Tag Archives: South Korea

Insa-dong and the Cat Café located in Myeong-dong

Today got to check out the shops of Insa-dong with a friend and her two girls. This area is great because there are just so many vendors and shops selling Korean trinkets that you would want to send back home for family or friends.

We grabbed lunch at a Korean BBQ restaurant serving a dish called Galbi or Kalbi. Galbi or kalbi generally refers to a variety of grilled dishes that are made with marinated beef (or pork) short ribs in a ganjang-based sauce (Korean soy sauce). The meal included soon du and various side dishes (please see pictures) that you filled inside of a leaf with your meat and shove into your mouth all at once. We laughed because we have heard Americans refer to this meal as “beef-and-leaf”. Trust me this meal is delicious!

After we ate lunch we also checked out the Cat Café located in Myeong-dong on the 6th Floor. This place really surprised me. I didn’t know what to really think about the concept but knew I wanted to go check it out because of its popularity among the Koreans.

First, this place is VERY clean! There is shockingly no smell of cats what so ever. The litter boxes are hidden behind a door marked cat’s toilets, and there is no food served. When you first arrive you have to take off your shoes as you do in most places around Korea and put on the flip flops. You must sanitize your hands too.

There is no entry free for this café but you are required to order a drink for $8,000w. The drink list ranges from cold to hot beverages depending on what you are in the mood for. The green tea lattes are super cute because they have a kitty face on them. Really, if you wanted, you could stay all day and play with these cats because there doesn’t seem to be a time limit on how long you are there.

The cats are very friendly but have their own personalities. When you are there you will see some are way more active than others and some only appear when the food and treats come out (Hmmmm…. sounds like a cat we know).

I have heard there is also a dog cafe but have yet to check it out. Anyone out there prefer one over the other? I think I might be a bit bias because of our love for Beanicus.

Feel free to check out the pictures and comment!

There is a New Pho in Town

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.

Herb Island isn’t really an Island?

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).

Herb Island Directions

Herb Island Map

Herb Island flyer part 1

Herb Island Flyer Part 2

Hello Kitty Restaurant & Amusement

South Korea LOVES Hello Kitty! Of course I myself have a soft spot for the cute kitty in pink too. When I first made it to Korea I knew I had to get to one of the Hello Kitty café’s just to have the experience. Luckily two new friends also shared my same love of Hello Kitty and have two little girls of their own that they wanted to share the experience with as well.

We left a little before 9AM this morning and caught the train in on line one switching lines in Jongno-ga to line three. We took line three all the way to Madu Station, where we got off and went out exit 4 and walked a few blocks taking a left at the Kim’s Club you will see a New Core Outlet Mall on the right we continued walking until seeing the Western Dom shopping area located on the right-hand-side of the street. I made sure to take some reference points for anyone who is planning a trip to check out the area or the Hello Kitty Restaurant. Also Hello Kitty does not open until 11:00AM so you will want to plan accordingly.

Once we got to Western Dom I was pretty excited! We all were pretty impressed and thought this place was pretty awesome! Western Dom is located in Ilsan, South Korea. It’s got a mall vibe but it’s open and exposed to the outdoors at each end plus has some light traffic running through the center of it. Where do I begin? Oh, Yes! Tons and tons of places to eat, shop, play games, grab coffee, and of course visit Hello Kitty! I can’t wait to drag Larry back so he can check out the area too!
We had a bit of a struggle trying to locate the Hello Kitty elevators because it’s on floor three of the Western Dom building. I’m not sure if it was because we were so into checking out what all Western Dom had to offer or just the fact that we were looking so hard…nevertheless we ended up walking right past the doors twice. On the third attempt we saw the Hello Kitty logo on the glass doors and the small room that have three elevators inside.

YEY! We finally made it! The elevator doors opened into another room that had lockers all along the wall. You could put whatever you needed to store and take the key for free while you were inside. Be prepared that you have to remove your shoes, so bring your socks, (Hello this is South Korea) and put on red slippers that they provide you with to be able to enter.

We got there a bit after lunch-time and we were starving after the journey. We immediately decided to order food and let the girls run a bit while the food was being prepared. I opted for chicken pilaf, the two ladies I was with both got pasta carbonara. The little girls shared a plate of chicken cutlet and we had two orders of garlic bread. We had a ton of food! Everything was very good. The ladies said the bacon really stuck out in the pasta dish but that they enjoyed it. Hello Kitty provides the little girls with juice boxes and they bring out a side of pickles too. The total bill for our lunch and the cost for the two girls to play was $60,000 won so roughly $60.00 US. The plates at Hello Kitty range from $9,000 won upwards to about $13,500. They offer a desert menu that features a mud pie with a small scoop of ice- cream or a brownie paired also with a small scoop of ice-cream. Drinks are pretty typical cola, cider, coffees, teas, wine, beer, etc.

The play area is really nice for the children. There is a huge pink castle that you can go inside and play “house” in. Inside the castle Hello Kitty furnished with little pink and white tables, fake foods to play with, blocks, etc. There is a tube that runs inside the castle that the children can crawl through and it’s completely see through so you can keep an eye on your little one. There is a ball pit, slide, a motorized palm tree merry-go-round, little cars for the little ones to get inside and “drive around” in, a library, dress-up area where they have an array of dress-up clothing, a train that children can take around a small track, a baby-room if you have a teeny one that needs to take a nap or be changed, little children’s rest-rooms that feature smaller toilets and sinks, large party area for those that are throwing a party or event, and of course a gift-store area.

