Day 3: Soondubu at Jungwon Soondubu

Lin & I love tofus and soondubu is one of our fav Korean dish! :) We satisfied our cravings at Jungwon Soondubu as it's just next to Metro Hotel (we needed to off load our Namdaemun purchases).

Established in 1969, Jungwon Soondubu is one of the earliest soondubu restaruants in Seoul.

Before we get to the mains, we had a number of sides...

We were also given aluminium bowls to mix our own bibimbap. :) All we had to do was to mix the rice, sauteed & seasoned veg (namul) and chilli pepper paste (gochujang) till everything is evenly red. :) Add a raw egg if you wish...

And finally our soondubu! :D

Here're what we had:

Beef and Kimchi pork soondubu

Mushroom and Seafood soondubu

Tina was perspiring at the end of the meal. So if you can't take spicy stuff, do get the chef to go easy on the chillis! ^.*

Details of Jung Won Soondubu:
Next to Metro Hotel
199-77, 2-ga,Eulji-ro, Jung-gu,Seoul
T: (82-2) 508 7913

Day 3: Shop, Shop, Shop at Namdaemun

We started our morning with shopping at Korea's largest & oldest traditional market Namdaemun. :) Again, we were overwhelmed by the array of stalls, merchandise, buildings & crowds. :O

This guide might come in handy. ;) It's impossible to cover everything in a day! We only managed to check out the stretch of shops along the road from Exit 5 of Hoehyeon Station to Daedo Shopping Centre. 

To get to Namdaemun:
Subway Line 4 Hoehyeon Station Exit 5

Tina managed to get ginseng for her mom from 公順成商會 - Gong Soon Sung (공순성상회). There are various types of ginseng and each is suited for different health condition. Lee Chung-Chen who attended to her was able to speak fluent English, making her purchase a little easier. :) We bought some other stuff such as yuzu tea & seaweed from 公順成商會 as well.

We should have taken some pics of the shop, but you know, we got distracted from shopping. :))) To get there, walk straight down after the information counter. The shop is on the left side of the road.

Details of 公順成商會 - Gong Soon Sung (공순성상회):
서울 중구 남창동 50-6번지본동상가1층
Contact: Lee Chung-Chen
T: +82 2 774 5296

If you're into home decor & household stuff, Daegoon Tower and Daedo Shopping Centre (L2 & L3) are the places to go! :D We heart these two places! *.* Daegoon Tower and Daedo Shopping Centre are on the right side of the road after the information counter. They are linked via two bridges as seen in the pic below. :)

The orange building is Daedo Shopping Centre while the green is Daegoon Tower.

We managed to pick up a chopsticks & spoons set from Daedo Shopping Centre. :) A little of Korea for our home. ;)

Here's Daedo Shopping Centre Guide:















We crossed over to Daegoon Tower to check out the flower market and home decor. :)

Most of the fresh blooms are stacked neatly on top of one another here in Korea. :) Those that require more water are placed in buckets.

For those who prefer convenience, there's the option of artificial flowers. :)

We picked up a number of stuff from Mr Moon's store! :D

I like Eun Seok's store as well! :)

I wanna bring EVERYTHING home! :)))

After some damages incurred at Daedo Shopping Centre and Daegoon Tower, we checked out the bustling market outside. :) Everything you need for a homecooked meal can be bought here! :)

Hungry? Food's easily available too. :)

You might be keen to try these biggie buns. :)

Kimbaps anyone? :)

There are fruits too. :)

Lastly, if you're in the mood for grabs... :)

That's our morning at Namdaemun. :)

Day 2: Cookin' Nanta

After a day of walking, we couldn't do much but sit to watch a performance! :D Nanta is listed as one of the top 10 things to see in Seoul by the Korean Tourism Organization.

We bought our tickets online and just had to pick the tickets up an hour before the show. :)

Today's actors were from the blue team! :)

Photos aren't allow during the performance. :( Hence a pic of the stage only.

