It's Itaewon-dong today! First stop is LINE Friends Store and Cafe, Itaewon flagship store. This outlet is so huge! A three-storey building on its own with a themed cafe at the last floor. We tried the Brown Hotcakes, Sally Pumpkin Cookie and Cony Matcha Roll Cake. The hotcakes are filled with custard cream and they are so good! Went a little crazy grabbing all Brown items and stuffing everything into my backpack. Heeer! So heavy... LINE Friends Store and Cafe (Itaewon Flagship Store)
126 Hangangno-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
1130-2200hrs (daily)
Subway: Itaewon Station Exit 3 (line 6)
#1: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#2: Store rules - LINE Brown version, so cute!
#3: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#4: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#5: LINE Friends Store and Cafe. I'm gonna get all those pretty LINE beer bottles as souvenir on my next visit! Can't wait!
#6: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#7: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#8: Don't these cups and bowls look so cute? Should had bought them! Regrets...
#9: The store is set-up with many of these character photo-taking corners.
#10: Brown set-up.
#11: Brown plushies.
#12: Brown.
#13: Cony.
#14: The helium balloons look cute too right! The store has daily giveaways as well. On our day of visit, upload a snap of yourself with their iconic Giant Brown plushie on Instagram (the Koreans call it 'SNS'), and get a Choco balloon for free.
#15: Leonard and James set-up.
#16: Cony set-up.
#17: Jessica and Choco set-up.
#18: Choco set-up.
#19: Brown and Sally set-up.
#20: To the cafe at top floor!
#21: LINE friends bus stop set-up.
#22: Brown set-up. (It's a little dark as it's against the sunlight)
#23: Brown set-up.
#24: James set-up.
#25: Even the baby chairs are Brown!
#26: LINE Cafe.
#27: We wanted to get items of each character, but many are in Brown and Cony versions. So we get a Sally cookie, which tasted okay~ KRW2,500.
#28: Cony Matcha Roll Cake, KRW4,500.
#29: Brown Manjoo (Korean custard filled mini hotcakes), KRW3,000 (6pcs).
On our way to the bus stop, we chanced upon Anthracite Coffee Roasters. They roast their beans in-house at level 1, and large seating spaces at level 2 and 3. The place is of an industrial design concept. Many youths hangout here for catch-ups and assignments.
Anthracite Coffee Roasters 앤트러사이트
738-20 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
0900-1800hrs (Mon-Fri)
Closed on weekends
Subway: Itaewon Station Exit 2 (line 6)
#30: Anthracite Coffee Roasters.
#31: Coffee bean roasting at Level 1.
#32: Iced Milk Tea, KRW6,500. Cappuccino, KRW5,000.
#33: Matcha Adzuki Tiramisu, KRW6,000.
#34: Love the industrial-style for this cafe. It probably was once an abandon building, which get converted into a cafe, leaving how it looks like originally as much as possible.
#35: Pastries get baked at Level 3.
#36: 'Anthracite' actually means i) a hard variety of coal, and ii) a dark grey colour.
Next, we took a bus uphill to where FRANK's Cafe is located. It is famous for its rainbow roll cakes. Verdict? Totally not worth it at all. A waste of our time, effort and energy. Going all the way down and all the way up on those super steep slopes, under the super hot sun that has no mercy at all. Don't see why it's so popular. FRANK's Cafe
258-228 Itaewon 2(i)-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
1200-2200hrs (daily)
Popular rainbow roll cake gets sold out in an hour
Subway: Itaewon Station Exit 1 or 4 (line 6)
#37: FRANK's Cafe.
#38: FRANK's Cafe.
#39: Rainbow Honey Cream Cake, KRW7,500.
After which, we went to Ewha Woman's University shopping street. Popped by Diaso and bought hell lots of things. They are all around KRW1,000 to KRW3,000, so worth it to buy! Ewha Shopping Street 이화
52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
Opening hrs varies for stores, some closed on Sundays
Subway: Ewha Woman’s University Station Exit 2 or 3 (line 2)
Took some photos at the university and shop away!
#40: Ewha Woman’s University.
#41: Ewha Woman’s University.
#42: Ewha Woman’s University.
Lastly, we had a satisfying Korean BBQ dinner at one of the nearby Korean restaurants at our place.
Sorabol 서라벌
18-74 Euljiro 6(yuk)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Unfortunately, unable to find sources of opening hrs
Subway: Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station Exit 13 (line 2)
#43: Korean BBQ of Beef Sirloin, KRW36,000 (150g).
#44: This meat is so good, it melts in your mouth!
#45: Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), KRW7,000.
#46: Bulgogi Jeongol (marinated meat soup), KRW14,000. Love the dangmyeon (Korean sweet potato glass noodles) in it!
Expenses of the Day [LINE Store and Cafe] Sally Pumpkin Cookie: 2,500 (÷2) = KRW1,250 Cony Matcha Roll Cake: 4,500 (÷2) = KRW2,250 Brown Mini Hotcake: 6pcs 3,000 (÷2) = KRW1,500 Brown Glass Mason Jar: KRW7,900 Brown Plasters: KRW4,000 Brown Gel Pen: KRW3,500 Brown Ball Pen: KRW4,500 Brown Stickers: 2,000 (x2) = KRW4,000 Brown Notebook: 3,000 (x2) = KRW6,000 Brown Notebook: 3,500 (x2) = KRW7,000 Brown Washi Tape: KRW5,000 Brown Postcards: 500 (x3) = KRW1,500 Brown Glass Jar: KRW7,900 [Anthrachie Coffee Roasters] Cappuccino: 5,000 (÷2) = KRW2,500 Iced Milk Tea: 6,500 (÷2) = KRW3,250 Matcha Tiramisu: 6,000 (÷2) = KRW3,000 Frank's, Rainbow Honey Cream Cake: 7,500 (÷2) = KRW3,750
[Ewha Shopping Street]
Holika Mascara: KRW9,900 Iced Caramel Macchiato: KRW6,200 Korean Fried Chicken: 3,000 (÷2) = KRW1,500 Odeng: KRW1,000 Hair Tie: KRW3,900 Ring: KRW4,900 [Daiso] Toy Cars: 3,000 (x6) = KRW18,000 Notebook: 1,000 (x4) = KRW4,000 Notebook: KRW1,500 Notebook: KRW2,000 Tayo Stickers: 1,000 (x4) = KRW4,000 Gummy: KRW1,500 Washi Tape: 1,000 (x2) = KRW2,000
[Korean BBQ]
Naengmyeon: 7,000 (÷2) = KRW3,500
Bulgogi Jeongol: 14,000 (÷2) = KRW7,000
Beef Sirloin - 150g: 36,000 (÷2) = KRW18,000
Total for day 5: KRW157,700 = SGD190.20
Balance brought forward: SGD1,538.05
Current total: SGD1,728.25