Seoul Jan'17: 5 Cafes To Visit At Garosu-Gil!

One of my favourite places to roam in Seoul is Garosu-gil at Sinsa-Dong. The name Garosu-gil comes from the Korean word meaning "tree-lined streets", as the area is adorned with ginkgo trees, making it one of the most picturesque and Instagram-worthy parts of town in Seoul!


Garosu-gil is also famous for the many stylish cafes, boutiques and restaurants it is home to. Armed with our cameras and empty stomachs, my girlfriend Tammi and I set out for a day of cafe-hopping down the streets of Garosu-gil!

My camera of choice is the Olympus E-PL8 - The perfect travel companion with its lightweight and compact build as well as features like Built-In Wifi, Art Filters and an 180 degree-flip down LCD screen optimised for selfies!

5 Cafes To Visit At Garosu-Gil

As I've mentioned, Garosu-gil is practically the cafe capital of Seoul - There are so many cafes along Garosu-Gil that it's impossible to visit them all in one day! We spent an entire day at Garosu-gil and here are the five cafes that we visited and loved - With gorgeous interiors and delicious food, these cafes will be a treat for both your Instagram and your tummy! Hehe.

Directions to Garosu-Gil

Take the Seoul subway to Sinsa Station (Line 3).
From exit 8, walk straight for about 5 minutes - The second intersecting street is Garosugil.

1. Line Friends Store & Cafe

535-15 Sinsa-dong,

Gangnam-Gu, Seoul

Line Friends Store & Cafe is without a doubt one of the most charming cafes you'll step foot in on the street of Garosu-gil - Even for a non-Line fan like me, I found the Line-themed merchandise and food irresistibly cute! Just look at this huuuuuge Brown bear that everyone was queuing up to take a photo with!

Browse the merchandise if you will, but be warned that everything is ridiculously priced and costs a pretty penny - I really liked some of the merchandise but couldn't bear to spend my precious Korean won on them.

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Pinhole Mode

Head downstairs to the basement, and you'll find the endearing Line Friends Cafe!

Where you can dine with a life-sized "Brown" next to you, or choose from lots of cutesy Line-themed desserts, cakes, and food!

I bought myself a "Coney"-themed soft serve that was surprisingly delicious and waaaayyyy tooooo cute! Gotta say I wasn't expecting much, but this was goooood. (And it garnered me 1500 likes on Instagram too, what is this obsession with cute food?!)

2. The Hwawon @ Eight Seconds

535-12 Sinsa-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul

For those of you who love eclectic decor and botanicals, pop by The Hwawon @ Eight Seconds!

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Vintage Mode

With its dimly-lit and cozy interior that's been spiced up with little potted plants, colourful Middle-Eastern tapestry and an entire ceiling-full of dried flower bouquets, The Hwawon makes you feel like you've stepped into another universe altogether.

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Vintage Mode

It was the perfect hide-out from the freezing temperatures outdoors as we indulged in hot tea and honey bread!

Here's the perfect shot of our Honey Toast - Served toasty warm, drizzled with honey and then topped with whipped cream and cacao nibs!

Confession: Despite struggling with our frozen fingers, we brought this outdoors to the very pretty coffee table right outside the entrance for its own editorial shoot just because outdoor lighting is full of win. Don't judge us.

3. Deux Crèmes

45, Dosan-Daero 15-Gil,
Gangnam-Gu, Seoul

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Pop Art Mode

Deux Crèmes might not look like much from the outside, but I highly highly recommend this cafe if you love tarts and pastries - They do an incredible selection of fresh fruit pies that taste as good as they look!

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Partial Color Mode

Oh, and they also have gorgeous full-length windows with a great view for people-watching as well as perfect lighting for portrait and food shots! Definitely a win!

Here's a tip for your table flat-lay photos: It always looks better with a bit of human action, so get a hand (or two) into the frame for a more enticing shot!

We had the strawberry pistachio tart, and it was delicious! The crust was light and flaky, and the fresh strawberries complemented the light cream and nutty pistachio filling so well. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart, crisp and creamy.

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Partial Color Mode

See what I mean about the full-length windows for beautiful portrait lighting conditions? ;) The use of the Partial Color Art Filter really brought out the feels for this photo too!

