This post is more than a month late but I totally forgot about this and only just remembered I haven't blogged this so here we go. I've always been meaning to bring SH to have Mexican food because it's something I have slowly developed a fondness for, and I've never had a Mexican meal with SH before so I thought I would surprise him with a meal at Margarita's @ Dempsey to celebrate his birthday.
Margarita's is located at Block 11 at Dempsey Hill which is the block directly opposite the Ben & Jerry's flagship store at Dempsey so this should give you some idea of where it's located. Parking at Dempsey Hill can be a bit hard to find during peak hours so be sure to head there for either an early lunch or dinner if you want to avoid the massive parking jam because parking lots are pretty limited (if you don't want to park a distance from your destination).
Whenever we walked from our guesthouse over to the main Hongdae area, or to take the subway, we always pass by this lovely cafe which always seemed to be crowded even late into the night. We never had the time to check it out but we finally did on our very last day in Seoul. It looked warm and inviting, especially with all the bright colours on the outside, very spring/summer appropriate.
Whenever we find ourselves at Sinsa-dong, Garosu-gil, we always head to School Food because it's one of my sister's favourite food places. When we were there in May last year, we were (not so) pleasantly surprised to realise that they changed up the menu quite a bit and a few of the items we loved having there were no longer on the menu. For better or for worse, this meant that we had to try new items.
While the menu is mostly written in Korean with only the names of the food items are in English, you can pretty much guess what the food is based on the names themselves so ordering really wasn't much of an issue for us.
Whenever someone asks me where to go to have samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken soup) in Seoul, I always say "Tosokchon". Tosokchon is probably one of the most famous places in Seoul to have samgyetang at and this is evidenced by the long queues outside the shop for a table during lunch times (I have never gone there during dinner time so I can't testify to that.
A trick to beat the queue is to head there right when they open. They open at 10am so if you reach there any time between 1000 to 1015, you can pretty much guarantee yourself a table with no queue and no waiting time. I've been there 4 times and have never had to queue for a table.
This is going to be a very random post but if any one were to ask me what were the 2 drinks I would have to have whenever I'm in Korea, it's definitely these 2. I'm not talking about drinks which you find in cafes or in coffee shops but just drinks that you can find in their local convenience store like 7-Eleven or GS25.
The first drink is nothing surprising, it's the famous Korean banana milk. It's one of the must-have drinks whenever you visit Korea and for good reason as well. It's very fresh, the banana taste is just right, not too overpowering or too light, and it isn't too sweet as well. If banana milk isn't your cup of tea, the melon milk is pretty good and refreshing as well. Besides banana milk and melon milk, they do have normal milk and strawberry milk as well.
The second, lesser-known drink, is this, it's called Coolpis in Korean (if I'm not wrong). I was addicted the moment I took my first sip. My friends and I were having jjimdak (Korean braised chicken) and the set meal they were offering at the moment included Coolpis with it. The jjimdak we had was pretty spicy so we were gulping this down and we realised that it did help to cool our mouths (and stomachs) down slightly.
Since then, I have always hunted this down whenever I'm in Korea. Not all 7-Elevens and GS25s sell this though so you may have to go into a few to grab this but if you do see it then please give it a try. If I have to describe how it tastes like, it's a light peach-flavoured yoghurt sort of drink. Absolutely delicious.
Thank you so much for reading and you can check out my Korea vlogs HERE! x
If you're looking for food to eat in the Hongdae area, then you'll definitely be pleased to know that I have yet another eatery to recommend. I stumbled upon this place when I was in Seoul with my family earlier this year. We were in search of a place to have lunch at and we decided on this one (with the white sign board and red words) because it was one of the only ones open at around 12 noon.
I can't read Korean so I am no help in translating the name of this place but it's in the main Hongdae shopping area where the buskers usually are so if this is any help at all...
I think I love about food places in Korea is that they always have side dishes which taste amazing. My favourites are definitely the bean sprouts, kimchi and fishcakes. They have so many different kinds of side dishes (although kimchi is usually a standard one no matter where you go) that you definitely have to be there to try them all.
On our second to last day in London (and in the UK), we decided to spend it in Oxford Street because Oxford Street is quickly becoming my favourite place to shop at. Almost every single brand and shop you want to shop at can be found in Oxford Street and they are so conveniently located in a small area so they are easy to get to as well.
We had breakfast in the Inn in a separate location this time and it was really warm and cosy. I think there is something about having a meal in a beautifully decorated space that makes the whole eating experience an amazing one.
After spending a couple of days in Lake District, we were finally ready to move off and we headed to Ambleside. On the way there we drove through landscapes that were very white and covered with snow. Driving through the snow, you can hardly believe that it was nearly summer. It looked and felt more like the middle of winter.
We spent a couple more days in Lake District and on our second day, we took the advice of our host and headed to Ashness Bridge and Surprise View which were places we didn't initially include in our itinerary.
After spending a few days in Snowdonia, we drove northwards up to Lake District. I've heard of Lake District many times and I have even been there before when I was still a young child but I don't remember much of it at all so I was definitely psyched to have a second chance in revisiting this picturesque place.
It took us 2 and a half hours to get there and we managed to squeeze in a little coffee break just to stretch our legs and pick up a cup of coffee.
Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It is a ribbon lake formed in a glacial trough after the retreat of ice at the start of the current interglacial period. It has been one of the country's most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere Railway's branch line in 1847. Historically forming part of the border between Lancashire and Westmorland, it is now within the county of Cumbria and the Lake District National Park. (Credit: x)
For lunch, we headed to the Hill Top and had lunch in the really cosy eating area they had. Halfway through our meal, it started snowing so heavily it felt like winter. The weather is really erratic these days and in the UK especially, the weather changes so rapidly that I realise you really have to be prepared for all sorts of weather. Even though it was supposed to be nearly summer when we were there, we experienced 3 bouts of snow, loads of wet weather and the occasional sun so saying that it was nearly summer is really misleading.
Homemade soup & roll (£5.95)
Oak Smoked Haddock Chowder
Sawrey House Fish & Chips (£11.95)
Seabass fillets in citrus yeast batter, hand cut salt & pepper chips, homemade ketchup, lime and cape mayonnaise, pea and mint mousse and lemon confit
Homemade soup & roll (£5.95)
Tuscan, Tomato, Aubergine and Chicken Soup
We drove up to the Old Man of Coniston and wanted to do a little hike just to get a spot of exercise but we didn't get to do so because soon after we arrived, it started spitting so we had to head back which was such a shame. Imagine doing a hike through rolling hills dotted with sheep, how amazing would that be? I am definitely coming back here one day with SH and we are going hiking just because I feel like places like these are a waste if you only drive up and not put your hiking boots on and trudge through those mud paths.
We drove past a few lakes and if you haven't guessed already, Lake District is named after the numerous lakes that are in the area. I can't remember for sure what the names of the lakes were but I am pretty sure one of them was Yew Tree Tarn and another was Ullswater but I'm sure if you just do a little drive around the area, you will be able to come across a few of the many lakes there are.
After a long day of braving the cold and wet weather, we decided to head to the B&B to get an early night and guess what, halfway through our drive we hit some snow once again. Always dress warmly guys!!
For dinner, we headed to The Silk Road Chinese Restaurant and had Chinese food again. If you're ever in the area and you're craving Chinese food, please head to this restaurant because not only was the food really good and authentic, the bosses were really friendly and nice as well. They came out and had a little chat with us and they were so welcoming that we actually went there again the next night.
Also, Chinese food isn't always affordable in the UK and we have gone to places where dishes were really expensive for their portion. The Chinese food here was reasonably priced which we really appreciated.
