This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here.
Day 8 in Korea! And this is our last full day! It also happens to be Sunday. The plan today is to go to Gangnam to see Apgujeong Rodeo Street, visit Cofioca, SMTown and Coex Mall. Basically, all the attractions south of the river.
Towards the end of our week here in Seoul, weather has been getting progressively colder every day. Today was no different, cold.
This is the view outside our hotel.
We took a subway all the to Apgujeong station. This whole area – Apgujeong, Sinsadong, Garousil – is well known as the richest area in Seoul, in addition to being featured in that Psy song. Basically, we just went there for the experience – not that we had anything to buy. Unfortunately, though we were there too early in the day. The streets were quite deserted, and most of the shops were just only opening.
(Rodeo street seemed like a ghost town in the morning)
Since we were in the area, we stopped by Cofioca. This is a (really small) coffee and pearl tea shop running by an elderly lady. This shop is famous is because it is commonly visited by K-Pop stars. The recording studios are nearby so they drop by regularly.
The entire small shop is covered with autographs from the stars and messages from the fans to them.
There are only 2 small tables in the shop and we took both of them, enjoying our warm coffee (weather was cold to enjoy a warm cuppa), watching videos on the large TV screen and reading the messages.
Next to walked further down towards Sinsadong for our early lunch. Along the way, we got to see another aspect that Gangnam is famous for – plastic surgeons to make Korean women have that similar look. The main road is lined with surgeons and clinics doing teeth, face, body, you name it.
Lunch today was at Samwon Garden. I’ve read about this place – recommended by lots of people especially on Tripadvisor. Other than that, I didn’t know anything else about it. It turned out to be quite an upmarket BBQ restaurant that has been around since the 70’s.
Well, it turned out to be the best BBQ meals we had in Korea. Although it was pricey, it was really worth the money. Every dish came with full complement of side dishes, so we didn’t order much anyway. The beef was really tender and well marinated (they only have beef though).
(after the BBQ, Hannah’s rice dish was served, and it came with its own complement of side dishes!)
(red bean for dessert)
An extremely satisfying meal… and now onto the next stop – SMTown and COEx Mall!