4. Skin Food Store & Cafe

12-37 Apgujeong-ro, Sinsa-dong, 
Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Walking further down Garosu-gil, we stumbled upon Skinfood Cafe right above its concept store on Level 1 - Both Tammi and I are Skinfood fans, and we had to head upstairs to check out the cafe!


I LOVED the cheerful and happy atmosphere with sunny yellow and white accents all over! There's a little section where you get to play with Skinfood's skincare products and another where different makeup products are all laid out too. Really fun and chirpy vibes going on that's totally in line with Skinfood's branding.

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Cross Process Mode

They sure know how to make a place photogenic. Definitely my kind of #interiorgoals!

Food-wise, the menu is refreshing and reflects Skinfood's healthy brand philosophy - Great for health-conscious eaters. It's not mind-blowing by any means, but the cafe is a lovely and cheery place to rest the feet after an intense Skinfood marathon shopping downstairs on Level 1!

PS. I bought the Skin Food Avocado & Honey Lip Serum SPF8 and really, really like it. Moisturises well and gives my lips a natural reddish tint!

A quick selfie made easy with the 180 deg flip down screen on my Olympus E-PL8 - We all deserve to be a little narcissistic sometimes, yes? (Note: There's actually an E-Portrait mode on the Olympus E-PL8 for flawless skin too!)

5. O'Sulloc Tea House

580-5 Sinsa-dong,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Osulloc Tea House is one of those cafes that I've heard a lot of raves about, so naturally, we made it our last stop for the day. They actually do have a few different outlets - One in Myeongdong and another one at Insadong if I'm not mistaken.

Green tea and matcha fanatics should give Osulloc Tea House a visit because just about every single thing on its menu is green tea flavoured! The green tea used in their products is organically grown and comes from Jeju Island.

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Light Tone Mode

All kinds of green tea goodness on our tray. Yay!

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Light Tone Mode

We both loved the Green Tea Latte - It was creamy and frothy with exactly the right taste of matcha that was neither too bitter nor too artificial. Good stuff!! 

Tammi preferred the Green Tea Roll Cake while I liked the Green Tea Torte. The roll cake was sort of bland and didn't have a strong enough matcha kick to me, while the Green Tea Torte was sweeter and richer.

Pretty much done with the sweet stuff by the time we finished up at Osulloc Tea House, but it was a super fun day together with Tammi!

Five cafes in one day - Sounds hectic, but we really had a very relaxed time, and I would have loved to visit even more cafes, had we the stomach space to try more food!

Even if you don't follow my cafe recommendations above, do set aside a day in your itinerary to head over to Garosu-gil to explore the area. It's a treasure trove of hidden gem cafes, cool boutiques and interesting shops to uncover!

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Pop Art Mode

It was evening time when we left Garosu-Gil to the sight of a cloudless canvas of brilliant hues as the sun set. Dazzling, ain't it?

Olympus E-PL8 Art Filter - Partial Color Mode

Pictures used for illustrations in this entry were taken with my Olympus E-PL8.

Hope you enjoyed the read, and let me know if you've got any cool cafes to recommend around Garosu-Gil! Psst. More Seoul travel posts are coming this way, so keep a look out! ;)

Seoul Jan'17: Shake Shack at Gangnam Avenue - Totally worth the calories

Seoul's Shake Shack - How does it compare?

I remember my first taste of heaven - Shake Shack in Washington, December 2015! 

Imagine sinking your teeth into a fat crispy battered mushroom that's filled with exploding cheese, layered atop more cheese and a juicy, meaty beef patty, then encased within two fluffy soft pillows of buns.. There's nothing like a Shake Shack burger!

But the USA is a good twenty hours away from Singapore, and it's been more than a year since I last tasted this sinful decadence.. Until our visit to Shake Shack in Gangnam Avenue, Seoul! 

I've been around Gangnam previously (had really good fried chicken at this place called The Fry Pan) but that was before Shake Shack was even available in Seoul, hence my anticipation!

Back alleys of Gangnam Avenue; There's a lot of good food around here!

The only places Shake Shack can be found in Asia is Seoul, Korea, and Tokyo, Japan - When are they opening an outlet in Singapore?

Shake Shack - Gangnam Avenue, Seoul

Address:
452 Gangnam-aero,
Yeoksam 1(il)-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Open Daily: 11AM–11PM

Subway Directions:
Take the train to Sinnonhyeon (Line 9) Exit 5, walk straight down and you'll spot Shack Shack on your left.


