Foodventures: Mapo Mandu, Seoul SK

Who doesn't love dumplings anyway?

Mapo Mandu is yet another franchise we all love seeing around Seoul. Open until late at night and Sundays, it has been our unanimous choice for delicious and affordable Korean food. As we only stayed in Seoul for less than a week, a revisit to Mapo Mandu was a hard decision I had to forgo. After all, the list of restaurants and food that we wanted to try is still a page long.

Chopsticks, spoons and the tissue box are neatly kept inside the drawer under each table. Its a great idea actually as it is more hygienic and could save some space for more food on the table!

What we ordered

Kimchi (Free and refillable)

Spicy fish cake (Free and refillable)

One of the things that I look forward to every meal in any Korean restaurant in Seoul or anywhere in the Philippines is the unlimited spicy fish cake! In fact, I ask for so many refills that I wish I can just buy from them to avoid getting the "here we go again" look from the servers.

But hey, if they're willing to give it for free, who am I to complain right? *wink*

Dumplings - Php120.00 (KRW3,000)

Dried Pollock Rice Cake Mandu Soup - Php180.00 (KRW4,500)

Kimbap - Php80.00 (KRW2,000)

Omelette Rice - Php200.00 (KRW5,000)

My favorites arranged in a manner of what I would order again if I was still hungry:

1. Dumplings - It was sumptuous, I could eat this everyday next to the fish cake of course. I can probably survive a week in Korea with just these 2 dishes. And some rice.
2. Kimbap - Happy that it had more ingredients than rice, opposite of how they do it in Manila. 
3. Mandu Soup - The soup was tasty and the noodles was firm, there are bonus dumplings too! 
4. Omelette Rice - Could do a lot better if there's less sauce and more toppings, the cabbage and macaroni salad should also be served separately so the flavors won't mix.

So if you're looking for cheap yet delicious eats in Seoul, just look for the red and yellow sign of Mapo Mandu. More savings from food means more shopping money! *wink*

~o~o~o~

Mapo Mandu

393-1, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu
Seoul, South Korea

Tel.: (822) 2268-9842

Foodventures: Juicy Fresh Juice Bar, Seoul SK

Just next to the bus stop nearest to Rainbow Hostel Myeongdong is Juicy Fresh Juice Bar, a popular smoothie and juice shop with numerous branches all over Seoul. Out of curiosity, we checked it out before heading to Lemona House because when there's a line, it must be good!

The menu is posted in the walls so customers can choose what they want before reaching the counter. Since they ran out of strawberries, I settled for avocado which is my second favorite fruit. It was actually a toss up between ripe persimmon or avocado but the latter won as I wanted to check if the taste of avocado in Seoul is the same as what we have here in the Philippines.

Aside from smoothies, they also have churros available for a limited time only. The churros with chocolate ice cream was really good! The dark chocolate complemented the plain tasting churros and the packaging was perfect for walking around under Seoul's scorching weather.

Churros - Php60.00 (KRW1,500)

On the other hand, my avocado smoothie tasted like vegetable and nowhere near the creamy and sweet avocado we all love back home. Good thing I ordered the smallest size because it was the weirdest avocado smoothie I have ever tasted! More than our precious mangoes known to be the sweetest and juiciest in the world, Philippine fruits are indeed, beyond compare and this is one of those times that I feel proud and happy that we got to enjoy them all year round.

Avocado (Medium) - Php80.00 (KRW2,000)

No matter how bad or weird the taste it, I still managed to finish everything because it felt like I'm throwing away money if I don't. Though after that, I never tried any other flavor and just stuck to my favorite and oh so reliable strawberry shake!

My Weekend in Photos: Lemona House, Seoul SK

"If you want to, and even if you don't, things are bound to happen. Earthlings call it as fate."
- Do Min Joon, Kim Soo Hyun's character from My Love from Another Star

Foodventure: Tam House, Seoul SK

South Korea is crazy about coffee shops! In fact, you don't have to travel far to find a decent shop as you can literally walk from one café to another in less than 5 minutes. Some are even located next to the other especially in the highly populated places like Myeongdong and Hongdae.

While Seoul has the popular brands such as Starbucks and CBTL, homegrown cafés are the ones that we are most interested in. Just around the corner from Rainbow Hostel is Tam House, a local coffee shop where we stayed for a couple of hours while waiting for the staff of the hostel. I'm not a coffee drinker but I love tea and fresh fruit juice, and Tam House had me at Real Strawberry.

