Wanted to cook up some breakfast but was unable to turn up the stove! Skipped breakfast and headed out to Garosu-gil! Garosu-gil is one of the areas that is named as ‘café street’, located in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu of Seoul. The name ‘garosu-gil’ is a Korean word meaning tree-lined streets as the area is adorned with ginkgo trees. This area is known for its art galleries, cafes, boutique shops and art design bookshops. Along with Cheongdam-dong and Apgujeong-dong, these areas are seen as fashionable and trendsetting areas.
GAROSU-GIL
Address: Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Sinsa Station (line 3).
Was disappointed to found out that Momo Cot Cafe has ceased operation and replaced by another cafe, so I headed straight to LINE Friends Store and Cafe which is located just round the corner. LINE Friends Store and Café is a café opened based on LINE chat app. The three-level building offers a café at the basement, merchandises on the first floor and apparels on the second floor. It is the biggest flagship store in Seoul. Get prepared to be welcomed by the gigantic 3.2m ‘Brown’ (the brown bear)!
I literally went crazy in there and spent like 3hrs in the store - taking photos, eating and shopping. The snacks and drinks were all so cute and I just want to try them all! Had a hard time deciding which to try and in the end I settled down with the roll cake and coffee set, and some macarons.
LINE FRIENDS STORE AND CAFE
Opening hrs: 1030hrs to 2130hrs.
Address: 535-15 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Sinsa Station (line 3 exit 8).
#1: Garosu-gil.
#2: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#3: The popular giant Brown at the store entrance.
#4: Flying Brown, Cony and Sally.
#5: Level 1.
#6: Level 2 - Vans X Line Shoes, kids apparels.
#7: Level 2 - adult apparels.
#8: Level 2 - adult apparels. T-shirts selling at KRW10,000 each.
#9: Basement Cafe.
#10: Giant Sally at the basement.
#11: Cony apron-glove kitchen set, so cute and pretty!
#12: LINE cookies. KRW2,500 each.
#13: LINE milk chocolate. Each piece is selling at KRW1,500.
#14: Matcha Cake, Iced Latte; Macarons: Brown - chocolate, Sally - lemon, Cony - strawberry.
#15: Iced Latte.
#16: Super cute car with Brown and Sally helium balloons spotted outside the cafe!
Since I skipped breakfast, I was really starving after I am done with the LINE Cafe. Stopped by McDonalds to grab some food before I head off to my next destination. You know the unique thing about McDonalds is that every country has its own special items. I tried their Bulgogi Burger and Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie. The burger was really cheesy with pickles in it, somewhat like Singapore's cheeseburger, and the smoothie was refreshing and awesome!
Next, I went to Apgujeong Rodeo Street. Was supposed to alight at Apgujeong Rodeo Station, but it was a little inconvenient to get there from Garosu-gil, so I alighted at Apgujeong Station instead and walk about a kilometre to Apgujeong Rodeo. Apgujeong is Seoul’s leading fashion district located in Gangnam-gu of Seoul. The name and concept of Apgujeong Rodeo Street takes after the fashion street of Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive; and the entrance of this street is marked with a special archway. You would be able to find from affordable pieces to luxury labels. This street is also filled with cafes, bars and restaurants.
APGUJEONG RODEO STREET
Opening hrs: 1000hrs to 2300hrs (Mon to Sat, closed on Sundays).
Address: Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Apgujeong Station (line 3 exit 5).
#17: Apgujeong Rodeo.
#18: Apgujeong Rodeo.
I wandered around the region like an hr just to find that archway that says 'Apgujeong Rodeo Street' but was unable to find it. I give up! Surprised to see Gong Cha in Korea so I took a rest in there after those walking around. The Gong Cha here serves bingsu and smoothies, cool! Got my usual Peach Green Tea with black pearls, 50% sugar and less ice; the drink was really sweet despite having just half the original sugar level, and the pearls were less chewy. Still prefer Singapore's one!
Next, I headed off to 1MILLION Dance Studio to attend May J Lee's class. Eunho Kim and May J Lee are my favourite 1MILLION instructors and I was really glad that May J Lee is coaching this weekend! The whole class was taught in Korean which was difficult for me to understand and I had to figure my way out. Since it was a beginner class, May J Lee focused more on building up the techniques rather than the choreography. Learnt a simple and chillax routine to the song 'Dilemma' by Nelly, and it was lots of fun! Dancing with about 40 students from all over the world with less than a third from Korea was a great experience.
1MILLION Dance Studio is one of the premier dance schools in Seoul, with instructors that have choreographed pieces for KPOP idols such as 2NE1, Jay Park, Hyorin, SNSD, HyunA and many more. These instructors regularly post their choreography videos on their Youtube channel and these videos could easily gain 30 million views! Many KPOP idols have learnt and do covers of these choreography pieces.
1MILLION DANCE STUDIO
Opening hrs: 1400hrs to 2300hrs.
Address: 273-4 Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Seonjeongneung Station (line B exit 1).
Last but not least, I headed back to Apgujeong to hunt for Hanchu Korean Fried Chicken. It is one of the best places to get your Korean fried chicken cravings satisfied. They serve one of the best fried chicken in Seoul, and are famous for their fried stuffed peppers as well. Disappointed that they do not sit single diners, so I went a few stores down to a Korean restaurant, Apgujeong Bulbaek, and had some Pork Bulbaek for dinner. It comes served with side dishes, soup, rice with fried egg and fresh vegetables - to wrap the meat. Do Koreans eat this much? The meat was really good and I love the onions that were cooked together with the meat, but it was pretty spicy with lots of chili oil so I wasn't able to finish it. The portion was huge!
HANCHU KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
Opening hrs: 1700hrs to 0300hrs.
Address: 549-9 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Apgujeong Station (line 3 exit 4).
#19: Hanchu Korean Fried Chicken.
APGUJEONG BULBAEK
Opening hrs: 24hrs.
Address: 549-7 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Subway: Apgujeong Station (line 3 exit 4).
#20: Pork Bulbaek served with rice, fried egg, pickled onions, kimchi, macaroni salad, bean paste, miso soup and fresh vegetables of lettuce, boiled cabbage and shiso leaves.
Alright, that pretty sums up day 2!
Expenses for the Day:
LINE Cafe - Roll Cake and Coffee Set KRW8,300; Macaron KRW3,000 (x3) = KRW9,000; Merchandises KRW43,000
LINE Merchandise Purchase Breakdown:
Brown Notebook - KRW3,500
Cony Notebook - KRW 3,500
Brown L-shape File - KRW1,500
Brown-designed Plasters 15pcs (tin box) - KRW4,000
Cony-designed Plasters 15pcs (tin box) - KRW4,000
Brown Gel Pen - KRW3,500
Stickers - KRW2,000 each
Milk Chocolate Bar - KRW1,500 each
Brown Metal Keyring - KRW7,000
Brown Kids T-shirt - KRW5,000
McDonalds - Bulgogi Burger KRW2,000; Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie KRW2,500
Gong Cha - Peach Green Tea with Pearl KRW4,800
1MILLION Dance Studio - KRW30,000
Apgujeong Pulbaek - Pork Pulbaek KRW7,000
Sub-total: KRW106,600 = SGD126.75
Expenses from previous: SGD1,304.65
Current total: SGD1,431.40
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