Seoul: Jjimjilbang, Noryangjin fish market, Ehwa Woman's University and Lotte Mart

Yay I'm finally gonna continue writing abt my Seoul trip!

(You can read the first part on what to eat in Seoul here: http://weilingweilingweiling.blogspot.ie/2013/11/seoul-cos-stuffing-your-face-with-good.html)

I love Seoul becos there are so many things to do and so many places to visit! On my second trip to Seoul with my best friend, Ashley, we tried our best to fit in with the other Koreans and went to some of the places typical Koreans would visit. Really enjoyed myself a lot!
So I'm gonna be recommending some of these places today! Do spend some time to check these places out when you're in Seoul!

Jjimjilbang

찜질방

 

Becos I'm a Korean drama fan and 1 in 10 Korean dramas feature a sauna/ bath-house scene, I figured that I HAD to check out this place when I visit Seoul! I had a rough idea of what to expect from all the Korean dramas and I was super excited abt my virgin experience! We decided to go to Silloam Fire Pot Sauna since I've read good reviews abt the place online.

Silloam Fire Pot Sauna
실로암불가마사우나
128-104 Jungrim-dong

Jung-gu
Nearest train station: Seoul

 

Directions frm Seoul station:

Walk to Lotte Mart

Walk towards Korea Economy Daily News for 30m

Turn left
 

We took a cab there and arrived at slightly past 9pm. Most jjimjilbangs open 24/7. At Silloam, it costs abt 15,000 won per person (SGD$17) for bath and sauna when you visit after 8pm. And you are allowed to stay until 5am the nxt day aka you can slp there if you want! Hee hee I'm so gonna do that the nxt time I visit Seoul and save on a hotel night stay!

 

So basically, you are provided with t-shirt and shorts which you are to change into when you enter the place. There are female and male changing rooms with lockers provided for you to lock away your belongings. After you get changed, you can start to explore the place!

 

In our cute matching sauna attire and a towel wrapped around our head hehe!

Korean jjimjilbangs are srsly the bombz! There are so many facilities available in one building. In my opinion, it shld be called an entertainment centre instead of a bath-house. So basically, Silloam is a 5-storey building with facilities which include sauna, beauty salon, gym, PC rooms, snack bars and a Korean restaurant.

 

At the main area where there are massage chairs and a TV with mats for you to lie on

So there are many different sauna rooms in a jjimjilbang, including an ice room, oxygen room, jade fire sweating room, salt sweating room etc. Each room has a different temp and are said have various effects (Eg. Circulate physical energy and restore vitality, relieve shoulder aches etc)
We checked out every room in the place and I have to say that some of the hot rooms are really HOT. After staying in the room for 2-3mins, I could feel my contact lenses melting in my eyes and it was so painful! That was when Ashley and I would run out of the hot room and dash towards the ice room (where it's -10 degrees) to cool down haha.

Some of the rooms with a more comfortable temp aka air-con kinda temp, tend to get more crowded at arnd 11pm as people who are intending to spend the night in the jjimjilbang start to find a spot to slp. It's actually very comfortable just lying down in one of the rooms and chatting to your friends. Felt really relaxed the entire time!


This room wasn't too hot and yup those holes were made for people to lie in!

One of the extremely hot rooms

Playing arnd with the shovel and yup that's "sand" I think haha

Yay ice room!

Haha Minjung's face reads, "OMG I'M SO COLD!!!"

Minjung helped us with the sheep head towels hee hee so cute right!

So after running arnd the entire place and checking out all the rooms, we decided to sit on the massage chair and enjoy some full body massage. There was this particular machine which was really weird and it made me laugh so much!!! Unlike the normal massage chairs, this machine requires you to lie down on it and it vibrates so hard that all your fats will start to jiggle non-stop. I was laughing so hard the entire time that random old uncles (ahjussi) who were watching TV started staring at me.
Lol but do check out that machine if you visit this place! It was quite fun hahaha.

 

Anywayz after that, we decided to act Korean and get some typical Korean snacks to eat! So Minjung said that we had to eat baked eggs (맥반석) and drink sikhye (식혜) when we visit a jjimjilbang! The baked eggs were really nice, tastes somewhat like normal hard boiled eggs but better! And sikhye is a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage which is made frm cooked rice! Yum!



