➹ all night shopping itinerary at myeongdong!

Well, not really all-night... but NEARLY ㅋㅋㅋ.

Because I am helplessly obsessive compulsive, I kinda planned to NOT have any major plans during my vacation in Seoul. I had about 2 days to my (gloriously amazing) self and I wanted to just waste it away wandering around anywhere hahaha~~ Just that I had to make sure to properly complete my extensive shopping list, have a feast on street foods ... and do more shopping to fill my 45kg baggage allowance.

Hence, staying at Myeongdong was just a perfect decision. All my semi un-planned shopping are nearby so I literally can visit ALL the shops I wanted to. And in fact I did. At least twice maybe! I started off around lunch time - I had a late night watching a concert the previous day and I only crawled back into my hotel room at about 3am hahaha~~~ Anyway, I did want to stay in bed for longer but ofcourse, that would have been a waste of shopping hours. So I was off and about at about 12:30pm... with my empty stomach leading the way.

I stopped by a few clothing shops before grabbing a quick lunch at Lotteria. I thought I'd burn a LOT of my money at the WHO.A.U sale but I'm glad I held it in. After finishing my all-time favorite Lotteria shrimp burger, I was back on the streets shopping.



My high-level "non-plan" was to do all my clothes and cosmetics shopping first--> And then when I'm feeling famished, buy food for an early dinner --> then head out to the Myeongdong underground shopping center to get my final kpop stuff --> bring back the heavy stuff to the hotel --> rest and recharge --> head out for shopping part 2!





Spent some good time at SPAO and Uniqlo before hitting the small side streets. I already came from the H&M shop twice in the previous days so I had "research data" on the "sale situation" haha! Anyway, I took to the side streets and had a fill of accessories, phone cases, and memorabilia. Silk buttons FTW hahah!! I am just unable to resist they cosmetic shops so even if I already bought my "essentials" from skinfood and etude house, I still had to stop by all the other shops and pick up a mask and nail polish here and there. By the time I got to the huge 8seconds store on the major intersection, it was almost 4pm! So I made my religious walk all the way up to the Euljiro 1-ga station and then turned back craving for a shopping break!

Ofcourse, I didn't forget to go down the Myeongdong Underground shopping to re-visit my kpop stores heheh... One final set of calendars, albums and whatnots and then I'm headed out again.

So I thought I will get an early dinner and rest a while at my hotel room. Luckily, I found the tteokbokki stand on my way back. I was just happily overwhelmed with choices so I had to feast on all these amazing street food!!! I was back in my room by 6:30 and having one of the best meals ever.

Chatted with my family, took a quick rest, freshened up and then headed out again at 8pm for part 2 of my shopping day! This time, I thought I'd take it a little easy. I wanted to go back to the small shops to look again at their lovely products (ehem Artbox, Naughty Cat, Forever21 among others). And I found more accessories from the new stores being set-up on the streets. I really just wandered about at this point. I was just turning around corners when faced with the crowd of shoppers so I literally was going around in crazy circles. I overheard one salesguy telling another person how I keep coming back again and again heheh ... so they noticed huh?





Anyway, the lovely streetlights, the smell of perfectly sweet strawberries and just the winter chill were all embracing me with so much delight. I don't know how but I managed to walk around for another 2-3 hours ... until the shop doors started closing. I didn't really think it was possible but I did just fill my afternoon and night with MYEONGDONG.



Ahhh, what a lovely day that was. Of course at 11PM, I started packing my bag and realized how I bought TOO MUCH! I had to stay up until the wee mhours (2-ish?) to figure out a way to pack everything hahaha. I was bone-tired, nearly bankrupt but really just blissful. I wish to do this kind of shopping again when I come back!

➹ the perfect hotteok from insadong

Are words even necessary? ㅋㅋㅋ






While strolling along the chilly streets of Insadong during winter, I came upon this irresistible hotteok stand. My heart was all for lining up and waiting for my turn for a piece of pure heartwarming delight. I took my steamy hotteok and sat by a bench near the stand to relax and fully enjoy my snack. I may have gotten another piece if not for the long line hahaha ... It was really really yummy. I miss eating hotteok already~~~

➹ craving korean street food!!!

These days I've been seriously craving for some sinfully authentic Korean street fare... and it's killing me!!! Seems like it's fairly easy to find really good Korean barbecue, bibimbap and some spicy stews if you look hard enough. But there is no place to get mouth watering street food ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ. Just take a look at my treasure finds from the streets of Myeongdong a few months back~




The packaging is just perfect for bringing dinner back to a cozy hotel room. This is the very definition of a happy meal~~ yummy Korean street food while watching 별에서 온 그대 ^^


SPICY and ETERNALLY DELICIOUS DDEOKBOKKI!!! I miss you so much~~~


The perfect meat on a stick! This hot bar is addicting...


