My first two trips to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul—also known as MMCA Seoul—were 3 days apart and both were with a couple of friends from Instagram, a couple who I met for the first time—Nico, Robin, and Ian. This was back in January so I'm guessing the exhibitions are probably different by now. The space is pretty cool, so I thought I share a couple of shots from our visit.
I'm pretty sure for those of you who have visited Seoul or wanted to visit seoul or simply watch Korean dramas are familiar with this particular location, the Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을), which is probably one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. I've been here a couple of times during daytime, but this was my first experience spending sunset in this neighborhood. It was a cold winter day, and since the sun was setting down, there weren't that many people in the area. I guess Seoulites prefer to stay indoors on a cold weather day like today, as they should. The experience was totally different than spending time here during the daytime surrounded by groups of tourists trying to take their group shots or take as much selfies as they could. It's so serene, peaceful almost. Such a great way to end the day to just admire the view, watch the sun disappeared into the horizon and the city light started to lit up here and there. For those of you who are in the Eastern part of the globe, I bid you good night, and for the rest of you, good morning and happy weekend! :)
The Dining Lab (더다이닝랩) is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Seoul. Located in the Donggyodong (동교동) neighborhood, I'm surprised to find this restaurant away from the more crowded area of Hongdae. The restaurant is small. They have only a couple tables and a bar area that is facing the open kitchen. If you want to see the action in the kitchen, sitting at the bar will definitely get you that. Their food is really good. I've been here a couple of times and tried different things and I love them all. I'm more of a meat person overall so I'm really picky when eating my veggies, but the way the cook their veggies here is good. Everything is cooked in the right way and seasoned really well. Although, the portion is a little small compared to the price, but I can live with that since I don't come here everyday :P. If you're looking to try something new around Hongdae area, I would definitely recommend this place.
Pictured: Salmon Gravlax & Beurre Blanc Sauce, Salmon Steak with Roast Bacon, Burger with French Fries, & Sous-vide Ribeye Steak with Roasted Vegetables.
Take Out Drawing Cafe (테이크아웃드로잉 카페) is one of the places in my want-to-visit-cafes-in-Seoul list. I've seen some cool photos online and thought it's an interesting space. So, after our lunch at Plant, we made our way to this place to check it out. Apparently they have two locations, which I didn't know. The location we went to is the Noksapyeong (녹사평) branch and they have another one in Itaewon (이태원) (I think). The cafe was just okay. We went there on a Saturday so there were lots of people and the place was pretty full. We ordered their most-instagrammed drink, which I forgot what the name is, and according to my coffee-drinker friends, it wasn't that good. It just looks good :) Anyway, I think the other location might have better interior design, so I probably gonna try to go to the other location some other time.
Haven't had a lot of chance to walk outside lately so earlier today, I wandered around Yeonnam (연남동) neighborhood and saw flowers started to bloom here and there. This is my first spring in South Korea, so I'm kinda looking forward to see all the cherry blossom around the city. My friends told me spring in Seoul could be gone in a blink of an eye. It usually lasts for a couple of weeks, sometimes it could be as short as 1-2 weeks before summer takes over. Hopefully I can catch the cherry blossom before they disappear. For now, here's a glimpse of it.
Have a good Easter weekend everybody!
