This Time in Seoul

I chose to lunch at Fifty (in Apgujeong) to see if it would be a good place to shoot for my next project. It is and on top of that the Mushroom and bacon pasta that I tested was an added delight! I walked up to the cash register ready to move on to my next “who knows what” and saw this box of old CASSINGLES! Yes, I think that I repeated “these are so old” about five times and then proceeded to laugh at my own astonishment. Look it, M.C. Hammer cheezin’ hard in my face, in Korea at a hip cafe blasting Mary J. Blige! WT?! This doesn’t happen everyday, folks.

Do any of you still have cassingles? Do any of you still have a cassette player?

P.S. George Micheal was rockin’ the hell out of that Caeser cut!

Hello!

This photo is another one of my photos chosen (full page) for another edition of Seoul Selection magazine! Out of the 300 or so that I have of Cafe 62-16, this one is one of my favorites. If you want to see my photos for April’s issue, just click on the site and click the PDF for last month’s magazine. I photographed Gahoe Museum, Robert Koehler the editor, wrote the piece as I did not have time, had to jet to Thailand! Shout out to Robert!

This second one I was hoping for as a cover but didn’t make it. Newsflash! It’s going to be on the cover of something else!!! Will fill you in when everything gets settled!

Have a great weekend! Thank you for commenting Pret a Voyager!

Ciao!

Thank God for Sundays. Seriously.

I get so excited when Sundays come: What exhibit am I going to see, what new dish of anything will I try today, and more importantly, WHERE am I going to eat?! Today’s answer was milk tea at Cafe 62-16 and a croque monsieur at MMMG, both in Samcheong-dong.

This milk tea was created by owner Lee Seung-Ae of “62-16″, it’s delicious and the croque was THE BOMB. I really don’t eat cheese that often but today it reminded me of home and dammit’, I was hungry.

I really do think that I could open up a successful cafe, lounge either here in Korea or in the States. The U.S. really doesn’t have a cafe culture and that’s a shame. I mean, can you really be nice and cosy in say, Starbucks? I don’t think so either.

MMMG has a colorful little website that informs you of their history, locations and products. 

Enjoy the process!

MMMG, located left of exit 1 at Anguk Station, Orange line 3.

Shadows and light, pleasing colors harmoniously reside aside each other at Cafe 62-16, by TeaStory.  I found this place on my way to shoot a traditional teahouse for a magazine and actually found this more appealing. I’m very aware of light and how important it is to how I respond to a space. I really enjoy the shadowy, slightly darker feeling that resides upstairs. If you want to sit alone, you don’t have to be in a dark corner, you can sit in a space with less light but still feel and see the light that streams in from another part of the room. All doors are open, which makes it cool enough to NOT turn on the a/c (well for now at least) and the added bonus of having delicate, vibrant flowers placed just so throughout the cafe brings much added vegetation to this concrete city. This place is like a painting. 

The owner, Lee Seung-Ae is also the proud owner of The Tea Museum in Insadong, another place that I recommend. She has style and makes the best milk tea I’ve ever tasted and I don’t even like milk, NOR, milk in my tea. A winner!

Tip: Get there early to beat the crowds, to get a seat out on the terrace or one of the balconies. Personally, I prefer l’interieur.

Cafe 62-16 by TeaStory, Samcheon-dong, on the main “strip”

Call: 02 723 8250 for more specific directions.

They don’t have this in the States.

I was introduced to Paht bing-soo by a friend of mine who wanted to give me a taste of Korea before I moved to Seoul. Initially I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the dessert, then later confused with the mix of ingredients: shaved ice, lots of fruit, syrup, and red bean paste. I ate a couple of spoonfuls before it melted into a sloppy soup of sugar.

Well today, after photographing a new addition to “the strip” in Samcheon-dong, Cafe 62-16 (a new favorite!), I gave bing-soo another try. This is Green Tea Bing-soo and and I love it. It’s real green tea, shaved ice, red bean paste with almonds, cashews and hazelnuts! Simply delicious, and dare I say, nutritious? Ha!

Order one, it’s big enough for two to share on a bright and sunny day like today.

Enjoy!

Another gem in Buam-dong (just across the street from Life is Suddenly cafe) is aptly named Espresso Coffee Academy. Yes, you may take a course in the cult of coffee here. Justin and I decided to venture upstairs to see where the magic beans rested and they were oh so patient with us snapping away, taking brief pauses to just take in their aroma, as well as the haze of light that was created from a mixture of coffee, dust and nostalgia. My friend Anna told me that she ordered a White Wine Cafe con leche there and became, um, tipsy afterwards. I’ll definitely order two of these when I go there again tomorrow. It’s a bit of a hike from Shinchon where I live but damn, it’s worth it folks. It is owned by Korea’s top coffee connoisseurs, Ma Eun-Sik. No more needs to be said.

Where: Buam-dong, very close to Gyeongbok-gung Station.

Was out with a new friend today. I did something that I normally don’t do and actually do my best to avoid: taking photographs with another person around me. I’m glad that I spent the entire day with someone who has a great eye and was a delight to be around. Thank you, Justin! We truly lucked out with a warm Spring day, saw and visited great cafes. a new mandu restaurant, the Whanki museum, etc. This cafe is called Life is Suddenly and is so chill, so quiet. After the orange red exterior lures you in, the calming blue interior keeps you glued to your seat as you suddenly find yourself wondering if you too should open a small cafe nestled in the mountains in Seoul.

An amazing day was had and I owe it to an intelligent young man, the sun’s rays and a great neighborhood!

Oh! The Thailand photos will continue, just had to share these pics with you. 

This is indeed a strange place for me. I’ve been walking past this cafe ever since I discovered it last summer. Not only is the facade interesting in itself, so clever the different shades of corrugated steel but also the way that it is tucked in physically away from the main street, makes it that much more inviting to me. I’ve noticed for quite some time now that even though I live in a city twice the size of NYC, I find places that are intimate, off the beaten path, if you will. Some sweet, quiet spots I share with people, some I do not. I love the idea of being the only foreigner in a quiet cafe, not giving a toss about the millions of people outside, until I am with them again, feeling grateful to be in their presence.

I thank Mr. Kim for letting me come to aA yesterday and get some images.
This one is my favorite.
The chairs look as if they are having their own conversation.
I didn’t want to interrupt so I took a picture from afar. 

  
Poster Photo by Ellen von Unwerth

As you may or may not know it is Lunar New Year vacation which means yours truly has been off for two days now and will return to “work” on Monday. However, since I love walking and am relentless and insatiable photographer, I hit the bricks to find something to shoot. It was a ghost town.

Lunar New Year is not spent guzzling champagne and finding yourself in intimate situations with people, plural, you met on an hour ago. I’ve heard stories, never partook in any debauchery. Ok, well, there was this ONE time…

No folks, this is not Paris, London nor any lame party in the United States during New Year’s. This is Korea and that means spending time with family, eating great food and honoring your ancestors. So the streets were empty today. A few roaming the streets like myself probably escaping their families no doubt, looking for cafes, Krispy Kreme shops and things to photograph. 

I only took 38 photographs. This is nothing for me. It was absolutely freezing today. My hands were killing me, it felt as if something were biting me long and graceful fingers! Home Jeeves, me thinks the Frostbite his having his way with me!All was not lost, I found this little gem in Hongdae. Reminds me of so many great times spent in Paris with my dear friend Catherine, having the time of our lives.