Weekends are a chance for us to enjoy exploring and eating. And we are not alone in savoring such hobbies. If you glance around at any restaurant, the young people are usually taking photos of food, themselves and the restaurant to post onto dining blogs. Such websites are used to help others decide where to eat in areas with overwhelming options. No sales tax, no tipping and lots of competition is a winning formula to make eating out not only affordable but sometimes even cheaper than cooking at home.
This past weekend we took the hour-ish bus ride to Shinnonhyun Station, a lively area within the Gangnam district. On either side of a wide city street, there are endless shops and restaurants to discover with narrow roads winding in between.
WARNING: the following is basically just pictures of what and where we ate.
First stop was Chloris tea shop, a surprisingly spacious European oasis tucked within this busy section of town. We split an Earl Grey parfait which was all kinds of tasty, I can't remember the fancy description but every part of it was freshly made and delicious. We were their first customers of the day and had the five-story place to ourselves.
After walking around and hopping in and out of a few stores, it was time to eat again.
Isaac treated me to something I have been craving, one of my favorite foods - margherita pizza. Again we were the first customers to arrive for the day at our lunch destination, Dochi pizza.
I may be fake-smiling in this picture, but I was actually super excited to be sitting beside this adorable wall painting. The moustached-man's face better expresses my feelings than my own.
Their menu is that huge book sitting on the table, and the pizza warmer is an old mug covered in wax. Such quirky details like these are what makes the independent food venues here so amazing and fun. Below you might also see a man-shaped hole in the brick wall behind Isaac's indulgent smile.
The margherita - a classic beauty in her modest, simple attire. Or just the picky grown-up's pizza?
Taking a sip was like some velvety citrus fruit hugging your tongue and there was not the slightest bitterness.
Naturally, the coffeeshop was cute and well-decorated.
So that's what we ate on Saturday. There are just so many unique food places in South Korea. As a whole, it seems that customer service, attention to detail and (what I would call) the cuteness-factor are way higher than back in America. More reasons why exploring and eating here are super fun.
I agree! You win the cuteness-factor for restaurants and coffee shops. You need to put up some pictures of the place from the Kdrama. They were awesome.
ReplyDeleteDitto on the cuteness factor! You also had me when you mentioned Earl Grey! 😄
ReplyDeleteBetty, I love the floors and windows in the tea shop; no taxes or tipping sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! And great to hear you find everything fun and interesting in what I know to be a strange and unusual land. I sometimes found somethings hard to understand yet still accepting them as just a cultural difference. Getting used to the density of so many people can be an eye opener. But you are right about with all the competition for your patronage it is much easier and sometimes cheaper to eat out. I hope you make an effort to continue to update the blog for us folks that may not hear directly from you so often as your close family. I've really enjoyed it so far and see that you have put your education to good use with such excellent descriptive writing skills!
ReplyDeleteAw thanks! Yes you're right, I'm seeing how living in such a densely compacted area means lots of little things are handled a lot differently. It's sometimes neat, sometimes hard to get used to (like waiting on the elevator for a long time and having it stop at so many other floors along the way!). I will try to update this blog more often, and also try to contact you directly too! <:)
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