Day 5 Seoul: Hongdae, Seo Seo Galbi, Incheon Airport, back to SG

EDIT: I went to Seoul again in 2017! Click my 'seoul' tag to see how my latest trip went!

We decided to go to Hongdae again coz we didn't shop much that other time when we were determined to find Bau House Dog Cafe AND ONLY BAU HOUSE DOG CAFE *sparta cry*
We purposely left the last day in Korea without plans so that we can purposely revisit any places we left out (which.... actually we didn't really leave out anything) and not regret coming back to SG.

For breakfast we went to a Paris Baguette at the Seoul Station. Like woah. They are everywhere in Seoul really...

Why. Is. There. Corn. In. My. Bread. Eww. :(

Ahem anyway yeah so we went back to Hongdae and decided to eat at Kongbul coz I saw people blogging about it. But first.... BOYCOTT BOYCOTT KONGBUL!!!
Angst coming. Why? Coz we faced discrimination by looking chinese -_- Thanks ah
Place was crowded for lunch, and so we queued to get in. Not a long wait so that was good.

BUT THE SERVICE WALAO EH LAST WARNING AH NEXT TIME I DON'T WANT COME BACK ANYMORE ANYMORE ANYMORE. Seriously just coz I look chinese means you stereotype that all of us are like the minority?! Their service was poor to the max and they would much rather be smiley and serve the other korean customers than us. BOYCOTT. If you'd like a happier review, do compare with other blogs ok.

Food was not bad lah but a bit too much 0.0 Service at Yoogane was much better, so perhaps the food tasted better too. Meh. Menu was cute though and easy to order.

So here's the only picture I took of the place. Looks... unappetizing hor. 

To make matters worse, I wanted to use the toilet and the unhelpful staff didn't really bother to tell me how to properly get to the washroom. Anyhow point outside the shop and went to do other things. Meh. Boycott! So we tried to find it (and it was raining heavily) and got so annoyed we went into a cafe just to use the toilet and get out of the rain. I believed it's called Picasso Coffee. Nice ambiance really. 

My dad told us to brave the drizzle (though I was still sian with my wet shoes haha) and we wandered around. Sadly I didn't buy much as I found nothing of interest. Except...

Socks from a vending machine for only 900won! HAHAHA I decided to try it just for fun.

Below is a vending machine selling caps, which I did not buy at all during the trip because as much as I do like them, I don't like wearing them :/ Caps are really cheap in Korea for whatever reason, but do try to buy those that are made in Korea. Somehow they fit your head better. Made in China ones are slightly wider with gaps here and there. 

There were some interesting foods that we didn't buy coz we were full from lunch. I only got this small mochi with red bean paste and strawberry in it haha.

If I come back again I will strive to come at night, perhaps it's more happening.

When you walk around, do look out for this shop!

Clothings sold are really not bad :D but again nothing caught my eye la.
If you wanna know how to get to Hongdae, do check out day 1 if you have not already done so! :]

and now. to the best meal of my trip.
Seo Seo Galbi

WARNING: My sharing of this awesome restaurant to you has some conditions. You must PROMISE TO BEHAVE when you are there as a tourist, so that the prices remain affordable and that the owners don't look at us with disdain. Be polite to the uncles and aunties and they would be nice to you too.

How to get there
Go to Sinchon Station and go to Exit 7.
Cross this road.

Walk straight past this small road

Look out for this convenience store AND BUY YOUR RICE AND KIMCHI AND DRINKS HERE. Coz Seo Seo Galbi is that hardcore, selling only meat, beer and coke. 

Shortly after that convenience store, you'll see this small hill. Make a left turn...

AND YOU WOULD HAVE ARRIVED.

Now.. see for yourself how awesome the beef is.

Price is 15,000 won per head for 150g of meat, additional 10,000 won for each 100g more meat.
I just told the ahjussi 3 people, and he promptly PLOK all the meat onto the grill and we scrambled to cook it lol. Again, it seems like they thought we were irritating chinese tourists until I spoke to them politely in Korean.

Tip: The meat cooks really fast, so once it's done hurry and transfer everything away from the hot grill, before it becomes overcooked and turns tough :( You can either put them in your rice bowls, or into the sauce bowls.

Ah yes, have an early dinner. Queues can get long I heard.

