I had Ham and Egg Muffin which tastes good.
Hubby had Bacon and Egg Bagel.
Forgot how much our breakfast cost.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Seoul and Busan Trip 2013 - Day 6 Breakfast at Dunkin Donut
Day 6 morning, we had our breakfast at Dunkin Donut near our hotel. Surprising that Dunkin Donut is popular in Seoul but not MacDonald. Could hardly see MacDonald Restaurant around City Hall Station or elsewhere.
I had Ham and Egg Muffin which tastes good.
Hubby had Bacon and Egg Bagel.
Forgot how much our breakfast cost.
I had Ham and Egg Muffin which tastes good.
Hubby had Bacon and Egg Bagel.
Forgot how much our breakfast cost.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Seoul and Busan Trip 2013 - Lotte Mart
After a much needed rest in the hotel, at night we decided to head to Lotte Mart which is located above Seoul Subway Station which is one station away from City Hall Station where are our hotel was located.
Lotte Mart is a South Korean hypermarket that sells a variety of groceries, clothing, toys, electronics, and other goods. It is also very popular with tourists with their souvenirs and local products.
At City Hall Station, we decided to use the stairs as the escalator was at exit 5, did not want to use too much leg power due to our tiredness lol.
Interesting to note that they had food vending machine at the platform where we were waiting for the train to arrive. In South Korea, commuters are allowed to eat and drink in the train unlike in Singapore where we would be fined if we were to eat and drink in the train. Their trains and stations are still very clean even though they allowed commuters to eat and drink.
You are not alone waiting for the train to arrive, the cute pinnochio will accompany you to wait.
Upon arrival at Seoul Subway Station, we just had to follow the directions which stated Lotte Mart or EXIT 1 of Seoul Subway Station.
There were fast food restaurants, other restaurants and food court in the building and we choose to eat at the food court. I must be too tired to even remember to take photo of our dinner lol.
Did not venture far out of Seoul Station, perhaps the next time I might choose to stay at hotel near this station and venture around the area.
Do look out for the famous Happy Call Pan, they are so much cheaper than those sold in Singapore. Dont worry about heavy stuff, you can use EMS overseas shipping service if you buy stuff in Lottemart. Accessible at EMS reception desk in Lottemart.
They even have a hydro farm for the greens, that's how fresh they can be.
First time I seen cooked rice being sold. They comes in packs of three or more, all you have to do is to put the cooked rice in microwave to heat it up.
Lotte mart dont provide plastic bags, you need to pay for the plastic bags but you can pack your own in cartons which are free of charge.
We observed how the others pack their stuff first before attempting to pack ours hahaha. The difficult part was how to cut the masking tape from the rolled tape hahaha, a Japanese tourist taught us to just press the white plastic cutter and cut the tape away. Hahaha we are not used to packing our own shopping goods.
Did not buy kimchi or seaweed, easily available in Singapore, so I got a lot of boxes of these snacks, they tasted so good and makes good gifts too.
At City Hall Station, we decided to use the stairs as the escalator was at exit 5, did not want to use too much leg power due to our tiredness lol.
Interesting to note that they had food vending machine at the platform where we were waiting for the train to arrive. In South Korea, commuters are allowed to eat and drink in the train unlike in Singapore where we would be fined if we were to eat and drink in the train. Their trains and stations are still very clean even though they allowed commuters to eat and drink.
You are not alone waiting for the train to arrive, the cute pinnochio will accompany you to wait.
Upon arrival at Seoul Subway Station, we just had to follow the directions which stated Lotte Mart or EXIT 1 of Seoul Subway Station.
There were fast food restaurants, other restaurants and food court in the building and we choose to eat at the food court. I must be too tired to even remember to take photo of our dinner lol.
Did not venture far out of Seoul Station, perhaps the next time I might choose to stay at hotel near this station and venture around the area.
Do look out for the famous Happy Call Pan, they are so much cheaper than those sold in Singapore. Dont worry about heavy stuff, you can use EMS overseas shipping service if you buy stuff in Lottemart. Accessible at EMS reception desk in Lottemart.
They even have a hydro farm for the greens, that's how fresh they can be.
First time I seen cooked rice being sold. They comes in packs of three or more, all you have to do is to put the cooked rice in microwave to heat it up.
Lotte mart dont provide plastic bags, you need to pay for the plastic bags but you can pack your own in cartons which are free of charge.
We observed how the others pack their stuff first before attempting to pack ours hahaha. The difficult part was how to cut the masking tape from the rolled tape hahaha, a Japanese tourist taught us to just press the white plastic cutter and cut the tape away. Hahaha we are not used to packing our own shopping goods.
Did not buy kimchi or seaweed, easily available in Singapore, so I got a lot of boxes of these snacks, they tasted so good and makes good gifts too.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Seoul and Busan Trip 2013 - Bukchon Hanok Village
After lunch, we took the subway to Anguk Station to Bukchon Hanok Village. We exited out of Exit 2 according to the map. Bukchon Hanok Village is sandwiched between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace.
The above map was collected from the tourist information centre (circled in red). Just followed the red dotted path to view the ancient houses that once belongs to the nobles or rich men in ancient times.
