Seoul: 아현동 간장게장 (Ahyeon-dong Gangjanggejang)

Every time I visit Seoul, I am armed with a whole new list of "must-eats". I've seen this dish on variety shows a few times (by that I mean - Running Man), and always wondered how it tastes like.

간장게장 (soy sauce marinated crab)

Seoul: 까페오시정 (Cafe 5 Cijung)

Wishing I was back there, in those carefree moments again.

까페오시정 (Cafe 5 Cijung)

Seoul: 서서갈비 (Seo Seo Galbi)

Oh hey. Hello there again after my (almost) nine months hiatus. It's the longest I've ever left the blog unattended. I guess it was the Mt Everest backlog that's in the background that's been deterring me from even attempting to make a post. (Ha, what's new.)

Anyway, if you've been following me on Instagram, you will know that I'm still eating, traveling and basically living my life as usual. A break from blogging has not changed me, I simply have more time to do more of the above mentioned. I really wonder how I found all that time and energy to blog so frequently in the past. As I grow older, I rather be doing so many other stuff but blogging. That said, I'm back here cos with my traveling, I really really like having a place to log all my travel thoughts and info, so that it's like a sort of reference guide to myself (and whoever still reads this tiny old blog of mine).

If you visit my travel page, I've rearranged the travels to make it now countries-based instead of years-based. With my super slow mode of posting, I reckon it'll be wiser to do so (so I can fudge the dates of my actual visit). Without further ado, I reckon my first post in a long while should be about travel eats, and what best than at one of my fave all-time travel location - Seoul.

 Seo Seo Galbi (서서갈비)

Korea 2014: 코레아노스키친 Coreanos Kitchen

After spending a lovely afternoon just chilling around Garosugil at Sinsa-dong, the girlfriend and I walked over to Apgujeong area for our dinner. The girlfriend and I, we were both Mexican food lovers, and I had noticed that there were several interesting Mexican dining places in Seoul while doing prior research for dinner places.

코레아노스키친 Coreanos Kitchen, 2014

Korea 2014: 가로수길 (Garosu-gil)

As you read this, I'll probably be in Seoul by now! I've managed to upload more Korea 2014 photos, so enjoy!

 가로수길 (Garosu-gil), 2014

Korea 2014: 노량진 수산시장 (Noryangjin Fish Market)

Oh my my. Procrastination aka Lazy Queen here has been happily neglecting the blog to spend her time catching up on dramas, read, bake and travel. Basically doing anything but uploading photos.

Just came back from a short trip to Hong Kong (which explains why my 2014 Hong Kong photos will sort of merge with my 2015 Hong Kong photos ha!), and I'm flying off again in less than two weeks' time for another vacay. Where else to but my favourite city - Seoul. I had thought that it would not be possible to visit Seoul this year as there was the MERS situation a while ago, but thankfully, the situation has sort of settled and it's kinda safe to travel to Korea again. It's gonna be a loooooooooooooooooooong trip, and that reminds me that I've yet to post any 2014 Seoul photos. Okay, given the special circumstances, I'm jumping queue on my other travelogues, and posting a couple Seoul photos like now now. ;)

I was in Seoul late last September too (oh, so the photos are about a year old ha!), and it was a truly enjoyable trip with my girlfriend. I had another girlfriend who was on the same flight as us, who was traveling with her family, and it was a coincidence that we had booked airbnb apartments in the same building at Seoul Station! We met up a couple times to eat together, and the very first day we arrived, after settling in, we agreed to head to Noryangjin Fish Market together for a hearty breakfast/lunch. The more people the better right? When it comes to feasting.

I've been visiting Seoul annually for the past few years, but it was my first visit ever to the famed fish market. So glad that the girlfriend who travelled with me was a foodie and quite adventurous in trying new stuff, so I really got to try a lot of new stuff in the trip.

노량진 수산시장 (Noryangjin Fish Market), 2014

Seoul 2013: 명동 (Myeongdong)

Final post for my Seoul 2013 trip. Finally. My last post would be on  명동 (Myeongdong). The shopping mecca of Seoul. But aside from all the zillions of cosmetics stores you can possibly imagine, there's also numerous dining options there. Cafes, restaurants, street food. You would be hard pressed NOT to find something to eat there.

