Gentle Monster Merry Go Round

Passed by Gentle Monster the other day and saw this new installation in their exhibition space. Gentle Monster is probably one of the fascinating shops I've ever been to. They use their space as a shop as well as collaborating with the Quantum Project to host art exhibitions. I don't really know much about the space, but according to their website: 

"The Quantum Project presents a new evolution of commercial space by creating fast space that is redesigned every 25 days through collaborations with an extensive range of artists and brands." 

... and this is their 16th Quantum Project—Merry Go Round. 

"A merry-go-round depicts the nostalgia and novelty of childhood, nestled in the back of our mind. The main stage, surrounded by remains of a broken sculpture, is spinning around and around creating a truly surreal vibe: Candies are overflowing in the objects at the ring of the merry-go-round, presenting you with sweet amusement."

The exhibition will be on display from March 3 to 30. If you happen to be in Hongdae/Hapjeong neighborhood and wanna see something interesting, you should definitely visit this place. And you could get free candies too (yes, you can scoop them yourselves and take them home).

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The Bap (더밥)

With holiday is over and school kickin' off this week, everything is (almost) back to the normal routine for me. After a couple of weeks of holiday, I think it'll take me some time to adjust back to the school & work schedule. I kinda wish we have longer holidays like the rest of regular university in Korea but, oh well. 

Anyways, lately I've been craving for Soybean Paste Stew (Dwenjang Jjigae 된장 찌개) everyday and can't get enough of it for some reason :P So sharing one of my favorite places to get a traditional Korean meal such as the soybean paste stew, The Bap (더밥). Located around Hyehwa Station, this place is famous for their Stews (Jjigae 찌개) and delicious side dishes (Banchan 반찬). Ordered a couple of things from the menu, everything was great and the Dwenjang Jjigae didn't disappoint. And their eggplant side dish has probably became my number one favorite banchan. We'll see if anything will top that eggplant in the near future :)

Homilbat (호밀밭)

First time I visited this place was last year when I came to Seoul for traveling. It's supposed to be one of the best bingsu places in Seoul, so I thought it's worth a visit since I was visiting Ehwa University area anyway. Little did I know that even during lunch time on a weekday, the place was packed. There were quite a long line when I got there and since I was pressed on time, I ended up not going to the place. So now, a year later, after I moved here I got plenty of opportunities to go back and try this place. This is one of my favorite bingsu places so far. I like the milky type of bingsu so eating their milk bingsu with fresh fruit is just perfect. Their home-made rice cake and red bean are good too. I noticed here some people ordered one for each person, but I think ordering one to share between two people is enough :)

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Dal Sik Tak (달식탁)

To start off, this was the first time I went to a restaurant that has a huge horse lamp statue in the middle of the dining room. So that left quite an impression. Dal Sik Tak (달식탁) is a traditional Korean restaurant that is located at Garosu-gil (가로수길), Sinsa-dong (신사동). The restaurant is located in the basement of a red building. I've past by this place a couple of times, but since I can't really see the inside of the restaurant, I never really tried eating there. I always find it too intimidating to try a new place that I can't see what the inside looks like :P But then, one of my friend recommended to try this place since apparently it's a pretty famous restaurant in Sinsa area. So I went with two of my friends and tried it out.

The food was really good. They serve traditional Korean food, but the taste is very different than the Korean food that I've eaten before. We ordered Mushroom & Tofu Hot Pot (버섯 두부 전골), Grilled Marinated Beef served with Cabbage and Greens (차돌박이 배추쌈), Mixed Rice with Dried Octopus and Bean Paste (부추문어쌈장밥), and Soy Bean Paste Soup (된장찌개). Each dish has a very distinct flavor one from the other so it was nice to try different flavor combinations. Despite the color of the Hot Pot, all the dishes we ordered weren't spicy at all. If you're looking for a place to eat in Sinsa neighborhood, this place is a good place to go to.

DAL SIK TAK (달식탁)

서울 강남구 신사동 541-11 지하1층
541-11 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

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Sinchon Samgyetang • 신촌영양센터

Samgyetang (삼계탕) is probably one of the most well known Korean food amongst the local as well as foreigners. I happened to went to a restaurant that, in my opinion, has better samgyetang than the famous Tosokchon (토속촌) samgyetang that is very well-known amongst tourists. But then again, it could be just me :) I actually ended up going to this place because one of my Korean friend took me there. The place is called Sinchon Nutrition Center (신촌영양센터). I've been here a couple of times and the two things I've ordered are the Samgyetang (삼계탕) and 삼채닭한마리 and they are both delicious. I think the thing that won me over is their broth—it's so light but tasty. Their kimchi is also good, but oh so spicy. I know Koreans usually eat these during the hot summer days to fight the hot weather, but it's even better to eat it during cold days in my opinion :) 

Sinchon Nutrition Center (신촌영양센터)

Address: 서울특별시 서대문구 창천동 13-37 1층
Telephone: 02-312-5460
Hours: 10:30 - 22:30 (Everyday)

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