The most interesting must be the 8 views of Bukchon. You can click on the above photo to see the 8 views to plan your walking route.
On the way to view the ancient houses, we came across street scenes like these. Was a wonderful walking experience.
I think that day was some kind of activities for senior citizen but I cant read Korean so dont know what the event was. Some senior citizen performing a korean dance, managed to get a video of them performing.
If you are lost or unsure how to do the walking trail, you can ask these tourist ambassadors, they can speak good english.
The village is an actual residential area, so tourists should be respectful of residents living in Bukchon.
This alley is the most popular alley in the village but difficult to take a good photo of an empty alley, too many tourists.
View from the top of the village
Interesting to see residents growing vegetables in the alley.
You can find out more information about Bukchon Hanok Village from Visit Seoul.net.
Directions
Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight for about 300m to arrive at Bukchon Hanok Village.
The above map was collected from the tourist information centre (circled in red). Just followed the red dotted path to view the ancient houses that once belongs to the nobles or rich men in ancient times.
The most interesting must be the 8 views of Bukchon. You can click on the above photo to see the 8 views to plan your walking route.
On the way to view the ancient houses, we came across street scenes like these. Was a wonderful walking experience.
I think that day was some kind of activities for senior citizen but I cant read Korean so dont know what the event was. Some senior citizen performing a korean dance, managed to get a video of them performing.
If you are lost or unsure how to do the walking trail, you can ask these tourist ambassadors, they can speak good english.
The village is an actual residential area, so tourists should be respectful of residents living in Bukchon.
This alley is the most popular alley in the village but difficult to take a good photo of an empty alley, too many tourists.
View from the top of the village
Interesting to see residents growing vegetables in the alley.
You can find out more information about Bukchon Hanok Village from Visit Seoul.net.
Directions
Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight for about 300m to arrive at Bukchon Hanok Village.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Seoul and Busan Trip 2013 - Day 5 - Tosokchon Ginseng Chicken Lunch
Feeling so tired and hungry after a whole morning outing, we now heading to the famous well known Tosokchon Restaurant, they are famous for their samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup).
After exiting from the main entrance of Gyeongbokgung Palace we need to turn right and walk straight to the traffic crossing, do not turn right at this road (Hyoja-ro), crossed the traffic junction and turn right on the second road (Jahamun-ro) and at the second road cross over to the opposite side via the underpass.
After crossing to the opposite side, you will come across the first alley on your left with a lot of shops and restaurants, do not turn into this alley, walk straight ahead to look for the next alley.
At the entrance of the next alley is G25 convenience shop, turn left when you see G25.
You will immediately greeted by a queue infront of Tosokchon Restaurant.
Do not be put off by the long queue, the queue is a fast moving one, you dont have to queue more than 30 minutes, I queue for about 20 minutes only.
There are a lot of rooms inside the restaurants so you will be able to eat your samgyetang very soon.
You can asked to be seated in the rooms with tables and chairs or sit on the floor with cushions.
The menu is also the bill.
Self service for the kimchi.
Once seated and ordering your food, the food comes very quickly in about 5 minutes.
The ginseng they used to cook the soup is huge.
We also ordered the roasted chicken.
After lunch and two satisfied customers, we head out of the restaurant to our next destiantion and we saw outside the restaurant the queue is gone. I presumed the queue is long during lunch and dinner hours.
The address for the restaurant is:
Address
5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울 종로구 자하문로5길 5 (체부동)
Directions
Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road.
Tosokchon (토속촌) is located 10m ahead on the left.
After exiting from the main entrance of Gyeongbokgung Palace we need to turn right and walk straight to the traffic crossing, do not turn right at this road (Hyoja-ro), crossed the traffic junction and turn right on the second road (Jahamun-ro) and at the second road cross over to the opposite side via the underpass.
After crossing to the opposite side, you will come across the first alley on your left with a lot of shops and restaurants, do not turn into this alley, walk straight ahead to look for the next alley.
At the entrance of the next alley is G25 convenience shop, turn left when you see G25.
You will immediately greeted by a queue infront of Tosokchon Restaurant.
Do not be put off by the long queue, the queue is a fast moving one, you dont have to queue more than 30 minutes, I queue for about 20 minutes only.
There are a lot of rooms inside the restaurants so you will be able to eat your samgyetang very soon.
You can asked to be seated in the rooms with tables and chairs or sit on the floor with cushions.
The menu is also the bill.
Self service for the kimchi.
Once seated and ordering your food, the food comes very quickly in about 5 minutes.
The ginseng they used to cook the soup is huge.
We also ordered the roasted chicken.
After lunch and two satisfied customers, we head out of the restaurant to our next destiantion and we saw outside the restaurant the queue is gone. I presumed the queue is long during lunch and dinner hours.
The address for the restaurant is:
Address
5, Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울 종로구 자하문로5길 5 (체부동)
Directions
Gyeongbokgung Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 2.
Go straight about 170m and turn left onto Jahamun-ro 5-gil Road.
Tosokchon (토속촌) is located 10m ahead on the left.