Lotte Hotel

Flashback post from where I would rather be… I do love a good high tea, and after the amazing one at Raffles in Singapore, I was keen to see what Seoul had to offer. Quite a few places have an afternoon tea, but the Lotte Hotel one sounded just right for us, so off we went on a weekday afternoon. We were pretty gobsmacked on arrival to see that our table was seated right by a window overlooking… a waterfall. Yep, it was a seriously beautiful view both outside and in, with high ceilings and chandeliers creating a classy setting in The Lounge itself too, which was only enhanced by the string quartet that played throughout the afternoon. I chose earl grey as my Ronnefeldt tea, but we were both surprised to see that the tiered tray only came with one of everything, so we had to slice things in half. The savoury sandwiches were rolls, including a quid ink one with salmon, a seed one with crab and a brioche with beef, and they were probably the best savouries I’ve had at a high tea anywhere. Other highlights included the opera cake, orange and poppyseed cake, and strawberry custard tart. Completely luxurious and decadent.

The Lounge, Lotte Hotel, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul          http://www.lottehotel.com/seoul/en/dining/dining.asp?type=BL&seq=8

Bukchon Son Mandu

After exploring the historic Bukchon village, we happened across this hole-in-the-wall place that offered traditional Korean dumplings and noodle dishes. The menu had English names for the food and we were sold. We took our seats in the tiny dine-in part, having watched the ladies serving up huge dumplings from a take-away window outside. We started with a couple of pork and kimchi steamed dumplings – they were incredible, with soft skins and packed full of spicy filling, this was pretty much heaven. I then had the cold noodles, which turned out to be an equally delicious choice. Looking much like soba and served in an ice bath, the noodles were peppered with sesame and topped with pork, cucumber, half an egg and an incredibly spicy red sauce. That was when I discovered the pickles. There was a jar of self-serve yellow pickles on the counter and I must have eaten half of them, a) because they tasted so good and b) because that sauce was hot! The noodles were silky and stuck together, but the contrast between the temperature cool of the noodles and the spicy heat of the sauce was fascinating. Highly recommended for fast, quality local fare.

Bukchon Son Mandu, various locations, Seoul                       http://www.mandoo.so/

Beesket

I was so excited to discover Beesket just down the road from our hotel in Seoul – I love a good smoothie generally, but Beesket has such a fun concept it takes the whole experience to the next level. When you arrive, you choose whether you want a smoothie, ‘ade’ or yoghurt, and pick up a little container with spaces to fit three hexagonal pieces (like a beehive/honeycomb), representing fruit or vegetables that you would like in your drink. You can then roam the wall, looking at all the colourful pieces trying to make your flavour combination. My favourite ended up being peach, orange and raspberry, but you could pick anything from tomato to grapefruit (although probably not recommended together). The cafe had lots of seats while you waited for your beesket, which you received along with a little card showing your flavour choices and their nutritional value. You could put your combos up on a pin board in the store to recommend them to others. Note: when researching this post it appears the branch I went to is now closed, but other locations are up on their website.

Beesket, 73, Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (this branch now closed)  http://www.beesket.com

Dong Bang

I was on a quest in Seoul. Having done lots of research before going, I’d discovered that Korea has an equivalent to the Japanese taiyaki, a sweet full of red bean paste in the shape of a fish. The Korean equivalent… isn’t. In fact, the Korean equivalent is known as “poop bread”, because it is shaped as a turd. Who could resist? So I wrote down the train stations dong bang (poop bread in Korean) was meant to be available and set off on my quest. Sadly, the stall had closed at the station I went to, and I despaired of ever finding the mythical poop bread. But, lo and behold, exploring an outdoor mall in Insadong, we walked right up to the top of the spiral (like a knight climbing the spiral stairs to a fairytale tower) and what was there but a stall making fresh, steaming poop bread! I was so excited to buy one that the stall owner produced a huge pink poop bread hat for me to take a photo wearing. Yep. Not even joking. The poop bread itself was well-toasted on the outside and full of delicious red bean paste, the perfect prize at the end of a succesful quest.

Dong Bang, Ssamji-gil, Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, no website

Manoffin

We used the metro a lot in Seoul, and part of the fun is peeking at all the shops inside each station. I can’t quite remember which station we discovered Manoffin at, they do seem to be at a range of metro stops throughout the city. While we were there they had a special range of muffins out for Halloween, which were incredibly eye-catching and creative – there were muffins topped with spider webs, bloodshot eyes, creepy faces and fanged monsters. Obviously I had to have one. I decided to try the ‘blue monster’, which was probably the cutest out of the selection with half an oreo biscuit poking out as its mouth. The muffin itself was a plain vanilla flavour, and it was soft and fluffy, as muffins should be. The icing was a nice thickness, and the monster’s eyes were made of  sweet white chocolate buttons. I also went back to try one of their regular muffins, maple flavoured, which was rich and luscious, served with whipped cream and a disk of white chocolate on top. A good value sweet snack when travelling in Seoul, and  fun way to celebrate Halloween!

Manoffin, various locations throughout Seoul                     http://www.manoffin.co.kr/