It was finally time to leave Seoul after 5 good days of enjoying this beautiful place. Time to head back to Hong Kong and eat more. hahaha. It only takes 3 hours to get to Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific offers you one meal and some beverage service. My flight was around 5pm.
I don’t know the model of this plane, but the plane did look a bit old and was definitely different from the plane that I arrived in Korea on.
They provided us a pack of peanuts and a beverage of our choice. I saved the pack of peanuts for my little sister since I know she loves plane snacks.
The meal was also crappier compared to the other meal I had with Cathay Pacific. I was waiting for the ice cream to arrive, but it never did. We got our choice on entree, fruit, bread and another beverage.
I got the chicken with rice. It was ok, but not my favorite airplane meal. There really wasn’t anything special about this particular meal.
I guess with airplane food, you can’t expect what you’ll get. How was your experience with Cathay Pacific in terms of food?
My travel agent in Hong Kong did a horrible job at finding me a decent place to stay in Korea. The hotel that they wanted to book me in looked really rundown and was way overpriced for what it looked like. I decided to find my own accommodations and Trip Advisor suggested Tria Hotel for a nice budget hotel in the Gangnam area. It was under 100,000 won per night.
Since I was traveling on my own, I needed to find a nice and safe hotel that was affordable.
If you are wondering, I didn’t see anything related to the Gangnam Style song by PSY. I actually didn’t hear about this song till weeks after I came back home. (It’s a pretty good song FYI)
A lot of people complained about how the streets are filled with “sexy” hotels in the area. They aren’t wrong, there are a few around, but no one really bothers you during the day or night. There are lots of restaurants in the area, so it’s convenient if you want a snack or a meal.
Since I did book very last-minute, there was only a double bed room available.
The bathroom is very weird in my opinion. The wall and doors are frosted so you can kinda see into the bathroom. I was so glad I wasn’t travelling with anyone because this would be awkward seeing someones silhouette in the washroom.
They provide you with a TV and computer, but I didn’t use them since I brought my own laptop. There is wifi access in the room and there is no password to it. Just connect to the network with your room number.
They provide you with complementary combs, hair product, shower caps, hair ties, and mosquito repellant.
They also have toothbrush, toothpaste, a razor, and shaving cream. If you forget anything, they have you covered.
They also have shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
They have a kettle for you to boil hot water for tea and coffee.
There was also a fridge in the closet. When I opened it, there were 2 bottle of water, a can of orange juice and a can of coffee. It was complementary!
I took all the coffee, juice, tea, and bottle of water. I hid them all in my suitcase so the cleaning ladies would replenish my fridge. It was complementary, so might as well take it all right?
If you need anything else like additional drinks or meals, they have a menu that you can order from their cafe. Do keep in mind, you do get complementary breakfasts every morning in their cafe. Unfortunately, I never went for the breakfasts since I wanted to go out for food.
On the last day, they have breakfast delivered up to the room. They will call you once you are back and they ask you for a time you want the food to be delivered. It was a sandwich and a coffee.
The coffee was drip coffee and you can add your own sugar and cream.
The sandwich is really big and it has a lot of vegetables, egg, chicken, and cheese. It was a decent sandwich. I think it tasted better because it was breakfast in bed. It was a lovely touch!
Travel Tips
Buy a T-Pass from the convenience store once you get out of the arrival gates. Having it will save a lot of time and effort of figuring out how to pay for transit. Just load it up and tap it everytime you get on the buses or subway. I would suggest taking the 6703KAL Limo Bus from Incheon Airport since it takes over an hour to arrive at the hotel.
It costs 14,000 won and it saves the trouble of overpaying for a taxi or switching subway lines. You can also take a nice long nap! The bus is air conditioned and the seats are confortable.
Get off at Renaissance Hotel and walk a few blocks. It’s not very far.