I've already previously wrote about Myeongdong in my past trips. But, there's just tons of stuff to eat at Myeongdong, so I guess this post will be sort of to give you more ideas on what else to eat in Myeongdong.

Red Mango Cacao Green, Myeongdong 2013

Seoul 2013: 전광수커피 (Jeon Gwang Su Coffee House)

Finally. I'm nearing the last of my Korea trip 2013 posts (one more to go!). This means I can finally move on to Aussie 2013. Then Japan 2014. Then Hong Kong 2014. Then Cambodia 2014. And not to mention, I just came back from my Bangkok 2014 trip yesterday. Gosh. Haha, it seems like I've been traveling non-stop doesn't it? ;)

전광수커피 (Jeon Gwang Su Coffee House), 2013

Seoul 2013: Tous Les Jours

One of my favorite bakeries in Seoul.

Tous Les Jours, Myeongdong

Seoul 2013: 홍대 (Hongdae)

Having declared my love for Hongdae previously here, and for the cutest cafe here, and the best coffee here, I guess it comes to no surprise that I would be posting about Hongdae yet again.

홍대 (Hongdae), 2013

Seoul 2013: 삼청동 (Samcheongdong)

It was my first time visiting Samcheongdong last year even though I've travelled to Seoul quite a few times already. I fell in love with the area with all the charming cafes and confusing alleys. It was the perfect place to visit to experience both the modern and ancient charms of Seoul. Bukchon Hanok Village is actually within walking distance, so I definitely recommend to combine a trip to both places in a day when planning an itinerary. Or if time permits, just spend one full day for Bukchon Hanok Village, and another for Samcheongdong. There's just so much to explore!

삼청동 (Samcheongdong)

Seoul 2013: 커피랩 (Coffee Lab)

One of, if not, the best place for coffee in Seoul.

커피랩, 홍대 2013

Seoul 2013: Cafe 커피마시는 고양이 (Cafe Drinking Coffee Cat)

Samcheongdong is a quaint neighbourhood filled to the brim with indie cafes. It is situated near Insadong and Bukchon Hanok Village, so if you're planning a trip to Seoul, it's good to note that you can visit these three spots in a day (if you want to that is) as they are all accessible via the same train station (Anguk Station).

Cafe 커피마시는 고양이 (Cafe Drinking Coffee Cat )

Seoul 2013: 가로수길 (Garosu-gil)

I hope everyone has had a great Lunar New Year! For once, I was out of town for the first part of CNY. Daddy decided last minute to travel out of town during the festive period, and somehow or other, it became a family trip.

We considered locations like Korea (rejected as they have three days of public holidays and we were afraid shops would be closed), Australia (last minute tickets were too expensive!), before finally settling on Japan. I was quite apprehensive actually, for it wasn't too long ago since the radiation saga occurred, but since the family didn't had any issues, Japan it was.

It was a very short trip as I could only take two additional days of leave. The Sis, the Bro-in-Law and I flew there on CNY eve night, after having our reunion dinner at home, while the elders flew one night after us. Will talk more about the trip next time (well, in the future coming months ahead, time TBA, haha as it is in the queue after my 2013 vacations to Korea and Australia).

So, to hurry along the process of vacation travelogue posts, here's the third post for my Seoul 2013 trip. We popped by Garosu-gil in the early morning, and basically ate (and drank) our way through the day there. Food spots of the day:

• Deux Creme
• La Eskimo
• Pain De Papa
• Hanchu Fried Chicken
• La Alaska
• Independent Coffee

가로수길 (Garosu-gil), 2013

Seoul 2013: 인사동 (Insa-dong)

I reckon I better start uploading stuff faster cos...I have quite a fair no of upcoming short trips. ;)

So, the next part of my Seoul trip will be on 인사동 (Insa-dong). I've actually visited the place back in 2011 (look > here), when I popped by 쌈지길 (Ssamziegil). This time round, I brought my friends there as I wanted to try out one of the 한정식 (hanjeongsik) restaurants. In 2011, I had tried a hanjeongsik (look > here), but I wanted to visit another such restaurant to compare the experience.