The performance lacks the wow factor as compared to Impression on West Lake in Hangzhou, China. But it's highly entertaining nonetheless. The actors engaged the audience in parts of the performance. The "Head Chef" nearly "chased" Lin and Mom out as they did not follow his direction! The 90 minutes performance had everyone bend double. Nanta is a must watch! :)

Details of Cookin' Nanta:
Myeong Dong NANTA Theatre
(Myeong Dong Art Center)
W: http://nanta.i-pmc.co.kr/nanta/en/intro.aspx

Day 2: Korean Traditional Porridge Dinner at Bonjuk

Korean traditional porridge is a good dinner option after a long day. :) It's a nourishing homemade dish and play an important role in Korean culture. We checked out Bonkuk Restaurant for some of these yummy goodness. :) Bonjuk is featured in the drama "Boys Over Flowers".

Here're our orders:

Ginseng chicken porridge and Beef & mushroom porridge

The ginseng taste was strong and might not suit everyone's palatte. While there were beef flavours in the beef & mushroom porridge, we couldn't find any beef slices like those in Cantonese porridge. We would much prefer to have beef slices in our porridge. :)

Abalone porridge, Cheese & crabstick porridge and Seaweed porridge

We couldn't quite make out if they were abalone bits or mushrooms. Hahahahah... :))) We like the cheese & crabstick porridge for its intense flavour! I guess the seaweed one will be apt for one who's not feeling too well.

The porridge servings are huge and a bowl can be shared by two. :)

Bonjuk Restaurant has a number of outlets and we went to the one at Myeongdong.

Details of Bonjuk Restaurant:

서울중구충무로1가 22-11 2층

South Korea Seoul Jung-guChungmuro 1(il)-ga 22-11

T: +82 2 755 3562

They have another branch just opposite Metro Hotel. ;) It's more spacious & we need not climb up to the 2F. :D

Day 2: Tea First...Then Shopping!

Next up on our schedule was shopping at Myeongdong! Alas we were exhausted by the morning activities at Namsan Park and needed to do coffee/tea before any serious shopping. :)))

Cafes are everywhere in Myeongdong! :O We were exhausted beyond words and settled for Beans Bin at Myeongdong.

Beans Bins offers a great selection of waffles. Being chocoholics, we opted for Triple chocolate waffle & had lemonade to go with it. Coffee for mom & Beanie as usual. 

I wished we could sit longer for my legs were falling apart...but Lin said no...we had a schedule to follow. :)

We love the complimentary stickers by Beans Bins. Will most prob stick them on my instax pics...woohoo...:)

Details of Beans Bins:
W: www.beansbins.com

I really didn't know how to focus when shopping at Myeongdong. There's just so much to see. 

Hope this guide helps a little. ;)

Myeongdong Street (A):

Migliore, U-too Zone (Shopping Malls)/ Brand Name Shops (Levi’s, Bean Pole, Geumgang Shoes Store, Elkanto Shoe Store, Esquire Shoe Store etc)

Side Alley (B):
mid-priced brand name shops (Ssamzie, Club Monaco, Guess) / No-Name Brand Stores/ Trend 20, MyeongdongUiryu (Shopping Malls)

Side Alley (C):
No-Name Brand Shops/Brand Name Shops (Giordano, Jangbangee)/Restaurants/Coffee Houses

Central Street (D):
National Souvenir Center / Avatar (Shopping Mall)/banks/fast food restaurants

Chinese street (E):
Chinese Embassy/Chinese restaurants/stores for Chinese medicine, books, etc

Tina hit all the comestic stores (Etude, The Faceshop, Laneige, Skin Food etc etc) and I just followed suit. We had a shopping list given by friends & so we were shopping on beghalf of others. ;) There wasn't much apparel to buy as it's fall and they wouldn't fit our weather here in Singapore. Having said that, Tina did manage to pick up some discounted, off the season pieces. ^.* Our shopping queen at work indeed! :D

One need not worry abt where to eat as there are plenty of restaurants and street hawkers in and around Myeongdong!

We tried Dukbokki 떡볶이 from this stall.

And Beanie bought some oranges from a mobile orange store! :D They were pretty cheap at 2,000 won for a bag of 5 oranges.

Next up, dinner at Bonjuk Restaurant & Nanta! :D Both located at Myeongdong too!