And finally, warm comforting odeng plus soup. LOVED the soup ... but I just had to dip my odeng on the ddeokbokki sauce as well hahahah...

Where can I get these amazing food options here? My heart is seriously yearning for these...

➹ i left my heart last winter in seoul

I don't know where and how to start writing about the whirlwind of events in my life since the last months of 2013. It's been THOROUGHLY CRAZY to say the least~~~

Today, I just felt like looking back... flipping through the pictures... missing Seoul... the precious winter... and just well, my vacation ㅋㅋㅋ. What I would give to bring myself back to those blissful couple of days...

➹ bibimbap in auckland city

It's spring time in the middle of Auckland's bustling Central Business District! And while this foreign city has never ending charms to match its delectable chocolates ㅋㅋ, it can still get lonely at times. Luckily, there are quite a (huge) number of Asians in this area. I swear if I close my eyes and just listen to folks wandering the streets, I can easily pretend that I'm in Seoul instead of somewhere down under!

Walking up and about Queen Street up to Britomart Station in the afternoon can feel like a walk through Myeongdong... without that irresistible temptation to splurge on cosmetics that is. There are Korean hair salons, noraebangs, Korean banks, Korean travel and tours, and of course, Korean food!

So today, I got myself some dolsot bibimbap from NOL BU NE restaurant at the corner of Wellesly and Lorne Streets. Saw this one from the Cheap Eats list from the Heart of the City page. To reach the restaurant on the 1F, you can go via the old elevator or the fire exit stairs. I chose the stairs. The walls were all adorned with Korean advertisements ~ alcohol mostly. And then I arrived at this cozy place~





I came in on a Saturday, just after noon but the place wasn't too crowded and I was seated quickly. I already knew what I wanted so I didn't take long to order. I've read review comments about the staff being stern and rude sometimes but that was not the impression I got. They were polite and welcoming and were working hard to attend to all the tables.

How I've missed BIBIMBAP! I suppose my eyes lit up when my food arrived. The banchan were delightful though perhaps I would have preferred the potato jeorim to be a little sweeter ^^. Anyway, the star of the meal, my dolsot bibimbap was easily a pretty sight. Ahhh, the warm rice was perfect for the chilly day.





I was just so happy to have a Korean rice meal! It was also very affordable which is always a good thing. Taste-wise, the bibimbap was probably just ok. But it was still a comforting spread for me.

I finished my meal with my favorite sikhye ^^. Yum!

➹ random: etude's strawberry mini jamjam hand lotion

Since the weather is getting colder these days, this hand lotion has become my new best friend ^^.



I actually just finished off my Baviphat Paprika Hand Cream. And while it was a fun product to use, I had to keep it at my work desk instead of my bag ㅋㅋ.

This time, I love that Etude House's Strawberry Mini JamJam is small enough to fit in my handbag while still packing enough product to use for several days. It's non greasy and leaves just that needed velvety feel. The fragrant and yummy strawberry smell is also absolutely perfect. This always brings out a smile when I use it. Kyaaaaaa ^^.

➹ happy friday at caffe bene

Fridays are for extended lunch hours at a pretty cafe ^^.


Enjoying coffee at this Korean franchise is just a way of rewarding myself for a stressful work week. I got myself the yummy Iced White Mocha while my colleague got herself Hot Caffe Latte. Both were perfect.



The cozy interior of the cafe is absolutely comforting. It stays true to its Korean origin with cute knickknacks here and there. And just how adorable is the cafe's mascot Befy!? The pretty throw pillow is a wonderful accent to the rustic seats.




And even though the weather has been manic lately (switching from heavy downpours to intense sunlight... and back), I just had to get some bingsoo!!! I chose the classic red bean variant and got this sweet glass of delight. The topping is a piece of rice cake (ddeok!) which was perfectly soft and chewy (waa, I want more ddeok ...). The red beans were not extremely sweet which I liked. The ice shavings were nice and smooth which made for a refreshing spoonful. I will definitely get this again.



We didn't want to leave the cafe yet but we already spent our lunch hour over analyzing Master's Sun's latest episode ㅋㅋㅋ. Next time I'll have to try out the honey bread, waffles, gelato and the specialty drinks. I have to come with more friends so we can pick more food to share hahaha ... That will be for future Fridays to come.