the day after christmas

Things today

plants - i talk to them

they get a view

please grow...

carrots in season

persimmon that won't ripe...

hibernating kittehs

grow lights on for the night

grow light for my plants bc we don't get enough sun :(

I love those guys - air filter & humidifier

broken chipped glass jar turned into a humidifier

humidifier #3?4?

carrots pickled with garlic

how did your day look today?

Gongdeok landmark - Lotte Hotel & residence

It's directly connected to Gongdeok station and has Lotte Super (grocery store) in the basement of the building, which is also connected to the subway station.

Lotte Super is a smaller grocery store that carries fresh produce, meat and such.. They also have a few vendors inside, like a hotdog/sandwich/coffee eatery and a Japanese ramen/food vendor inside the grocery store.  If you're looking for affordable fast food, you can check these out if you're in the area.

The building also has Paris Baguette (bakery, cafe), coffee shops, and Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese restaurants in the lower floor.

I suppose this hotel would be nice to stay in bc it has all of the necessities you would need in one building - also has health clinics and drugstore on the first upper floors.  The location is also nice in that the "airport bus" stop is right across the street.  It is also in the center of Seoul - Myungdong, Insadong, Jongno are a minutes drive away.

No, I am not trying to sell the hotel :P

My only complaint about this area is that it is "nature less" - I would like a mountain behind :P  too much to ask right?!  Other than that, it is a very safe place to live in.  You can feel safe walking at night since most of the stores/buildings are unoccupied by night since they are office/public buildings.

Kkan-Bu Chicken! Newest favorite chicken place

yum yum yum
We found our latest favorite chicken delivery place!  KKANBU CHICKEN!

It's located in our apartment building - but we order it to be delivered..^^
Somehow delivery chicken tastes better, much better at home :D

wow wow wow - look at the size of the chicken cuts! 

crispy and yummy potatoes

It's "yang-nyeom" chicken for 17,000won and half an order of wedge fried potatoes for 6000won.  The quality of the chicken is really juicy and heavy(in weight)!

I've had some skinny Korean chickens before - but these are a lot bigger and heavier!  Very juicy and the sauce is delish!  Not too spicy and sweet~~

salt & pepper and "sauce" for dipping

KKANBU chicken is a smaller chicken place located in few locations across Seoul.  You can also dine in if you want.

But we prefer delivery ;)


Location for KKANBU CHICKEN in Gongdeok;

Get off Aeogae station (line 5, purple color) - exit 1 - walk down the road until you see a GS Mart on the corner - turn right to that road and keep walking up until you see a Raemian Apartment complex ahead.  The chicken place is located right off the left of the parking lot entrance to the apartment complex.

at Emart (Gongdeok) food court

food coma....

food from School Food

Emart (Gongdeok) closed days - February 2013

Emart (Gongdeok, Mapo-gu, Seoul) will be closed on the second and fourth Sundays for February 2013 (10th and 24th).

I hope I'm not the only one noticing that Emart prices have been steadily increasing... A mushroom would be 500won more expensive than the week before and 1000won more expensive for a bag of onions compared to Lotte Super (Gongdeok).  I don't even look at the fruit there.  The prices are getting quite ridiculous.  It changes too much...

Please be aware of the prices in Emart - it's not cheap like it really should be.  Our much smaller grocery store(in our apartment complex) actually has better prices for veggies - where we get most of it from. 

Emart is also being investigated right now by the government - I can't tell you the details much... most likely for corruption etc etc... so please stay smart and shop smart.  Also try to support the smaller guys - smaller stores/markets and vendors.

I used to love Emart - but these big guys are slowly getting too big...I don't appreciate the price anymore (it's not cheap)! 

Pork galbi & pig's skin at "Choi-deh-po" restaurant (Gongdeok, Mapo)

It's been a very cold winter in Korea.  It's not such a bad thing because it gives you a very good reason to sit in front of a hot grill as you warm yourself - a mini fireplace right in front of your face - while meat grills away~ the sound, smell, and warmth...  sounds pretty perfect for a -15 C or 5 F night.

Scheduled closed days & hours for Emart (Gongdeok)

I hope you haven't been unlucky to have visited Emart on a closed day because I have and it was on a Wednesday!  Such a random day..

Ashley Buffet Restaurant (Gongdeok) - NEW food, brunch & RULES?

How things change... Our visit to our favorite buffet , Ashley, was a mixed feeling of good and bad - pleasant and disappointing.. in so many ways!
 

an emptier "window" side dining area that were filling up

School Food (food court at Emart - Gongdeok)

There's something special about our combo that we get when we're hungry in Emart.

