Another Thursday meant another class trip for my Asian art history class. This time, it was to Deoksugung 덕수궁. Our professor's original plan was to go to The Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. However, an unexpected closure at the time brought us to Deoksugung instead.
Somehow I overslept that morning and had a mid-morning freakout. I had missed the start of class time by (at least) 30 minutes or more, which meant I completely miss the scheduled gathering time. I was faced with another crisis after rushing to get ready and left the dorms: the subway station was at least a 15-minute walk/jog away and taxis didn't stop right by the area closest to the dorms. I ultimately chose to wait for a taxi at the designated stand near the Yonsei Severance Hospital to try and save some time. Luckily the ride was only a short few minutes since all the palaces are relatively nearby to Yonsei University. If we were in any other city, a taxi wouldn't even be an option due to pricing but in Seoul the fares were affordable.
I had to purchase my own tickets in order to reunite with the class inside the palace walls. Even though this palace was the smallest of the 3 that we visited on our trips, I didn't find the class until I made a full circle of the place. Turns out I was so late and the palace was so small that they were already finished with their tour/lesson. Despite the rushed experience, I was still able to get a quick look at the structures. It was interesting to see more Western-style buildings here as Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung were very traditional. The museum in the mansion-esque structure was closed for renovation at the time.
By the time we got back to Sinchon I was starving. Bestie C and I found our way to Hyundai Department Store once again. This visit I opted to try something I had only seen videos on YouTube of and that was sujebi 수제비 or dough flake/hand torn noodles. Maybe the bowl of kalgooksoo I had left too strong of an impression on me but this bowl of sujebi wasn't all too exciting.
The highlight of the day that all my friends were patiently waiting for was the impending 4D movie experience awaiting us at the end of the night. A fellow student helped many others purchase tickets in advance to see Guardians of the Galaxy. Needless to say that was all I could think about throughout Korean class that afternoon.
Our movie was scheduled for 11:10PM. Korean BBQ was a unanimous choice for dinner. Filling our bellies with meat would help us last through the night. We ended up at Naemooban Sikdang 내무반 식당 that was along the way to the CGV theater. Even though this place wasn't AYCE, I think we still left pretty full without spending an obscene amount. The cuts of meat were definitely tastier and chunkier and the bean sprouts & scallion side dish was love.
With some time left to kill, our next stop was to a Baskin Robbins nearby. Our selection of choice? Probably one of the largest ice cream cup bucket that they offered! Since this size was calculated by weight, we went a little crazy with our selection of mishmash flavors we all enjoyed and wanted to try.
11:00PM came and we were finally at the Sinchon CGV theater. Other than the short Shrek 4D film ride at Universal, this was the only time I watched anything in 4D. It was something else to be sprayed at with water and perfumes, swooshed to and fro in the chairs, and bashed on by the massage like knobs every time an equivalent happened in the movie. While I only experienced it for a few minutes on the Shrek ride, this movie was a full-length feature film. Theater-going, at least for action movies, was forever changed for me that night.
The second to last week of the study abroad trip arrived before we knew it. Things always seem to come to an end when it is at it's best. I finally got comfortable with a routine in a foreign place and around my newfound friends, yet we only had mere 14 days left together. When all of us weren't busy with the school aspects of the experience, foods brought us all closer.
Bestie C and I went out (of campus) for the majority of our lunch breaks during the remainder of our time in Seoul. We didn't have a particular place in mind but found a small restaurant named Noodle Box during a stroll through Edae. They sold a variety of different stir-fried noodle dishes that were served in cardboard take-out style boxes. I ordered the migoreng since I had never tried it before, but cannot attest to the authenticity of what I had. Of the noodles and the spring rolls appetizers we got, I remember much preferring the latter bite.
Whilst on the hunt for lunch, Bestie C spotted the other liquid nitrogen ice cream shop that she had read about. Since we had more fruity flavors at Solid Works, we opted to try the dairy based versions at Lab Time. Oreo milk ice cream can never be a wrong choice. Tiramisu ice cream was a pleasant surprise. I think it had some cheesiness to it and the melted chocolate syringe made the experience extra exciting.
After discovering the West Gate area of Yonsei, our group of friends decided to see what else Yeonhui-dong 연희동 had to offer. We stumbled into Yeonhuidong Kalgooksoo 연희동 칼국수 by pure chance. All of us were hungry after a day of classes and I think many of us had to get back to our studies. Somehow our big group walked into the bottom-most floor of this noodle restaurant one night. The servers didn't speak much English but it wasn't an issue because there was 1 and only 1 item that this place served, it's eponymous dish. The only options given were small or big bowls.
In translation, the restaurant name simply meant knife-cut noodles from the Yeonhui neighborhood. But the bowl of noodles was far from plain. It may look like just a boring bowl of noodle soup with only a few strands of julienne carrots, egg, and scallions at first glance. But this was the best bowl of noodles I had. The broth was so flavorful but slightly under seasoned. Their spicy kimchi was seasoned well, crunchy and not too fermented (just the way I like it) so it balanced the broth just right when eaten together. This restaurant even offered a non-spicy white kimchi that tasted just as nice. It seemed like everything that was served matched my tastes exactly! My friends and I probably devoured every last morsel of food on the table that night.
Ice cream cakes from the big chains, in NYC at least, are pretty boring. If not all vanilla flavored, then all chocolate. If not either then a combination of the two. If none of the above then part cookies 'n cream and part sheet cake.
We were all amazed by the ice cream cake selection we saw at all the Baskin Robbins. One night when we gathered one of our biggest group together for a dinner outing, the dessert of choice was to share a cake rather than each buy our own little cups. There were about 9 different flavored cubes of ice cream in the cake that we picked and none were the basic options either.
Our cake was safe from the heat since we all chipped away at the blocks right away in the shop. Had we chose to share it in the comforts of our dorm lounge, there was no need to worry about rushing back with a melting cake either. The Baskin Robbins in Korea actually packs the cakes first in the typical cardboard cake boxes and then in another styrofoam container with dry ice. How awesome is that?
In case you haven't noticed already, I really enjoyed going to the Hyundai Department Store in Sinchon for food. Bestie C and I stumbled upon a Japanese ramen vendor called Magokoro and had to satisfy our ramen craving. Even though ramyeon is very popular in Korea, that is just the instant variety for noodle fare. Nothing really beats the taste and texture of fresh noodles.
At first, I was skeptical of the flavors since most foreign foods we've had in Seoul didn't turn out to be all too authentic. But the tonkotsu ramen from Magokoro was pretty spot on. It wasn't the best Japanese ramen I have ever had but it was a good replacement to fill the missing void.
There weren't very many restaurants that my friends or myself visited more than once in Korea. The exception was albab house 알밥 하우스 in Edae. It was convenient and very affordable with decent sized portions. I tended to order the rice bowls and during this particular visit I had the mixed katsudon, which was essentially donkatsu, shrimp tempura, and egg over rice.