I WANT TO EAT HERE AGAIN. LIKE SERIOUSLY. IT'S JUST SO GOOOOOOD
So make your promise to me that with this information you would KEEP IT SECRET and when you visit YOU WILL NOT CAUSE US TOURISTS TO BE HATED ON. okokokok?

After dinner we went back to the hotel and then flew home to my beloved Singapore. hehehe
Thankful for the safe flight back, so many incidents during the week that we flew :( #sadttm

Wanna also recommend this company for airport pick up. Ask your hotel to help you book. This company really not bad. Seats were big and comfortable... just that please sit properly guys. My dad got excited go and anyhow sit in the 11 seater. Then the rest of us and the driver blur don't know how to roll the chairs to ensure everyone has enough space. -___- 11 seater but the 3 passengers end up so uncomfortable walao ._.

I wanted to end my korea trip with a good experience. BUT NO. INCHEON AIRPORT YOU.
Flight was about 12.45am, we reached there about 9.30pm coz we kiasu don't want miss our flight and we thought we could still shop.

WE WERE EPIC DISAPPOINTED AND ANGST

Closed closed everything closed. Ugly shutters everywhere, and even maintenance work started, where I could see vacuuming, hammering, cleaning. No seriously what? 9.30pm only sia and all closed?!

Ok fine. So we do tax refund la since got time. We already checked in the luggage, got our receipts stamped and were told to go to counter 27 inside the departure gate
WRONG

Ok ok breathe sam breathe.

Mum was getting uber angst also and very very irritated by all the closed counters. As you see below, receipts were strewn all over, some half filled and some anyhow.

 For you reference, this is the instructions given there itself.

Thank God one lady came out from the counter and we asked for help on what to do.
We finally just filled up the relevant details and dropped this envelope (which we got from Lotte at Seoul Station) into the box. Idk if mum ever got the refund yet though.

The only saving grace for Incheon Airport that night was this.

24 hour food court! Where there is only 1 shop open and 6 items on the menu! Yippee! -_- With a blur customer service crew who could only speak korean and pricy food as always. sigh sigh
But ok fine at least the seollong tang (ox bone soup) tasted really good.

Still.... I think my Changi Airport beats Incheon Airport hands down man. #sgpride #noreallywhut

Things to note for Incheon Airport
1) Angst for early closing. So don't bother coming so early la -.-
2) Angst at tax refund, if it's only worth $20 don't bother -_- I thought it was worth the effort to get it back but so mafan forget it.
3) Angst at lack of food choices since everything closed really early
4) WARNING. Once you take the train towards your boarding gate YOU CANNOT COME BACK, BECAUSE THE SIGN ON THE TRAIN DOOR SAYS SO. Please check that all your valuables and your family members are with you before you kanchiong and board the train ok?

With that said...
I really enjoyed my trip! Very thankful that my dad and mum trusted me to plan the trip from end to end and that it really suited us as a family, since it was mostly shopping and eating!

I may do a few more blogposts about my trip but I have some posts for SG I wanna put up real soon also. Thanks for reading! Do check back for updates :D

Day 4 Seoul: Kwangjang Market, Cheonggyechon Stream, Goto Mall, Kyochon Chicken, Gangnam

EDIT: I went to Seoul again in 2017! Click my 'seoul' tag to see how my latest trip went!

I have something to listen to for a while online now soooooo LET'S GO DAY 4 OF SEOUL WOOTS

We wanted to try and visit a more traditional market, so we decided on Kwangjang market, since I saw that place appear on Running Man!

We went to Jongno5(o)-ga station and exited at exit 7. We had to wander slightly before we found the market. That place was worth the visit really, as we got to try the various foods like dumping noodles, cold noodles, kimbap. We were too full to try the big pancakes there, and too wary to try the raw seafood there also. I really don't like kimbap... japanese sushi is best!

Don't expect them to speak english or chinese when you're there. But we were really surprised when we finally chose a place to eat, the lady boss promptly placed a menu in front of us that had chinese english and japanese on it!

We wandered around the market a bit ore and saw pillowcases and hanboks and also traditional korean souvenirs! So if you come here look around and you can buy the usual souvenirs back.

We then headed to the Cheonggyechon Stream and took a short walk. Honestly the best way is just to look at the map of the market near the entrance or from the same red shirt people, and head over to the other side of the market towards the stream. We somehow managed to find it really easily.

