Daimon Kitchen

Life has been crazy these past few weeks. Good crazy though. I've been doing a lot of things that I enjoy and the only downside is there seems to be not enough time to do everything, including rest I must say. Anyways, been trying to try new restaurants and cafes lately since I'm kinda required to stay mostly indoors these days with the works that I need to get done. So first one up, is Daimon Kitchen (다이몬키친), a ramen restaurant that just opened around Sinchon/Ehwa area. Their ramen, ramen broth, and eggs are pretty good, although I wish they have more meat though :) Also, I went during lunch and they have a set where you get Ramen and a small donburi with a small additional fee. That tastes good too. 

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Les Ephemeres

Les Ephemeres (레제페메르) is hidden in a small alley in Hapjeong (합정). My friend and I was walking around the neighborhood and decided to picked a random place we never been to take a break from all the walking around the neighborhood we did earlier. We actually found the place when we turned to an alley to look at murals on the white wall on the side of the alley but to our surprised there's a cafe entrance at the end of it. Nobody was inside when we walked in, so the place's really quite. Picked a table and started to browse through the menu. They have coffee, tea, wine and beer on their drinks menu so you'll never run out of choices. There're also a good selections of cakes if you feel like having something sweet to go with you drinks. Since both my friend and I are not a coffee drinker, we opted for their tea selections. Can't remember the name of the teas we ordered, but they both were good. When I was taking pictures of the place, I noticed a 'Reserved' sign on the long table at the back of the cafe. Later on, I found out that this place do cater to private/small dinner party as well. Last thing, they have these architectural sketches up on the wall, which I totally adore. 

Gahoedong Catholic Church • 가회동성당

On a cold sunny saturday morning, I stepped into this cathedral that combines both Korean Hanok and Western-style architecture. The place was quite. Peaceful almost. Lights coming in through the glass sliding doors on the sides of the Hanok. People quietly looking around the area admiring the structure of this complex. This is a perfect place to just be still and rest from all the hustle bustle of the city. 

I've passed by Gahoe-dong Catholic Church (가회동성당) in Bukchon Hanok Village numerous times before, but never once I entered the place. It's one of those places where you have to step inside to find out the charms of the building. The combination of east and west architecture definitely is very interesting. We also went to the rooftop and greeted with the view of rows of Hanok rooftops with the mountain on the background on one side, as well as the modern city skyline on the other side. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the history of the Catholic church, they have a history exhibition hall in the first floor of the building. 

And for those of you who are celebrating Chinese (Solnal) New Year this week, hope you have a good new year holiday! Spend some times with the loved ones, eat lots of good food, and hopefully get some rest as well. 새해 복 많이 받으세요~ :)

*Special thanks to Robin for showing us this place :)

Here are my photo walk buddies that day. Check out their blog/instagram for more awesome pictures:
@seoul_stateofmind, @ian_mckay, @happyboil, @inner.pastiche

The Libertine

Despite of the fact that I am not a morning person, there's something about weekend brunch that I love (anything that starts before 12pm on a Saturday is early for me :p ). Especially, on a bright sunny saturday like the day I went to the Libertine in Itaewon. My friend actually picked this place for our brunch date. I haven't explored Itaewon all that much so I pretty much followed her lead on this one. The moment I walked in, I immediately loving the vibe of this place. Black and white tiled floor and the natural light coming in from the windows won me over already ;) We got there not long after their opening time and there were plenty of seats available. Sat on the table next to the windows and ordered the Eggs Royale, Cobb Salad, and Greek Yogurt Fruit Bowl. All and all, the food was pretty good, although I wish my eggs were more runny. Wouldn't mind coming back here to try their lunch or dinner menu though. 

Mo' Better Blues Cafe

What do you do to unwind? For me, reading and listening to music is one way to do it. Jazz in particular can give me that relieve of tension when I needed one. Of all the cafes I've visited so far here in Seoul, Mo' Better Blues Cafe probably has one of the better jazz playlists playing in their cafe. It's not necessarily new musics, lots of them are from the times I grew up or even way before that—the classic jazz songs—but nevertheless, it gave me a nice sense of familiarity in this city that's still fairly unfamiliar to me. 

A little about the place, the whole cafe is actually bigger than what I imagined. They have 4 floors, but I think they only open all floors during busier times. They have good selection of drinks and snacks. And the place is good for a study place as well, unless you run into a bunch of noisy high school girls which I did. Even so, you can escape that by trying to go to another floor if that happens to you. The cafe also has a patio area on the first floor which can be used even during winter (they turned up the heater pretty high in there).

With that said, now I'm going to make myself a cup of hot cocoa, listen to some jazz, and unwind. Hope everybody is having a great week so far :)

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