured the beginning intro of the tour for you to try to hear some of the facts she provided us with.
The palace was actually constructed in 1395, but was destroyed in the 1500’s during the Japanese invasion. However in the late 1800’s into the 1900’s the palace was completely restored. We couldn’t even imagine living here as a King and Queen the grounds are absolutely massive! Consisting of more than 300 buildings, 6000 rooms, and more than 4 million square feet and sits in one of the busiest sections of Seoul.
When we arrived to Gyeongbok Palace we entered in the gate (Kwangha-mun) protecting the palace from Seoul. We were able to get a picture with the guards that stand there.
Another interesting fact that we learned was that Sejong the Great was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty, and ruled from 1418 – 1450 during this time he created the 28 letter system of the Korean Hangul alphabet. Today however the Korean alphabet consists of 24 letters.
Overall we had an amazing time with a very good tour of the palace.
After walking the palace we decided to needed to hail a cab and head to N Seoul Tower. N Seoul Tower is also known as Namsan Tower because it’s located on Namsan Mountain at Seoul-si Yongsan-gu Yongsandong 2-ga San 1-3. Private automobiles have been stopped from entering the mountain since the year 2005 so that they could more easily preserve the area. You really have three ways to get up to the tower and each does involve some form of walking. One, take a cab or bus but note that you can only go up so far with the cab or bus and then you will get dropped off and have to walk up a pretty steep paved road. Two, take the cable car up from the bottom of the mountain. Please note you will have to climb steps up from the cable car drop off point to get to the tower. Whatever you decide we think it’s worth it while you are visiting or living in Seoul.
N Seoul Tower stands 237 meters high, standing atop 243-meter Mt Namsan. It was remodeled in 2005, and has a rotating Western-style restaurant on top that we plan to possibly check out at night next time we visit.
Below is what each floor consists of:
1st Floor
– Olive Young (supermarket / convenience store)
– Coffee Shop
– Eatery with indoor and outdoor seating
– Food Court
– Gift Shop
– Ticket Counter
2nd Floor
– Viewing Platform
– Restaurant (relatively inexpensive with great view)
Basement
– Elevator Entrance
– Tous Les Jour (bakery)
– Ticket Counter
– Exhibition Area
Observatory Gallery
(360m altitude, reached by express elevator)
1/F : Hancook Restaurant
2/F : Sky Cafe
3/F : Observatory platform
4/F : Observatory platform
5/F : N Grill by Vips (revolving restaurant)
Tickets to get inside of Seoul tower observatory for two adults cost us 14,000 won.
We snapped pictures of the locks and tiles at N Seoul Tower. The locks are “Locks of love” and can be found on the fence outside of the tower. They symbolize lovers’ promise that they will never separate. The message tiles of love inside are something you could purchase to write a little love note on and then it is displayed on a wall within the tower.
The last day we were there we checked out Myeongdong still located within seoul for some shopping.
Myungdong is a selection of shops, like Zara, UniQlo, Forever21, ABC Mart but also features all sorts of street vendors selling shoes, scarfs, jewelry, food, etc.
We enjoyed some green tea ice cream and found a vendor who sells King’s Beard Candy. We were able to quick capture the vendor making the candy and bought some to try after we had heard great things about it. Final consensus….we LOVED it!
We can only describe King’s beard candy as a small fuzzy white sweet treat with a chewy inside and a crispy outer layer that just melts in your mouth. It’s so fun to watch the vendor create 16.000 honey strings in two minutes! They act as they are doing it too counting in English as well as Korean. Next time we see this vendor we will try to capture better video because it is really entertaining!
The last night we were there we decided to go back to Itaewon and check out Zelen’s for dinner.Zelen’s is a Bulgarian restaurant owned and operated by Bulgarians. The location yet another strange place – the same alley we were in when at Buddha’s Belly. It’s the alley right behind the Hamilton Hotel. The address is the second floor, 116-14 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan District.
Talk about amazing food! We had no idea this place was going to be this fantastic! Get ready…you know we are going to rave about it in our blog now. In the land of red pepper paste and kimchi it’s nice to experience something different once and awhile.