We took a short 10 min walk along the stream, and there were a lot of staircases along so that you can leave and go back to level ground again.

Then we walked back to the station and realised that Jongno(o)5-ga has a lot of shops underground that sells hanbok. Just look out for the pink store signs! But really nothing much here to shop... so we left

I found out about Goto mall online and decided to give it a try since many bloggers mentioned how much shopping there is there. We went to the Express bus terminal station and wandered around slightly till we found these doors that led us into goto mall.

Warning: DO NOT BE DISTRACTED BY ALL THE STORES. Because there are so many people transiting at this big bus terminal station, there are really a lot of stores. BUT STAY FOCUSED and head straight for goto mall first! Trust me you won't regret it, coz....

We started off near the middle. 365 metres to the East zone... then 365m back (it's two rows of shops, with shops on both sides btw), then still got West zone.. almost 1km of shopping with shops on both sides :O OH MY TIAN

If you're hungry... East Zone has more meals, while West Zone has more snacks and coffee and bubble tea!

This store in East Zone has really good food. Tried their ttokbokki and it was awesome!

It reads MyeongIn Mandu. Basically their dumplings are supposed to be awesome but I didn't try..

Now for the shopping... SEE IT NEVER ENDS IT'S 500M OF SHOPPING YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO GO THROUGH!

And it's awesome to shop here because... SO CHEAP

Stiff competition indeed. Most of the clothes here start at 5,000won, or about $6. Not much discounts honestly, but I'm not complaining. Bargaining can be a pain sometimes. No energy for that. I really enjoyed shopping here, to a point I got a bit excited when I saw certain clothes that were selling for higher prices at Hongdae or Edae. 

Er warning though, not so much guys stuff. So if you're gonna hate on shopping... please don't don't don't torture yourself here. There is NO PLACE for you to sit unless you camp at the two zones, which is really far. You either endure the whole shopping experience, or you will leave early.

For my family? We conquered all shops in that 1km stretch >:]

But something interesting was that towards the East Zone, there were more and more shops that did not sell fashion items. If I was gonna decorate my home one day, I'll make sure I come here!

Oh one more thing. Doggies. haha so cute

I don't know how come they're allowed to be everywhere honestly O.o Anyway Goto Mall was awesome, and we shop until we felt that 10,000 won was now expensive huhu. I think I spent quite a bit there by buying a lot of stuff that were 5,000 won. Still, look out for the material, coz some materials are really thin for summer, or a bit translucent. 

One more thing. Shoes are expensive O.o 40,000 a pair. Think twice!

We headed to kyochon chicken for an early dinner since our meal at kwangjang market was brunch. We went to Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6 and started to wander towards where we thought kyochon chicken was. Found it quite easily, look out for this street below, and then walk towards this street where there seems like there's loads of food!! Kyochon Chicken is 80 m down on the right

Heard a lot about this so had to come try. There's a half half option which allows you to mix the whole chicken half original half spicy. But I heard normal tastes like four fingers anyway, so my family decided to try the honey flavour, in a mix of 24 wings and drumlets. 

My verdict? Better than four fingers, especially when the chicken is still warm! :D

The idea of eating chicken breast and weird parts like the neck was a turn off, so I actually think this option of small drumlets and wings was better! yummy really. along with coke! Though tables around us were all having beer :/

They also served pickles, forks, wet tissue and a glove to eat with! Why don't we have this in Singapore? I think it's genius!

So after a really satisfying meal, we went to explore the rest of the road, which will eventually lead us to Gangnam Station. Gangnam area was quite boring to be honest :/

We looked around for a bingsoo (shaved ice) place coz we wanted to try one at least and I couldn't find the melon one sigh :( Chose this crowded one (like the typical Singaporeans that we are) AND WE WERE TOTALLY DISAPPOINTED

AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS COST US S$10?! WALAO EH MY ICE KACHANG BEATS THIS HANDS DOWN LOR PLS. A big pile of shaved ice and some mua chee and some red bean only. whut is this! Angst.

Some underground shopping at Gangnam Station! Not much, didn't buy anything also..

And with that, I end my day 4 in Seoul! :D Hehe goto mall was really the highlight of our trip, my whole family agrees. So if you are a crazy shopaholic like us, you must not leave that out of your itinerary!