After getting off the plane, if you need a cell phone. The Incheon Airport has a few companies offering rental cellphones. I chose S-Roaming since it was one of the cheaper option. Plus, you get 50% off when you reserve a day before. You can rent smartphones or regular phones. I chose the smartphone since I wanted data to look at maps and use travel apps. It was a fair price and comes in VERY handy.
Final Thoughts
Tria Hotel was a nice hotel to stay at especially when having a last minute booking. The staff was very helpful and could help me store my luggages since my planes came at strange times. There are other cheaper options around town, but compared to other hotels, this is a good option. It’s nice looking, clean, and has a lot of amenities.
The location is far from most tourist locations, but the subway is very convenient and the green line does go to most tourist places, so not a lot of transferring.
Address:
677-11 Yeoksam 1(il)-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul,
South Korea
I had a day to check out Myeong-Dong and Namdaemun Market to get some shopping done and eat some yummy street food. After going to these 2 places, I just kept coming back to buy more stuff.
Namdaemun is a traditional market close to the Great South Gate. I wanted to see the gate but unfortunately it was under restoration so I wasn’t able to get a look at it. Nonetheless, Namdaemun market was still awesome since it’s the oldest and largest market in Korea. It dates back all the way to 1414, so it definitely has a lot of history.
You can only access the area of the area by walking as the street isn’t built to accommodate cars. It’s open rain or shine and will still attract a crowd of people. There are lots to see and lots to buy. I was able to haggle for some traditional Korean folk masks.
There are lots of streets in Namdaemun Market, so be sure to have a map because I got lost and ended up somewhere else.
Besides shopping, they are known for the abundance of street food. They have some very creative items like sausages wrapped in fried fish paste.
You can even find Sikhye, a rice beverage for 1,000 won, which is equivalent to $1 CDN.
There is also freshly made dumplings too. This particular stand was very famous because a lot of notable celebrities have visited, plus it’s been showcased on several TV shows.
I also saw some outdoor BBQ stands. You can pick whatever items you want to put into your pot.
A few blocks away is Myeong-Dong, a popular shopping district with affordable retail stores like adidas, Forever 21, Uniqlo, and several cosmetic stores. The area dates back all the way to the Joseon Dynasty as a residential area, but overtime, it became a major commercial and financial district.
I was told by a few friend to do all my shopping here. There were not wrong at all! I bought a lot of cheap face masks, a ton of earrings, clothes, and a few souvenirs.
They also have street food too. The one place I tried was a stand selling twirly fried potatoes. In Vancouver, we have something similar, but we call it hurricane potatoes because of the shape.
The potato is deep-fried and sprinkled with cheese. I actually didn’t like the amount of flavouring they put into it. It was too cheesy for my liking.
It was a very very long snack. It was so long that I could only take a vertical picture of it. I was kinda afraid I would accidentally stab someone in the face with this, so I stood on the side of the street eating this.
There were lots of other types of street food around, but I wasn’t feeling in the mood for a lot of food.
If you are looking for good cheap shopping and street food, definitely check out these 2 areas in Seoul – Namdaemun Market and Myeong-dong!
Sanchon or “Mountain Village” is one of the most famous restaurants that specialize in traditional vegetarian food served in Buddhist temples. The food is made from organic vegetables fresh from the mountainside. If you are tired of all the fried and grilled food in Seoul, this is definitely a great place to go to.
The location was a few restaurants away from my hotel – Tria Hotel. I came to dine here during lunch with M’s relatives.
The restaurant is located on the second level and instead of sitting on chairs, you sit on the floor. For those who are cannot cross their legs or not accustomed to sitting on the floor, you may feel uncomfortable dining here.
We ordered a set meal and a bunch of banchan arrives at the table. There are over 10 small dishes that arrive at the table made out of different vegetables. Even though these portions are small, it was a lot of food! Each dish had its own unique taste. Some spicy and some non-spicy.
Next, they gave us a plate with pork, perilla leaves and some other vegetable. We ate these together and it was so good!
There was even kimchi stew and a side of tofu that came along with it. There was a lot of food and it just kept coming.
