An evening walk in the snow

It has been freakishly cold and snowing a lot in Seoul lately. I took a short clip on a snowy evening, walking in Apgujeong.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

I sound weird and unnatural and tired. Phooey. Doesn't mean that I'm not sincere, though. If you're not in the mood to listen to my voice, a still version of Cheonggyecheon at Christmas:

Christmas is a national holiday in Korea as is Buddha's birthday in the spring, but like most capitalist societies it has become a holiday of avid consumerism more than anything else.
The Christmas decorations were up in the department stores in November. The decorations at Hyundai Dept. Store (Apkujung) :

A Christmas themed art display at Avenue L. (I only took photos of the B1 floor.)

Christmas photo-op setting at Ssamzie-gil.

Christmas tree at Seoul Plaza. (Homepage is going through reconstruction until Dec. 28th, 2009.)

Students taking pics in front of Youngpung Bookstore's Christmas display:

Not many Bûche de Noël to be seen, but most bakeries and patisseries sell many versions of Christmas cakes. A patissier friend of mine mentioned that they look far more better than they taste and advised me to go for "regular" cakes rather than the holiday ones. Pity, because they are so pretty. These are from Caffe Themselves:

Hope everyone has a happy holiday season. May there always be good fortune in your lives.

Small but delightful - Petit Cave

My wine group had its September gathering at Petit Cave, the small wine-centric sister restaurant of bistro Ottimo in Cheongdam-dong. They are in the same building, with Petit Cave aptly in the basement.

Whereas Ottimo is a light and breezy atmosphere like a seaside café, Petit Cave is like an English manor out of a mystery movie. (We were told that the furniture was indeed imported from England.)

Soft lighting + point-and-shoot camera = blurry photos

The menu is shared by both restaurants.

We started with a bunch of appetizers and some bubbly. Not champagne, but a casual Cremant d'Alsace.

The pastas were excellent. The most unique being a sea urchin and sea squirt (ascidian) pasta, which was like eating a mouthful of fortified sea. We were told that even hardcore seafood lovers had different opinions about it; an acquired taste, either you hate it or love it. I personally loved it.

Vongole pasta with a helluva lot of shellfish and salmon cream pasta with citrus fruit. The lamb was pretty good as well.

Their wine cellar was small but stocked with a great selection, with emphasis on wines from Bourgogne, which are quite popular in Korea at the moment. They had a pupitre on display.

The Petit Cave's manager and sommelier is Lee Jae Kyu, who has won awards in this field. Ultra-friendly and very knowledgeable.

What we consumed that night. Guess which one is the Shiraz. (Too obvious, eh?)

Neither Ottimo nor Petit Cave have a homepage yet. Situated in the Cheongdam district but more commonly thought as in Apgujeong, it's in the Burger King alley right across from Rodeo Street.

Reservations recommended.

Tel : (02) 518-1946 or 1947

Coffee in Heaven M

My friends and I were walking in a familiar neighborhood when we discovered a previous pub (or restaurant, couldn't remember properly) had transformed into a café. The front looked inviting so we hopped in.

Lovely lighting, lovely wall moldings. I didn't have a drawing on me - otherwise I would've taken a pic for my Napzzak Project using them as a frame.

Word hasn't gone around yet; there were very few customers and the employees were chatting among themselves behind the counter. The staff were very friendly and polite.

The whole café's interior had a "natural" theme to it, I'm pretty sure the lighting was chosen to emulate soft morning sunlight.

I loved their plants (all real). This area being closed off we assumed it was the smoking area but it wasn't. A cozy nook to read magazines while sipping espresso.

They offered us complimentary sweet toast saying that the full version was available on the menu.

I had it with a strong cup of triple-shot Americano. The coffee was thick and earthy, the way I like it.

And of course, the obligatory toy geek shot. Junko Mizuno Qee (again) amongst the orchids.

Unless it's swamped with obnoxiously loud trend-seeking poseurs the next time I'm in the neighborhood, I'm definitely going to drop by again.

They're so new their website isn't complete, but you get their contact info and address.

http://www.heavenm.co.kr/