➹ cute korean plants

Yes, even plants in Korea are irresistibly cute!

It's summer here so I've been trying to cool down my house by getting mini indoor plants I've seen in so many Korean dramas and films. They are pretty to look at and they even help clean the air! I wish I can build a set-up like this in my place …





When we were in Seoul, summer of 2010, I found several shops in Hongdae with these cute plants in display.




Artbox (the bigger branches) also sold some mini plants and at times, some seeds on greeting cards! Where did I see that card which you can convert into a box and water daily? A mini plant grows out from it after a while … TOO ADORABLE!

It's a bit harder to find cute mini plants here. Luckily, my mom chanced upon a hydroculture store in the mall and brought me home some delightful treasures!





So for now, this is my version of the Korean indoor plant spectacle. I hope I can take good care of them and even upgrade their cuteness somehow haha^^.

➹ coffee prince cafe hongdae

I posted about the Coffee Prince franchise shop a while back because we accidentally found it again while wandering around Hongdae last year. I did say I liked the franchise shop better but of course, there's a unique charm to the original drama set.

Here are some pictures circa 2010. At that time, we can already notice some wear and tear on the café facilities so I wonder how they are faring to this time.





The menu was simpler and a bit more on the pricey side (compared to the franchise shop). I remember reading from other sites that guests are required to order a least 1 item per person. This of course is to discourage tourists who just wanted to occupy some seats and JUST take pictures haha.







People weren't allowed to go on the 2nd floor (where plenty of memorable scenes were filmed!). And apparently, people weren't allowed to leave graffiti on the walls anymore (and we learned this the hard way haha).

➹ running man fan - seoul itinerary

A friend has recently succumbed to being an avid fan of the hit variety-reality show, Running Man 런닝맨. She did a marathon on ALL the past episodes and is now able to catch up to the latest subbed releases (Ep 82 as of writing). Now, she wants to visit a lot of the popular places featured on the show on her upcoming Seoul vacation with friends. It will be their first time in Korea so I'll be helping build her itinerary.

Fortunately, wiki has an ULTRA COMPREHENSIVE database of NEAR-EVERYTHING you can think of about Running Man. Just check out their List of Running Man episodes . Die-hard Running Man addicts can certainly revel on all the details compiled on wiki… PD-nim's must be so proud to have created this cult following!

Anyway, I spot a couple of landmarks which would be easy to visit as a first-timer in Korea.
[Episode 01] Times Square (Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Hyo-ri]
[Episode 06] N Seoul Tower (Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Kim Shin-young, Se7en, Son Dam-bi]
[Episode 07] Sejong Center for the Performing Arts (Jongno-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Eun-jeong (T-ara), Jo Kwon (2AM), Jung Yong-hwa (CN Blue)]
[Episode 08] Seoul Museum of History, Gyeonghui Palace (Jongno-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Lee Joon (MBLAQ), Park Jun-gyu, Victoria (f(x))]
[Episode 09] Lotte World (Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Lee Hong-ki (FT Island), Kim Soo-ro, Shin Bong-sun]
[Episode 11] Seoul Central Post Office (Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Jung Yong-hwa (CN Blue), Kim Je-dong]
[Episode 16] I'Park Mall (Yongsan-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Yuri (Girls' Generation)]
[Episode 19] Namsangol Hanok Village(Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Nichkhun (2PM)]
[Episode 29] COEX Aquarium(Gangnam-gu, Seoul) [Guests: - ]
[Episode 33] Incheon International Airport (Jung-gu, Incheon) [Guests: Oh Ji-ho]
[Episode 34] Hongdae area (Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Park Jun-gyu, Uee (After School)]
[Episode 39] Seoul Folk Flea Market (Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Sunny, Yoona (Girls' Generation)]
[Episode 46] Kyobo Book Centre (Jongno-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Kim Hyun-joong (SS501)]
[Episode 49] Dream Forest (Gangbuk-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Goo Ha-ra (Kara), Noh Sa-yeon]
[Episode 54] 63 Building (Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Choi Kang-hee, Ji Sung]
[Episode 66] Everland [Guests: Kim Sun-ah, Song Joong-ki]

Funny how I've only been to 6 of my easy picks! There's just so much to visit in Korea ~ and even just in Seoul.

[Episode 01] Times Square (Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Hyo-ri]


[Episode 06] N Seoul Tower (Jung-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Kim Shin-young, Se7en, Son Dam-bi]


[Episode 09] Lotte World (Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Lee Hong-ki (FT Island), Kim Soo-ro, Shin Bong-sun]


[Episode 33] Incheon International Airport (Jung-gu, Incheon) [Guests: Oh Ji-ho]


[Episode 34] Hongdae area (Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul) [Guests: Park Jun-gyu, Uee (After School)]


[Episode 66] Everland [Guests: Kim Sun-ah, Song Joong-ki]

I've seen the Sejong Center for Performing Arts from across the street at Gwanghwamun Plaza. And I think I've seen the Post Office while strolling around Jong-no before ... both landmarks feel a bit more special because of the Running Man episodes shot in them ^^.

How fun would it be to have Running Man film in these heavily touristy areas?
Myeongdong!!!
Namdaemun
Ssamziegiel
Cheonggyecheon

Such a day shall come ^^.

