Come time for my Japanese midterm (yes I actually studied for this!), I decided that my favourite cafe (Cafe aA in Hongdae) was a little too far to travel to. 

This time I decided to scout out a cafe in Myeongdong to pass 2-3 hours of study time. I didn’t to go to those usual cafes like Caffe Bene, Angel-in-us or Ediya. 

I came across Cafe 오후N by random and since they had free wifi and was quite quiet, I settled for this place. 

The place was furnished in wood and brick walls which I attracted me in the first place. It was located on the 2nd and 3rd floor so there were windows on the side and plenty of natural light.  Perfect study (and napping) conditions! 

The waitress was super nice and also very interested in where I was from since you know, I looked Korean but spoke English and was studying Japanese…. :P

I ordered a strawberry latte (~6500won) and this thing was so good! The strawberry taste wasn’t overbearing and didn’t make the latte too sweet. I almost wanted to try their other flavours…. but paying over 13000won for 2 drinks seemed to be a little ridiculous. I figured I’d just come back if I wanted to try the other flavours :)

They had these cute little wooden box character decorations all over the cafe. 

My Japanese friend came and joined me for studying after and said actually, the Japanese phrases written on these decorations were so strange haha

Regardless, we spent at least 15 mins taking photos and looking at everything :D

This cafe is worth checking out! Not super unique but still special :)

Directions: Myeongdong station Exit 8. Turn left and walk one and a half block. It will be on your right hand side.  It is located on second floor so you have to pay attention to the signs. 

So I can look back on it someday when and if I forget :)

I used to think I “enjoyed” dance…taking classes and workshops, learning choreo from different teachers.  Sure I had fun in some moments but most of the time, I beat myself up  for not getting the choreo down right or not learning it fast enough. 

That was until I met D.J. in Seoul and I learned what it means to actually dance. 

He stressed that dance is not about how fast you pick up the choreo or how nice you look or what cool moves you can pull off… but it’s about having fun.  God created a rhythm in us, gave us a body and ability to express ourselves.  Dance is just about that! 

And that’s what made the difference. 

Being with JHM for just 4 months I learned so much from not only him but everyone else and appreciated dance for what it is. 

If you ever read this, THANKS MAN!  Thanks for showing me how to enjoy dance, for introducing me to krump, for being a great mentor and friend :) 정말 감사합니다

Presenting…느린마을 양조장 Baesangmyun Brewery!!!!

Since I am such a huge fan of makeoli, of course I had to find a fresh brewery in town!
Makeoli is one of the traditional Korean alcohol made from rice.  It’s best served with pajeon 파전 or bindaedduk 빈대떡. 

This place is a brewery slash restaurant slash gift shop.  3 in 1! What more can I ask for? :)

The brewing happens behind a glass wall so you can actually see what’s going on. oh and look, how nice of them to put procedures in both english and korean!

That container they were pouring was for us. 

This place is usually packed at night time. I came here twice, once in the late afternoon 5ish pm and once after dinner around 10pm.  There was no one in the late afternoon and we practically had the whole place to ourselves.  I find a lot of people like to come here for dinner.

The restaurant had a cozy feeling since most of the interior was made from wood and had a contemporary higher-class feel, not like your typical makeoli hang out places. 

Yeah, looks like milk… but believe me, this tastes so delish! It was so fresh and smoooooooooooooth.  After drinking this, I had higher expectations for makeoli. 

It wasn’t too badly priced… I think this was only 6000 won. 

Some of the side dishes we ordered with the drinks. 

I’ve also tried their pajeon and it’s not bad!

Gotta remember your drinking etiquettes in Korea!!!!!! 

And of course, there has to be a nice little gift shop on the side to attract tourists and customers.  The makeoli we bought was so cheap.. I think 2500 a bottle.  But mind you, it’s only fresh if you drink it the day of.  They actually poor it in the bottles that day, but the tastes still feels not as fresh as what we got in the store. 

I try to buy this brand (soolsool) of Makeoli in supermarkets and it always tastes better than the other kinds. 

Direction: Yangjae station (Line 3) Exit 9 and walk ~750m

Never did it, wanted to! They wouldn’t let us on cuz some of us were a little too “drunk”. 

Located right behind the strip of malls of Migliore, Doota, APM, Disco Jump is supposedly a really fun ride… and better if you understand Korean.  Apparently you sit in a circular machine that continuously moves and you try to stay in your seat while the announcer makes fun of you. hahahaha 

You a fan of Dukbokki? Well I was told that i HAD to go to Sindang to eat their dukbokki because apparently that’s where it all originated. 

The took us awhile to find, we had to walk a good 10 mins from the station.

The only instructions we had were go from exit 4 (?) and look for restaurant with a picture of an ahjumma. HAHA great instructions right?! With a bit of luck and wandering we miraculously found it.  Apparently this is where this lady invented dukbokki.

It was super busy inside and finding a table for 8 was kinda difficult. 

We ended up ordering 2 different ones, original maybe?? This is what it looks like before everyone got cooked. Can i just say that instant noodles with anything is so awesome?! 

AFTERWARDS…

The dukk was really good! They were thinner than most of the dukkbokki I had on the streets and other restaurants… but the texture was really good.  I’m quite picky since I’m a big fan of chewy foods, but this one met my expectations.  

But other than the dukk, everything else is more or less like anything you’ll find anywhere in seoul lol. It was fun for the experience.. wearing them red aprons and getting your clothes to reek of dukkbokki. :) Worth at least once a visit!

Directions: 신당 Sindang station (Line 6) Exit 7 or 8 and walk straight for 2 blocks…maybe.