Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Bau House Dog Cafe 바우하우스

Are you an animal lover? Do you like dogs? If yes, then very likely you'll want to visit at least one dog/cat cafe when you're in Seoul. Having visited a cat cafe in Penang (read about it here), I've made it a point to visit a dog cafe when I was in Seoul for holiday last year. Main reason? There's no dog cafes in Singapore...yet. Hahaa!

Googled the directions and found one that is very near transportation; Hapjeong Station 합정역, which was perfect as it is also pretty close to Ewha University area. Exit Hapjeong Station and watch out for Jeil Building which was described as a black shiny building. Then, look for its back entrance as Bau House is only accessible to patrons via the building's back entrance.

Was peeping at its door, feeling unsure of what to do since it was my first visit and in a foreign land. Fortunately, one of the staff noticed and went on to open the small little gate while keeping the little dogs away so that none could escape.

Staff could only speak Korean but that didn't pose any problem at all. Just choose any available seat and make yourself comfortable. All bags need to be hung on the wall, to prevent the furry ones from getting to it.

hi little one

As soon as I sat down, one schnauzer immediately made himself comfortable on my lap. You can sit there forever and the staff wouldn't mind. As a rule, the guests are expected to purchase at least one drink while they are there. Since I couldn't move without dislodging my small friend from my lap, I was just sitting there, chilling for half hour till I felt quite paiseh. Haha! Not much choice for drinks though.

rosemary tea

ti

tenants of Bau House

First half section (front) of Bau House, has plenty of dogs that are of smaller breeds. The inner section of the cafe has all the big dogs. And by big, some are actually huge!

my loyal companion

this guy here came with its owner, probably dog playdate at Bau House

Ventured into the inner section and to be honest, there are times when it felt quite intimidating with all the big boys in there.

big dogs area

free to roam

smells like treats

hobo me with an amused looking samoyed

The place was kept quite clean and when 'accidents' of the pee and poo kind did happen, the staff were also quick to clean up the mess.

Bumped into a nice lady from Singapore, so it was good to have someone to converse with while I was there.

Had an enjoyable time there. Hope to visit Bau House again!

Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Wangbijip 왕비집 @ Myeongdong 명동

When in Seoul, eat BBQ! That was part of the plan, and it was opportune that Wendy's friend would be joining us for dinner. Wendy is someone whom I've known since university days. We were hostel mates, "Wheel of Fortune" (am not sure how many of you remember this!) virtual contestants and basically, one who will remember each other's birthdays, though we only meet twice a year. Wendy was my travel buddy to Seoul, last year.

"Meet at Exit 9 at Myeongdong at 8pm. Don't be late." she warned.

Arrived at Exit 9 wifi-less and mobile phone pretty useless. Time was 8.05pm. No Wendy.

Oh no, did she get mad and left already? She is particular about timeliness after all. Waited for about 5 minutes before running around Myeongdong station for signs of Wendy. No luck. Gave up at 820pm.

Should've asked her earlier where's our dinner venue. Sobs. To head back to hotel, or to roam around Myeongdong? Chose the latter, 'coz already there mah.

Was wandering around aimlessly, feeling cold, hungry and anxious, thinking of whether I should eat the streetfood or head to one of those brightly lit restaurants or whether Wendy was angry, or... when I noticed a familiar looking tote bag. Of all the different paths we could have taken, the time that had lapsed, the many shops that one could've gone into, I bumped into Wendy and her friend. It was a "wow" moment for me.

Hence, she brought us to Wangbijip (she did the research), a Korean restaurant specializing in grilled meat (galbi).

restaurant's entrance, go up the stairs beside the beauty shop

There was a queue and so we waited for 15 minutes before getting a table. The menu was simple. For grills, there's a choice of pork and beef. Wendy doesn't take beef, so we settled for pork belly. One portion each. Plus a kettle of makgeolli.

No problem ordering as the staff is conversant in Mandarin as well.

waiting for our food

side dishes 반찬

spring onion salad with raw egg

we are so ready

Wangbijip's staff will do the cooking, but their attention would be divided as there is no one person assigned on a per table basis. So ours was impatiently flipping the meats then left it over the grill for quite a while as he went away to do the other table. But it was alright, as the pork belly still tasted better in Seoul than back home.

dinner

we're almost there

gorgeous meat

The restaurant was full of tourists actually. To our left, was a family from Singapore and to our right, was probably from Hong Kong. 

