Travel: Korea 🇰🇷

A little messy to have, but the savoury-sweet toast was super buttery and fluffy. They’ve a number of flavours to choose from, but please make sure to get the garlic bread for that extra garlicky kick! It’s pricey, but tasty and the combi definitely works for a satisfying breakfast.

📍Egg Drop
Busan

Was super indecisive with their big range of flavours! Settled with camembert cheese cake and a classic chocolate. They were creamy, smooth and rich in their respective flavours. A little pricey for the portion but a good treat!

📍Gelati Gelati
Shinsegae Centum City B Mall, 1F
Busan, South Korea

There’s 2 popular Ssiat Hotteok stalls next to each other in Busan’s BIFF Square - go for the one that has a row of 6 cartoon characters on its signboard! Both had a generous portion of fragrant nuts stuffed in, but this stall has theirs less sweet + the sugar was melted down better. Had that shiok oozy texture!

📍Ssiat Hotteok
BIFF Square
Busan

One of the newest burgers on the menu caught my eye right away and it was this Hashbrown Mozzarella Burger! Because really, what can go wrong with such a combi right? A piece of hashbrown on top of a fried mozzarella cheese patty with shredded cabbage and that’s it. So simple but was a perfect sinful indulgence, though I can also foresee some to find this a little dry due to all the fried components. The ala carte burger goes for 4,500KRW • 5.60SGD but just go with the value for money set meal. The fries were great too, crispy and very well seasoned. Also, if you take beef, you’ll be happy to know that you have the option to add a beef patty in this.

📍 Lotteria
Yongsan, Seoul, Korea
Yongsan Station Exit 5
Address: Located within Yongsan Station and several outlets across Seoul

Enjoyed the hint of appetising lemon flavour throughout the whole cheesecake which was dense, cheesy, smooth and not overly sweet. The top surface in contact with the lemon was a little bitter though. I wouldn’t say it’s a must to try considering the price tag and the variety of bakes available in Seoul, but it sure works well to satisfy cheesecake cravings!

📍 PABLO
Myeongdong, Seoul, Korea
Myeongdong Station Exit 5
Address: 서울 특별시 중구 남대문로 81 롯데 백화점 지하1층
Lotte Department Store B1, Nandaimon Chun-Ku 81 Seoul, Korea
Opening Hours: 10.30am - 8pm

Couldn’t resist getting a soft serve here because it’s getting more expensive in SG (plus the gradually smaller swirls boo). Thankfully, it’s as good as we remember, velvety smooth and luscious, it never fails!

📍 GODIVA
Myeongdong, Seoul, Korea
Myeongdong Station Exit 5
Address: 서울 특별시 중구 남대문로 81 롯데 백화점 지하1층
Lotte Department Store B1, Nandaimon Chun-Ku 81 Seoul, Korea
Opening Hours: 10.30am - 8pm

Locally well known as the rice stealer, ganjang gejang has been top on my to try list ever since I confirmed my trip to Korea! The idea of raw marinated crabs may sound odd BUT IT'S HEAVENLY. KUDOS TO THE GENIUS WHO CAME UP WITH THIS. 🙇🏻‍♀️ One of the most popular places seems to be Pro Ganjang Gejang in Sinsa-dong but needing to tighten our budget for the whole month in Korea led us to Ah Yeon Soy Sauce Crabs instead. We got a serving of crabs, stir fried squid and received a complimentary pot of soy bean paste soup along with banchan and bowls of healthy purple rice.

Best way to start the meal is to put your rice in the crab shell with its roe, scoop a few spoons of sauce and mix well. The crab meat was sweet and fresh, no hint of fishiness at all and the accompanying sauce was not over salty, just nice enough to keep you wanting more! Crabs here are smaller but very worth it considering it's price!

📍 아현동간장게장 Ah Yeon Soy Sauce Crabs
Ah Yeon, Seoul, Korea
Ah Yeon Station Exit 4
Address: 서울특별시 마포구 아현동 282-1 Ahyeon-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 10am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 9pm, Closed on Sundays

Hailing from San Francisco, Mr Holmes Bakehouse is most known for its cruffins, which are essentially a combination of croissants and muffins (Geddit? Hahaha). Daily offerings of flavours are written on its glass window outside on a weekly basis and on the day of our visit, it was Apple Refresh, apple and early grey cream filling.

