CutiCuti: South Korea Day 6 - Eomoni Jib & Kona Beans (Super Junior)

Assalamualaikum. 안녕! 

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Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5 

Imjingak, DMZ (Third Tunnel), Dorasan Observatory & Dorasan Station

Lets continue where I last stopped the entry. As said earlier after the brief tour to DMZ, we went back to Seoul. Relying solely on our skill in reading map, we reached Myeongdong from City Hall by foot. Thanks to super fast wifi connection by olleh. Sempat promote! Langsung ndak hang navigation google map aku; walau cuma guna phone. Unlike...hmm! Sila jangan lupa diri Bie!

Anyway, because the suggested restaurant (Saffron) by our tour guide was quite over the top for a cheapskate like us...we opted to have our lunch elsewhere. And decided to search for the restaurant we were supposed to have dinner before Ms H went back to Malaysia. We went there on our first night in Seoul but unfortunately it was already closed. 

Looking for the restaurant from Saffron wasn't that hard as we were already quite familiar with the streets in Myeongdong. Kerlas! We've been there the most since we arrived South Korea; so yeah we can literally chew the map already. Bragger! 

Direction to Eomonijip or Eomoni Jib. 

• From Myeongdong Station (Line 4), walked straight from Exit 6. 
• Turn right onto the small alley between Frisbee (with an Apple Mac logo) & eSpair stores. 
• The restaurant will be the first on the right side. *I was excited upon arriving I totally forgot to snap a picture of the restaurant from the entrance*

This is a seafood restaurant suggested by the Korea Tourism Ogranization (KTO) in the Korean food Guide for Muslim (here). It's an ebook but not downloadable. What I did was I captured the screenshot of the restaurants suggested. And later search the location via the naver.map app. Being able to read Hangul does have lots of advantage specially in using naver; the South Korea search portal. 

The interior. Typical restaurant look. 

Banchan are free. So does the plain water. Luckily I have trained myself to consume plain water months before the trip. Else, memang akan membazir beli air manis/berwarna jak! Penyakit orang perasan-berada memang begitu. Colourless drink (plain water) is plain boring; regardless it being essential to the body. Sekian.

I ordered bibimbap; a Korean style of mixed rice. It is serves in a bowl that contains warmed rice topped with seasoned veggies, chili pepper or gochujang, fried egg & seaweed flakes. And that pajeun (veggie pancake) on the left side is FOC. Ahjumma is being extra kind to us three; nampak sangat muka kebulur. 

After lunch, we went back to the hostel. Took a quick nap before we went out again. 

Gangnam Station; the underground. Way too different than the other underground subway stations we've been before; in terms of both feeling & look. Highly portrays the opulence living of Gangnam people. Even the underground gives such a strong vibrant vibe to me if not everyone.

Fulfilling Ms G wish to step upon Gangnam soil. Eh? Ini semua poyo! Blame Psy oppa for this, please. It was such an enormous relief she didn't execute her insane plan. That is to do the horse-dance; made popular by the Gangnam Style song. Else, Ms Z & I would have to run away.

Sky scrappers building mushroomed in this posh neighbourhood. It was reported that the heavy wealth & high standard of living in Gangnam has been compared to cities such as Beverly Hills, California. Its expensive real estate is almost twice as high as Seoul as a whole. 

Finish with the awing session of Gangnam district...we went back to the subway station. Nothing much we could do at Gangnam unless we hit a jackpot prior going. Baru boleh shopping paling sakan. 

Next mission; was solely for my satisfaction. The two ladies had no choice but to follow order. I've been searching the direction to this cafe ever since I know about its existence few months back. Fyi, my interest towards Super Junior has just blossomed early this year. Hence explain why only during the recent trip did I go visit. 

Credit to source (here)

Thanks so much to the blog owner. There are few ELFs (Ever Lasting Friend) that wrote the direction to Kona Beans (Apgujeong) in the internet & I found hers the most accurate. And easy to follow. 

We took the bus as directed in the map; at the bus stop located just few steps from Exit 2; Apgujeong Station (Line 2).

Bus arrived soon after we reached the bus stop & we hop off at the next station. Journey took us less than two minutes! But the heartbeat? Unexplainable. Tu dia si Err sudah start. Fangirling is something I never thought I would do; at least not at this age. Hmm!

Map provided by naver is super up to date. In googlemap, the Black Smith restaurant doesn't exist YET. Therefore to get a clearer version of the route, I used naver instead. The bus stopped right in front the restaurant. Take the alley next to it (refer picture) & continue walking. 

There is NO WAY one will miss this building! It's just by the street; on the left side. Kona Beans (Apgujeong branch) is run by the beloved mothers of Lee Teuk, Sungmin & Kyuhyun. Every now & then, the members will come here. Specially during their free time because most of the time they're busy touring around the world; promoting new albums or having concerts. 

Taking picture right in front of the counter is not allowed, so I moved a bit to the side. This is mainly to avoid one from taking picture of the list of prices on the wall. Orang berbisnes, sila hormat please.

Still full from the scrumptious lunch, I ordered only this for dinner cum supper. My forever favourite; ice chocolate with whipped cream won't be replaced by any drink. Ever. Even when I'm abroad, I will choose this drink still. 

We sat next to the stack of gifts from ELFs to the Super Junior members. They came from all around the world. Expressing their love for the boys. If only one of the member was there during our visit. Not that I was expecting them to be there but who knows it could be my lucky day. Dreaming & hoping to meet them face to face is never a crime though. 

Having said that, we met Leader @ Lee Teuk's mother there. She walked up to our table & PERSONALLY handed each of us a fan that has Lee Teuk's face on it. Cartoon-ized. 

"Gidalyeo juseyo" she said. "Ye Eomoni, gidalibnida" I replied. Simple Korean bolehlah aku goreng, panjang sikit conversation...harus Ye Ye jak aku reply! 

Apart from Donghae-ssi & Kyuhyun-ssi, Sungmin-ssi has attract my attention as well. I was always distracted by his politeness & sweet smile. Not to forget his seriousness on stage. Too adorable for someone aged 28. 

More gifts displayed at the cafe center area. I wonder if the boys ever read or see each of these. 

Their fans are not only from South Korea; but from all over the world. For fans from Hawaii; for example. Their gifts are displayed at this shelf. 

The only thing I regretted the most is not having the gut to asked Leader's mother to take a picture with us. Why u so like to let precious moment slips by? Its not like everyday u got to visit the store; let alone meet her. For situation as such, put ur unnecessary shyness aside lah! No one will ever notice if u came out the store ablush. Aigoo! 

Wait, sejak bila kau develope rasa malu ndak bertempat ni ah? 

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