We had a great time and it was totally worth the trip! Feel free to check out the website (although it’s in Korean) http://www.hellokittytown.co.kr/ or you can check out the pictures included above.

As I said I cannot wait to drag Larry back to check out the area as well as hit up one of the Hello Kitty Café’s located around Seoul. I also plan on making a stop at the Hello Kitty store located nearby in Uijongbu.

Seoul’s Friendship Festival and Lotus Lantern Parade

We had an AMAZING time at the Friendship Festival at the Seoul Plaza, Mugyo-dong! The festival is just a small piece of the action going on in this bustling city in the beginning of May. We found out in doing a bit of research that the festivals going on this week are 9 days and are spread out over 8 different surrounding areas. We think it is awesome that the city does this yearly and we would have loved to have experienced every part of the festival but unfortunately we were only there for the weekend with an event packed schedule.

We lucked out with the weather because it was forecasted to rain the entire weekend we were booked to stay in Seoul. However the weather turned out to be gorgeous the two days we were there!

The festival featured booths from 60 different countries all coming together to celebrate global unity and diversity. Each booth had regional crafts, traditional foods, and native performances. We snapped some pictures to share our experience with you all.

Onto the foods…the foods were delicious! Most countries wanted you to try a sample of the foods being offered thus enticing you to buy the foods. The foods being served ranged from hot dogs at the United Kingdom stand, pastries from France, joojeh sandwiches from Iran, Mythos beer from Greece, Turkish ice-cream from Turkey, bratwurst and Krombacher from Germany, or Larry’s favorite Norway serving up your choice of smoked or grilled salmon sandwiches. Basically we shopped, took in the sights, and ate ourselves around the world that afternoon. MmmMmmmMmmm!!

If you are ever in Seoul during the month of May we highly recommend that you head downtown and see what it is all about.

After spending the entire day at the Friendship Festival we decided to check out a café by the name of Artisée and rest out feet until it was time to head up the street where the Lotus Lantern parade would take place. We snapped a few pictures of the Café really enjoyed the green tea latte, coffee, and cappuccino.

Once the sun started to go down we decided we better go and find our spots for the Lotus Lantern parade. We heard that you need to stake out prime parade real-estate…we quickly found on that this is no joke! The parade ran from Dongdaemun Gate to the street in front of Jogyesa Temple. At first we were smushed in a large group of people hardly being able to see above some other foreigner’s heads and trying to take pictures and video by holding the camera up over the crowd. Luckily we were able to worm our way up to the front where we were able to see and take pictures of everything.

One of the best things we love about Korean’s is their willingness to come up to foreigners and try to explain what is going on at a festival or what something is. We learned that the Buddhist believe the lighting of a lotus-shaped lantern symbolizes the devotion to preform good deeds and that it lights up the dark parts of the world that are filled with such agony. We also learned that the lantern-lighting practice was developed by the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties and is still preserved by public demonstrations such as this parade. This year the city really tried to incorporate bringing foreigners into the mix by offering lantern making events, tasting temple dishes, and making your own rubbings of a Buddhist shape.

The parade reminded us of a much grander scale of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in the United States. The parade featured more than 1000,000 massive, illuminated lanterns in various shapes of lotus flowers, elephants, dragons, fruits, and much more. We were so awe-struck getting a chance to take in these orbs of lighted lanterns bob and sway down the entire Jongno Street.
The lanterns are carefully hand crafted with materials such as silk or paper and represent health, longevity, or bountiful harvest. The parade lasted a little over 2 hours and 30 minutes.

After the parade the Hoehyang Hanmadang post-parade celebration kicked off. The event was held at the Jonggak Intersection and started roughly at 9:30PM until about 11:00PM. It was crazy because as soon as the parade ended they lifted up the tape holding people back from entering the Lotus lantern parade route and people rushed to grab a seat in front of the two large screen TV’s and stage. We knew there was a post-parade event scheduled but we had no idea that we were in the right location to quick grab a spot up front.

The post-parade celebration was just as fantastic as the parade! We got to experience all sorts of traditional and modern Korean dancing and singing. To end the night there was a Korean time-honored traditional circle dance known as a ‘ganggangsullae’ dance, this is where everyone holds hands to dance and sing amongst the flying flower petals (check out the pictures). We loved getting to experience this huge crowd of people all singing and holding hands dancing around in formed circles. After the dance the burning of written seowon (wishes and resolutions) were released from the lanterns of hope. This is a ceremony in which 100,000 wish lanterns are let loose into the sky.

Do You Deli Manjoo?

I have to share my newly found love here in South Korea with you all! Ready for this…. it’s called Deli Manjoo. Deli Manjoo is baked little cake (texture similar to a Twinkie?) with the imprint of a corn cob and filled with some form of custard cream (Almost like Dunkin Donuts barbarian cream filling). The name comes from the word “deli” from delicious and “manjoo” from the Korean word for “dim sum”.

Do not be fooled there in nothing corn tasting about these awesome little treats. I wondered at first because it seems like Korean’s sweets just are not as sweet as we are used to in the US. Oh, yes, not to mention it seems that Korean’s put corn in some odd dishes such as pizza or corn ice-cream.

Nevertheless the faint smell of these delectable little treats is normally creeping through the train station platforms or often found being sold by street vendors – it smells of vanilla and egg.

This delicious mini-cake is baked instantly right in front of you with an automatic patented corn shaped plated machine. In doing some research I found that this treat has made it over to the US. So if you are near a vendor or come across it on your adventures do yourself and favor and PICK SOME UP! You will not be disappointed!