Posing with our baked eggs and sikhye

So based on what I saw in Korean dramas, you're supposed to crack the egg on your friend's head and then eat it. Ashley and I tried that on each other and here's a video of the process:

Haha this video nvr fails to put a smile on my face. We had so much fun that night!!!

 

YUMMY!!!!!

We decided to leave the place after spending almost 4 long hours there. Just before leaving, we found the hot bath place just beside the female changing room! Well the hot bath place is split into males and females only area, and you're supposed to strip naked before entering the bath place. So essentially, everyone in the hot bath is naked and most people are just chatting to their friends etc. There are many different types of baths including hardwood charcoal bath, wormwood bath, steam jade bath etc and each bath has their own "special effect" like relieving menstruation pain, helping in blood circulation and metabolism etc.
It's sth like Japanese hot spring (onsen), where you get to soak in the hot bath for as long as you like.

It was Ashley's first time to a public bath and she was really shocked when she saw naked women walking arnd lol. I've been to Japanese onsen loads of times when I was younger (my parents LOVE Japanese hot spring) so I'm no stranger to it. I told Ashley that perhaps we shld go to the bath tgt before leaving the place and we almost did, but decided to chicken out at the very last min. Hahaha I guess life wouldn't be the same if I saw Ashley and Minjung naked and vice versa. Imagine how awkward it would be when I see them in sch, lol just joking.
But no, I actually didn't mind going to the hot bath with them but I don't rmb why we chickened out in the end haha. What a pity!

 

Noryangjin fish market

노량진수산시장

13-8, Noryangjin-dong
Dongjak-gu
Nearest train station: Noryangjin

 

Directions frm Noryangjin station:

Take Exit 1

Walk 100m on the overhead bridge
(Alternatively, you can just follow the fishy smell haha)

 

Noryangjin fish market topped my to-do list on my second visit to Seoul! I was really excited abt visiting the fish market and looked forward to indulging in some fresh and cheap seafood! Ashley wasn't too thrilled abt it though cos she hates fish. But she accompanied me still!!! That's what friends are for hee hee.

So we went at abt 1.30pm and the place was pretty quiet. I think we were the only tourists arnd lol. It was so difficult trying to pick a stall to buy frm becos we're n00bs are choosing seafood and I can't really speak Korean so it was a headache trying to bargain etc. Really had no idea which stall had the freshest items but decided to buy frm this stall owner who was able to speak Chinese!
Srsly, the minute she spoke Chinese to me, I was like Hallelujah. It's really frustrating trying to buy stuff from someone you can't communicate with!

Becos I did my research before embarking on the journey to Noryangjin fish market, I knew what I had to order! Ashley and I really wanted to try the Alaska crabs but it was too pricey so we skipped that and got some fresh sashimi, abalone and octopus instead!






Looks like a typical wet market

 

 
 

HUGE scallops!

My first time seeing this and are you thinking what I'm thinking....
This is actually a type of spoon worm, commonly known as penis fish or gaebul.
I didn't order this, can't bring myself to eat it cos it looks so gross.

Octopus (sannakji)

Acting likka tourist and taking pics with stall owner who was able to communicate with us in Chinese!

 

The stall owner who could speak Chinese was quite nice! I wanted to buy fish but I can't find a stall selling live fishes so she brought me to one and helped me talk to the owner in Korean!

Decided on getting seabass (gwang-uh) and the fish stall owner just scooped the fish I chose out of the fish tank, and used a sharp hook to kill the fish on the spot omg. And then he took the dead fish to the back and cut off its head and started slicing it into sashimi slices for us. Talk abt having fresh sashimi lol...




Killing the fish in front of us

Sashimi in progress

So after getting all our fresh seafood frm the wet market, we proceeded to the restaurants located on the 2nd floor of the market! So you're supposed to hand over whatever seafood you've bought frm the wet market and specify how you would like them to cook it.

