Lick Sip • 릭십

Lick Sip (릭십) is a small cafe bar in Hannam-dong that just opened last spring in April 2024. Their menu consist of coffee, non-coffee, alcoholic drinks as well limited options of baked goods and desserts. Although cafe serving booze is not uncommon in Seoul, their Tipsy Treats selections are definitely one of the more unique menu I’ve seen that made me want to visit this place.

Their Tipsy Treats includes Boozy Ice Cream with flavors such as:
🍨 Milk + Bourbon (밀크 + 버번)
🍨 Milk + Amaretto + Rum (밀크 + 아마레토 + 럼)
🍨 Chocolate + Single Malt (초콜릿 + 싱글몰트)
🍨 Yogurt + Makgeolli (요거트 + 막걸리)

They also have Boozy Drinks like Baileys Latte (베일리 라떼), Baileys Chocolate Latte (베일리 초코 라떼), Wine Smoothie (와인 스무디), Whiskey Affogato (위스키 아포가토), and Coconut Smoothie with Rum (코코넛 스무디 + 럼).

There are about 15 seatings inside the cafe, six of them are shared on a communal table and the rest are split into paired seatings around the space. There are also about 12 outdoor seatings that are available if you choose to sit outside. 

I visited this cafe during my last trip to Seoul in spring, a month after their grand opening. It was a Sunday afternoon so the place was pretty packed. But me and my friend managed to get a seat on one of the small outdoor table. The weather was really nice so sitting outside was actually perfect to enjoy the afternoon breeze and to people watch a little bit. 

Iced Earl Grey Milk Tea (얼그레이 밀크티) ₩6,500 | 8/10

I ordered the Iced Earl Grey Milk Tea and it was solid. Not too sweet and the tea is pretty fragrant. 

Einspänner (아인슈페너) ₩6,500 | 8/10

My friend ordered the Einspänner and she said it was good. The coffee is bitter and the cream is sweet creating a good balance when you sipped the drink.

Noise level inside the cafe when I was visiting was pretty high. The music was playing pretty loud inside the cafe but since we sat outside, it was actually still pretty enjoyable for me. Since I didn’t end up trying their Tipsy Treats, definitely want to go back again to this place to try one of their Boozy Ice Cream or Boozy Drinks. 

 

Lick Sip • 릭십

Address: 서울 용산구 이태원로54길 16-5 1층
Telephone: 0507-1390-7841
Hours:
Closed on Mondays
Tue & Wed 18:00-24:00
Thursday 12:00-24:00
Friday & Sat 12:00-01:00
Sunday 13:00-19:00

Instagram: @licksip_official
Naver Map

---

The Ring Montréal

The Ring is a 30-meter wide stainless steel circle installation that is sitting snugly in between two buildings and on top of a staircase, giving it the illusion as if it is floating mid air. Completed in 2022, the installation is part of the revitalization project of Esplanade Place Ville Marie, an urban gathering space in the downtown Montreal’s business district. This magnificent structure was designed by award-winning landscape architects Claude Cormier + Associés and it took nearly two years to completion. 

“The Ring, commissioned by Ivanhoé Cambridge, is a customized art installation and a one-of-a-kind reflection of the symbolic importance of Place Ville Marie, an icon of Montreal’s modernity. The suspended metal ring is a site-specific installation that conveys monumentality and humility. It highlights a unique visual perspective where the McGill University campus, the architecture of the Victoria Hospital, the steep slope of Mount Royal, and the Mount Royal Cross follow one another. The Ring frames this axis of strength and contributes to the physical, symbolic, and functional articulation of Place Ville Marie pole, which marked the birth of the modern city.

This artistic installation reinforces the timeless character of the whole of Place Ville Marie through a gesture of great sobriety, of an elegance that gives a dimension of durability. The Ring is a unifying project, a new element of the Montréalité, a proof of love for Place Ville Marie, downtown Montreal and Mount Royal.” —Art Public Montréal

 

---

Pizza Il Focolaio

Pizza Il Focolaio is a wood burning oven pizzeria in Montréal that has been around since 1984. Taking inspiration from the old country, the pizzeria serves authentic Italian pizza with the freshest top of the line ingredients that are made daily. They also have a whopping 77 different pizza on the menu, giving customers plenty of options to choose from.

Ended up at this place because of my friend’s recommendation. She’s been to this pizzeria before and thought their pizza is amazing so she took me here during our Montréal trip. The place was busy when we went for a visit during peak lunch hour rush on a Thursday. There was even quite a long line forming outside the restaurant of people waiting for a table. We ended up waiting for about 15 minutes or so before getting a table. The waiting time wasn’t too bad to be honest. And if you don’t want to wait, you can always order to go and eat it at the park across the street where they have limited tables and seatings available.

