Spotlight: O’Sulloc Tea Milk Spread

During our first trip to Seoul, my friends and I spent way too much time and money at our local OSULLOC. Our favourite location by where we lived in Dongdaemun has since closed, so we made the trek over to another OSULLOC before we left Seoul.

Avec El

I had seen beautiful photos of lattes topped with a slice of fruit, and even attempted my own throughout the years. As we were planning our latest trip to Seoul, I decided to hunt down the original cafe that served these lattes.

Avec El
Location: 서울시 용산구 후암동 41-1
41-1, Huam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Cafe Onion

Cafe Onion made its initial impression due to the oddity of it, as well as the beauty of the original warehouse-like location. Having expanded to a total of three stores, the Anguk location is arguably one of the most popular, located in a traditional hanok setting.

Cafe Onion Anguk (카페 어니언)
Location: 146-1, Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울 종로구 계동길 5

Victoria Bakery

While Instagram alone no longer easily captures my heart, good reviews via videos still manage to pique my interest. The beautiful counter of baked goodies caught my heart earlier this year, and upon realizing I would visit South Korea sooner than anticipated, I quickly added Victoria Bakery to my list of must-visits.

Victoria Bakery
Location: 서울 성동구 서울숲2길 18-7
18-7, Seoulsup 2-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Bunkasha

There were a long list of cafes I wanted to visit in South Korea, specifically Seoul. Bunkasha had made the list last time, but due to my odd schedule and lack of appetite, I never made my way to any cafes. This time, I was determined to change that.

Bunkasha (분카샤)
Location: 을지로점 : 을지로 14길 20 호성p&p 2층
Eulji-ro 14-gil 20, 2F

Spotlight: Subway & Street Food, pt. 2

Part 1 of my street food adventures took place over 3.5 years ago, and surprisingly, the only repeat I had this time was hotteok. Due to my odd schedule, the convenience store ended up being my best friend this time around, but I still enjoyed the odd street vendor (or, more often, subway vendor) fare.

Manjoo (만쥬)

I’ve had plenty of walnut cakes (호두과자) growing up, as my cousin worked at a bakery and her boss let her take the unsold ones home at the end of the day. However, I never had manjoo before, and as we were exiting Toseong station, the aroma of freshly baked pastries had my friend circling back with a couple bills in her hand.

Two Plus Deungshim

I hadn’t been planning on having Hanwoo during my trip here, as I knew it would be out of my budget, and barbeque restaurants with minimum orders aren’t really conducive to dining alone.

However, my friend was back in Seoul for one last night before flying back home, and we decided to meet up for dinner with a few other friends.

Two Plus Deungshim (투뿔등심 가로수길점)
Location: Menupan / Instagram / Mango Plate
Phone: 02-515-5712

Hong Chun Cheon Cheese Dakgalbi

On my last day in Seoul, I had the morning free before I needed to head to the airport for my afternoon flight. My bunkmate also didn’t have plans before her evening flight, so we decided to grab lunch together.

Hong Chun Cheon Cheese Dakgalbi (홍춘천치즈닭갈비)
Location: Visit Seoul
Phone: 02-337-2825

Insadong Tofu Village

After spending the morning walking from Samcheongdong to Gwanghwamun, I finally found myself in the midst of Insadong, with my belly rumbling.

I still get a little intimidated about eating at restaurants alone. My determination to eat warm food overtook my hesitation to try and communicate in my very limited Korean, but despite being physically open, a couple of places said they wouldn’t be serving food until an hour later. After circling the area a few times, I found a restaurant that was open and served soups and stews, something I had been craving due to the chilly weather.

Insadong Tofu Village (인사동 두부마을)
Location: Foursquare / Menupan / Mango Plate
Phone: +82 2-735-9996

My favourite meals: travel edition

As I’m currently wishing I were anywhere but here, I thought it would be fun to round up all my favourite meals from my most recent trips.

Vancouver
Medina Cafe’s liege waffles with passionfruit creme actually makes my tongue tingle – I loved this so much I had to get it when I went back.

Whitehorse
Burnt Toast offered up the best food for the best prices in an overpriced city in the northern territories. The Gnarly Barley salad has all the fixings of an amazing meal.

Los Angeles
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong – I’m not even slightly exaggerating when I tell you I have dreams of this meal. Those beef ribs at the end… So. Good.