So we started off our lovely lunch with our freshly sliced seabass sashimi! It's so fresh!!!! And what Koreans would usually do is that they'll bring the fish bones to the restaurant and request the chef to whip up some fish stew (maeuntang) We made the mistake of ordering the spicy version which was really... super spicy for us! It was really quite yummy though!

Seabass sashimi

Spicy fish stew

For our abalone, we decided to have one of them raw, and butter grill the other one. But sad to say, I didn't enjoy both the raw and butter grilled abalone. The abalone was somewhat tough, not as tasty as the ones I've had in Spore hmmm.

Raw sliced abalone

Butter grilled abalone

Scallops -- I forgot how we asked them to cook it

I was determined to try sannakji (산낙지) which is live octopus that is served immediately after it has been cut into smaller piece. It is usually seasoned with sesame oil and you can often see the octopus squirming arnd on the plate. And yup, you're supposed to eat it even when it's squirming arnd!
Becos the suction cups on the octopus are still active, it is possible for small pieces to stick to your mouth or throat while eating. Hence special care must be taken as it runs the risk of being a choking hazard!
I was really apprehensive abt it at first but eventually, I just decided to go for it (#YOLO)



Sannakji, they were squirming all over the plate when it was served

 

Ashley took a video of me trying sannakji for the first time in my entire life:

 

 

In all honesty, it tastes just like normal octopus to me??? I was really scared, so the minute I placed the piece in my mouth, I started chewing really fast cos I didn't want anything to stick to my mouth or throat haha. But anyway, taste wise, nothing spectacular abt this dish.

 

Overall, you shld definitely visit Noryangjin fish market when you visit Seoul! Good and fresh seafood at an affordable price! I'm definitely going back there when I visit Seoul again!

 

Ehwa Woman's University

이화여자대학교

Nearest train station: Ehwa's Woman's University

 

After our satisfying meal at Noryangjin fish market, Ashley and I decided to take the train down to Ehwa Woman's University to shop! We wanted to check out the university, as well as shop arnd the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The university campus is so nice and modern looking! Walked arnd the campus for a bit and then decided to head to the shopping malls! Read online that shopping in the area was meant to be really good and glad to say, we weren't disappointed at all! There were so many good bargains!!!

If you're a shopaholic, DO NOT miss this place! Saw loads of clothes which were similar to those in Dongdaemun but were much cheaper!

 

Lotte Mart

롯데마트

432 Cheongpa-ro

Jung-gu

Nearest train station: Seoul

 

Decided to act like a Korean again and visited their local supermarket -- Lotte Mart! I had a whole list of food items I wanted to buy back to Spore, some of which included yulmucha (율무차, also known as job's tears tea), chocopie, soju, Market O real brownie.

 

I was really excited abt going to Lotte Mart as I heard that it's massive and there's loads of free goodies for you to sample. I love free food haha!!! #cheapskate



Saw this inside the supermarket! Not sure if they're really planting it to sell or it's just for display???

Just had to pose with these huge watermelons! They're 10kg each and I couldn't even lift it up (TOO HEAVY)

HUGE chicken cutlet

Ashley posing haha

Anywayz there was so many things in the supermarket! It's like a food lover's paradise! And everything was so cheap as well!!! And yes, a lot of free food samples! Ashley and I just kept walking round and round the place and trying out all the free food stuff lol.
And the soju was so cheap!!! It was like SGD$2 for a small bottle. BUY ALL THE ALCOHOL!!!! Just kidding.

If you wanna get any food items frm Seoul, this is the place to go! It's easy to find this supermarket and it's huge. You can definitely find whatever you're looking for there!

Okay that's all for now! Will continue my entry on Seoul soon! Nxt up, Everland and Bukchon Hanok Village! Stay tune! X

Seoul: Cos stuffing your face with good food is the way to go

Finally decided to get down to blogging abt one of my fav cities in Asia! How can anyone not love Seoul? There's cheap and good food, loads of stuffs to see/ do and best part is, you can shop until you die becos the malls in Korea are opened 24/7 (or at least till 5am I think)

I love Seoul!!!! If you love Bangkok, you'll definitely love Seoul too! I really think that Bangkok and Seoul are pretty similar in terms of getting cheap and good food and shopping (except of cos things will be cheaper in Bangkok!!!) But you can afford to spend a longer time in Seoul becos there's more things to do there compared to Bangkok.