The restaurant itself is not too small. There are about 46 seatings inside the restaurant and every table was occupied when we walked in (I took the pictures on this post after the lunch rush was over and when we’re bout to leave so it’s a bit emptier). It’s pretty loud inside with chatter from every table filling up the room. Most patrons looked like office workers who were enjoying their lunch breaks. There are also more seatings at the patio area in front of the restaurant that’s perfect for a good weather day if you choose to sit outside.

Caesar Salad CA$18.50 | 8.5/10

Romaine lettuce with cesar dressing*, croutons, Parmigiano-Reggiano. *Cesar dressing (contains anchovies, mustard, milk and egg in sauce)

For starters, we ordered the Caesar Salad to share. It was fresh and nicely seasoned. Not too salty or peppery or cheesy. Very balanced. The portion was quite generous too.

No.23 Campagnola CA$22.25 | 9.5/10

Sauce, mushrooms, onions, spicy pancetta (Italian bacon), mozzarella, black olives. Meat pizza.

I ordered this one and I have to say this was probably one of the best pizza I’ve ever had in recent times. The pizza was cooked really well with that wood burning aroma whiffing off of the crust that’s slightly charred on different spots. The texture was nice, chewy and there’s a slight bounce to the bite. All the toppings were also evenly cooked and sitting nicely on top of the gooey mozzarella. The portion is quite big and generous and I ended up not being able to finish the whole thing. But I did half eat of the pan before feeling really stuffed and so did my friend with her pizza order.

No.68 A La Griglia CA$22.25 | 9/10

Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, grilled vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, onions, artichokes, mushrooms, green and red peppers), fresh garlic, Italian herbs, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano. Vegetables pizza.

My friend actually ordered this one and I have the same comment about the overall pizza like the Campagnola. I think their pizza is really solid and you can just order whichever pizza that have the toppings that you like and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it. 

As I was editing the photos and vlog from this place, I was reminded once again on how good this meal was and ended up craving for this pizza again. And now after I’ve tried it, I can totally see why my friend likes this place so much. Their pizza is really THAT good. Next time I’m in Montréal, I would definitely come back to this place again.

 

Pizza Il Focolaio

Address: 1223 R. du Square-Phillips, Montréal, QC H3B 3E9, Canada
Telephone: +15148791045
Hours:
Monday to Wednesday 11:00 am—8:30 pm
Thursday 11:00 am—9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am—9:30pm
Saturday 12:00 pm—9:30pm
Closed on Sundays

Instagram: @ilfocolaio

---

Phillips Square Montréal

Phillips Square is a historic public square located in Downtown Montréal, Québec, Canada. Established in 1842, The Square was a gift from Alfred Phillips to the city of Montreal in what was then a wealthy residential area in the city. The first downtown stores were actually located around this Square including the famous Birks jewelry store and The Bay department store that still exist until today. 

Nestled in the middle of tall buildings, you can find greeneries and dry deck fountain at this charming square making it a nice area to walk or sit around at. I was there during early fall on a Thursday around noon and spotted a lot of people enjoying their lunch breaks at the Square. (There are a couple of restaurants around the area including Pizza Il Focolaio where I had the best pizza in recent times and probably one of the best food I had during my Montréal trip). There are plenty of seatings and a couple of tables with umbrellas that are spread out around the area which serve as an encouragement for people to spend more time at the Square. This is the perfect place to go when you want to walk around, get some fresh air or sunbathe for a bit, especially on a nice weather day.

“The square features a bronze monument of King Edward VII, who ruled from 1901 to 1910. He visited Montreal in 1860, while he was still the Prince of Wales, and opened the Victoria Bridge. The statue was designed by Louis-Philippe Hébert and was erected in 1914. The four allegorical figures at the base of the monument represent Peace, the Four Founding Nations, Abundance, and Liberty.” — Wikipedia

 

---

Hongs Zzuggumi Hongdae • 홍스쭈꾸미 홍대본점

Hongs Zzuggumi Hongdae (홍스쭈꾸미 홍대본점) is a restaurant in Hongdae that specializes in spicy stir-fried webfoot/baby octopus or jjukkumi how the Koreans say it. Their special red sauce is made out of natural ingredients with over 20 kinds of seasonings. The restaurant is actually pretty popular among Asian tourists and at some point was pretty hyped up among Indonesians as one of the must visit restaurants in Seoul as well. 

