Winter Trip with Family - Eomoni Jib, Myeongdong

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Previous entry (here).

Sampai Seoul dari Gangchon pun dekat senja sudah, and perut sebenarnya sudah start buat konsert dangdut masa dalam train lagi. So haruslah, the moment sampai Seoul...semua pun mengadu lapar. And Yours Truly adalah paling lapar. Kan habis energy 'rawat' kaki cramp.

Semua request mau makan nasi. And Angah cakap mau cuci mata di Myeongdong night market. Lagi. Maka, ke Myeongdong lah kita. Bertabah jaklah transit train lagi dari Wangsimni Station & turun di Myeongdong Station.

Dalam fikiran aku cuma ada Eomoni Jib. Sebab Yooganae kan awal² lagi kena reject masa Day 1 haritu. And Jungmu Kimbap bukan consider menu berat. First time aku pi seafood restaurant ni masa summer trip 2013. Klik link tu untuk direction. 

23 January 2015
Myeongdong, Seoul

# Belek menu; boleh baca sebab written in English katanya.

# Nampak kah betapa lapar masing.
Baru banchan (side dishes) yang sampai, terus serbu. Ndak payah tunggu main course.

# Nae sigsa. Dalsot Bibimbap.
Ini jaklah yang paling sedap aku nampak masa place order. My favourite; siap request extra seaweed flakes.  

# Main course. Aku tumpang sekaki merasa.
They ordered sambal sotong. Seafood stew. 

Paling lucu bila Angah confidently order crab in soy sauce. Sekali sampai! Crab adalah raw. Nangis darah semua tengok crab tu. Kecuali aku & Ezza. Sebab kami bantai makan; siap cicah sama soy sauce tu lagi. Nasib Angah bijak bergeliga, dia masukkan ketam tu dalam periuk stew. Settle masalah problem. And semua makan dengan jayanya tanpa rasa geli² sebab kena telan ketam mentah. Customer meja sebelah (Chinese) yang order menu sama, heran tengok kami masukkan ketam tu dalam periuk. Apa jaklah Jiejie, janji habis segala yang kami order. Siap banchan tu bertambah 3x. Gumbira Ahjumma tengok kami makan dengan selera.

Sudah kenyang, masa untuk proses melancarkan penghadaman. Walau pun sebenarnya aku sudah rasa mau bertukar jadi ular sawa. I need my bed! 

Myeongdong kalau malam memang meriah. Aku paling suka tengok street food diorang. Setiap musim memang akan ada 'highlight' snack. 

# Yang ni pun ada di Malaysia sudah so Ezza ndaklah teruja. Kunun.

# Hotteok; famous winter snack. 

# Marketing!
Laku gila love hotteok tu. Sekejap jak habis. Walhal rasa sama jak ngan yang bulat tu. 

# Branch Jungmu Kimbap yang baru.
Jalan straight jak dari Exit 6 (Myeongdong St), kedai ni sebelah kanan. In between Innisfree & Body Shop. Aku takeaway jak malam tu, yang lain still kenyang & refuse untuk duduk lepak. Ntah perut kategori apa kau ni Bie!

# With Bunda.

Angah & Aunty sempat shopping. Paling lama diorang berkampung dalam Etude House. Ntah apa jak yang ndak cukup. Si Err sempat rembat beg 4-segi. Famous ok dalam Kdrama. Jadi, tripping harus!

# Cuteness!
Walhal jual waffle aiskrim jak pun.

# Myeongdong memang senantisa meriah. Especially malam.

Sempat juga beli strawberry berbungkus² sebab the little cousin adalah hantu strawberry. Makan non stop! Malam tu balik rumah berwalkertapaki jaklah. Semua pun macam ndak kelaratan untuk turun naik tangga subway lagi. Baguslah kan, exercise sikit bakar lemaks degil. 

Tapi sesungguhnya aku paling sengsara. Menahan kaki nan perit. Malam tu aku tidur paling awal. I asked Ezza to take over the laundry job. Nampak kan betapa si Err penat tengok orang mengayuh. And according to Ezza, aku tidur paling 'bising' malam tu. Bukan jak bunyi enjin motorbot rosak. Bunyi musical box pecah pun ada. Gitu kan gigih mengutuk aku. 

Sobs. Bila ingat balik betapa pintar & kondifen fit nya aku untuk naik bike tu...rasa mau duku kepala sendiri pun ada. Ndak apa, pengalaman katanya. Dapat tengok Gimyujeong Station yang klasik apa! 

eryantierdabdulkarim

Winter Trip with Family - Welcome to South Korea!

Assalamualaikum. 안녕.

My first getaway in 2015! Balik kampong. Double happiness because this time, I brought Bunda along. Together with Bunda's two elder sisters & my three cousins. First time jalan beramai² pi oversea with my family. Pi kampong aku pula tu kan. Ok, motif sangat sampai dua kali mentioned balik kampong.