➹ tiramisu caffe coffee prince franchise

Last November, me and my friend accidentally found the Coffee Prince franchise cafe while wandering around the streets of Hongdae. We were really looking for the Hello Kitty Cafe but we ended up lost and just aimlessly exploring the busy streets that night. Fortunately, the Hello Kitty Cafe turned out to be on the same side street as this Coffee Prince franchise! So we eventually found our target. However, for a moment there, I kind of wanted to go into the Coffee Prince shop and reminisce the pleasant time I had when I visited it last 2008.

For me, 2008 is part of those long gone heydays of the drama, Coffee Prince. That was when I first visited Seoul and met a new friend who was a foreign exchange student at that time. I didn't really know where to go around the city with the limited time I had... So I was extremely delighted when my friend offered to take me to the Coffee Prince shop at Hongdae!



Now, there are (at least) 2 Coffee Prince shops in Hongdae (as far as I know). There is of course, the actual set of the Coffee Prince drama – where 슈퍼주니어 also shot their parody from PKL's Wonderful Outing (kya!). And then there is the relatively newer franchise store which is closer to the subway stop. My friend took me to the franchise version that year. I was far too amazed with the Hongdae scene so I did not pay attention on how we actually got there ... which was why it was pretty neat that I managed to find it again after 3 years!

Here's how cozy it looked like during Fall of 2008:







The franchise shop had a better ambiance for me, though it lacked the nostalgic feel of the original set. I liked that everything was cute and pretty and comfy at that shop. The baristas were nice (they had the drama uniform too) and most everything was still quite sparkling new ^^. Here's how the menu was at that time:









Here were our choice picks that autumn day:



Compared to the original Coffee Prince, this franchise store had (1) far more food and beverage options (2) prettier menu (3) less expensive prices (4) more delicious drinks and (5) far less tourists!!! Well, perhaps all those are supposed to make up for the fact that it is not the actual drama set. And that's why the experience here is really more personal ~ just like enjoying your time on your favorite cafe.




I wonder if everything is still as nice and pretty as before. With the newer and recently more popular Hello Kitty Cafe just across the street, I wonder how this cafe franchise is faring too...



Oh, and on a side note ... Even if Google Street View for Hongdae is dated 2009, this particular street where the Coffee Prince franchise shop is located ... is out of view ㅠ-ㅠ.

➹ no holds barred pinkness

I was pretty excited to visit the Hello Kitty Café in Hongdae because I grew up mildly addicted to Gift Gate stores and Sanrio shops in the malls. After seeing pictures from so many blogs, I longed to experience an afternoon leisurely drinking coffee amidst all that cuteness. I prepared myself to marvel at the explosion of Hello Kitty stuff much like a mini Sanrio-land (minus my Kerokero and Badtz Maru).

The problem with too much excitement is that I tend to overlook important details. Things like where exactly in Hongdae is the Hello Kitty Café? ㅋㅋㅋ I just knew that I had to find the Tony Moly shop and walk into that street. I guess I didn't realize there was a street to both the left and right of Tony Moly. So we got lost at first and ended up walking aimlessly for at least 30minutes. We found the Charlie Brown Café and I was tempted to just go into there but then there is already a Charlie Brown franchise in Singapore. We also came upon the Coffee Prince franchise store (not the original set of the drama) and I was once again drawn to stop there but then we suddenly saw the pink bow further down the inclined street. Hello Kitty!!!

So it was as cute and as pink in person as it is in the pictures. It's like a little princess doll house and I can't NOT imagine how girls can pass up a chance to at least take a selca with the café as background. The façade is really nice and I envision how refreshing it would be to sit on the veranda on warmer days. But it was late Autumn and our hands were freezing so we had to go in.



I thought the place would be full so we settled on the first set of available seats we found on the mezzanine. The lighting was pretty low though and so our pictures came out very yellowish without flash. Later on, we wondered if that area was meant for dates haha, since the other folks in our area seem to pair off. Anyway, I'll make sure to check out the 2nd floor next time.





They had a pretty extensive menu with many items UNavailable (boo) at that moment so it took us a while to decide on what to order. Here's what my friend got:



I wanted to get as much Hello Kitty in my food as possible so I got this cake with the Kitty cookie and DANHOBAK latte (sweet pumpkin latte).



I made 2 mistakes. 1st, I probably ordered a cake SET since the cake came with plain black coffee as well. So in the end I had 2 drinks. But I wasn't a plain coffee fan so I was fine with skipping this one and going for the danhobak latte. But here comes my 2nd mistake~ the danhobak latte tasted pretty bad for me :(. I didn't really know what I expected sweet pumpkin latte to taste and perhaps this is an acquired taste ... In the end, I wasn't able to drink more than 2 sips. Ironically, I had to drink water instead! The cake was ok though but nothing really special. The core was a mildly sweet choco mousse and that one is delish.

In any case, we didn't really come for the food. We went in to soak in all the Hello Kitty goodness of the place! And it didn't disappoint. Being in so much PINKness has such a strong psychological effect hahaha. I think it's supposed to make you relaxed and/or bring out the nurturing side of you. Plausible ~ and that's probably why I ended up paying for dinner for my younger friends later that night... 왕 언니 때문에 ^^.

For me, these are the best Hello Kitty things from the Hongdae café:
1. Hello Kitty sofa seats!


2. Hello Kitty mirror on the ladies restroom ㅋㅋㅋ


3. Hello Kitty streetlamp~



By the way, later on we figured out the very simple error which got us lost on the first place! If you're coming from the direction of the Hongdae subway stop (and most folks probably are), you should turn right AFTER Tony Moly and not before it ^^.