Thanks Nature Cafe

Accidentally found this cafe when I was walking around Hongdae Area. I've read about the place online, so when I walk passed it, I decided to give it a try. One of the main unique thing about this place is they have sheep in their outdoor seating area. So if you want to enjoy a cup of coffee with sheep's company, you can definitely do that here. Although I just found out recently that the sheep is not going to be around in the summer. They'll be back around September when the weather is cooler. The indoor seating area itself is pretty spacious and fairly quite—at least during the time I was there. Ordered their Green Tea Bingsu, Waffle and their orange drink (I forgot what the exact name was) and they were all good. 

Thanks Nature Cafe
마포구 서교동 486 서교푸르지오상가 B121
Seoul, Korea 121-842

486 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea 

Line 2 - Hongdae Station Exit#9. Take a left up the hill at the first intersection you come to. Keep walking up the hill towards Hongik University’s main gate. Thanks Nature Cafe is located in the basement on the left side of the street.

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Joule Restaurant

I went to Joule for a dinner date with my mom when she visited Seattle. The food was awesome. Everything tasted great. We ordered an appetizer, two different entrées , and a dessert that we shared. We also were seated on the kitchen counter so we got to see the chefs in actions. Definitely wanna go back to this place again. 

Smoked tofu, honshimeji confit, soy truffle vinaigrette

“that” short rib steak, kalbi, grilled kimchi, 8oz, WA

Brown butter hazelnut cake, sweet red bean, fenugreek cream

Joule Restaurant
3506 Stone Way N
Seattle, WA 98103
United States
+1 206-632-5685

 

Niagara Falls

Toronto Day 3. We drove to Niagara Falls to see one of the most famous attractions in the world. I've seen Niagara Falls from the US side, but not the Canada side. It took us almost 3 hours to get there with no traffic on the way. We arrived in early afternoon, so we took a stroll around the nearby area since we have time to kill before an early dinner reservation at Napoli Ristorante.

After dinner's done, we walked towards the falls while looking at the stores along the way. The area was pretty packed with families and children. The sun is almost setting then, so it wasn't too hot.

When it started to get dark, we made our way back to our car, passing by the shops area again. One of the things that you must try is apparently the Beaver Tails. At first I didn't know what it was, but turned out, it's something that I've tried before (or at least I think it tasted similar). J knows it at Beaver Tails. I know it as Elephant Ear (my friends in Seattle introduced me to the food). The taste is very similar. The two could well be the same thing as far as I'm concerned. 

Exploring Toronto

The next day, J and I spent the whole day visiting tourist spots. First stop was CN Tower. I guess if you are visiting a city that has a high observation tower, you kinda have to go there. The weather was pretty nice that day, so we got a clear view of downtown. 

Afterwards, we headed to Against the Grain at Corus Quay for lunch. The place has an outdoor patio with Lake Ontario and Toronto Islands as the view. It was a great place for a sunny summer day.  I ordered steak and J opted for their mushroom flatbread. 

Tavern Steak - Grilled 8oz striploin steak topped with demi-glace, served with fresh hand cut Yukon Gold fries

Mushroom Flatbread - Truffle cream, enoki and king mushrooms, and Fontina cheeses and truffle oil

Harbour Square is the next place on the list. We walked from the restaurant since it's not that far (and it gave us time to digest the food we just consume). We took the ferry and headed to the Toronto Island Park. I have to say we had a fabulous weather that day. Seeing the clear blue sky already made my day :) 

Toronto, ON

As far as my traveling plan for the year goes, Toronto was my last stop for the year. I've been wanting to go to Toronto for a while now. My best friend from high school lives there and she's been telling me to come over to visit her since she have visited me before when I was still living in San Francisco. At last, after she nagged me for a couple of years now :P , I finally got a chance to go.

I arrived in Toronto on Thursday morning. The weather was pretty chilly. My friend picked me up from the airport and dropped my off at her apartment since she had to work. I spent my morning shopping for some stuff that I forgot to bring and most of my afternoon napping since I couldn't really sleep on the plane. I was pretty out of it before lunch time. After I woke up and showered, I decided to go for (late) lunch. My friend's apartment is right on top of the biggest sports bar in Toronto, which she recommended to me earlier. So I went to the Real Sports Bar & Grill to kill time until my friend is back from work. Since I went during odd hours, the place was pretty empty, but it sure is huge. The food was pretty good as well. They had one of the best sweet potatoes fries I've ever had. 

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Sweet Potato Fries (Click to enlarge)

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Classic Fish & Chips (Click to enlarge)