South Korea 2022

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] If you love your coffee, this coffee bar is one place you really got to go.

There are many different variations of coffee in this one aesthetic coffee bar and we had some of their specialty.

The Pine Cone (3,800 won) is a small cup of espresso, lined with lemon syrup, sugar and cocoa powder on the rim of the cup. Drinking the coffee with the sugared rim adds a sweet citrus flavour to the strong aromatic nutty coffee, and surprisingly it complements very well! However for a person who likes their coffee with less sugar, this may be overly sweet.

The Cafe Crema (3,300 won) is a cold coffee with milk and coffee foam, and this is an intense cup of coffee with strong aromatic flavours but slightly sweetened. This is how I like my coffee and really appeals to me alot. This is perhaps the best and most balanced coffee I've had yet.

As for a pairing dessert, we got the vanilla pound cake (5,700 won). It was okay, maybe abit too sweet. I highly suggest getting their chocolate pound cake (6,300 won) which I have had previously. The cake is soft and very chocolatey and there are chocolate chips within the cake that adds more chocolate flavours and make the cake more fudgey. If you love chocolate this is one terrific treat!

구테로이테
16, Seolleung-ro 131-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] There are many well known markets in Seoul, namely Gwangjang and Tongin Market, but Mangwon Market is really worth a mention too!

Mangwon market is known for their bite sized fried chicken and there are many stalls in the market. We got a stall that includes fried tteokbokki, and the store owner was so nice to pile up the small cup with so much chicken! The chicken pieces may be slightly tough, but they are crispy and flavourful from the sweet savoury and spicy sauce around the chicken.

Another good mention is the unique sweet potato fish shaped pancake in the market! Each pancake only cost 500 won and they come warm and crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside. The sweet potato taste is strong and we loved the sweet paste within. Best to have during winter.

The fried doughnuts stuffed with red bean paste was very addictive as well, as the chewy doughnut really gave such a good mouth feel and the red bean paste given wasn't too sweet!

Lovely place to come for some snacks 😍

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] If you love your bbq, I really recommend heading to this place for some good beef.

This bbq place offers 2 kinds of marinated beef ribs and other original cuts of beef. We got the 2 kinds of marinated ribs, one being Andong marinated (22,000 won per portion) and Suwon marinated (23,000 won).

We found the Suwon marinated beef extremely tender, succulent and very flavourful. Looking at the amount of fat in the meat, this is probably hanwoo or some kind of really good grade of beef. The caramelised fat combined with the sweet savoury marination really won us over, and we loved it so much that we ordered another portion!

The Andong style is much meatier, but tougher than the Suwon style. However, it's still good grade beef. Although the taste of the marination isn't that strong, it is still good with some salt dipping.

This is definitely one of the best Korean bbq meats I've had! Really worth a splurge for such good quality meats!

노란상소갈비
22, Seolleung-ro 131-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] Known to many for having Michelin starred soy marinated crabs, we decided to give it a try.

The Soy Marinated Crabs set (39,000 won but price varies) came with a rather huge crab with quite a few side dishes. The crab was rather plump, and filled with loads of roe. Squeezing out the meat from the shell of the body reveals visible chunks of meat, which signifies that its a very fresh crab. The taste itself is very rich and savoury; definitely best paired with rice. However, the texture is something to get used to, which I still find hard to do so.

The Soy Marinated Shrimps (20,000 won) were also very rich and savoury, but they have a much firmer bite. It's hard to tell that it's raw and the fresh shrimp flavour is strong too! This is very good with rice as well.

If you are in Seoul and would like to try out soy marinated crabs, this is one place to go for!

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] Now this is one of the most aesthetic cafe I have seen and it's interesting how every dessert served seem to be some form of edible abstract art.

We got the Peak Small (23,000 won) which was really quite expensive considering the usual price of desserts. This is made of a pastry rim, with very flowy green tea white chocolate in the center. Paired together, the chocolate may be quite sweet but it provides contrasting textures with the crispy pastry crust.

This is definitely one dessert to share but the price is quite a premium. Perhaps its justified considering its really quite a unique cafe with an interesting experience and atmosphere.

NUDAKE
26, Seongsui-ro 7-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] Out of the many good burger bars in Seoul, this is one really worth a mention.

We got their signature truffle arugula shrimp burger (12,800 won) and a double zesty garlic cheeseburger (14,300 won). The shrimp burger patty was so thick and very filled with minced and whole shrimps! The shrimp flavour hits you hard and the truffle mayo complements the shrimp patty very well. This is one very good burger.

