Solely Seoul: A 7-Day Vacation to Korea is Seoul Fun! Part 1

We spent seven days in Seoul, but there wasn't nearly enough time to do everything we wanted. I can't believe it! Well, fine maybe I can. Our late-night shopping and 1am TV-binge-watching may have played a part, but still. Most of my friends touring Korea usually spends a couple of days in Seoul before moving to other regions, but clearly they weren't quite the shopaholics that we were.

We snagged a ChangiWifi egg at the airport. The speed was terrific, and it was a great bargain at $5 a day for all 4 of us. We cleared customs in good time, and headed for lunch alongside the streets of Myeondong when we spotted O'sulloc Tea House.

Their green-tea based drinks and desserts are popular amongst visitors to Korea. We walked past several times over the course of the week, and I'd never seen the shop less than packed. I particularly liked their Green Tea Roll Cake. It was so light and fluffy, it's almost ethereal, and puts other sponge cakes to shame.The Matcha Tiramisu was pretty decent as well. We were meant to split the Hot Matcha, but it was a little grainier than I like, so I instead drank copious amounts of their fragrant Iced Matcha from their sample shelf (oops). They have several lines of really fragrant teas, and we couldn't resist buying a box of their Wedding Green Tea.

O'sulloc Tea House
47-1 Myeon-dong 1ga, Jung-gu, Seoul Special City
Store location and opening hours

Upon exiting the tea house, we took several detours within Myeongdong (ok it may have just be my horrific sense of direction) before arriving at Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong. They serve Korean BBQ cooked over charcoal. Best of all? The servers cook for us, alleviating all concerns within our group that we were inadvertently going to poison one another on our first day of vacay.

Every slice of their Prime Boneless Short Ribs (beef) was tender and flavorful, and the same goes for their thick-cut Pork Belly. As the meat bubbles and brown, the excess fats run off onto the stripes of fluffy eggs cooking by the side. Perhaps a sinful meal, but in the McDonalds defence, this too is part of a healthy diet. (Not actual health advice). They do a mean vegetable salad too, as I recall.

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong
19-3 Myeongdong 10-gil, Myeongdong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu

A meal is never complete without desserts, and we popped by Sulbing nearby, the dessert store that kicked off Korean bingsu enthusiasm. It's been a few years since, but Sulbing still has the magic touch, serving up trays of shaved ice desserts to a big crowd. We took a pause when we walked in; the outlay is hauntingly familiar.

It feels exactly like Nunsongyee in Singapore, from the food to the yellow-white colour scheme and wooden furniture! That's just a little dodgy, Nunsongyee. Well played.

There can be a bit of a sticker shock when dining in Seoul. Having recently traveled to Guangzhou and Malaysia, I was used to eating overseas at a lower cost, but what you'll find here is comparable to the price you'll expect in Singapore and Melbourne. But as we sat at a window table, digging our spoons into a bowl of Injeolmi bingsu and watching people walk along the streets of Myeongdong, this was exactly what we came for.

Sulbing
20 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu

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It's never too early - or late - to start shopping, and the perk of staying in Myeondong is that we're only a street away from Lotte Duty Free, and many other stores along Myeongdong's sprawling streets. It has never been more convenient to just hop down the hotel for some impromptu shopping, and to stash everything back in the hotel afterwards before heading out for more.

We had no other exposure to Korean culture (surely, having watched several Korean shows doesn't count?) but our complete lack of Korean proficiency didn't stop us from having a grand time! Many Koreans that we met in Seoul understands rudimentary Chinese and English, and many store assistants that we met are Chinese emigrants working in Korea.

Like most people, the big draw of coming to Seoul is the volume of cosmetic and skincare products available here. I didn't think that I could spend all seven days shopping, especially just on skin care, but seeing the citizens of Seoul walking around with their perfect complexion made me reevaluate my priorities. Most of the people that we meet (guys and gals) have such glowing skin, they look like they ought to be in the movie industry. Yes, almost everybody, from the parking lot attendant(!!), to the baker making croissants, have such fair skin, they look like actors in a film.

We snagged some shopping vouchers for Lotte Duty Free at our hotel, which together with the VIP card from Lotte (all you have to do is show them a VISA/Mastercard to apply), and discounts go anywhere from 10-25%. We spent some time poking around the stores until Myeongdong Night Market opened.

Myeongdong Night Market starts pretty early, and has a pretty good - if pricey - selection of food. I'd never seen such upscale street food: there's grilled lobsters, prawns and scallops with cheese, all of which are broiled with a flame-torch upon ordering. Heck, even the grilled sausages here are torched. There's some accessories stalls set up as well along the main street, and the concrete stores here are also abound with skincare products, but it's mainly a food market.

We picked at the street food, and then went in search of a proper dinner. But following a not-so great oven-baked chicken from Noo Na Hol Dak (누나홀닭 홍대점) , we went to Sinseon Seolnongtang, an extremely popular restaurant serving light bowls of oxtail soups, for supper. After such hearty food, a simple bowl of soup helps ease the palate. We would walk by the restaurant several more times over our trip, and no matter the hour, it would always be packed.