The pork belly was so good. Wrapped a hot one with the fresh crunchy lettuces, accentuated by the tangy kimchi and a dab of that gochujang. Yums! 

pot of rice wine

It was a tiny pot, but we poured about 6 to 7 small bowls. My dinner kakis claimed they'll drink, but pssshh, not true lo...

cheers 건배

Did about 3 bowls and feeling a good buzz. Offered one bowl to the Singapore family and that was it. Done.

all grilled pork belly, should taste like this

What was so good about the grilled pork belly? The meat was not frozen and cooked just right. Fatty and oily enough to sizzle, tender and every chew entices even more. 

The meat was about ₩13,000 per pax and the makgeolli was about ₩5,000.

Paid about $20 per pax.

Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Dr. Bang Masan Monkfish 方박사아구찜 @ Sinsa-dong Ganjang Gejang Alley

Ganjang 간장 means soy sauce and ge 게 means crab while jang 장 means condiment.  Ganjang gejang simply means raw crabs marinated in soy sauce. Yup, that's right, raw crabs. Sounds like something that Andrew Zimmern would eat? Actually, this seasonal delicacy was rather yummy. It was on my "die die must eat" list we visited Seoul in late Oct last year.

Was at Sinsa-dong 신사동 Ganjang Gejang Alley to find a place to lunch at. Convenient as plenty of shops sells the same stuffs, so we didn't know which one to choose. For tourists, Pro Ganjang Gejang is often cited. Their service staff was uniformed and looked like valets.

We wanted to find out if their prices were similar, so we went around asking about the prices. Outcome was yes, most have priced their ganjang gejangs similarly; 2 small crabs for ₩55,000 with banchans. Usually, the minimum order is 2 small crabs.

Finally found a place that can do two small crabs for ₩50,000, inclusive of rice. On top of that, we requested for one crab in marinated soy style and the other one spicy yangnyeom gejang 양념게장 style.

Dr. Bang Masan Monkfish

dining area

Yes, this is another place where one needs to remove their shoes.

side dishes with the crabs

Not a whole lot of side-dishes, just 4 types. The konbu and blanched cabbage were eaten as wraps. The soup was bean paste soup with some vegetables that tasted like dried vege that's used to boil soups.

soy sauce marinated crab 간장게장

yangnyeom gejang 양념게장

Raw marinated crabs have very soft flesh. Very much like raw shrimps. To eat it, one simply squeezes it from bottom up and suck on the soft tasty flesh. Plastic gloves are provided so that your hands don't get too dirty.

We squeezed out some of the flesh onto the blanched cabbage (or konbu) and wrap it with some hot rice. The hot cold combo with soy or spicy, tasted awesome! For the soy crab, put some rice onto the shell, top it up with roe and mix well. The umami taste was just heavenly!

rice with millet

The spicy version was very shioks and its spice level was about a scale of 3 out of 5.

Enjoyable experience. Saw the locals indulging in a pot of red stew with noodles. That should be the agu jjim 아구찜, a braised spicy monkfish. Huge pot meant for 2 pax. Ganjang Gejang Alley was used to be known for its agujjim, but nowadays it is more popular for raw marinated crabs.

Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | San Nae Ri 산내리 북촌점 @ Insadong

Was in Seoul last year during autumn, and was looking for hanjeongsik 한정식 or Korean table d'hote to try. Had to abort first attempt at Samcheonggak as we failed to secure a reservation. Second attempt was a walk-in at this restaurant in Insadong, called San Nae Ri (山内里).

signboard to San Nae Ri

There were plenty of locals that day, and we were the only tourist in sight. Informed the lady at the door that we would like to lunch there and she motioned for us to wait a while. Was watching the other customers and seemed like this place is popular with elderly folks!

A table was available for us, so we were ushered inside pretty quickly. This place requires guests to remove their shoes, prior to entering the dining area.

dining room

decor

Our dining room was quite spacious and there were just three other tables occupied. Menu is in Korean, and service staff speaks only Korean. My friend does not take beef and as with most hanjeongsik, the lunch full course menu does contain beef dishes. Staff was helpful though we had difficulty in communication. As there were 2 dishes that contain beef, she would change one item to soup while one of the beef main course item remains.

Course menu starts from ₩30,000 and minimum of 2 pax. Individual set meals of one main dish, served with rice and side dishes are available too with quite affordable price tag.

