Korea Day 1: Seoul

안녕하세요 Guys!!!

 

The Korea trip is a backdated event but I thought I should still write about it just in case some of you might find it useful :)

 

Background Info

My younger sister was studying in Korea for a year and my boyfriend (aka J) have always wanted to visit Korea. Thus after much persuasion from J (I was contemplating as we had already been to Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Bangkok since the beginning of the year), I decided to do some read-up on Korea and to search for the cheapest flight available.

 

Vietnam Airlines was having promotion and I bought it at $500 per pax, inclusive of 2 full meals and 7Kg hand carry and 20Kg check-in allowances with a stop-over at Ho Chi Minh City.

 

But after planning the itinerary, J thought it would be too short to go for only 9 Days thus I called to extend it to 12 Days 11 Nights (to be exact it was only 11 days and 11 nights- the last day, we had to wake up at 5.30am to catch our flight). We had to pay additional US$30 for the change of date, thus our airfare became $542/pax.

 Here's the flight itinerary:

In-flight meal- Singapore to Vietnam

In-flight meal- Vietnam to Korea

J woke me up to catch the sunrise and I thought it was sooo romantic to witness it together butttttt he went back to sleep after waking me up, Geez!

 

Pretty colours

After half an hour.....

Blazing sun

Once we arrived in Seoul, we headed straight to my sis's hostel to check in. We stayed there for 2 nights (1st and 4th day of the trip).

Address:

Lohas Livinghome, 8 minutes walk from Sinchon station

The room looks some sort like the photo below but in replacement of the single bed, it's a double decker bed and the room is slightly smaller. It comes with an ensuite bathroom.

Credits: Lohas Livinghome website

In Korea, it is very convenient and cost effective to travel around via their subway, especially when you are travelling on your own or in small groups (2-3 pax).




Credits: Seoul SMRT website

While waiting for my sis to get back from school, we went to Namdaemun market (Hoehyeon station Line 4 Exit 5) to change money. We found a money changer that offered a better rate near Shinsegae Department Store. Exchange rate was S$1 = 846won. Unlike what I read online, those ahjumma with make-shift booth, did not offer very rates :(

 

 

J saw this ddeokbokki shop and he was sooo excited hahaha, so we ordered a portion to share. It costs 2500won (~S$3) and it came with 2 small cups of soup. The salty soup went very well with the spicy sweet ddeokbokki!

Visted the Sungnyemun Gate (aka Namdeamun Gate).

29, Namdaemunno 4-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-094, South Korea  

Entrance of Namdaemun Gate

 

Once sis is done with school, we headed out for lunch, just 5 minutes away from the guesthouse:

Dakgalbi HaneulBornDak 하늘본닭

31-86 Changcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Near Sinchon station)

          

We ordered 3 portions of chicken galbi fried rice. 4500won per pax, 13,500won (~S$16). It tasted so delicious! It wasn't very spicy and the good thing is that the staff will cook it for you and you can just focus on eating! A must try!

 

 

After lunch we took a nap and got up around 5pm for dinner, Ahjumma (owner of the guesthouse) cooked Kimchi Jigae, omg so spicy, I felt like i was having a sore throat immediately after dinner.

Went to Hongdae to walk a bit before Sis brought us to her regular hang out at The Pie Hole @ Sinchon. It is pretty near Yonsei University.
Located at: 70-39 Changcheon-dong (36 Seongsan-ro 22-gil) 서대문구 창천동 70-39

Below are the directions from Uplex mall to the cafe, it takes about 15 - 20 mins of casual walking. Hopefully my directions are clear, if not, do feel free to drop me a text.

 

 

 

We ordered 1 peppermint latte and an iced early grey latte for 10,500 won (~S$12.40). They gave each of us 1 cherry tomato, hahaha that's so intersting. The drinks tasted pretty good and the ambience is very suitable for those who would like to enjoy a quiet evening with some friends or for a conducive study environment.

 

After supper, we headed back to pack for our Jeju trip!!!

 

That's all for Day 1 in Seoul, stay tune for my next post on our 3 Days 2 Nights trip to Jeju!

 

PetiteFreckles ♥

Legoland Malaysia

My boyfriend managed to get free tickets to Legoland so since it is freeeee, we decided to head there over the weekend *hee* I was very excited as it was my first time going to an amusement park with him after dating for 5 years o_O

 

Here are some photos taken under the blazing sun! We started perspiring once we got out the car!

Around Legoland

 

 

We went up the imagination tower...

 

View from Imagination Tower

 

Project X

Dino Ride

Kids Power Tower

Legoland Hotel

Tips

1. Bring a set of clothes to change - we went on the Dino Island ride and got really wet and smelly (gosh... the water was like yellowish)
2. Stay hydrated
3. Bring a cap - the weather nearly killed me, it was blazing hot!
4. Bring a foldable umbrella - it suddenly rained when we were there
5. There's about 5 restaurants/cafe within Legoland, so there's no need to worry about food.

Verdict: Some of the rides are pretty fun but it is really more suitable for kids.

Address
7 Jalan LEGOLAND
Bandar Medini Iskandar Malaysia
79250, Nusajaya,
Johor Darul Takzim,
Malaysia

Opening Hours
10 am - 6 pm / 7 pm / 8pm
See http://www.legoland.com.my/en/Plan/Opening-hours/ for latest updates on operating hours

PetiteFreckles ♥

Saturday Date: Lower East Side Taqueria & Penny University

Just last week, after watching the Turbo movie, we decided to have some Mexican food! I have never even tried Taco-bells before! I heard it tasted real good, hopefully they will reopen a branch here!!! :D

Anyways, after some googling, the boy managed to find a Mexican restaurant that's near our place. It's called Lower East Side Taqueria. Located at 19 East Coast Road Singapore 428746.

