[Korea Trip] Part 2: Dongdaemun Design Plaza @ Seoul

October 27, 2015

Continue from the previous post, we reached Seoul station in the evening by KTX.  It was a 3 hours journey, I suppose it's the easiest way of travelling from Busan to Seoul? I enjoyed the view along the journey and the free WiFi accessible on the train pretty much!  (FYI, we didn't sign up for any internet plan in Korea, being able to connect free WiFi is the happiest moment on earth. LOL)

Once reached Seoul, we were greeted by the freezing cold temperature.  Started shivering from head to toe.  Couldn't predict the drastic change of temperature from Busan to Seoul.  The 10-minute walk to our studio apartment (accomodation for the following days in Seoul) was such a torturing journey: to combat the cold breeze and the slopes in Seoul with my over-weighed luggage.  However, no matter how cold was it, I think it is still better than walking under hot sun in Malaysia, haha!

Cheongpa-ro 73-gil Yongsan, Seoul

This is our accomodation for the following nights.  It is a studio apartment, well equipped with attached bathroom, TV, kitchen, hairdryer, refrigerator and double bed.  We paid RM195.90 per pax for 3 nights, quite a good deal comparing with the other hotels in Seoul.

Super excited to see Park Seo Joon oppa on screen once turned on the television.  Hahaha, it was a scene from "She was Pretty 그녀는 예뻤다", a Korean series which I truly in love with recently.

The sunset was quite early in autumn.  About 6pm, the sky turned completely dark.  Night time seems longer than daytime, good news for the party goers?

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

The first place we visited in Seoul was Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a blend of traditional building, relics and cutting-edge modern multicultural facilities, as described by Visit Korea official website.  The building design was impressive, which consist of the art hall, museum, design shop and LED rose garden.

The vibrant street view of Dongdaemun is just another attraction

Our main intention of visiting DDP was the LED rose garden, a romantic place perfect for dating 

It will be more perfect if there's a handsome oppa coming with you, haha! Mind you, you gotta be hurry if you would love to visit this garden as it will last until February 2016 only!

Jaw-dropping kind of view

Me and my sis

Four of us

The Lee's sisters and Fong's sisters :D

If you notice, there was a scene from "She Was Pretty" was captured here too! 

Here end the first night in Seoul.  Dongdaemun will definitely be included into my itinerary if I'm going to visit Seoul again. See you soon-----!

[Korea Trip] Part 1: I Left My Soul in Busan

October 26, 2015

8.30 a.m. (Malaysia time 7.30 a.m.), landed Gimhae International Airport safely.  It was a 6 hours flight from KLIA 2 to Busan, tiring but I couldn't burry the excitement from my face. "Finally I'm stepping onto this land!", I yelled out loud from my heart.  Love every bits of Korea since I started watching K-drama: the language, the culture, the words and of course the Korean guys, hahaha.

Sunny day, gentle breeze.  Pity the Malaysians who had to breath in the hazy and dusty air.  Heading to the subway station after spending almost an hour at immigration hall, kickstarted my journey officially!

Took subway from Gimhae airport to take a transit to subway Line 2 at Sasang station.  At Seomyeon station, jump onto subway Line 1 to reach Jagalchi station, where our guesthouse located.

Woori Guesthouse

 7-2, Gwangbok-ro, Jung-gu, Busan.

Dropped our luggage there since we reached much earlier than our check in time.  Strolling across the streets and I fell in love with this town immediately.  Felt like coming home to be surrounded by Korean language (I guess I'm to obsessed with this country).  Even walking under sun can be so wonderful.

First meal in Korea: Gimbap (2000 won) and mandu (3000 won)

Gamcheon Cultural Village 감천문화마을

Also known as "Busan Santorini", which truely deserves the name.  The pastel houses across the hillside and beautiful sculptures hiding in every corners, formed a facinating and breath-taking layout of Busan.  

Each alley leads to a different surprise, as described by CNN reporter.  I would say this quaint village is definitely a place worth to spend time with.