I couldn't pass up on the chance to reminisce that amazing burger since I was already in Seoul, so we planned a visit to Shake Shack into our itinerary, and I was really, really excited about it!

We got there in the afternoon, around 3PM and thankfully, the queue wasn't too bad! A lot of people arrived after we did and the snaking line of customers extended all the way to the queuing area outdoors.


Decor and concept-wise, it looked exactly like Shake Shack in the USA, with the same ordering system - You queue up to order then get your own table and wait to collect your food once it's ready!

From arriving to getting our food on the table, it took roughly 30-40 minutes on a weekday, which wasn't too bad already, I suppose.

Here's the menu that's almost identical to the original Shake Shack, save for unique Seoul-exclusive items like the Red Bean Shake and Honey Butter Crunch Concrete! Pretty interesting, huh?

Price-wise, it's affordable though on the pricier end for fast food - My Shake Stack cost 12,400 won or around 15 SGD.


So excited to dig in, but of course the camera gets to eat first!

Verdict? Making the trip down to Shake Shack for lunch was absolutely worth the effort!


The only disappointment I had: Shake Shack's famous Crinkle Cut Cheese Fries (4,900 won) that definitely weren't as good as USA's - It was soggy and unappetising, I felt.


Sam ordered a Double Cheeseburger with additional bacon!


As for me, I stuck to my Shake Stack - Cheeseburger and a 'Shroom Burger with lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce!

THAT OOZING CHEESE. And I'm not even a big fan of cheese!! This combination is the best. I love the juicy portobello mushroom, molten cheese, and juicy beef patty all held together with yummy ShackSauce (a barbecue sauce). So sinful and sooooo good!

While I personally felt that my Shake Stack wasn't QUITE exactly the same as its US counterpart, it was close enough to satisfy that Shake Shack burger craving I was having. Score!


I also recommend trying the Seoul-exclusive Honey Butter Crunch Concrete, which I found very unique!

If you like the famous Honey Butter potato chips that have been all the rage in Seoul, this has a similar taste with a mild buttery taste and crunchy waffle cone pieces. It is very rich and sweet though like all of Shake Shack's milkshakes and concretes, so I would suggest sharing this.


Overall, though, we were very satisfied with our greasy, delicious, fast food lunch and I'll still be waiting for the day Shake Shack comes to Singapore! But until then, you know where's the nearest place to get your Shake Shack burger fix - In Seoul!

Accomodation - Airbnb

We opted to stay in an Airbnb apartment as I've been doing frequently for my travels. Here's the view from our Airbnb apartment located near Seoul Station - Get $40 credit for your Airbnb accommodation if you sign up for AirBnB via my referral link here!

Wifi - Happi.Fi

I stayed connected in Seoul with Happi.Fi - Quote "PMYINA" for 20% off your wifi rental!

They've got super good prices for wifi rental to lots of countries, and I love that the device is so sleek and small! Fits in even my smallest bag. (There are different devices for different countries - Do take note.) Each device can connect up to five users with no problem. They also thoughtfully provide a travel adaptor that charges USB ports as well as a mobile power bank - Super convenient!

Rent your pocket WiFi from Happi.Fi's website here.

Seoul Travelogues:

Seoul Jan'17: Best Value-For-Money Korean BBQ at Hongdae - Dally So
Seoul Jan'17: 5 Cafes To Visit At Garosu-Gil!
Seoul Jan'17: Shake Shack at Gangnam Avenue - Totally worth the calories
Seoul Jan'17: Gwangjang Market - Eating Raw Beef & Live Octopus
Seoul Mar'14: Juno Hair at Gangnam/Exploring Cheongdam

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Seoul Jan'17: Gwangjang Market - Eating Raw Beef & Live Octopus

Raw beef & live octopus at Gwangjang Market, also known as yukhoe / sannakji

Heya folks! I'll be writing a series of travel blog posts on a couple of destinations I've been to of late: Namely focusing on Seoul and Taiwan, two hotspots for tourism and sightseeing in Asia! These blog posts will be coming in little segments as I get around to documenting them all, so please be patient with me while I get them done bit by bit!

