Jongno 5-ga (종로5가역)

Posted on 28/06/2011 by Euphemia

Jongno 5-ga (종로5가역) was the area that I stayed in during my trip to Korea. I personally liked how oldish the area was, filled with mostly pharmacies (like tones of them, so fear not if you’re not feeling that well), loads of food eateries to choose from, and I mean LOADS to eat from. But not all is old, there are also a handful of cafes located around.

It’s also conveniently (might take about ~10-15 minutes to walk, 5 minutes if you’re taking the bus and less than 5 if you’re in a cab) near shopping areas like Dongdaemun which has loads of malls for you to shop NON-STOP + till the wee hours in the morning (they practically close at 5AM).

—–

Gwangjang Market (광장시장) – I totally adore and I think I can spend up to days just exploring the area. It’s quite an underrated market which I think it has lots to offer. I’d go into details in another post with more photos from the digital camera.

On weekends where most of the shops are closed – this area might seemed like a ‘dead town’ but I love how quiet and calm it is in comparison of the bustling city of Seoul (Dongdaemun, Myeongdong).

The stretch that we walk in/out daily from our hotel. On a Monday – Friday basis, this place is basically filled with human traffic all day long because of the eateries and noraebangs that are located within this whole stretch + there are loads of offices around this area. You’ll never get hungry when you stay in Jongno-5 ga other than the weekends which most of these places are closed.

Lock/Key smith shop with very nice Korean Typography.

The front of a connivence store with the nicest ahjussi who was always smiling. Our daily trips to his mart (that sells basically everything) left us becoming friends and we started talking about how fun Korea is – though at some points he begs to differ. I guess it’s definitely different when your agenda of visiting a country as a tourist vs a permanent stayer.

2D1N Soju Bang

Posted on 24/06/2011 by Euphemia

After coming back to reality aka Singapore, I was having major Korean withdrawal syndromes. Can’t help but admit that the food is something that I think would taste the same after like 5 days of continuous eating and you’ll get a tad sick and tired of it BUT it’s also a flavour that you crave once you don’t have access to it?

So the very nice cousins recommended this awesome place to satisfy my Korean food cravings – 2D1N Soju Bang. Ditching the parents aside for a day, the cousins decided to ‘MEAT’ up for a good feast and I must say, I’m won over by 2D1N Soju Bang’s meat buffet. For the price of $20++, it offers a whole range of meat choices which is totally value for money.

There are also a good assortment of typical Korean side dishes like the kimchi, corn and as like most Korean eateries, water is free flow too, so YAY! The very nice ladies (who are Koreans) is super nice to keep changing our foil when it gets all burnt and black – so ++ for attentiveness. Just be prepared to smell like a barbecued meat at the end of the day, but no worries, with a multiple times of showering, you’ll be all good! Be warned that because they don’t take phone reservations, so be prepared to queue a little especially during the dinner period, so just get there earlier.

We were actually craving for some good Makgeoli but sadly they ran out of it – but because of that, we’re definitely heading back again till we have our craving fixed.

Ps: I forgot to mention that if you get assigned to the ‘rooms’ – it has a time limit of ~2 hours for you to finish your meal vs those seats that are available outside.

2D1N soju bang

—–

Address:

44/46 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6227 6033
Priced at $20/Adult, $15/Child with 10% service charge

How to get to 2D1N Soju Bang:

It’s diagonally across from Maxwell Market. If you’re at the bus stop that is opposite the tooth relic temple, walk all the way straight and cross the traffic light which brings you to Fairfield Methodist Church which you would then need to cross to the right. Once you meet a whole stretch of Korean restaurant, you’re on the right track and just keep walking for about less than 5 minutes – tadaaaaa, you’ve reached 2D1N Soju Bang. (Hope it’s helpful?)

Click to view the map in a bigger view.