We've been getting this exact combo of food in School Food for "snack" - never for dinner or lunch.  We claim to just want to nibble on something, but we always end up with "nengmyun"(cold noodles) and "#2 mari" (spam & egg roll kimbap!).

perfect nengmyun........ I think I'm drooling now

Their nengmyun is just too good to skip.  It has the perfect spice and flavor - it does get pretty spicy at the end - but worth the little burn!  If you like nengmyun, this one is too try!  About 7500won.

spam & egg roll kimbap......perfection!

Spam and eggroll kimbap......... do I have to say anymore?  This one is the one!

I did try a different one and didn't like it.  We're sticking to this.  It comes with a side of "hot soup" by the way.   About 7500won.

The two flavors - hot and cold - spicy and sweet and rich - is perfect to us :)

We'll always be back for more!

Angel-in-us Coffee & caramel bread (Gongdeok)

I had a very bad experience with Angel-in-us couple years ago.  I told the barista that the cappuccino sucked (not literally) and I was told to just drink it for what it is.  That's what I get for being a customer and speaking my mind.  I had a fit with him and since then avoided Angel-whatever coffee chain.

2 Americanos & caramel bread combo for less than 10,000won

But here I am talking about it --- probably going to be a positive post because the "caramel bread" on the photo looks pretty good, right?

Okay, so here we go~

Vietnamese restaurant in Gongdeok station (Lotte Hotel arcade)

In really cold days or days when you just want a good bowl of soup and noodles - pho is the best thing ever.  But I haven't found one close to my favorite bowl at home. 

I love love love a good pho~

My old neighborhood back in the states had the best pho!

I haven't been to Vietnam to taste the real thing - so I'm a bad judge of this - but I still haven't found a good pho close to my favorite bowl at home.

The Vietnamese restaurant inside the Lotte arcade off Gongdeok station has decent pho - just average really.  The rice and everything else is so so, too.

When will I ever find my pho?   

Time will tell, time.

Palazzo gelato ice cream (gongdeok emart)

We often get a cup of Palazzo ice cream as a "reward" after grocery shopping.

Wine SALE at Emart(Gongdeok) - how to buy cheap bottles of wine in Korea

SALE ALERT!!!

There is a huge wine sale at Emart(Gongdeok branch)!

Our staple bottle - Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon is on sale at Emart (Gongdeok) for the lowest price I've seen for 11,000won (which is around $9.99 in the states).

you can ask the wine sales clerk to wrap it if you are lugging your grocery home

Airport Subway - which one to take?

An empty airport subway is a rare sight nowadays.  Just a year ago, it was pretty empty.  That's all changed now.  The last time I rode it, people were actually standing!

It's great that there are newly added stops to Hongdae and our town, Gongdeok.

The airport subway is pretty convenient, but takes a bit long.  Be prepared to bring something to entertain yourself with.

The pros of riding the subway over an "airport bus" is that it's much cheaper.  Less than 4000won one way.  But again, it takes a bit longer than the direct bus.  The direct buses to the airport takes around 50 minutes(more or less), but this depends on the driver and where you are. 

Either way, getting around to and from the airport is not so bad and you have many options.. direct bus, regular subway(airport subway), or the faster train (which is not really that much faster..shhhhh don't tell them I told you that..).  And of course, there's taxi - which is not an option unless you have money to spend.  It takes 60,000won and up from Gongdeok.  Don't take one unless you're a group of 4 or more and have many many bags ;)

They have been advertising the "faster airport train" heavily (that runs to and from Seoul station) - but it's only 15 minutes or so faster and runs at odd times(every 30 minutes?) - so I never caught it.  I think it's a waste of money on their part - I would only take one if it was 30 minutes faster.  It's too bad that's not working well.  They have slashed the price pretty low now.

If you have some time to spare and don't have many bags to lug around, I would recommend the regular airport subway. 

Namsan tower from Gongdeok

What a beautiful day!

view from our apt - gongdeok

Isigny butter

Korea has come a long way from "I can't find anything I want :(" to "they have this?!!~~(finally!)"

Korea is catching on with the gourmet scene and high quality organic goods. Just look at the butter variety in Emart (Gongdeok branch).  Btw, Emart is my favorite store :)  It's the "Target" of Korea.  They sell everything from grocery - home goods - furnitures - wine - beer - gourmet/foreign food.

I don't know what it was, but I gave it a quick scan.... I haven't bought butter or had butter on toast for the longest time.

Oh... French butter?!!! Made from 99.98% milk. I'm sold.

A good impulse buy nonetheless.  I really enjoy butter on toast now, but I will just have to tone it down on how much I slather on my toast... it's just so good~~ the melt in your mouth quality that makes you want more.

Gongdeok - beautiful day

After some grocery shopping at emart.

A photo moment after taking in a breathe of fresh air from a long hard duty of  grocery shopping~