However to me, what's even better is their double zesty garlic beef burger. Imagine 2 juicy beef burgers, 2 savoury melty cheese and topped with umami packed garlic mayo sauce. This is an ultimate flavour bomb, with all flavours synergising with each other so well. This may be heart clogging, but it is definitely a burger to satisfy your cravings.

The cheese fries (5,300 won) is okay, not bad but nothing much to shout out about. I suggest getting just a burger and maybe a beer to wash it down and that should be enough as the burgers were quite huge.

Honestly, I will definitely be back here to eat! Can't wait for the next chance!

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] If you love your grilled fish and don't mind some bones, this is a popular spot for both locals and tourists to go to!

I got the grilled Spanish Mackerel (13,000 won) which came really huge! It's definitely a very meaty fish, with very fresh, tender and succulent meat. It's naturally sweet and savoury, and I love how the smoke from the grill gave it an additional smoky flavour. Best part are the sides which have became crispy and have a concentrated umami flavour 😍

The restaurant is run by a family, which makes the service provided much better and its heart warming to see them all having fun working and serving with a smile. Definitely recommended!

고삼이 신촌접
38, Yonsei-ro 7an-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] If you would like rest after shopping around in Hongdae, this is one cafe to go for!

The interior of the cafe does make it cozy, and their coffee is pretty good as well! We had a cafe latte (6,000 won) which was not bad, the coffee was aromatic and it wasn't too milky.

The Black sesame latte (6,500 won) was thick, nutty and we liked how the black sesame taste was strong, but did not overpower the strong bold coffee. Both flavours complemented well together.

This is one place to consider if you would like to rest 😊

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] I have heard of this pork meatball in Yeongcheon market from the variety show Sixth Sense and really wanted to try it out!

They sell their meatballs in batches of 4 for 10,000 won and I must say, they are pretty massive. The smell of the meatballs were really enticing and the flavours were even better!

You will notice immediately that the meatballs were full of juices, and my oh my were they flavourful. Each mouthful is a flavour bomb of soy sauce marinade, umami from the vegetable within and perhaps some pepper within the marinade. The meat itself is tender, juicy and yet no foul pork odour. Very delicious and perfect for a snack!

I dare say this is worth travelling for! So addictive 😍

[SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA] I have eaten many different Korean fried chicken chains in Seoul and really nothing beats Ho chicken in terms of both quality and price.

For 18,900 won, we got the half yangnyeom boneless chicken and half original boneless chicken and they really came in massive portions. Many love Korean fried chicken for the sauces coated around the chicken, but original fried appeals well to me as well due to the very airy and crispy batter, and the surpringly juicy tender meat within. Not too salty, they allowed the nature taste of the meat to shine.

As for the yangnyeom chicken, they were very generous with the spicy, savoury and sweet sauce that really keeps you going for more. This is one flavour done right by them.

As for sides, we got the snowing fries (5,900 won) which is basically honey butter fries. Crispy yet fluffy, the fries were coated with honey butter powder which has a sweet note. If you don't mind your fries sweeter then this is for you!

What completes the meal is a pint of fresh draft beer at just 4,000 won to wash all the oiliness down. Absolutely refreshing! Definitely a very satisfying meal 😍 there should be a chain near wherever you're going!

[SUWON, SOUTH KOREA] If you are looking for a cafe to chill with beautiful aesthetics and good coffee, this is one to go for.

Situated in a traditional style house, the cafe has a beautiful wooden interior. The vibes is very cozy with jazz music playing to set the tone.

We had Einspanner (6,000 won), Heukimja Latte (5,500 won) and a slice of Lemon Matcha Cake (8,000 won) to share. The Einspanner's coffee was strong and very rich and aromatic. Definitely pairs well with the sweet cream on top!

The Heukimja Latte or Black sesame latte had a very roasted nutty taste which went well with the rich coffee! There was quite some cream as well which made the drink very rich.

The Lemon Matcha Cake wasn't quite as expected, as the texture of the cake below is more like a brownie. The Matcha taste is definitely strong, but the lemon tartness turned out stronger and musked the Matcha taste. Still not bad of a cake.

Definitely love the vibes and coffee in here!

[SUWON, SOUTH KOREA] One food Suwon is famous for is their galbi or marinated pork meat, and the region near this restaurant has a few stalls selling the same style of meat.

We went to a relatively more quiet one and we were very pleased with the service and meat provided!

We got the seasoned galbi (16,000 won for 200g, minimum order of 400g) and the meat was so tender and succulent! The sugar in the marinade caramelised well after being in the barbeque for some time. Love the slightly charred pieces, which had a smoky flavour in addition to the beautiful sweet and savoury flavour of the marinade.

Definitely recommended to get when you're in Suwon!

다정숯불갈비함흥냉면전문점
5, Jangdari-ro 283beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do