I spent my second week of 2016 in Seoul, Korea with my oldest friend, Tammi (who also writes at TeaforTammi, her very own space dedicated to food, beauty and photography) - We've known each other for 17 years and counting! It was a very well-spent vacation catching up with a dear girlfriend, as well as enjoying a good time together exploring Seoul; eating, shopping and sight-seeing!

Now, this was my fourth time in Seoul, but the very first time I went free and easy for an entire week! Without a fixed itinerary in mind, we kept a very relaxed schedule that allowed us to experience Seoul leisurely and still have time for ample rest - No hectic early mornings for us this time round. I felt that this was also my most enjoyable trip to Seoul, despite having to brave the subzero winter temperatures, ranging from 0 deg to -9 deg on most days.


We opted to stay in an Airbnb apartment as I've been doing frequently for my travels. Here's the view from our Airbnb apartment located near Seoul Station - Get $40 credit for your Airbnb accommodation if you sign up for AirBnB via my referral link here!


Gorgeous morning light as we left our apartment, all bundled up, to head out to Gwangjang Market, one of the oldest traditional markets in Seoul! (Spot my banana milk in hand, it's a cult favourite with both tourists and locals alike in Korea!)

Gwangjang Traditional Market

Gwangjang Market 광장시장
88, Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Opening Hours
General stores: 8:30am – 6:00pm
Restaurants: 8:30am -11:00pm
Clothing stores: 9pm – 10am next day

Directions for subway:
Jongno 5-ga Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 8
Euljiro 4-ga Station (Seoul Subway Line 2 & 5), Exit 4


Gwangjang Market is well-known as one of the oldest and largest traditional markets in the nation. While locals visit Gwangjang Market for silk goods, linen and fabric shopping, both locals and tourists enjoy Gwangjang for its huge variety of traditional Korean street food!

Ranging from the nondescript mungbean pancakes to the much more intimidating raw beef tartare and live octopus, it's any gastronomic foodie's kind of adventure!


We took the subway line to Gwangjang Market and got there easily enough. It was close to noon time and the market was already crowded with both locals and tourists. We walked through a small alley with a row of small restaurants, most of them with tanks of live octopuses and pictures of raw beef tartare on display, before entering a larger street where Korean ajumas were hawking pans upon pans of pickled produce, seafood and dried goods.


It was quite an overwhelming experience for all senses involved! You could smell the pungent tang of pickled produce and seafood mingled with the distinct aroma of hot cooked food and frying oil. Human chatter and bustling activity filled every corner of the dimly-lit market.


Dried fish just hanging out for sale.


Cured/pickled crabs - Tammi enjoyed these delicacies so much!


Lots of different kinds of kimchi and pickled vegetables waiting to be bought!


This old man was building a little fort made out of grilled rice cakes on a make-shift stove.


There was also all sorts of strange foods for sale and those little brown bits there are.... bug larvae if I'm not mistaken! Yikes.


Popular Korean foods and snacks like seaweed, ginseng, or even the currently trending honey butter nuts can be found at Gwangjang Market too.


Don't be shy to ask for a sampling portion if you're keen on buying anything, the Korean shopkeepers will readily allow you to taste everything they have to offer.


Tammi bought all kinds of kimchi and pickled food to try, and we got to hide from the cold for a bit while the shop vendor was packing up her order nicely for her. I was real impressed with this board I spotted in the shop - Check out all those translations in English and Mandarin!


Walk further down and you'll discover the food street of Gwangjang Market, which is probably the most crowded part of the market! You'll be overwhelmed by stalls upon stalls of food, all packed with customers trying to get a taste of authentic Korean street food.


Gwangjang Market is famous for these mungbean pancakes or bindaetteok, and they are HUGE! These pancakes are made by soaking and grinding mungbeans before deep frying them in a patty, along with ingredients like meat and vegetables.

We gave them a miss because they were simply too big and we wanted to spend our calories and stomach space on other food. Hahaha.


The Koreans are really big on eating all kinds of offal (animal parts) ranging from lungs to intestines to stomachs.. You get the idea. Those long dark-colored sausages on the left above are Soondae, Korean blood sausage that is said to be very nutritious and healthy.

We finally found a couple of seats at a stall and got ourselves seated. You can only order from whichever stall you're seated at, and if you're not sure what they have on the menu, ask for an english menu, which most of them will have.


