You've probably heard of pet cafes, and the more common ones nowadays are cat cafes and dog cafes. The rarer ones are probably rabbit cafes and owl cafes. But I had the you-must-be-kidding look when I saw that there's a sheep cafe in Hongdae.

We initially decided to not stop by Thanks Nature Cafe as I saw reviews saying that there's usually a long queue but when we arrived at Hongdae, we didn't feel like shopping much (as we had spent most of our afternoon doing that at Ewha).
We also passed by the Hello Kitty Cafe but it is not worth the visit (in my opinion, and because I've been to the Taiwan branch and the HK cafes are overrated in general, unless you are a die-die-must-go person).



The cafe is located at the basement (meaning you have to climb down some stairs, and keep an eye out else you might miss it).







It wasn't crowded at 9pm and there were still people coming in after us.



To be honest, I had mixed feelings about sheep because the last time I got close to a sheep it was in a Taiwanese farm and the sheep there were either underfed or insanely greedy..

Anyways, back to these two sheep. It appears that they are extremely close to their owner and they are used to be around humans.
They also get a walk around Hongdae in the mornings (one of my friends who stayed in Hongdae during her visit said that she saw two sheep being walked on the streets while she was out buying latte).



We did get to pet the sheep and it was funny that this other girl wanted to take selfies with one of the sheep but she was nervous and jumped almost every time they bleat.



Grapefruit Ade (₩5,000).





Honey Bread (₩5,000), thick toast with almond flakes on top and whipped cream on the side. And what's honey bread without the honey?
Perfect for supper (I actually had some cup noodles as my second supper. welp).


Thanks Nature Cafe
486 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea



I guess I'm running out of footnotes and ending texts so... check out the link below and I'll try to finish this travelogue heh.

Decided to go on to one of the hippiest place in Seoul, Hongdae. You could literally feel the difference in atmosphere once you get off the Hongik University Station, especially on a Saturday evening.
Hongdae is a must-visit spot if you're not a demophobe (someone who is afraid of crowds) as it is famous for its urban culture.



Hongdae is a place with pretty decent shopping places (Innisfree, Nature Republic, and Etude House are practically everywhere in Seoul).
We decided to skip dinner and enjoy some street food instead as we had a late second lunch.
I repeat, it's VERY CROWDED. Squeezing through groups of people is no fun at all.



So we got a strawberry/yogurt ice-cream that is quite common in Seoul and Taiwan. We were careful to not tilt it too much as it felt super wobbly.



Takoyaki yay! Not exactly a Korean snack but it had been a while since I had takoyakis.



Egg bread/Gyeran Bbang 계란빵, which is also a popular Korean street food.





Spicy cheese chicken (₩3,500 for a small one). Chicken was crispy and tender at the same time, a little too much of the spicy sauce but it's recommended!





Also, Aboong's taiyaki with mango ice-cream (₩3,000). Not a lot of people when I spotted the small store and bought a taiyaki ice-cream for myself but boy, there was a queue after I got mine. The ice-cream wasn't too sweet and it doesn't taste like the overly-artificial ones. Taiyaki was still crispy and delicious even after we finished most of the ice-cream (which took a while).
Aboong also expanded to Malaysia but sorry to say that I have not tried it yet, Will it be the same as this heavenly creation?

Next stop, Thanks Nature Cafe, which is covered in another post.

You will often find street performances in Hongdae, especially Saturday nights, varying from singing, to dancing, to magic tricks. And they could just be located next to each other, each having their own circle (or square) of audience.



Of course, there's more to Hongdae's street food and culture (we didn't spend much time there as we were taking things leisurely and at a slow pace at Ewha in the morning/afternoon. oops), it's up to you to discover it!

Also, if you are in the area you could try tomake your own ring!

(click on the image above to read more on my trip to South Korea!)

Many have been complaining that Dongdaemun is slowly turning into an expensive shopping place and have turned to smaller and less corporate-like university towns to get items that fit their budget.

We went to Bonjuk for lunch.