There was also tofu soup.
Then there was more soup and then rice. By this point, we were SO FULL. I haven’t eaten this much in a long time. The meal was my favorite in Korea. It was a tad pricey than other meals in Korea, but it is so worth it to try this experience. I haven’t had this type of dining experience before and I loved it!
After the lunch we headed on up to Seoul Tower to check out the view of Seoul. It’s just amazing how large the city really is. We were fortunate that the monsoon storm disappeared so we were able to see most of the city clearly.
On one of the windows it shows how far away from home I really was. 7,174.20km to be exact.
Overall, this day was pretty awesome. I had incredible food at Sanchon and got a great view of Seoul from Seoul Tower.
We Rate Sanchon:
Address:
677-11 Yeoksam 1(il)-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
I asked a friend where I should eat in Korea and she suggested Mad For Garlic. They have locations all over Korea as well as Singapore. They are an Italian restaurant that specializes in wine and garlic. It’s one of Korea’s most famous chain restaurants for the food and atmosphere.
The location I went to is located between Yeoksam and Gangnam station. The entrance is easy to miss as the whole restaurant is downstairs.
The inside has a very nice atmosphere with lots of wine bottles and wine glasses everywhere. I came here for lunch and the place filled up quickly. I am pretty sure they are quite busy during dinner times too.
Margarita Pizza has fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil. I had a craving for pizza when I saw it on the menu.
Theres a blob of cheese and a basil leaf on every slice. It was a simple pizza but it was really really good.
The pizza was thin and crunchy as well. Koreans sure know how to make good pizza.
They also give you some pickles on the side.
The pizza at Mad for Garlic was really good. Since it was just me, I didn’t get a chance to try any of the pasta or the garlic items on the menu. I’ll definitely be back in the future.
Words of Wisdom:
Delicious pizza and pasta
Good service
Can get busy during peak hours
Can be expensive compared to other food in Korea
We Rate Made For Garlic:
Address:
648-19, Yeoksam Dong, Gangnam Gu
Seoul, South Korea
Kona Beans was the closest coffee shop to my hotel. On my last day in Seoul, I decided to chill here before my bus arrived to take me to the airport. It has 2 level, upstairs is smoking and downstairs is non-smoking. It’s great that they give people this option.
Kona Beans is a cafe that originated from Hawaii. There are several franchise locations all over Seoul.
When ordering, you get the electronic beeper to indicate when your order is ready for pick up!
It’s really relaxing inside and you can do your work and have a drink. Its a good place to work since wifi is available.
Kiwi smoothie tasted alright. I don’t know why I didn’t order a coffee at a coffee shop, but I guess I felt like juice.
If I do come back next time, I will definitely order coffee instead. Nonetheless, it’s a nice cafe.
Words of Wisdom:
Another location at 42 Apgujeongro-gil is opened by a few of the mothers of the Super Juniors group
I’ve been told the KFC in Asia is crazy good because of the quality of chickens. I heard KFC was even better in Korea, I really couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat something “finger lickin good”. I had a good amount of time before I had to head to my gate to take the plane back to Hong Kong.
I ordered a 2 piece meal with a coke. I had the option to have it original or spicy. Of course I had it spicy since I was in Korea.
I could not put the chicken down! It was so good! It was very crispy on the outside and the meat was very moist. It wasn’t too spicy, but it did have the right amount of kick to it. YUM! I was very proud to be lickin my fingers at the end.
Even Colonel Sanders want you to lick his fingers. This statue looks a bit awkward, perhaps someone stole his box of chicken.
Address:
Various locations in South Korea, and all over the world
After going to Seoul Tower, we decided to relax at Seoul Station to wait for a train to arrive. M’s Mom asked me “do you like bread”? I thought this was a strange question, but I said I enjoy pastries. She told me Paris Croissant has the best blueberry tart she’s ever had. Whenever she has the change to come to Seoul, she buys a bunch of blueberry tarts to bring back home.