Tadah!!!

 

 

We ordered a Soup of the Day, Hake Tacos and a Cumin Grilled Chicken Burrito to share.

Soup of the day (around S$5-S$7) and Hake Taco (S$11)

Sorry I do not remember the name of the soup, but if i'm not wrong, it is along the line of onion, carrot, ?-ingredient soup. It tasted so gooddddd.

The hake taco consists of an open-faced taco topped with broiled fillet, cabbage slaw, guacamole, sweet paprika and sriracha sauce. As for the burrito, the wrap is filled with a medley of bacon, pinto beans, sour cream, cilantro and lime rice. I prefer this to the hake taco as it is slightly spicy and very aromantic. My stomach is growling just thinking of it *yums*. A definite must-try!



Cumin and Grilled Chicken Burrito (S$13)

The total cost comes up to about S$38. The price is reasonable and the ambience is nice, I would highly recommend this place for group outings or whenever you are craving for some Mexican food and some horchata :)

 

After dinner, we headed to Penny University along East Coast Road for dessert. Located at 402 East Coast Road Singapore 428997

 

Mint Brownie Pie

We ordered a mint brownie pie to share and peppermint ice chocolate for myself and chai steamer for him. Didn't really like the mint brownie as it tasted abit like toothpaste mixed with chocolate and the drinks tasted just average.

 

But i will most likely head back for their brunch as it looks really good.

 

Till next time....



PetiteFreckles ♥

Sinpopo: Our Parents' Memories

"Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I smile of the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember
The time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again"

Located at 458 Joo Chiat Road, opposite 112 Katong Mall

 

 

Doesn't this place make you want to sing the song from the Cats musical??? Or is it just me haha..

 

Anyways, my boyfriend and I headed to Sinpopo after dinner, as we wanted to check out the much raved old school cafe. After much contemplation, I decided to try the Ais Bor instead of the attap chee ice cream. And he chose tau suan (boringggg... :p)

 

The ais bor was less sweet compared to the usual ice-kachang and it was so harddddd... Should have chosen the attap chee ice cream instead *sob*

But i really do love the ambience and the curry rice sure does look good, will definitely bring my parents here the next time!

PetiteFreckles ♥

Professor Brawn Cafe

On Wednesday after work, my boyfriend and I decided to head to Novena Square to check out some hiking items for his trip to Mt Kinabalu in April. We walked past Professor Brawn Cafe, they are a social enterprise that provides employment for people with special needs and to raise awareness for the cause. Since we have yet to decide what to have for dinner, we decided to eat at the cafe so that we can kill 2 birds with 1 stone (filling our tummies and doing a good deed) :D



Interior



Vongole $13.90

The vongole tasted delicious except that it was pretty salty for my taste.

Chicken with Truffle Sauce $12.90

Boneless chicken drizzled with truffle sauce served with potato wedges and salad. The skin of the chicken was seriously CRISPY!! It made a crackling sound with each bite which reminds me of the skin of a suckling pig! The truffle sauce tasted so good with the chicken and potato wedges. Love the aroma and the taste of truffle! OMG i'm drooling just thinking about it.

Flavours from Left: Macademia nuts Right: Cookies and cream

Currently, there's a promotion when you pay with UOB credit/debit card (only valid for ala carte items), free scoop of ice cream per main course ordered :D Loveeee promotions!

The next time you visit Novena area, do pop by to give a try, it's really a place that i would highly recommend as the food is good and it's all for a good cause :)

Address
Novena Square
238 Thomson Rd
#02-78/79
Singapore 307683

Opening hours: 1130am to 930pm

PetiteFreckles ♥

Nam Nam

Sorry for the backdated post :p

 

After checking out the BOWS wedding show on the 5th of January @ Dhoby, the boyfriend and I decided to settle our dinner at NamNam Noodle Bar in Wheelock.

We ordered 2 noodle dishes:


Flower Crab Noodle Soup $13.90

This noodle soup tasted so good, the soup base had a tomato-ish aroma and flavour, it goes really well with the soft shell crab. YUMS! I will definitely come back for more ^^

Dry Yellow Curry Duck Noodle $8.90

The dry noodle tasted nice in the beginning but the more i ate it, the more i felt 'gelat' (a Malay word that sort of means food with excessive amount of flavour that cause an effect of lack of appetite?), as  there's too much coconut gravy in the curry and the duck meat was too tough.

We also ordered their classic iced coffee with condensed milk ($2.50). Tasted really good but a tad too sweet for me.

Will definitely go back again as their prices are reasonable and I would love to try their Bahn Mi (toasted baguette with fillings).

 

Their prices are inclusive of GST and there's no service charge.

 

Other NamNam outlets: Raffles City and Suntec City

Opening Hours: 8.00am to 9.30pm

PetiteFreckles ♥

An iconic cake

My lovely colleague surprised me with the signature cake from Chef Icon Nature Bakery- Chocolate Trovana!!! Made from French dark chocolate, it was very rich and creamy, with a hint of bitterness. I would highly recommend chocolate lovers to give their Chocolate Trovana a try. And importantly, Chef Icon pride themselves on not using any artificial colouring, flavouring or preservatives into their products!

 

They also sell cheesecakes, breads and sandwiches. You can check out their outlet their store @:

5 Kampong Bahru Rd, Singapore 169341

 

If you would like to order a whole cake for an occassion, do order 3 days in advance. $16 for delivery for orders below $300.

PetiteFreckles ♥