Flight ticket ni kami beli April last year. Gigihkan mau dekat setahun tunggu trip ni. Masa tu ada promotion Air Asia so dapatlah fare RM 520.00 (basic fare) per person. A week before the trip, Aunty suruh 'beli' luggage sebab kami ada satu beg untuk makanan. Bawa kicap, sos & makanan tin that weighed more than 100ml memang haruslah kena check-in luggage. And masa ni baru tau, the minimum weigh to purchase is 20kg. Cost is RM 89.00! Nangis darah dalam diam. Kenapa telah menjadi mahal?

18 January 2015
Incheon International Airport, South Korea

# Waiting for our luggage. Muka Angah & Aunty excited.
Kali ni terpaksa tunggu luggage di belt sebab bawa stok makanan macam mau buka 7E di Seoul. 

Normally once keluar dari arrival hall, aku akan duduk dulu. Tarik nafas dalam², ambil feeling. Tiap kali jejak kampong memang akan happy lain macam. Tapi sebab kali ni aku bawa ahli rombongan, maka aku kena bijak atur masa. So aku suruh diorang duduk dulu & wakilkan aku untuk 'tarik nafas'. P to the Yo!

First, pi collect modem wifi di Olleh counter. Si Err bijak tertinggal credit card used to booked the modem & terdelete juga email confirmation untuk booking tu. Instead of paying 5,500 KRW per day, we have to go with the walk-in rate. 8,800 KRW per day! Ginilah kalau tiap kali balik kampong, nervous melantun². Baru few hours sampai, sudah aku create drama.

More about the modem reservation, please refer here.

Next, 7-Eleven untuk top up T-Money. Aku cuma ada 4 kad so kena beli lagi 3 biji. And of course, menyempat beli banana milk. Breakfast drink yang ini memang penting once di kampong. Suddenly masa di kaunter, aku toleh belakang...cousin aku si Ezza sengih lebar. Rupanya dia pun mau juga merasa susu pisang yang selama ni aku gebang sama dia. Settled urusan T-Money, aku pi kaunter airport limousine bus pula. Super serik naik train pi Seoul last autumn...jadinya mari naik bas jak kali ni. Lagipun it's still too early to introduce them to Seoul's 'deadly' staircases.

Kami ambik bus #6015 (last stop Sejong Hotel in Myeongdong). Masa keluar dari airport, nampak lagi seketul² muka ahli rombongan double excited. Al-maklum first time keluar asap bila bercakap. Masuk bas, semua bantai tidur except me! Moment mahal tu journey from Incheon to Seoul. Rasa gegar di hati lain macam tiap kali jejak negara ni. *nah baldi* Sejam dalam bas tu aku spent menghayati view.

Jung-gu, Seoul

We alighted the bus at Kukdo Hotel (Euljiro sam-ga stop). Masa turun tu, semua (kecuali aku!) memang pegang jacket! Gila kental kan diorang ingat temperature -3C tu main². Dalam bas, diorang siap complain kenapa ndak sejuk sangat pun. Bas ada heater wei! Tapi ndak lama riak 'kulit badak' diorang sebab suddenly angin penampar bertiup. Super sejuk beku! Berdengung lah telinga. Ndak sempat aku introduce si Angin, dia lebih dulu perkenal diri sendiri. 

# Ha sampai campak beg sanggup. Semata mau sarung jaket, gloves & muffler!

We waited here for our host to fetch us. Sebenarnya apartment tu just across the street tapi sebab kami ndak tau so kenalah tunggu tuan rumah datang. But we didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute, datang seorang lelaki & mentioned my name. It's our host; Mr Joungtea. Nanti aku buat entry lain pasal accommodation ni.

# Mr Joungtea explaining to us how to operate the appliances & equipment. 

Lepas explaining & tukar passcode pintu rumah, Mr Joungtea balik. And kami? Makan! Kami memang ada bawa makanan siap masak dari Kolumpor. I ordered them from a friend of mine. Habis lunch, we waited for Zuhr. Pastu baru mulakan misi mengukur tanah Seoul! 

Ouh, sebenarnya aku yang paling ndak sabar. Tettttttt!

Dari apartment, kami just jalan kaki pi Myeongdong. Actually boleh jak ikut underground mall tapi sebab aku ndak sure the exact exit door to Myeongdong so kami menyusur jalan raya jaklah. Nasiblah weather is still bearable lagipun semua sudah pakai appropriate clothes. Unlike masa turun bas pagi tu, semua ingat diorang kulit lembu kan.

Myeongdong, Seoul

# Myeongdong
It took us less than 10 minutes to reach this shopping mecca from our apartment.

Jejak kaki sini memang rasa deja-vu gila. Ntah lah apa yang di-deja kan sangat kan tapi memang senyum lebar jak masa sampai sini. 

# Busy street...as always.

# Annyeong Namdaemun!
Kami just limpas Myeongdong & direct pi Namdaemun Market. Sebab mau kejar weekend market yang akan tutup jam 5pm.

Namdaemun Market, Seoul

# Bila sejuk, memang akan cepat lapar.
Sebab ada yang lebih muda dari aku, so haruslah bukan aku yang kena suruh Q untuk beli jajan. 

# Biskut ikan; inti whipped cream + chocolate. 
Buat alas perut sementara tunggu para Makcik 'rasmi' Won diorang.

# The youngest cousin sister; Girl & Bunda.

And sebenarnya since landed di South Korea, diorang ni non-stop tanya aku mana snow. Ni semua gara² mulut aku yang gatal pi kestau diorang weather forecast kunun informed akan snow petang tu. Hambek lah kan! Bagi harapan lagi.

Tapi! Subhanallah! Petang tu memang betul salji turun. Mula tu masa tengah join Angah pilih sweater, aku rasa macam ada something masuk mata. Then bila aku pusing belakang, nampak macam benda putih berterbangan. So I looked up to the skies. Walla!!! Rasa mau nangis wei. Bukan first time for me tapi aku still rasa happy! Bunda & ahli rombongan lain apatah lagi.

# "Kak, take my picture. Can spot the snowflakes kan."
Maka si Kakak Bibie pun tunaikan impian. Ntah berapa banyak gambar 'nampak snowflakes' ni aku ambil. Siap posing tangan gitu, mampu mau ignore request?

# Miss BibiErr in action
Nasiblah ada few gambar aku dalam camera. Sebab trip kali ni memang automatik aku jadi photog resemi. 

Habis ronda Namdaemun Market, marilah kita isi perut. Ingatkan Angah & Aunty bila sudah kesyiokan shopping, diorang ndak peduli perut menyanyi lapar. Alhamdulillah, sedar diri. Tau pula cakap perut pedih.

So off we went back to Myeongdong. Jalan kaki ya'll! Memang sengaja aku dera diorang berjalan, supaya esok urat kaki ndak kejutan bila nampak tangga² seram subway Seoul.

# Yooganae.
Their first dine-out in Seoul.  

Before bayar tu...

"Balik rumah ni, ada makanan untuk masak kan? Adek mau makan lagi. Sini ndak ngam selera."

And statement Adek was then echoed by Aunty & Angah. 

Angah & Aunty memang aku tau fussy bab makan. Even di KK pun payah mau ikut selera diorang, apatah lagi di tempat lain kan. Cuma masa ni baru dapat tau, my cousin brother (Adek) pun rupanya lidah-pemilih. Cuma Bunda, Ezza & aku jak yang makan dengan lahap. Biasalah perut & lidah universal.

Myeongdong, Seoul

# Mother-daughter!
Alhamdulillah akhirnya berjaya bawa Bunda balik kampong. 

Kami round Myeongdong lepas dinner. And suddenly snow makin lebat...pastu haruslah temperature pun dropped. -4C ndak silap masa ni. Yang lain mula complained sejuk gigil kunun. And penat. Logiklah, berjalan non stop kan. Bukan ada rest pun since landed. So marilah kita balik rumah. 

Baru first day, mesti diorang belum dapat adjust with the extreme temperature. Mau sangat winter...inilah sejuk winter!! Walhal yang proposed untuk pi musim ni adalah aku. Bertabahlah!

# Hujan salji!
Taken depan building apartment kami. 

Sampai rumah, mandi manda & rest kejap. Pastu aku cakap mau keluar. Apa barang kan stay di rumah jak. Lagipun malam masih muda. Aku ndak sangka the cousins wanted to tagged along. Cuma Bunda & her sisters yang ndak mau ikut. Biarlah, bagi chance diorang recharge. Yang muda mudi mau menikmati Seoul di waktu malam.

Dongdaemun, Seoul

# Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Jejak sini last autumn. Kali ni datang lagi sebab Adek request mau tengok lampu² di jalan & bangunan. I cannot think of any place than Dongdaemun malam tu. Hence off we walked to Dongdaemun. Yes! Berjalan lagi. Kali ni ikut underground mall. Sebab ndak sanggup redah suhu sejuk bedi.

# Something I have always wanted to do!
Bertuahlah kan baru Primary 6, sudah pi oversea. Siap main seleji.

# Request Adek tertunai.

# Us...puas hati.

# My first ngeteh session with the cousins.
Alang² hujan seleji makin lebat, jadi aku bawa the cousins lepak ngeteh. 

# Memang gen perut tembolok runs in the family.
Padahal baru makan di rumah...anggap jaklah supper kan.

# Hmmm penyakit aku menjangkit sama Ezza.
Di mana juga, mari layan Kdrama. 

# Beauty!
Nampak ni depan mata, aku berjalan dengan senyuman lebar! Hati berbunga. Just like what I have dreamed of. Berjalan atas laluan yang baru diselaputi seleji. Fuh ayat!

# Rupa langit selepas snowfall.
Malam tu, jalan balik apartment dengan hati riang ria. Syukran Allah.

Esok hari...training kaki lagi. Tapi before that, aku terpaksa 'deal' sama kaki half-cramp pula malam tu. And I thought kejadian ngeri last autumn ndak berulang lagi? Sobs.

eryantierdabdulkarim

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

Assalamualaikum. 안녕! 

Previous:

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? 

eryantierdabdulkarim