Paris Croissant was created in 1986 and creates classic French bread and pastries. They also own Paris Baguette.
The interior of this location has seats available for customers to sit down. The bread products are located along the side and at the front counter.
They have a lot of pretty cakes and tarts! Very beautiful!
They have a large variety of buns! They aren’t all traditional french pastries, but they have a lot of Korean type of pastry items. The prices are a bit expensive compared to smaller bakeries.
M’s mom clearly bought a lot. Red bean sesame balls, blueberry tarts and pecan pie.
She bought me two items to try – the blueberry tart and the red bean sesame ball.
The Red Bean Sesame Ball was very delicious, there was a lot of red bean paste in the center and wasn’t too sweet. So goo!
The blueberry tart was also delicious. I’ve never had anything like it. There were lots of blueberries inside, so every bite has a berry.
Overall, this place has great items, but it a tad expensive. I would definitely go back to Korea to try more of their items.
I was running around the airport at Seoul International Airport in Incheon and M kept telling me I had to try the milk bread at Paris Baguette.
Paris Baguette has over 2,900 stores across Korea and with several locations around the world. The bakery was founded in the 1950s as a small family business, but grew over the decades to become what it is today. They specialize in Korean and Japanese-style breads.
The Milk Bread is one of their most popular item and it’s made of flour, butter, sugar, salt, water, milk, egg, and yeast. I grabbed a loaf of it and hand carried it back to Hong Kong. My mom kept telling me to just stuff it into a bag, but I took a lot of care into making sure it didn’t get squished. After the 3 hr flight and a long bus ride, the Milk bread made it safely on our dining table.
The bread does taste a little bit different, but it’s very delicious. I can’t put my finger on why it was good, but I would definitely get some more. It’s good by itself or toasted. My little sister love it so much that she ate half the bag.
Address:
Various locations in South Korea, and all over the world
I was strolling through the international departures of Seoul International Airport before my flight back to Hong Kong and I stumbled upon a Starbucks! I noticed they were promoting 2 of their new drinks -Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino and the Soy Green Tea Frappuccino. Since I had 20 minutes left till departure, I thought I might as well kill time trying something new.
These drinks are also available in Hong Kong as well. I am not exactly sure about other Asian countries.
Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino was pretty good. The beans were not too sweet and balanced nicely with the green tea. I usually dislike red beans, but the way they cooked the beans were very firm and enjoyable. I would definitely order this again.
Even though they don’t sell these in Vancouver, Canada. You can still get something similar from a few local bubble tea cafes in Richmond. If you do encounter this drink on your travel, definitely give it a try!
I was strolling through my last day of Korea finding a McDonalds to try to find a Kimchi Burger or something really cool and different than in North America. I wandered off into the Gangnam area and I found so many shops and restaurants.
Some items were similar to wat you would find in North America, but I had my eye on the Bulgogi Burger. They even have calories too so you know how much you are consuming. I also noticed they don’t sell fish!
It even has its own special wrapper! I laughed when I saw ” A sauce sensation”.
Inside you have the pork patty with the bulgogi marinade. It also has lettuce and mayo inside. The marinade made this burger sticky to eat if you aren’t careful. I wasn’t a big fan of this since it was a bit sweet and salty in some ways.
It was still fun trying out an item I would not get in Canada.
Kraze Burger is Korea’s burger restaurant. It was founded in 1998 and was the first restaurant specializing in hamburgers in Korea. They have locations all over Korea even the airport. As I was in COEX Mall, I knew I had to find Kraze Burgers to try some famous burgers in Korea. They are slowly expanding all over the world.
It was a long walk from the subway as the mall is very confusing to navigate, especially if you are a tourist. When I got here, there was a line out the door at 8pm! I waited about 10 mins to find a seat.
The K.B Original has 100% Pure Beef Patty, one slice of cheese, lettuce, fresh tomato slice, fresh onion slice, chili sauce, homemade pickles on a Baked Bun. They have a lot of crazy types of burgers but I really wanted to try the original Kraze Burger. It was a delicious solid burger that satisfied me, but it was expensive! I probably could have gotten 2 meals for the price of this burger.