What we ordered

Real Strawberry Juice - Php140.00 (KRW3,500)

Confession time: I had an average of 3 glasses of strawberry juice/shake per day back in Seoul. It all started when I ordered Tam's Real Strawberry Juice that I absolutely loved down to the last sip. The sweetest strawberries available, no sugar is added as they blend the fruits with ice cubes only. Some shops add milk to make it creamier but I love mine plain and natural.

Bagel with Honey Walnut Cream Cheese - Php160.00 (KRW4,000)

Aside from the Real Strawberry Juice, we also loved Tam's bagels! Back in Manila, I'd consider myself lucky if there's enough cream cheese to cover the entire face of the bread whenever we order bagels from Country Style. Now came the bagels that we order! Just look how thick they slathered the honey walnut cream cheese that the excess spread can still fill one plain bagel. I would love to try all the flavors but one bagel is enough to last me until lunch time.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Php140.00 (KRW3,500)

The grilled cheese sandwich was so-so. Contrary to the bagels, the cheese filling was too thin that you can barely taste its there. To save it from going to waste, we just transferred some cream cheese from the bagel to make a grilled double cheese sandwich!

Our first meal in Tam House is an indication of more delicious things that we ate throughout our stay. Watch out for more mouthwatering and enticing dishes (and side dishes) that we enjoyed in the restaurants and streets of one of Asia's greatest and most dynamic cities - SEOUL!

Rainbow Hostel Myeongdong, Seoul SK

Seoul holds a special place in my heart. From Korean fashion and beauty products, to its street food, world-famous galbi, beautiful palaces and shopping districts, I would travel to Seoul every weekend if schedule and budget permits it. I've only been to South Korea's capital once back in 2015 and vowed to come back again soon. That soon came a year after as I was traversing the streets of Seoul recently for a few days of relaxation, food trip and a bit of shopping on the side.

Our flight arrived around 6AM at the world's best airport, Incheon International, bought our T-Money for faster commute, hopped on the AREX (Airport Railway Express) bound for Seoul Station and changed trains that took us to Chungmuro, the closest to our hostel in Myeongdong.

A popular choice among budget travelers, Rainbow Hostel offers affordable rooms and is conveniently located with wide a range of dining options, money changer and convenience stores nearby. Although most people would prefer staying nearer or within the Myeongdong Shopping District, the nearest station, Chungmuro (only 300 meters away from the hostel), is actually a better starting point as it has more links to other places that we visited. Besides, the 10-minute walk from the shopping area is a good way to burn those calories from non-stop food tripping.

Upon confirmation of the booking, the staff gave us the code for the main door as the lobby is located on the 2nd floor of the building. The hostel does not have an elevator but has a lift for your luggage. As with most houses and hostels in Korea, your shoes and slippers are not allowed inside to maintain the cleanliness of the floor. Your footwear must be removed before you enter the hallway but you can bring them inside your room for safekeeping. House slippers are provided per room which you can use throughout the duration of your stay.

As I am a frugal traveler, I make it a point to check which booking site offers the lowest rate and in my years of traveling, Agoda has been consistent in terms of value for money and convenience of booking. Our family room that I booked at a discounted price of Php3,200 per night (regular rate is Php4,000), can accommodate up to 4 adults. The room has 2 double beds, cable television, air-conditioning unit and a private toilet and bath. It may be small, typical to most hostels in Seoul, but with just enough space to walk around. Other rooms available are double or twin room at Php2,800 per night and the triple room for Php3,100 per night, both based on tariff rates.

I sent the hostel an email asking if they provide bath towels which they confirmed. I was confident I won't be needing one so I took it out of my luggage only to realize that the towels in Korea are small like the size of a face towel. Took me 2 towels to dry myself every time I take a bath.

The pantry a the 5F is usually occupied in the morning until 1030 as simple breakfast of toast, jam, coffee and tea is included in the hotel rates. In the several days we've stayed in Rainbow Hostel, I only saw one lady who does the housekeeping so make sure to clean up as you go.

Rainbow Hostel's excellent location is the main reason why we decided to book it in the first place. The warm reception and all the helpful staff who tried their best to speak in English so they can point us to the right direction are just mere bonus why we got to enjoy our vacation. Did I mention that Korea has the fastest internet service in the world? Another reason why I love Seoul!

~o~o~o~

Rainbow Hostel

29 Toegye-ro 31-gil (57-3 Chungmuro 3-ga)
Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Tel.: (822) 2266-2207

Website: www.rainbowhostel.kr