Although I’ve been hearing a lot of good reviews about the place from my friends who already went, it actually took me this long to finally visit the place. Mainly because I don’t eat spicy food well so I kind of need somebody who does and likes baby octopus to go with to help me finish my food just in case I can’t handle the spiciness. The time finally came last fall when my cousin was visiting Seoul. She’s a big fan of octopus, can eat spicy food better than I do and actually had Hongs Zzuggumi on her want-to-try-restaurants list. 

So we went with a couple of friends who were on the trip with her. It was a Saturday night and we arrived at the restaurant around 8:15 pm. There was a line, not a long one but there seemed to be 2-3 groups ahead of us. We waited about 20 minutes before our name was called and got seated right after.

There are only 4 items on the menu and it all feature their signature Spicy Stir-Fried Jjukkumi (쭈꾸미). We ordered the one with the pork belly and requested less spicy for the spiciness level.

Service was pretty quick at this restaurant because not too long after we placed our order, the pan filled with thinly sliced pork belly, rice cakes, green onions, cabbage and the jjukkumi in the middle was served on our table along with four different kinds of banchan. After the pan was starting to get hot and the red sauce was bubbling, the server came back to mixed everything for us until it was all nicely cooked. 

Stir-Fried Webfoot Octopus + Pork Belly (쭈삼겹 + 볶음밥 ) ₩32,000 | 9/10

*Portion in picture is 2 servings for 2 people. Each portion costs ₩16,000 and comes with the Armani fried rice.

After tasting my first jjukkumi, I get what the hype is all about. It is gooood. The size of the baby octopus wasn’t too big or too small, a perfect size for a nice bite. The meat was tender and springy. And their special spicy gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste) sauce was super good. It’s spicy and salty with a hint of sweetness in the sauce. The flavor was pretty bold and it’s really nice having it with warm rice. The pork belly (samgyeopsal) was also really good. I think the fat of the pork belly also added another layer of flavor to the jjukkumi and the sauce. Such a great combo. 

The less spicy version was actually still a little spicy for me. Even so, the spiciness was manageable and I could eat it without feeling that I’m being tortured by the heat of the sauce. But I did do my usual work around for eating spicy food though which is to wait until the food is not too hot before taking a bite and eat it with rice. I found that it helps me to enjoy spicy food a little better.

One other special menu that Hongs Zzuggumi has is their Armani Fried Rice. They had signs outside and inside the restaurant with writings like ‘If you order jjukkumi, you’ll have a free Armani Fried Rice’ and ‘Jjukkumi Armani Service’. For English speakers, the meaning of these sentences may be a little confusing. At least I was confused when I first read it and it took me a minute to understand what they mean. The ‘service’ they wrote doesn’t mean the usual action of helping or doing work for someone. But instead, in Korea, when you get something on the house, they usually call it ‘service’. So I guess what they’re trying to say is you get Armani Fried Rice on the house if you order jjukkumi. 

When we’re almost done with our jjukkumi, we asked the staff for the fried rice. They took away the pan and came back with the fried rice already covering the whole pan. Once I saw the fried rice, I get why they call it Armani. The word Armani itself was a little bit random (for me) and doesn’t sound like a Korean word (it reminded me of the famous Italian brand though). But (cmiiw) I think it’s a play on words between ‘al’ (알) which means egg in Korean and ‘mani’ (많이) which means many/a lot. Because living up to its name, the fried rice was covered with copious amount of (fish) eggs. 

Armani Fried Rice is essentially fried rice covered with Hongs Zzuggumi’s special red sauce, seaweed and fish eggs. And it was gooood. One of my favorite thing was feeling the crunch of the fish eggs popping in my mouth in every spoonful of fried rice, making me go back for more every single time even though I’m already full. 

One tip, since the staff usually waited until you (almost) finished everything on the pan before serving the fried rice, if you want to eat the fried rice with the jjukkumi and samgyeopsal, set them aside on your plate to empty the pan so you can ask for the fried rice right away. I did that on my second visit and it was so good eating them with the fried rice. 

Another thing worth mentioning is on my previous visits during dinner rush, there seemed to always be a line for a table and most of the tables in the restaurant are for smaller groups (3-4 people). So if you want to avoid waiting for too long, I’d suggest to come a little earlier, split into smaller groups if you’re traveling with a big group or maybe try coming during lunch time where they serve Lunch Specials from 11:30-16:00. 

After my first visit, Hongs Zzuggumi has been one of the restaurants I’d recommend to my friends when they ask me where to eat when they’re in Seoul. If you haven’t tried this place already, now I’m recommending it to you too.

 

Hongs Zzuggumi Hongdae • 홍스쭈꾸미 홍대본점

Address: 서울 마포구 어울마당로 146
Telephone: 0507-1407-7943
Hours: Everyday 11:00 - 02:00

---