Bukchon at Sunset

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! :)

View fullsize

View fullsize

---

The Dining Lab

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.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

One of my favorite things to do when I'm in the bay area is visiting Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. And so, during my last trip, I did just that with my sisters and my mom. It always fun visiting this place because there are so much things to do. This time, I can't helped to fall in love with all the colorful fresh vegetables that were on display all over the market. I think because I haven't been here for a while, I'm once again fascinated with all these bright colors. 

Of course after exploring the outdoor area, we went inside the Ferry building to sightsee some more. As soon as we entered the hall, we're greeted by the crowd of people shopping at the different stalls along the hallway. People lining up to buy their fresh groceries, vendors offering their product samples for people to try, and some people are dining at their favorite spots are common sights for a Saturday morning in this place. Hope I can visit this place again soon.

---

Mum Aroy • 뭄말로이

Found another hidden gem in Sangsu area, a little Thai restaurant called Mum Aroy (뭄말로이). Having been in Korea for almost a year now, I've been eating a lot of Korean food—and it's great and all—but after a while I kinda miss other Asian food as well. And since I don't live near Itaewon, I was trying to find a good place around my area and stumbled upon this place online.

First off, I really love the vibe of the place. The decor, the music, the color of the walls, and even the utensils reminded me of my trip to Thailand and even a little bit of home. Went there with my classmates the first time so we ordered a bunch of different things to try and none of them disappointed. Everything tasted so good and they tasted pretty authentic (and by authentic I mean similar to my favorite Thai restaurants that I've visited in the past, outside Korea). And I think the fact that I've been craving it for a while kinda made the food tasted even better ;P

Here's the list of what we ordered: Tom Yum Goong (뚬얌꿍), Pad Thai (팟타이), Pad See Ew (팟시유), Green Curry (그린 커리), and Pad Kra Pao (팟카파오 무쌈) (which was SUPER HOT). And since then, I've gone back a couple of times and tried their Fried Rice (카오팟 뿌 <게살>), which was delicious as well. 

If you're craving for some Thai food, I definitely recommend this place. The owners and the servers are very friendly too. And this place is actually on the same street as Grunge Cafe (see my post here), so you could get dessert there if you still have some room for dessert after your meal. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Take Out Drawing Cafe

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. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize