Last weekend and the beginning of this week, PLANT was closed so that Yona and I could get a bit of a break~ With all my energy currently focused on running the cafe/studio, I’ll admit that I don’t have much of a social life and I haven’t had much time to myself to really think, blog, work out, or enjoy the simple pleasures. Thankfully, I was able to get some RnR and do some of the things I’ve been wanting to do. And with my sister in town, I had plenty of excuse to just play freely.
We first went to Hongdae/Hapjeong and just walked around and got some coffee~~ Nothing special, just simple pleasures that I don’t get to experience much any more. It’s these kinds of things that I miss most, and appreciate that much more now.
There was a book fair in Hongdae last weekend… too bad I don’t read Korean books.
I love stationery, and seriously, when I was a kid, I wanted to own a stationery store. There’s something about fall weather that makes me want to buy notebooks and journals. I have a collection of empty journals at home that are waiting to be used, but they’re just too precious, I don’t want to write in them.
After some shopping, we went to 5Extracts for some good coffee!
I brought my own soy milk and got the barista to steam it for me~ The latte art she made for my sister with dairy milk looked amazing! Sadly, the soy milk didn’t have enough creaminess to make latte art. No worries, it still tasted good!
I really like the interior of 5Extracts. If you’re in Hongdae, definitely put this on your list of cafes to check out (Naver Map).
The baristas here have collectively won a bunch of championships and awards which you can see on their trophy case. One of the female baristas won the national Korean championship and we happen to know each other because of our connection with Botton. She’s super cool and the fact that she likes Alien’s Day Out cookies is super rad.
And where’s this? Myungdong, for some retail therapy! I bought a few essentials, and I also got my hair did~~ not happy with it though… next time I’ll stick to my regular salon in Gangnam.
And because shopping can take it out of you, we snacked on some street food: mini kimbabs and ddeokbokki.
These mini kimbab rolls don’t have any egg or fish-cake in them. They’re so simple but still tasty~ The ddeokbokki however probably has some odeng-broth mixed in so please enjoy at your own discretion.
Over my short break, I also went to one of my favorite Insadong restaurants, Jirisan for some seriously good hanjungshik (traditional Korean course meal).
They have a good selection of vegan/veggie options and will give you more banchan if you ask nicely. :) Seriously, everything is delicious and it reminds me of how Korean food is simply the best.
Strolled along the Chungyechun at night and there was this ‘electronic garden’ that was projected on the wall. I love all the different art installations that happens along this stream. Every time I go, it’s something new, whether it’s the lantern fest, or christmas light display.
Since we were in the area, we also popped into Beesket and shared a custom smoothie with lemon, pineapple and strawberry. It was deliciously tangy and refreshing. The main downside is that it’s quite small and expensive… over 6,000won. huk.
And ofcourse I also did a lot of lounging around at home~ cleaning, watching Breaking Bad again from season1, doing laundry…. Bunny is happy to see my sister again after several years. Or maybe she’s just happy there are blankets on the floor for her to jump around on.
Anyway! It was a lovely couple of days, but I’m already back to the regular busy work schedule. There’s something comforting in that too. :)
I love hearing feedback from you guys! Feel free to leave a comment by clicking here~~ :)