I had to have something piping hot in the -6 deg weather, so I opted for this bowl of Banquet Noodles, which in my opinion was pretty mediocre. The noodles were soft without that springy texture and the soup wasn't particularly flavourful.


Tammi had a plate of marinated pork rind and this bowl of strange gelatinous looking noodle that came cold. Interesting, but not my sort of thang really.


This though, looked really good and we decided we had to order ourselves a plate of marinated pork intestines!


I liked these, they were well-marinated with a sweet and spicy flavour and had such a tender texture!


Don't forget to order a plate of spicy rice cake in a sweet red chilli sauce, also known as tteokbokki! It's one of my favourite Korean street foods and totally hits the spot especially in cold weather.

For the sweet-toothed, you'll love these freshly made hotteok, a sweet Korean pancake filled with caramelised brown sugar. It's an absolute treat with its fragrant, fluffy dough and molten filling!

This chewy pastry was another random find - A variety of Korean doughnut that's made of a mochi glutinous rice flour and then coated in cinnamon and sugar, it was addictively good!

There's so much food to try at Gwangjang Market, so go forth and let your tastebuds do the exploring!

Yukhoe & Sannakji - Raw Beef Tatare & Live Octopus

If you're a bold adventure-goer seeking after thrilling eats like the famed Korean raw beef tartare and live octopus, you won't be disappointed at Gwangjang Market!

Yukhoe is raw beef tartare, usually lightly marinated and adorned with a raw egg yolk. Sannakji is raw live octopus, served fresh.

We walked into a random crowded restaurant along one of the smaller alleys near Exit 10 of the train station - known as Yukhoe Alley and got ourselves seated! My courageous girlfriend Tammi had her sights set on tasting raw beef tartare, and since we saw a dish comprising of both raw beef tartare and octopus, we enthusiastically thought, "why not"?


It wasn't until a Korean ajuma unceremoniously plunked down a big plate of raw beef with suspicious-looking octopus bits on it before we realised what we had just ordered... Not just raw octopus, but LIVE raw octopus.

NICE. Looking at the squirming tentacles really did it for me. It was a major EWWWWW moment! I was repulsed by the mere fact that the octopus parts were still wriggling and writhing on the plate. Yucks.

That look on your girlfriend's face when she'd just unwittingly brought it upon herself to take on a Fear Factor level kind of food challenge... Priceless.


We did what any other human being would have done if put in our shoes - Wait for the octopus bits to "die" and stop moving about so much. LOL.


A good ten to fifteen minutes later, Tammi finally mustered the courage to start eating the raw beef AND live octopus.. The verdict?

Tammi: "Well.... the octopus is really fresh."
Me: "....DUH OF COURSE IT'S FRESH IT'S STILL MOVING?!"


Chicken me only tried the raw beef tartare because... Moving octopus... Just, No.

It was chewier than I expected because I've only ever had European-style beef carpaccio, but the taste wasn't bad at all! Something off the bucket list at least, eh? Nonetheless, this meal was most definitely the highlight of the day and an unforgettable gastronomic experience.

Food aside, you can also head to the other sections of Gwangjang Market (as well as the upper storeys of the market) to look at quality silk goods, bedding, fabric, hanbok, kitchenware and apparel. Prices are inexpensive, too!

Without a doubt, Gwangjang Market is one of the places you ought to check out! I'll be sharing more interesting places in Seoul to shop, eat and explore shortly so do check back regularly or subscribe to my feed (link on my side bar!)

WiFi Device - Happi.Fi

I stayed connected in Seoul with Happi.Fi - Quote "PMYINA" for 20% off your wifi rental!

They've got super good prices for wifi rental to lots of countries, and I love that the device is so sleek and small! Fits in even my smallest bag. (There are different devices for different countries - Do take note.) Each device can connect up to five users with no problem. They also thoughtfully provide a travel adaptor that charges USB ports as well as a mobile power bank - Super convenient!

Rent your pocket WiFi from Happi.Fi's website here.

Seoul Travelogues:

Seoul Jan'17: Shake Shack at Gangnam Avenue - Totally worth the calories
Seoul Jan'17: Gwangjang Market - Eating Raw Beef & Live Octopus
Seoul Mar'14: Juno Hair at Gangnam/Exploring Cheongdam

Look for me on my other social media platforms here:

 Twitter   Instagram   Dayre    Youtube