So I've been wanting to visit Korea for the longest time ever esp since I'm really into Kpop and Korean TV shows. Was really excited when my dad proposed a family trip to Seoul and Jeju Island in summer 2011. Was there for exactly a wk but pity I didn't get to do much becos I had my eye surgery done on the first day I arrived and so I was pretty blind the entire time. Nonetheless, I had loads of fun!!!

And becos I couldn't get enough of Korea, I decided to visit Seoul again in summer 2012 with my best friend, Ashley! This time, I did all my research before travelling so we managed to check out loads of nice places!!! We were there for a wk too and I really felt that we shld have stayed for 1.5 wks instead becos there's really so much to do (Read: SHOPPING!!!) I bought so much stuffs but still felt like I'm not done with the shopping yet!

For the trip with my family, we stayed in Best Western Premier Hotel Kukdo which is conveniently located in Euljiro-4-ga. It isn't a really fancy hotel but it was a nice place and was 5mins way frm the nearest subway station, Euljiro-4-ga.
(Check out Kukdo Hotel for more info)

Too happy to be in Seoul!

When I visited Seoul again in 2012, Ashley and I chose to stay in a Namsan Guest House (Check out http://www.namsanguesthouse.com/ for more info)
Namsan Guest House is located in Myeong Dong but it's not on the same side as the shopping area, so you don't have to worry abt noise/ crowd. Two thumbs up for the superb location! It's really cheap too, I think Ashley and I paid abt SGD$25 per person per night and we got ourselves an ensuite double single room. Again, don't be expecting a nice fancy place for the price you're paying, it's somewhat like a hostel. But it's clean and safe! Will most probably stay there again if I plan to visit Korea on a budget!

Gonna be blogging abt Seoul in parts and first up, here are some of the yummy food I had in Seoul and some of the MUST try famous food places:

Korean BBQ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is a trip to Korea without Korean BBQ!!! You can find Korean BBQ places all over Seoul! Minjung, my Korean friend brought me to this Korean BBQ place in Myeongdong which served excellent food at a really reasonable price! Really enjoyed the marinated meat a lot! And it is best paired with some soju shots! Yum yum!!!

 

Bing soo
빙수

 

 

Royal milk tea bing soo

Pat bing soo with matcha ice cream

Rooibos milk tea bing soo, BEST bing soo I had and also the most ex (approx SGD$20)

 

For both my trips, I was there in July aka summer period and so I had bing soo almost every single day! Bing soo is a popular shaved ice dessert in Korea esp during the hot summer months! You can find a huge variety of bing soo in cafes all arnd Seoul. It's very different frm the ice kachang (also another shaved ice dessert) you get in Spore. Bing soo is way nicer!!!!

 

In fact, Ashley and I were pretty addicted to bing soo during our trip. We had to have a bowl every single day haha. I think out of all the bing soo, the nicest had to be the rooibos milk tea bing soo we had in a nice café in Hongdae! So so so so so yummy!!!!!

 

If you're in Korea over summer, DO NOT miss out on this delightful and refreshing dessert!!!

 

Mukshidonna Tteokbokki
먹쉬돈나

Jongno-gu
Anguk-dong 17-18
Nearest train station: Anguk
 

Directions frm Anguk Station:
Take Exit 1
Turn right at Anguk building and Pungmun Girls' High Sch
Walk 500m down the road (past Family Mart)
It is in the alley on the left hand side

 

Ashley and I got pretty lost trying to find this place. But so glad that we managed to locate this little restaurant after searching for almost 30min! We arrived arnd 12.30pm and there was alr a long queue outside the place! Waited for almost 30min before we were seated!!! Was really hungry by then....

 

 

Articles frm magazines featuring this restaurant!

Look at the queue!!!!

Our tteokbokki!!!

Happy and greedy Ashley, hee hee!

This is a simple and small place, so don't expect a fancy restaurant. And even though it might be a long walk to get to this place, I assure you that it's worth it. In fact, Ashley said this was one of the best thing she had during the trip.