The cold dishes were served first. Quite like the tangy white kimchi. Salad was refreshing with the sesame dressing. The portions are meant for 2 pax but in actual fact, the portions were more than generous.

white kimchi

salad in sesame dressing

meat salad

We could not figure out what kind of meat it was but it tasted tender, almost like venison. Very likeable.

Next dish, was an icy cold dish of frozen fish slices with spring onions, cucumber, spicy sauce and topped with ground peanuts. Truly exotic and can't help wondering if we were eating this the right way...

cold dish - sliced frozen fish

Thankfully, the next seafood was spicy octopus and it tasted very good. Very tender and pretty spicy. Served with blanched kongnamul 콩나물 or bean sprouts.

spicy octopus 낙지볶음

Next up, the main course of braised beef ribs. So glad we didn't trade this dish away as it was excellent! (and it was all mine! *hiaks hiaks*)

braised beef ribs 길비찜 with mushrooms

The ribs were huge and the meat was fork tender. So yummy and flavourful. The mushrooms were meaty too.

peppery fish soup

Originally, beef doenjang jjigae 된장 찌개 is in the menu, so we exchanged it with this soup. Tasted quite peppery, which was nice in cold weather.

fried fish with spicy sauce

fried pumpkin

The fried fish was rather dry, and not much flavour. The fried pumpkin, on the other hand, was fantastic. So sweet, and soft. Almost like a dessert.

We were already feeling full by then. Little did we realise, the course meal comes with rice set.

kimchi soup, blanched spinach, kimchi, pickles and rice

The rice was so good. How can we not eat the rice? Plus the pickles, and the spicy kimchi really did work up the appetite again. It was like a dilemma; can't eat anymore but felt the need to finish. The soup was tasty too. Loved the bean paste soup~

Lastly, we were served a bunch of grapes and a cup of omija. The grapes were super sweet. Similar to kyoho grapes.

to end the meal

The meal costs ₩60,000 nett for two pax, and both of us ended up being super duper full! An interesting experience indeed.

Travel | Seoul 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2014 | Lounge Dawon 라운지 다원 @ SamcheongGak 삼청각

Located at 3, Daesagwan-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 서울특별시 성북구 대사관로 3 (성북동). Took a free-shuttle from Gallery Hyundai stop. There's a cafe nearby, so one could chill while waiting for the bus. Bus stops for just a minute or so, and bus ride to Samcheonggak takes about 10 minutes.

waiting for shuttle bus in cold temperature *brrr*

Samcheonggak is located at the mountaineous area of Mt. Bukak. Very quiet, very nice environment.

entrance to tranquility

Unfortunately, we did not manage to secure a reservation at its restaurant even though we arrived around 11+am and the place was fairly empty. Next best option, was to dine at Dawon Lounge but with limited menu. But the mountain view, more than made up for the slight disappointment.

simply beautiful

abit too hot for al-fresco dining, but look at the gorgeous scenary!

menu

Just 2-3 options for Korean menu and another 2-3 options for Italian dishes. I took the beef bulgogi set while friend had vegetarian bibimbap.

complimentary barley tea

As the sun was shining really strong that day (and also we were at higher grounds!), we figured it wasn't worth the UV rays and decided to move to its indoor area.

Dawon Lounge

They seemed understaffed as there were just two whom we could see, and they do everything from taking orders, serving and cashier. Hence, service was slow.

beef bulgogi set @16000₩(~USD16/SGD20)

tasty kimchi

 The beef bulgogi was very tender, sweetish and healthy tasting. Kimchi was ripened just the way I liked it. Yum.

rice mixed with millet

Rice was soft and fragrant. Not too sticky and goes well with the kimchi.

Was pretty full after the meal, hence we went exploring Samcheonggak's compound.

in life, we'll encounter many crossroads so which way you'll go?

sometimes, there'll be many steps and we may not see what's ahead

and sometimes, the view alone will be worthed it

There were some halls around that area that seemed to be dining places as well. Quite cool, if I may say so.

for more private dining

It was pretty dangerous to walk from Samcheonggak to Samcheongdong so do take the shuttle bus or hail a cab or something. Samcheongdong by car is about 10 minutes away.

Links to previous posts on Seoul travel:
Gwanghwamun & Namdaemun Market | Tosokchon | Seoul Arrival