[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul

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although I now live in Hong Kong, I still keep up to the up and coming restaurants in Seoul. 뭐랄까.. it’s always been my hobby looking at amazing restaurants and I’ve always been very open to try new things. so this trip back, I made it clear that I want to make the most of it by visiting all these restaurants that I’ve been drooling on my computer for so long. truth it, it’s impossible to go to all.  but for a great after exam celebratory brunch with my best friend, this quaint little restaurant in Ikseon-dong was it! (and because it was really good, I am so excited to share my findings with you!) not to mention my current obsession with the Scandinavian style small plates obsession I currently have (for people in HK I recommend Okra! blog post for that soon..!!!)

I was intrigued by this new restaurant mainly because it is somehow opened by a restaurant owner whom owns another successful (and beautiful) restaurant around the corner and how the ingredients are so colourful and attractive in the pictures I saw online. also one of the chefs an adoptee whom’s not afraid of expressing his own version of modified Korean food which makes everything a whole lot more interesting.

NOTE: this place do not sell authentic Korean food, but instead a creative twist (the style here might come across odd for people whom are not as adventurous) on Korean ingredients therefore if you are looking for the traditional and local Korean experience, I recommend you to read my other food posts as I have a lot of them! 

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[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul

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while I was in Seoul last autumn, I finally got to go to this new hipster-ish area near Bukchon Hanok Village; Ikseon-dong. unlike Bukchon, this place isn’t situated on the hill but all the homes here, like Bukchon are the only few areas in Seoul where people actually still live in Hanoks. while I have an obsession with Hanoks, I also love Hanok cafes because they seem to be Hanoks at its best.

I guess I was always very fascinated with these Korean traditional buildings because they are sturdy although built without nails, look absolutely phenomenal, normally have a 마루 (Maru; a flat elevated deck) in their yard where people can chill at and great great heating systems; the 온돌 (Ondol).

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[HK: Wan Chai] Classified — best place for brunch.

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nothing’s better for an expat working in hectic HK other than Saturday brunches. I just felt like brunch is the only time where I can slow down at this very fast-paced city. there are quite a number of places offering brunch in HK but they are normally over-crowded, not brunch-like and over-priced. but classified, a chic european styled chain here, is really my style. Continue reading “[HK: Wan Chai] Classified — best place for brunch.”