So if you don't know, tteokbokki is actually Korean rice cake stew. The rice cakes are chewy and sticky and they're served with a reddish orange sauce made frm gochujang (which is Korean red pepper paste)

In Mukshidonna, you get to pick what you want to add to your stew. Ashley and I added ramyun (instant noodles), eggs, seafood, cheese and ham which turned out to be a great combo! The stew was served in a huge pot which was placed on top of a gas stove. This ensured that our food was kept warm throughout the entire meal.

 

The tteokbokki was really yummy and filling! And after we were done with our tteokbokki, they added rice to our sauce and mixed it up for us! Really delicious as well! Definitely coming back to this place for more tteokbokki when I visit Seoul again!

 

Myeongdong Gyoja
명동교자
2 outlets including:
25-2 Myeongdong
2-ga, Jung-guNearest train station: Myeongdong

 

Directions frm Myeongdong station:
Take Exit 8
Turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road
Walk for abt 150m
(You will pass by 2 intersections)
Restaurant is on the right

 

Crazy queue!

Kalguksu goodness! (7000 won)

 

So this is the famous kalguksu restaurant in Myeongdong! Ashley and I had our first meal here! We arrived at the restaurant slightly before 12pm and managed to get a seat without queueing! Lucky us becos when we were leaving the place, we saw the crazy long queue! And it was only abt 12.30pm then??? Madness! So if you're gonna try the kalguksu here, go early or be prepared to queue!!!

 

We ordered their kalguksu which is knife-cut handmade noodles. It's somewhat like Chinese la mian except it's slightly flatter. It was served with mandu (Korean dumplings) which tasted exactly like Chinese dumplings. Do try their kimchi while you're there as it has a really unique taste!

 

This place also serves bibim guksu (noodles with vegetables and red hot pepper paste) and kongguksu (noodles in cold soy milk broth)

 

Yeolbong Jjimdak

열봉찜닭

A few outlets

(Sorry no address!!!)

Nearest train station: Sinsa

 

Directions frm Sinsa station:
Take Exit 8
Walk straight for 2-3min
Turn left into Garosu-gil St
The restaurant is on the 2nd lvl

 

Se7en greets you at the door!

Traditional jjimdak chicken stew (19,000 won)

 

Jjimdak is a dish made of chicken marinated in a ganjang-based sauce (Korean soy sauce). Ashley and I visited Se7en's restaurant for this dish! (Se7en is a Kpop singer I like lol...)
This isn't the best jjimdak place in Seoul but I really wanted to check this place out cos of Se7en!!! And also becos we were shopping arnd in Garosu-gil area so it was convenient for us to drop by the restaurant for lunch!

Jjimdak is definitely one of the best thing I ate during the trip! Omg so damn good!!!!!! The chicken stew is served with thick cellophane noodles which looks like transparent pho, best thing ever!!!!!! You can choose how spicy you want your stew to be, and I think we got the least spicy option but it was still kinda spicy for me!!! Even though Ashley and I ordered the smallest portion and shared it, we still couldn't finish. It was HUGE. Most Koreans would order a bowl of rice and mix it with the remaining stew but we were too stuffed to do that. Maybe the next time....!!!!

 

Ttarojip Sogogi Gukbap

33-4 Myeong-dong

2-ga, Jung-gu

Nearest train station: Myeongdong

 

Directions frm Myeongdong station:

Take Exit 8

Proceed between La Bellavita and Crown Bakery

Walk for abt 230m

(You will pass by 3 intersections)

Restaurant is across Missha

 

 



 

We had dinner really early that day at abt 5pm so this place was empty when we arrived. We had their famous gukbap which is beef soup with rice. The soup is made by boiling beef leg bones for 24hrs and then adding spices, beef, coagulated blood and beansprouts. Hmmm sounds really yummy right? BUT truth to be told, the soup tasted pretty average to me. Don't think I'd visit this place again!

 

Pro Ganjang Gejang

프로간장게장

9 Gangnam-daero

97-gil, Seocho-gu

Nearest train station: Sinsa

 

Directions frm Sinsa station:

Take Exit 4 and walk straight

See Kookmin bank

Enter 2nd alley and turn left

Geaal bibimbap (20,000 won)

Ganjang kejang (55,000 won)

Our steamed crab LOL...

