What to eat at Korea? Part 2

1) Gwangjang Market is a market full of local food. Must tried is the korean fried pancake.

Look for this stall:

We ordered 1 corn pancake and 1 pork cake and it only costs us 6,000 won. Worth trying!

There are also other food stall like the korean fish paste , bimbibap and etc.. all the local food can be found here. To taste the best, go for the one the longest queue :)

* How to go by subway:
Jungno 5-ga Station and look for Gwangjang Market (which is a little bit South of the station) exit 8
Jongno 5-ga station (subway Line 1) exit 8
Euljiro 4-ga Station (subway line 2,5) exit 4
6-1 Yeji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
* Market hours: 09:00-18:00 / Closed on Sundays
* Food market: 09:00-23:00 (Open year round)

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2) Jeonju Jungang Hoekwan (전주 중앙 회관/全州中央會館) bibimbap

* how to go by subway:
Address: 24-11 Chungmuro 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Myeong-dong Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 6. Look for Uniqlo, there’s a smoothie king next to it. Walk into the alley.

Bibimbap + tofu stew soup = 17,000 won

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3) 新村美食：新村食堂새마을 식당 - Korean BBQ

* how to go by subway: refer to this blog for further details:http://www.wretch.cc/blog/judyer1010/17316524

Em.. We think is not so great, Malaysia Korea BBQ taste better and have more side dishes.

Our meal : 1 Meat + 1 Noodle = 8000 won

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4) To Sok Chon - Ginseng Chicken

The restaurant is best known for one thing: samgyetang -young, spring chicken -- stuffed with chestnuts, garlic, dried jujubes, and ginseng.  A bowl of samgyetang costs ₩15,000.

85-1 Chaebu-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 종로구 체부동85-1); +82 2 737 7444; Open daily, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.  Pls come before 11am to avoid the crowd.

My thought: Dont really fancy this ginseng chicken , I think the Jeju Island one is much better.
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5) Butter Finger Pancakes @ Gangnam

Go to Butter Finger for Brunch and Waffles -near exit 9 of Gangnam station.shops opposite American Apparel. Is easy to locate this shop.


The brunch is great ! is like the one in Antipodean Malaysia (I still prefer Antipodean :)
A lots of waffle selection !
Is a nice place to chill and the food is great. A lots of young korean came here to chill.

We ordered 1 pancake breakfast set and 1 crunchy walnut waffle - total costs 33,800 won
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6) Sinchon - Grilled Fish

The Grilled FISH is fresh, tasty, sweet and delicious and CHEAP! Must try this shop at Sinchon:


Location: GPS 37.558225,126.934752

We ordered 1 grilled fish and 1 tofu stew @ total costs 12,500 won.

Korea in Winter - Ski at Yongpyong Resort

I have been to Korea in Autumn and went again for Winter. This winter trip is totally different itinerary from the Autumn trip as it is more for winter activities.

For further details as in description, costs and directions, please refer to this link:http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2014/01/detailed-korea-itinerary-travel-to.html

Our main places to visit in this winter trip is Winter Sonata's Home Ground, Yongpyong Resort, Mt. Seoraksan and Sancheoneo Ice Festival.

Ski at Yongpyong Resort

This is the Winter Sonata film shooting area if you are a fan of the Winter Sonata. It is also a famous ski resort. It is cheaper than the Alphensia Ski Resort. I am not an expert on skiing so I choose to go to Yongpyong Resort. 

We stay at a small town near  Yongpyong Resort due to the accommodation is cheaper and it is near to the bus station from Seoul. We stay at Goodstay Daegwlnyeong Sanbang. Room ok, bed a bit hard and bedsheet need improvement but owner is very nice. Value for money. RM205/room/nite

From Seoul, we took train from Sinchon line 2 to  Gangbyeon Metro (25mins) -1250won  then walk 2 mins ( walk across the road, is just opposite the Gangbyeon station) to DongSeoul bus Terminal 동서울종합터미널and buy ticket to Hoenggye (13800 won, travel time about 3 hrs). Once arrive at Hoenggye just need to walk accross the road and walk straight 3 mins, Goodstay is opposite Paris Bakery.

We reached at Goodstay at 11am so we went for light lunch nearby. The Goodstay owner recommend his friend who provide transport to Yongpyong Resort and with Ski Rental @ 15,000 won per pax. This is a cheaper option as the ski rental rate at Yongpyong is 25,000 won and we do not need to take the shuttle bus ourselves.

We went for the beginner slope so we did not buy the lift ticket. If you have the chance to take the gondola to the top of the hill, please do so. We missed the Gondola as it closed at 4pm. The rate for the Gondola is approx 96K won. There is a small garden up there (Winter Sonata shooting place!) and you can have a bird eye view of the resort.

Mt. Seoraksan

For further details as in description, costs and directions, please refer to this link:http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2014/01/detailed-korea-itinerary-travel-to.html

We went to Mount Serok from Hoenggye by taking bus to Kangneung (2,500 won, 30mins) Once arrived at the Kangneung Bus Terminal then, take the bus to Sokcho Inter-city Bus Terminal (6,300 won per person, about 1hour30mins). From there, go to the Tourist Information center. You can ask him for direction to Mt Sorak. You should take Bus 7, 7-1 at the bus stop near the terminal , just down the road @ 1,100 won each (must prepare exact change) for a 30 mins journey rides to Mt Sorak. The bus stop is about 7 minutes away from the Intercity Bus Terminal , basically, once you are out from the bus terminal, turn right, walk straight & cross 2 road junctions. Then turn right and walk further down till you see the bus stop.

Entrance fees to Mt Sorak is 3,500 won and cable car ticket is purchase after walk about 300m from the main entrance with an additional fees of 9,000 won. We rent a locker to put our bag at the tourist information center which cost 3,500 won.

We are not hiker, so we choose the shortest route to go to the top of Mt Sorak and it is with the cable car ride + 30 mins of easy hike. We first walk from entrance to the cable car, our visit is less crowded so we really enjoy the view and the walk. We are lucky, the cable car queue is just 30 mins and the cable car will bring you near the top of Mt Sorak. Once the cable car stopped, then you have to walk 30 mins to reach the top of Mt Sorak. The mountain is covered by snow.. it is beautiful.. According to local, it is more beautiful in autumn. We stay at the top for a while to enjoy the view then we took the cable car ride down to the hill.

At the ground of Mt Sorak, there are a temple and a Buddha statue. We enjoy the walk to the temple, everything looks so peaceful and calm.

To go back to Seoul, take the us 7-1 again to Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal (the same bus terminal) and take the Dong Hae express bus and is 2hours30 minutes.Rate is about 17,300 won per person and interval is about every hour. Make sure you request the 고속버스 (우등) / Express Bus (Deluxe)