Photo credits to Lee Xien

To go there:
Take subway to Toseong station (Line 1), exit at Exit 6.  At intersection, turn right at corner and walk straight until a hospital on your right.  Take bus number 2 or 2-2 at the bus stop is right in front of the hospital and you will reach Gamcheon village.

Traditional Market

One of the best way to explore a town is by walking through the streets, watching people from all walks of life.  Traditional market is a place that tells story of people in this town, in a detail way.

往往被計劃以外的際遇而感動

Yoogane Chicken Dak Galbi 유가네 닭갈비

If you read my previous post, you will know how much I love dak galbi, a must-eat in Korea.  Yoogane has various branches throughout the whole nation.  The one we visited was located at 31, BIFF Gwangjang-ro. 

One of the reason I like dakgalbi is simply because of I like watching the way they fried the dishes in front of you, moreover if the one who serve you is a handsome Korean guy hahaha!  Needless to comment much about the food, I would rate 10/10. 

Best served with ra-myeon and rice :D

Surprisingly, all these cost us 35000 won only, less than 10000 won per person!
I would definitely visit again if I'm living in Busan T.T

Unlike Taiwan, most shops in Korea close at 10pm. Nothing much to do at night, we ended our first day in Korea with 2 bottles of soju. 

For your information, soju is the cheapest drink in Korea other than mineral water.
It was selling at around 1000 won, which is about RM 4 and I couldn't believe my eyes to see the price in Malaysia which goes up to RM 20 per bottle, OMG

October 27, 2015

Rainy day. Yet, beautiful still.  Holding a cup of hot Americano, walking by the street, pretending as a Korean.  Love the coffee culture here, everyone seems enjoy drinking coffee and cafes are easily assesible.  Without any planning, we walked around the town before leaving for Seoul.  Frankly speaking, I don't mind to live there forever!

My eonni and I 

連杯子都那麼萌，叫我如何捨得離開～～～
@Paris Baguette, Busan station

From Busan to Seoul

There are several ways to travel from Busan to Seoul.  For instance, regular train, bus, plane or KTX express.  Out of those few options, we had chosen KTX express to save our time from 5 hours trip via regular train or bus to a 3 hours journey. 

To get the ticket:

We bought our ticket a day earlier at Busan KTX station, which cost us 59800 won per pax (around RM 226).  If you're travelling during peak season, to be safe, you may buy your ticket earlier at Korail website too :)

From there, we left Busan.
For most tourists, Busan might not as happening as Seoul, but this is the reason I love Busan.  I would rather spend a few hours strolling across quiet streets than getting into crowded tourist spot.
2 days 1 night was just too short for me.
Here, I left my soul in Busan... 

《我的少女時代》觀後感

“很久很久以后我们才知道， 

当一个女孩说她再也不理你， 

不是真的讨厌你， 

而是她很在乎你，非常非常在乎你。”

期待已久的電影終於在馬來西亞上映了。

故事很簡單，不外是少女青春時期經歷的點點滴滴，卻讓人感動了很久。

這就是所謂的共鳴感吧？

當然也感謝導演一百分的誠意。

小時候是否曾經幻想自己長大後是什麼樣子的？

而現在的你，跟小時候在幻想中的你是否又一樣呢？

又有多少個TA的模樣，被深深的烙在你的回憶裡？

女生說：

“我們說沒事，就是有事；沒關係，就是有關係”

男生說：

“當你看著喜歡的人走向她喜歡的那個人，你才發現你對她很壞，其實只是想更靠近她一點”

多少個徐太宇或林真心能夠了解這一點？

恍然大悟，總是在錯過之後。

“長大以後才知道，砸水球比賽第一個所砸的人，不是因為你討厭他，而是因為你眼裡只有他”

“愛上你的時候 還不懂感情
離別了 才覺得刻骨銘心”