 

So on the last day of our trip, we decided to have some crabs for dinner. I had high expectations for this place becos Minjung said that this is her FAVOURITE Korean dish and I came across loads of positive reviews regarding this restaurant online.

 

Located in the posh Gangnam district, the restaurant wasn't difficult to find at all. This restaurant is in a 4-storey high building and the minute you enter the place, you're greeted with pictures and autographs of Korean celebrities who have been there before. Impressive.

 

I read that this place is famous for their ganjang gejang which is soy sauce marinated crab. And so, Ashley and I ordered a portion to share. We also ordered their geaal bibimbap (crab roe bibimbap) to share.

 

So here comes the epic story. When the food was served, Ashley looked somewhat uneasy. At that point, I wasn't too sure what's wrong so I just continued to snap my pictures etc. After which, I proceeded to try the famous crab dish. But lo and behold, I didn't expect the crab to be RAW???? Omg I nearly died becos the fishy taste was really strong and I just couldn't swallow it. It certainly wasn't what I expected it to be.

Ashley and I decided that there's no way we could eat raw crabs so we got the waitress to steam the crabs for us. Pretty sure she thinks we're weird but whatever. Omg really, why didn't Minjung tell me that the crab was raw???

 

And so even though this place may be really popular among tourists esp Jap tourists, I really don't think I'll visit this place again. Raw crab just isn't my kinda thing. I guess you could visit this place and try their ganjang kejang if you're adventurous enough but don't say I didn't warn you!

 

Okay and here are some other dishes you shld try when you're in Korea. You can get most of them in the food court or any small Korean restaurants.....

 

Kimchi jjigae

Definitely kimchi jjigae! Kimchi jjigae is a type of Korean stew made of kimchi, scallions, onions, diced tofu and pork. Unless you're only gonna be in Seoul for like 5 days then I'll say, skip this dish since you can probably cook it yourself (Really easy lol) Nothing beats a piping hot bowl of spicy soup on a cold rainy day. And yup it's boiling hot when served, as seen in the pic.

Sam gye tang

I'm not a die hard fan of sam gye tang, but I'd say a trip to Korea wouldn't be complete without trying it. Sam gye tang or chicken ginseng soup is essentially a soup dish containing a whole chicken, ginseng and other herbs and is usually eaten with rice.
It was my first time trying sam gye tang in Seoul and I was expecting it to taste really strong, like those traditional Chinese herbs. But it wasn't strong at all, in fact it was somewhat bland? Tastes really healthy though lol. Definitely worth a try.

Rabokki

Rabokki is basically ramyun (instant noodles) +  tteokbokki (rice cake) My dad's favourite Korean dish and one of my top fav as well!
Warning: It is VERY spicy.



Gaeran jim topped with silver fish

 

Korean steamed egg or otherwise known as gaeran jim can be found in most Korean restaurants as a side dish. I'm no stranger to steamed egg since my mom used to make them when I was younger. However it was my first time trying the Korean version in Seoul and I have to say that, I prefer my mom's version, or rather, the Chinese version lol.

The Korean steamed egg is denser and less smooth compared to the Chinese version. As you can probably see frm the pic, the egg doesn't look silky and smooth. I'd say skip this dish and come to Spore to try the best steamed egg ever! But then again, if you're at a Korean restaurant thinking abt what side dish to order, this can always be an option.

 

Galchi jorim

 

Galchi jorim or steamed hairtail is a fish stew kinda dish. I knew abt this dish frm all the Korean variety shows I've been watching. The celebs on TV seem to like this dish very much and hence I knew I had to try it when I visited Seoul.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as fantastic as I thought it would be. It was nice though but just not epic enough. Once again, it is very spicy and be careful while eating as the fish contains many bones.

 

Okay that's abt it for all the food I've tried in Seoul in my past 2 trips! Will blog abt the cafes in Seoul, where to shop in Seoul, jjimjibang, Noryangjin fish market and Everland soon! I foresee myself writing at least another 3-4 more entries on the things to see/ do in Seoul. Whoop can't wait!

 

Ahh.... really missing Seoul now~