Overall, it’s delicious but if you are in town for a short while, might as well skip this and try more traditional Korean food.
We Rate Kraze Burger:
Address:
Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu,
Seoul, South Korea
After having Samgyeopsal, Steven and I walked around several blocks to find a nice cafe with a patio. We walked through the wet monsoon weather and found ourselves here. It was a nice little cozy cafe with a grand piano in the middle of the room.
There are lots of tables inside too. As we were here, there would be lots of couples celebrating anniversaries and playing the piano to impress their girlfriends. Lot of happy memories are made here.
Even Steven tried impressing the server at the cafe.
Steven ordered the Iced Coffee and the Affogato. If you are a coffee lover, those are a few of the items you should order! They are good items to cool off from the hot Summer weather.
I got the Caffe Latte. I enjoy it and it was pretty good.
Overall the experience was great! Chilin on their patio and catching up over coffee…as we spy on the couples inside the restaurant.
Words of Wisdom:
Great coffee
Great place to take a date
You better learn piano before coming here if you are on a date
I met up with Steven from High School as he was in Korea in the Summer too. He took me to explore the Hongdae area where lots of University students hang out. There are tons of shops, restaurants, cafes, and bars.
After walking around the area, we ended up going to 벌집 삼겹살 (beoljip samgyeopsal) for some grilled meats. I knew it was something I wanted to eat!
It was really packed inside! Almost all the tables were taken up. Most people looked like they were in their 20s.
If you are getting the grilled meat, romaine, raw garlic and some different sauces will arrive at the table. You are supposed to grill your meat and then wrap it in the lettuce. Very delicious!
You also get a variety of side dishes with your meal. Lots of variety too!
Honeycomb pork belly is their signature type of meat at this restaurant. Thus, the name of the restaurant is named after this. The samgyeopsal is cut thick, then carved on one side with a honeycomb pattern. It’s very different from what you would typically think porkbelly would look like.
It was very delicious after grilling and fast to cook! You definitely need to order this!
Thick Cut Pork Shoulder was massive.It was really big and meaty.
I had too much fun eating this and forgot to take pictures of the meat in the lettuce wrap. If you are in Korea, you must try Korean BBQ!
Words of Wisdom:
Your clothes will smell like BBQ meat and grease
Pork belly is a must!
Always have this type of meal with a group of friends
We Rate Bee-hive Samgyeopsal:
Address:
345-6 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu,
Seoul, South Korea
Burger King in South Korea serves different desserts than in Canada. Since I heard they had patbingsu (팥빙수) – shaved ice dessert, I needed to go see how it compared to other places. Eating patbingsu is very popular during the hot humid Summer time.
The menu had a lot of different desserts. Lots of ice cream and cold drinks. I was very tempted to order everything, but I only have one stomach.
Patbingsu comes with a bed of shaved ice, topped with canned pineapples, red bean, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and a dollop of ice cream. I was more impressed by the patbingsu at Burger King than at Miss Lee Cafe.
It tasted ok, but the red bean was very strange to me…but it’s probably because I don’t like red bean. The canned fruit was ok considering it was a fast food chain.
I wasn’t use to eating this type of dessert, but it was ok to me. It’s still cool to see the different desserts around the world offered at Burger King. If you are in Korea, definitely try Patbingsu at other restaurants that specialize in it….probably not Burger King.
Well-being Rice Cafe in Myeong-Dong is located right below Miss Lee cafe. Kirby and I came here for an early lunch before eating Sannakji (raw octopus). I have always loved Chinese congee, so I really wanted to try Korean porridge. The exterior of the restaurant looked very appealing and had pretty pictures. As a traveller, that’s kinda what appeals to me…I know… it’s quite horrible.
The interior was brightly lit and had a good amount of seats. When we arrived, it was empty, but it soon filled up.