Once you take the steps up to Zelen’s from the alley you open the door into the second floor restaurant where you quickly see a garden-esque room that is candlelit and features an open kitchen where you can see the chefs preparing the delish dishes.
The menu is quite extensive and it’s great because the meals are detailed and named in both English and Korean. We had a chance to grab the owner Mikhal Ashminov and ask him what he recommended. We were so pleased that we had done so because he turned our decisions to the stuffed peppers that were amazing.
We ordered stuffed mushrooms and the stuffed peppers for appetizers to our meals. (You can view all of our meal and pictures of the restaurant within this blog)
Larry’s main course was pork tenderloin stuffed with smoked Gouda, green onions, bacon and tangy pickles. The dish was plenty big and we think next time we will order this dish and another and split it up to try something new.
Sarah’s main course was the vegetarian moussaka. The dish was oven-baked layers of vegetables and cheese topped with homemade yogurt. The dish really reminded us of almost a shepherd’s pie but meatless. The dish was served alongside a small rustic salad, for 14,000 won.
We were so pleased with both of our dishes that we both agreed that we will be taking friends back there for dinner.
After we ate dinner at Zelen’s we headed to the Cheonggyecheon River Walk . We learned that this river walk is fairly new to the city. It was constructed in 2005 where previously it was just concrete roadways running through the center of Seoul. The address for the river walk is, 31, Taepyeongno 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
One word for this place…calming! Once you are on the river walk path you slowly forget that you are located in the center of a huge bustling city. The walk features small waterfalls, various colors of lighting, stepping stones to cross from one side of the walk to the other, and amply amounts of greenery. We loved that we got to check this place out at night because the last time Larry visited he said it was during the day and people were everywhere!
We met three young Korean adults that were trying to snap a picture together but were not achieving the shot they wanted. We took notice of this and asked if they wanted us to get a shot of them so that they could all be in the picture together. They graciously accepted and kept thanking us! We asked if they would mind returning the favor so that we could also have a shot of the two of us. Of course they replied they were glad to do so. (Feel free to check out our various pictures of experiencing the Cheonggyecheon River Walk).
Once we got back home we looked through all the pictures we snapped and kept talking about how much fun we had on our weekend adventures.
If anyone else has suggestions on places to see or eat at please feel free to share with us!
Today I was invited to go to Time Square Mall located in Seoul’s Youngdeungpo neighborhood. It was the first time I have used the train in South Korea. Luckily I met a wonderful sweet friend from church that showed me where to go once inside the train station, and where to purchase and load my T-Money (a rechargeable “smart” card for paying public transportation fares in cabs, trains, and busses instead of having to use money or credit cards).
The trip was about an hour and a half and all we did was stay on line 1 until reaching the Yeongdeungpo Station that connects an underground shopping market to the mall. It’s wonderful because once we got on the train in Dongducheon we never had to go back outside until we arrived back in Dongducheon to get back off the train.
The Time Square Mall features five main level shopping floors as well as one basement level with an E-Mart and a few restaurants. I was super excited to see that there is such a variety of stores available all within the mall. Plus if you are longing for something sweet from back home without a Korean influence there is, Annie Annes Pretzels, Smoothie King, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, Quiznos, and Dunkin Doughnuts this place has it all!
For lunch we ate at a mexican chain restaurant called On The Border- Pretty delish! The chips and salsa is awesome and is endless!
Some other things I pulled from the brochure that the mall offers:
* Shinsegae department store: Louis Vuitton, BVLGARI, Cartier, Gucci and other luxury goods and high-end local products
* CGV: 12 multiplex movie theaters, STARIUM with the world’s largest screen, multiple performance centers and Beerhouse
* Kyobo Bookstore: 4,000 ㎡ (Don’t fear – they feature an english section)
* Courtyard by Marriott Hotel
* AMORIS, Wedding Hall
* E-Mart, Kolonsporex, I Like Dalki, Modern House
* Restaurants: Hanilgwan (70 year-old bulgogi restaurant), Jien (Japanese Restuarant), Star China (Traditional Chinese Restaurant)
What’s the verdict? I had a blast! Loved getting to meet new people, and cannot wait to take Larry back to check it out!
InstagramPlease check your feed, the data was entered incorrectly.