Apart from its shape, its definitely more croissant-like, flaky and quite crisp. The aromatic filling was generous and not cloyingly sweet but I don't think it's worth a special trip down unless if you happen to pass by! The space is lovely to chill in.

📍 Mr Holmes Bakehouse
Garosugil, Gangnam, Korea
Sinsa Station Exit 8
Address: 서울특별시 강남구 압구정로10길 34
34 Apgujeong-ro 10-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Opening Hours: 10am - 10.30pm

Fans of Binggrae banana milk will be thrilled to be here! What’s more shiok than downing a packet of banana milk, is obviously downing a banana milk softserve! It’s slightly sweet for me but tastes exactly like the drink.

Other items on the menu include coffees, teas, milkshakes, all of which are banana milk flavoured! And pssst … fans of honey butter chips? They have their very own cafe just next door!

📍 옐로우 카페 Yellow Cafe
Hyundai City Outlet, Dongdaemun, Korea
Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station Exit 14
Address: 서울특별시 중구 장충단로13길 20 자하2층
Basement 2, 13-ga, 20 Euljiro 6(yuk)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Opening Hours: 11am - 10pm

PNB's choco pies are like the icon of Jeonju's Hanok Village, which explains why you'll see their shop almost along every other alley and people leaving the shops with boxes of pies. Apart from the choco pies in a few flavours, they also have traditional cookies and other bakes for sale. I grabbed a normal chocolate choco pie! Unlike the familiar Lotte Choco Pie that has a chewy marshmallow centre, PNB has theirs filled with cream, strawberry jam and walnuts. It's a nice decent snack but not that amazing. The addition of walnuts gave a nice crunch but I prefer the chewy textures than the crumbly one found in this.

If you’re not making a trip down to Jeonju, PNB Bakery’s choco pies and other bakes can also be found in several of Seoul’s departmental stores.

📍 풍년제과 PNB Bakery
Jeonju Hanok Village, Jeonju, Korea
Address: 전주시 완산구 은행로 61-1 (교동)
Eunhaeng-ro 61-1 (gyo dong), Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do
Opening Hours: 8.30am-10pm
*There are many PNB outlets across Jeonju with varying opening hours.

Hands down one of the most memorable meals I’ve had so far in Korea! With a friendly ajumma’s help, we managed to locate Hyundaiok Nambusijang along one of the hidden alleys within Jeonju’s Nambu Market - a tiny stall that has additional surrounding sitting space. It’s a very no frills and unassuming place! Ordering is super simple as they serve just this one and only dish. Sit down and decide if you like a mild, spicy or super spicy soup base and whether you would like squid or not (without it it’s 6,000KRW but please just top up)!

The soup with rice beneath is quickly served boiling hot in an earthen pot along with a plate of banchan, a pack of seaweed, a raw egg in a metal bowl (it’s called sooran) and a tangerine. Tear a few pieces of seaweed, scoop a few spoons of hot soup in, mix and you’re ready to slurp the egg down to start off the meal! What won my heart over immediately though, is that amazing clear soup. Oh my goodness, looks simple but it was extremely hearty and comforting, light yet so robust with a hint of spice (I had mild) that worked perfectly in elevating the overall flavours. There are many different elements in this but they worked harmoniously together in a way that still retains each ingredient's individuality. A poster on the wall showed that the broth is boiled using ingredients like kelp, dried anchovies and kimchi. The beansprouts were fresh and crunchy, squids had a nice bite and rice well-cooked. I polished every single drop of soup and even helped my friend (she's a small breakfast eater) with hers! My only regret is only trying this on my last day in Jeonju!

📍 현대옥 Hyundaiok Nambusijang
Nambu Market, Jeonju, Korea
Address: 완산구 전동 3가 2-242남부시장 2동 74
2-242, Jeon-dong 3-ga, Wansan-gu | Nambu Market 2-74, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea
Opening Hours: 6am till Sold Out (Usually 1pm)