Everything is self-serve, so you need to grab your own water.
Vegetable Dolsot BiBimbap (6,500 won = $6.50 CDN) was very delicious! It is served in a hot stone bowl and comes with seaweed soup, and 2 side dishes.
You just mix all the items together in the bowl. It’s very healthy and yummy.
The side dishes were good, but the cup of prune juice was kinda disgusting.
Beef Mushroom Porridge (8,000 won = $8 CDN) comes in a huge portion with 3 side dishes, prune juice and cold soup.
It was really delicious and it’s really different from Chinese congee. It definitely something you must have!
The 3 side dishes were good too and it was a nice addition to the meal.
Overall, the meal was very good and I would definitely come here again! Order the porridge! the downside is that the service was a bit slow.
We Rate Well-Being Rice Cafe:
Address:
199-1 Euljiro 2(i)-ga (27 Myeongdong 3-gil)
Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Miss Lee Cafe has several locations around Korea. Kirby and I were in Myeong-Dong and stumbled upon this location. I was a very rainy day, so we decided to chill out here before finding more food. Miss Lee Cafe specializes in boxed lunches, drinks and desserts.
Miss Lee Cafe was made famous by Korean reality show – We Got Married featuring Yonghwa from CN Blue and Seohyun from SNSD.
What makes this cafe very unique are the hundred and hundreds of love messages scattered throughout the restaurant. It’s a very popular place for couples to dine at during dates. Also, for all the fan-girls that come here because “we got married” featured this cafe.
You can grab a pen, a paper, and a twist tie to create your note. It can be about your friends, loved ones, or whoever.
Here is a shot of a few of them. I have no idea what they say, but I think it must be about love.
This location has a few floors and it’s also self-serve. You order at the counter, grab an electronic device and wait for it to buzz. Once it buzzes, you can walk back to the counter to pick up your order.
Five Taste Sherbert has canned pineapple, cherry tomatoes, kiwis, banana, almonds, peanuts, raisins, and canned peaches over ice. Looks pretty, tastes horrible! Do Koreans not have a variety of fruit? or does this cafe just suck that badly?
The combinations of nuts and fruit did not blend well together, nor were they very fresh. Kirby and I had a very hard time trying to finish this item.
Once the fruits were devoured, this is what was underneath. Gross ice and tomato tasting water.
It also came with some snacks on the side. They tasted very stale. I usually don’t notice stale snacks, but this was VERY stale.
The overall quality in their items are very poor and I would never ever return. The concept is very cool, but with all the cafes in Korea, you can skip this place.
Words of Wisdom:
Just don’t eat here…go inside and take a few pictures and leave
Minimani is a restaurant in Myeong-Dong that specializes in grilled meats. Kirby and I met up to venture out to find some raw octopus to eat. We were passing by and saw they had a tank of live octopus, so we were sure they would sell sannakji!
Since it is a BBQ restaurant, all tables do have gas stoves on top. Depending on what you order here, you may or may not need it.
Since we were here only for the raw octopus, we had our side dishes (banchan) on the grill instead.
We were given diced up cabbage with a mayo sauce and kimchi.
Sannakji was on the menu! Yeah! It looks much better in video format since you can see it squirm. The texture was slimy and yes, the octopus does attach to your tongue, inside of your mouth, and teeth. You just need to chew the octopus several times until you are certain the suction cups aren’t working anymore.
If you have had takowasa before at a Japanese restaurant, it’s like that but not spicy and more alive.
Here is the video above! The octopus is alive! In a sense it is dead, but the nerves are still twitching and squirming.
We were given a mixture of sesame oil, salt and pepper to drip the octopus into. It complimented to raw taste quite nicely.
Here is video proof that I ate it. Its really was fun and tasted good! If you are ever in Korea, give it a try! Have you had Sannakji before?
We Rate Minimani:
Address: 199-44, Euljiro2-ga, Jung-gu,, Seoul, South Korea