Then visited the flea market located in the open space opposite Bonjuk (every Saturday, from March till November). Got a weird-looking duck from the cotton candy store as my brother wanted something unique.



What you should know is, there are two different sections of Ewha Women's University Fashion Street: the main shopping street with retail chainstores and the more competitive/cheaper area called the Casual Clothes and Shoes Shopping Street. You'll know when you see the casual shopping street as it is similar to Taiwan's Wufenpu (五分埔).

Dropped by a chicken place as we were hungry by 3-4pm. It was spontaneous and unplanned for, and it was quiet at that hour. Turned out that the place that we happened to stumble upon by accident was Yeolbong Jjimdak 열봉찜닭, owned by Korean pop idol Se7en.

Obviously, my sister freaked out over the Big Bang posters.



They didn't have an English menu but ordering was simple as the waiter was kind enough to explain (portion wanted, level of spiciness, type of chicken, etc.) because I freaked out over the Korean menu and took quite some time trying to figure out Hangul.





We ordered a medium sized one but didn't actually expect it to be huge, as it was obvious that the portion was meant for 4 adults (or at least 2 very hungry ones). Managed to finish it anyways, the chicken was juicy and marinated with a sweet/salty combination that goes well with the glass noodles. The jjimdak we ordered costs ₩33,000 with tteokbokki.
The store is not located on the ground floor*


Yeolbong Jjimdak 열봉찜닭
27-4 Daehyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
서대문구 대현동 27-4 2층





Needless to say, we continued shopping after that.
Got a few pieces of clothing and socks, headed towards the Women's University.



Artsy-wannabe.



The aesthetics of one of the campus buildings made it a landmark/photospot for tourists and locals alike.

We also caught some actors filming a tv drama (I assume) in the building so there were people crowding around and trying to guess said kdrama.





More posts on my trip below!

After a long break, here I am again (went on another trip that I will update soon. Yes, SOON). So here's a mini post to start with.

Long story short, we were surprised that the Bonjuk in Ewha wasn't as crowded as the other ones that were being reviewed by travellers all over. In fact, the Ewha branch is quite small and cozy.



Sweet Pumpkin Porridge (₩8,000) was my first pick as I had a pumpkin porridge craving. Pumpkin porridge outside of South Korea just wouldn't fit my bill.

This was my first time having porridge of such a smooth texture as the few pumpkin porridge I had the last time I was in Korea was a bit more grainy and with a rougher texture.

It is unlike a thick paste but tasty nevertheless. However, I had a little difficulty finishing half of it so it gets a little nauseous after a while. Fair warning though, if you don't really fancy sweet porridge then it's not for you. Some people love it, some people hate it.

I did spot other patrons from Bonjuk finishing a whole bowl of red bean porridge. Maybe it's just not my thing.



Next up is their Abalone Porridge (₩10,000). They also offer special abalone porridge with 2x (₩15,000) or 3x (₩20,000) the amount of abalone in it.

I felt that the rice was a little chewy for my taste but overall it's quite decent.



Also, the portion of the porridge is worth the money as we were sharing two sets between three adults and one child.

Not your type of porridge? Bonjuk offers other types of porridge such as ones with crabmeat and some others are filled with seaweed. There's also a vegetarian porridge available!
(Thanks to English descriptions on the menu! Else it would have taken forever to order)

The owners were quite courteous and polite and there's also free wifi there if you are desperately finding somewhere to upload your photos on Instagram or Facebook (or any other social platforms).


Bonjuk (Ewha) 본죽이대점
40-17 Sinchon-ro, Daehyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea (dragged the address from Google maps)
Nearest subway station: Ewha Women's University (Line 2) - Exit 2
*Take two lefts upon exiting the station from Exit 2. Bonjuk is on the left.
(refer to the embedded map below or copy and paste the shop's Korean name into Google Maps. It should be quite easy to find).






Will share the itinerary which will link the posts in a cohesive way but in the meantime, check out the other posts from my Korea trip below!