정식 (traditional Korean set meal) 

Seoul 2013: 북촌한옥마을 (Bukchon Hanok Village)

Happy 2014 folks! Was contemplating if I should pen down a reflective post on 2013 and my thoughts for 2014, but I decided that it would take too much brain power to jot down any coherent thoughts. Maybe later? We'll see.

Instead, this shall be a continuation post of my Korea 2013 photo travelogue. There were still plenty of places in Korea that I've yet to visit, and in my annual pilgrimage there, besides re-visiting old favourites, I like to make sure that I include a few new spots.

I'm quite pleased with how these set of photos turned out after the application of some new  Lightroom filters I've acquired. Fiddling around with Lightroom is so much fun now with all the new faded effects filters I have. I sorta like how the faded effects create a kind of nostalgic romanticised feel to the traditional hanoks below.

북촌한옥마을 (Bukchon Hanok Village) 

Seoul 2013: 남이섬 (Nami Island)

Hope that everyone had a good Christmas! Happy holidays to all!

The year's coming to a wrap. With all the year end gatherings happening, I may be a lil caught up with things to pay attention to this space for the next few weeks. As I've been neglecting this online area for the past few months, I thought I should at least strive to clear a lil of my massive (you won't believe how much) collection of photos I've amassed so far in 2013.

Besides photos of my baking, there's also vacation photos I've snapped on my two holidays - Seoul in April, and Australia in September. I've only gone through editing half of my Seoul photos, and will probably try to finish it soon so I can move on to the Australia shots (and also, before my upcoming trips in February and March 2014 ha!).

Similar to the 2012 Korea blog posts, I've categorised the photos based on location, and will post them not in sequence of my travel itinerary. My trips to Korea always seem to evolve around food, so there'll be plenty of upcoming posts where majority of the photos will consist of nothing more than food, food, and yes, more food. Thus, I thought I should start things off on a light note, with a post on a popular travel spot in Korea, where the photos will have a dominant focus on stuff other than you know, food. ;)

남이섬 (Nami Island)

Seoul 2012: Cafe Hoho Myoll Hongdae

My final post for Seoul 2012, I'll leave it to this gorgeous gorgeous cafe that I had checked out in Hongdae. In fact, I had actually spent about a day in Hongdae cafe-hopping from one place to another. We started first with Paul & Paulina for croissants and ciabatta, then walked around a bit, before stopping at Snow Spoon for a cool bingsoo treat, then made our way to Cafe Hoho Myoll for coffees and a quiche, before ending our cafe-hop at Publique, where we shared an eclair and a croissant.

Seoul 2012: Hongdae Bakeries

I'll be on the plane in a few hours time! Hoho. 2 more posts to go on my Seoul 2012 trip...

홍대 (Hongdae) is a really vibrant, hip and interesting neighbourhood in Seoul. When I think of Hongdae, the words that come into mind include "hip", "trendy", "youthful", "hip-hop", "artsy", "indie" - you get the gist. I After my first visit in 2011, I knew I wanted to spend more time exploring the various independent cafes that dotted the area. A quick Google search threw up more than a handful of cool places that I was dying to try out, but of course, I had to be selective as it's a short vacation, and I only had limited stomach space...

The graffiti-lined streets of Hongdae

Seoul 2012: 가로수길 (Garosu-gil)

I'm about to fly off for a long-needed vacation in a few days' time (okay, well tomorrow actually), but I've yet to finish uploading my previous vacation's photos. Snorts.

I've more or less sorted out my photos though, so it's just a matter of hitting the publish button. Here's a post on 가로수길 (Garosu-gil) in Seoul, Korea. Garosu-gil is an area in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam (otherwise known as the infamous uptown posh area mentioned in the worldwide phenomenon PSY "Oppa Gangnam Style" video - Seriously? What's with all the furore?). The street name means "tree-lined street" in Korean and it is packed with trendy cafes, restaurants, and various boutique shops.

 Garosu-gil