Seoul 11.12 - near the hotel

We stayed at the Western COOP Residence in Seoul, and because it's located near (even though not right inside) the Dongdaemun shopping district, there were night life going on in the area.

First off, there were plenty of street vendors near by, where you could get snacks and little fashion accessories and such, and there were also restaurants in small streets everywhere.



And there was a police station near by. Looks pretty cool!

Oh, and there were many, and I mean many, different convenience stores within a few blocks of the hotel. Most of them were GS25 stores. You could find simple household necessities, snacks, and all sorts of beverages at these stores, and you could also buy tickets to events and trains. Convenience indeed!

The baked goods section at a GS25.

Snacks!

Different milk and coffee drinks.

Korean food essentials: gochujiang (chili paste), sesame oil, soy bean paste, etc., and cute mini mayo!

Most of the canned sodas we saw were 250ml (1 cup) in volume.


Someone recommended these Melon Flavor Ice Bars from GS25 and we tried one. It was creamy and very honeydew-y!

Browsing at convenience stores was fun!

Seoul 11.12 - Issac breakfast toast sandwiches

One of the places I wanted to try for quick and convenient breakfast prior to arriving Seoul was Issac. Issac is a breakfast-y toast sandwich and beverage chain, and quite a few people rave about it. So the first breakfast we had in Seoul, we went to Issac.



There's an Issac conveniently located near Western COOP Residence (where we stayed at) in Dongdaemum. It's in the small street that's next to the Lotteria, and across from the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park station (exit 12).



When we got there the ladies at Issac were making butter toasts and square eggs on the griddle. So cool. And yes, the shape of the fried eggs was square, so when you put the eggs in with your toasts, you get to have some eggs in every bite!



I think both John and I got the steak MVP, since that was one of the only things I could read on the menu (because it was in Japanese, and yes there was Japanese on the menu alongside Korean.) However, I was pretty sure that the lady who took and made our orders gave us something else, because there was ham in our sandwiches... but who cares, the toasts were OMG deeeeliiiicious!



Who'd think, something that looked so simple (butter toasts, meats, cheeses, square eggs, and shredded lettuce) could be so yummy!



And we came back the morning we were leaving Seoul as well, and the toast sandwiches were super delicious as well, and will totally deserve another little blog post all of their own.

Seoul 11.12 - One Chicken

The first meal John and I had was 닭한마리, which literally translates to "Chicken One," or "One Chicken."

I had read about this dish, and found one of the best spots to try it. I don't even know how to say the name of the shop, but I had a photo of the storefront that I saw, and a few directions written down, and I found the place!


This restaurant is in the Dongdaemun area, and the easiest way for me to find it was to find Doota first, which  should be fairly easy, since it's among the busiest and hottest spots in Dongdaemun.



John and I walked past Doota, and toward Cheonggyecheon (the river). Made a left turn as soon as Cheonggyecheon is in sight, and took a right turn (cross) at the first bridge. After crossing the bridge, we turned left on the first little street and walked past a couple One Chicken places, and then we saw THE signage (with the lady who started the shop on it) ! I knew we were at the right place. 


We were sent to the second floor of the restaurant when we walked in. I didn't even think I made an order, but I simply said "for two." 

Very soon our "One Chicken" came! It was a small chicken, with a potato stuck on its back. 



A server lady came by to help us with the chicken. The chicken was only half-way cooked, so it would be a little while before we could eat it, but at the mean time the server lady instructed us to cook the "rice logs" (like toppokki) and started eating those first.



And you might have been thinking, since neither John or myself speak Korean, how did we manage to understand the server lady? Simple enough. The lady came by our table, and started talking, and as soon as she realized we didn't speak Korean, she started using both Japanese and Mandarin to speak. Since I responded to both Japanese and Mandarin, she asked if Mandarin was ok, and I said yes. And from then on she was using Mandarin the rest of our "One Chicken" eating journey. 

There were some Japanese girls who sat next to us, and the same language method was used and everyone was happy! (One of the Japanese girls did speak fluent Korean though.)



After a little while the server lady came back and started cutting up the chicken for us. 



She then helped me to put together a dipping sauce mixture. She explained how the chili, vinegar, and soy sauce would go together, and if I liked what she made then I could make more just like it.


  

John making his dipping sauce.

The rice logs were super soft, chewy, and tasty, and the chicken, even though tiny, was absolutely delicious. We added all the chopped garlic on a side dish into the broth, per the server lady's suggestion, and it was oh so yummy. The kimchi was in a giant tub and it was self-served, so I got a big bowl, and added some of the kimchi into the soup after we had tasted its "original" flavors. The chicken itself was tender and flavorful. It was yuuuummmmy!

And of course I forgot to take more pictures because I was busy eating the yummy chicken.

So I say next time you're in Korea, either visit this wonderful "One Chicken" shop, or find a great "One Chicken" shop and try it out yourself. mmmmm.

Seoul 11.12 - Western COOP Residence

During our 5 nights of stay in Seoul, we chose Western COOP Residence in Dongdaemun.


We chose Western COOP because it's located on one of the main streets (Euljiro) in the sleepless Dongdaemun area, fairly close to the subway station (Dongdaemun History & Culture Park), the Airport Limousine Bus (6001) makes stops right in front of it, and the rooms look simple and clean, and the prices seem reasonable.

The hotel storefront looks like a night club entrance if you ask me. :p

Our room itself if not super big, but plenty usable space for us. Walking in the door there's the bathroom on the left, and a office/kitchenette area up front, and behind the half wall it's the bedroom area.

The "office" is on the left.

John and I left our luggage in the office area, with our daily itineraries and maps spreading out on the desks.

And the kitchenette is on the right.

We didn't cook anything during this stay. We did store the fun drinks and snacks that we bought on the counters and in the fridge. Oh, and the last night we were there we bought Korean-style fried chicken and ate it in the kitchen!

The bedroom area, which also had a TV on the other side of the wall.

When we were booking our flight+room on Expedia we could choose either one queen-sized beds, or 2 twins. After reading up on the measurements of beds we decided 2 twin beds sounded great, plus if we wanted to "join" the beds the width will be bigger than a queen. hehe.

Our stay was nice. Western COOP Residence met my expectations: simple, clean, conveniently located, and the staff at the front desk was friendly. I totally enjoyed my stay and will be more than happy to stay here again next time I'm in Seoul.

Oh, and not too far up the street there was Western COOP's sister hotel Euljiro COOP, which I read would be a good choice as well. It was a couple years older than Western COOP, but has all the "goodness" of Western COOP, plus it's even closer to the Subway entrance!