- 《小幸運》 Hebe

所謂的學習愛情，往往都是從錯過後學會珍惜。

若干年以後也許有一個moment突然想起，為逝去的初戀覺得惋惜，

然而心裡還是會感激那個曾經出現在生命裡的那個TA。

成長是一件很殘忍的事情。

時間總是一聲不響的把夢想偷走。
小時候曾經幻想自己長大後的樣子也逐漸模糊。

顛簸的路上，走向不屬於自己的人生。

迷失了方向，忘記了初衷
習慣了不習慣，被牢牢的困在框框中
跌跌撞撞，也懷疑自己
究竟為了什麼而活著，所做的一切值得嗎？

是時候改變了吧？


“人不需要在一個不在乎你是誰的地方，浪費自己的人生”

這電影提醒了我們要永遠記得青春的勇氣。
因為


“只有我們自己，能決定自己的樣子”

“謝謝你，出現在我的青春裡”

p/s: 主題曲真的好好聽

[Food Review] Coffeeright Place, Ipoh

Happy Malaysia day!

It's a backdated post (as usual). I guess I'll die of starving if blogging is the only source of income, lol.

Visited Coffeeright Cafe couple weeks ago, not a new cafe in Ipoh but it's new for me since I've never realise it's exixtence before! It is located at Jalan Kampar, just opposite to Methodist Girls School, .

Stepping into this cafe, I was quite impressed by the interior decoration.  It is just a small shop lot, but the efforts they put onto every corner are obviously seen. The eye catching skylines of New York on the wall had clearly defined the theme of this cafe - urban, innovative and freedom.

Wide varieties available on the menu. You may find breakfast, asian delights, pastas, sandwiches, poultry and meats on the menu. The two pages of drinks menu is another plus point for this cafe.

Cheese Baked rice with Pork

The chef was really generous by topping the rice with a thick layer of cheese. The taste was pretty decent, just the pork meat was a little bit overcooked. I guess this is the main reason contributed to my high cholesterol reading in my recent blood taking result.

Fish and Chips

(I'm not a fans of fish and chips, so yeah- no comment for this dish)

Signature drinks: Nutella Latte

You would definitely like this if you're a chocolate and coffee lover!

Forgot to mention, free plain water is provided :D

The desserts

Wanna try their delectable looking desserts, but unfortunately our stomach have no more space for them.  Perhaps you guys should try out and let me know how's the taste like next time?

To my surprise, the price in this cafe much cheaper than most other cafes in Ipoh.  Most of the main courses fall below RM20, sounds great right?  I would definitely come back in future :D

#NotAnAdvertorial

Homemade Dak Galbi 닭갈비

Annyeonghaseyo!

What will you do when your taste buds are craving for Korean food desperately?  The easiest way is to make it by yourself when there's no single Korean restaurant nearby. Dak galbi (닭갈비) is one of the simple Korean dishes that you can make it at home without much messing your kitchen, haha.

"Dak galbi, also romanized dalk galbi, is a popular Korean dish generally made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a gochujang based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions, perilla leaves, and tteok together on a hot plate."

Here are the ingredients you need:

Sweet potato + sliced onions

Sliced cabbage

Chicken breast meat

Pepper powder + sesame oil + gochujang (spicy pepper sauce) + salts + sugar

Step 1:

Marinate the chicken breast meat with pepper powder, sesame oil, gochujang, salts and sugar.  Of course, it will taste better with addition of cooking wine, soy sauce and ginger paste.

Step 2:

Pre-heat frying pan with cooking oil and stir fry some chopped garlic.

Step 3:

Stir fry the marinated chicken breast meat. 

Step 4:

Add in the cabbage, onion and soft-boiled sweet potato.  Well mix the ingredients and cook until the cabbage wilt.  Caution: only small amount of water need to be added or else it may turn out to be too watery. 

Ta-daa! 

The yummy-licious dak galbi is ready to be served!

Best serve with rice, ramen or even white bread! 

Hope you enjoy learning to cook this simple Korean dish ( I would rate myself 9/10) 

It'll be perfect if korean rice cake is addded, haha. Let me know if you tried it at home too! =)

잘 먹겠습니다！

[jal meok-ge-sseum-ni-da]  

I'm going to eat!