vegan day

Me and my friends went to a vegan bake sale in Itaewon, run by one of my favourite vegan bloggers! It was a fundraising event for Japan, both the animals & human victims of the devastation.
Her blog Alien's Day Out is a must-have in my bookmark list for being a vegan in Korea!
It was pouring all day today but I couldn't miss it! By the time I got home my shoes were squelching but it was worth it :)

The bake sale was at Roofers Rooftop Bar:

and here are some photos of yummy vegan cookies

and these are what we bought:

and then we went on to Honest Loving Hut, a franchise vegan restaurant. I usually go to the one in Gyepo area but this one had more main meal dishes. But the Gyepo one has 5~6 different ice cream (frozen dessert, technically) flavours instead of just 3, which makes it really hard for me to choose which one to go to..

didn't get a chance to take more photos of the cute interior but i'm definitely going back there soon so i'll try and upload more then!

the menu had an explanation of veganism. Veganism is still an unfamiliar concept to a lot of Koreans.

and here are some photos of the food that will make your mouth water. or flood.

we ordered Tofu burger, olive oil pasta and mushroom sandwich, and choc+strawberry ice cream for dessert, and they were deeeelish!

but what impressed me the most were these tilted glasses

I came home and had a glass of home-made fruit juice.
My body feels quite happy right now :)




Honest Loving Hut:
2F, 118-62, Yitaewon-Dong, Yongsan-Gu, Seoul, South Korea
02-795-2111

 

Cafe Rosso in Samcheong Dong

after a good stroll in the cold mum and i stopped by this cafe called Cafe Rosso for a warm cup of coffee

they kindly had an English map so this is perfect for a lazy person like me!
this is how you get there:

the interior of the cafe

our table had pretty flowers :D

coffee from Honduras, Central America. about USD$6. I know, it's quite pricey for a cup of coffee but i think it's worth it
I am no coffee expert so I'm not in a position to comment on the taste of this (beautiful) coffee, but mum is a coffee fan and she really loved it.
I need the Mullins Sisters to help me!

some details of the cafe worth mentioning:

and the exterior:

i'm definitely going back to Samcheong Dong! ... when it's warmer

strolling in Samcheong Dong

Last weekend mum and i went for a little trip to Samcheong Dong, a place in Seoul well-known for its galleries, cafes, boutiques, restaurants and craft shops.
i couldn't believe this was my first visit to this place. i was entranced.

 the street opens up with lots and lots of small galleries. I found an interesting sculpture on the roof of a building

♥

one of my favourite craft shops, Maki

the shop's got lots of stuff from Japan. I wasn't allowed to take photos of specific products so this was the best i could do 

 ♥

some tea houses, cafes and boutiques along the street

♥

found this lovely cat-collector

mum and i actually collect small wood-carved animal figures so i suggested we should get one of these and she refused because they have become too 'common'
so i guess now we're looking for rare wood-carved animals

 i hope they become rare fast

♥

 pottery shop. mmm the colours

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street art:

♥

and some cute bicycles

I'll post some photos of a cafe in another entry :)

the ultimate fabric shopping in Seoul, Dongdaemun

the other day i went shopping to Dongdaemun market, one of the largest markets in Asia!
the shopping was specifically for fabric, so i went to their fabric market, or wondan shijang.
I'd been going to Spotlight for my sewing materials when i was in Melbourne, and i absolutely love that place, but this.. it's a whole different world.
No joke, the size of this market is bigger than ALL the Spotlights in Australia put together!

clothing market

the surrounding buildings are all shopping centres

and this.. is the fabric market

this is the place to be for anyone who needs fabric, and anything related to craft.
say the material you need and they have it. there are thousands of small shops congregated in the shopping complex, so if one shop doesn't have it you'll find it in the neighbouring shops.
the first floor mainly sell fabrics for blanket covers and pillow cases, and 2nd & 3rd floors cannot even be categorised.. they have EVERYTHING.

here are some pictures to show you what i mean:

some materials for Korean traditional dress, Hanbok

and if you cross over to the building adjacent to the fabric complex, there are shops for ribbons, buttons, zippers, threads, or any extra decorational stuff!

and the best thing about this market is that everything is SO CHEAP!
i bought 3m of calico for just $5 (USD) and 1m of printed fabric (cotton) for just $3.

on the other side of the canal (shown in previous photo) there are rows and rows of shopping centres:

the only con about shopping here is that it's very crowded and i felt quite claustrophobic, not just in the buildings but out on the streets as well.
so if you want to go there i recommend you take public transport - the parking lot is way too large and crowded there's only a little chance you'll ever find your car, unless you have super good locational memory.

so here's how you get there:

* Bus 

destinations to Jongno 6(yuk)-ga, Cheonggye 6(yuk)-ga, and Dongdaemun History & Culture Park
1) Jongno 6(yuk)-ga
Blue Bus : 100, 101, 102, 103, 107, 108, 201, 260, 262, 270, 271, 370, 720, 721
Green Bus : 0212, 2014, 2112, 1018, 7025
Red Bus : 9301, 9403
2) Cheonggye 6(yuk)-ga
Yellow Bus : 1
Blue Bus : 163, 202
3) Dongdaemun History & Culture Park
Blue Bus : 101, 105, 144, 152, 261, 301, 302, 420, 500, 507
Green Bus : 0013, 0212, 2015, 2014, 2016, 2233
Red Bus : 9205, 9403, 9410

* Subway
Line 1, 4 Dongdaemun Station Exit #8 or 9


there are loads of cafes and restaurants so if you get tired, there's always a place to take a little break. 

YAY!