Lunch & Coffee in Seoul: Coffee Prince's Sanmotoonge (Part 2)

(#1: From the main street, this road goes 

up to Buam-dong)

With our tummies still full from the yummiest lunch at Tong-in Market, we took the Green Bus 7212 across the street, headed north, and got off at Bu-am dong Community Center Bus Stop (Stop # 01139). 

From the bus stop, walk about 70 meters, then hike up following the path of the photos. From there, it's less than 800 meters from the famous café. (On your way back to Gyeongbukgung Station, just cross the street, look for the bus stop, take the same bus going back.)

Sanmotoong-e is a charming café on a hillside made famous by the hit Korean drama, Coffee Prince, and getting there is a bit tricky as there's no public transport that goes into its hilly location in the inner areas of Buam-dong in the Jongno District of Seoul.

But since some of us have been there before, getting lost wasn't a problem. Au contraire, walking from the main road to Sanmotoong-e was a fun stroll!

I took photos of the path we took walking to Sanmotoonge from the main street.

              (#2: The start of our climb up)

      (#3: We simply followed the road up)

When we got there, we weren't surprised to find a lot of people already enjoying an afternoon by the hill.

With the sun out, it was a perfect day to sit by the hillside sipping coffee, sharing cakes, and chatting with friends.

We ordered our drinks and cakes and picked a spot from where we could see the other side of Inwangsan that we climbed before (and definitely deserves a separate blog!).

(#4: There are other cafés along the way up)

               (#5: Be careful if the road forks; 
                just follow the path going up)

                          (#6: Almost there!)

(#7: A bicycle welcomes everyone 

at the entrance of the café!)

If you're a fan of the drama, Coffee Prince, a trip to Sanmootonge is definitely worth the effort. It sets itself apart from all the other cafés in Seoul because, when you're there comfortabley sitting under the cool breezes and surrounded by greeneries, it doesn't feel like you're in the city!

(A life-size, cut-out of the Descendant of the Sun actor awaits your visit at Sanmotoonge)

(My iced cafe mocha pairs perfectly with any cake!)

                       (Coffee, cake, chill!)

(Sanmotoonge's location on the hillside affords a spectacular view of a different Seoul)

(The lower level balcony of the café has tables 

and umbrellas for a sunnier seat)  

(A café with a view: The Seoul Fortress 

wall snakes up and down Inwangsan)

We started with a yummy lunch and ended up with coffee, cakes, and chat! A perfect day, indeed!

So, if you're in Seoul and wanted a different take on the city, a lunch at Tong-in Market and a coffee afternoon at Sanmotoonge would be a perfect break!

Enjoy! :-)

(We stumbled upon this EXO bus on our way back.)

EXO's Chanyeol: from COEX to CIBO!

         (The Korea World Trade Center 
               is above the COEX Mall)

Although I always hear them singing on the alleyways of Myeongdong and see them dancing on TV, the first time I actually bumped into EXO was at Incheon International Airport. And they weren't singing or dancing. They were running away from their screaming fans!

And I thought that was the last time I saw them. 

  (Anna's EXO favorite member, Chanyeol)

Before I flew back home for Christmas, I dropped by what K-pop fans would call their 'playground', SMTown, which has a shop, a theater and other facilities that all constitute a version of a K-pop theme park of sorts. This place must be hallowed grounds for the fans of EXO, TVXQ, SHINee, Super Junior and other k-pop bands. 

              (Shinee's shiny things)

              (EXO members' shirts)

But I wasn't there to watch or listen to these bands, whose management surely knows how to tickle the fans into buying their music CDs and tickets to their concerts. 

I was there to get some presents for Anna, an EXO fan in Manila. Since she's a fan of EXO's Chanyeol, I got her a big photo of Chanyeol and EXO CD. But since CDs whose cover was Chanyeol were all sold out, I only was able to get her Sehun's CD.

At the shop, I noticed some Korean and Japanese fans who all seemed giddy and excited just for being in a place full of their favorite idol's souvenirs and memorabilia. They couldn't seem to decide which item to buy, or why k-pop band member to bring home!

And speaking of going home, when I was finally back in Manila, I met up with Anna at CIBO restaurant at Shangri-La Plaza. 

And over our favorite farfalle alla genovese and funghi trifolati pizza, Anna finally met EXO's Chanyeol who all came all the way from COEX and now, to CIBO.

             (SMTown at COEX in Seoul)

A few years back, Bae Yong-Joon of Winter Sonata korean drama came all the way from Seoul to Mary Grace café, this time, it's EXO's Chanyeol who travelled some 2,600 kilometers from Seoul to Manila.

        (EXO's Chanyeol sitting at CIBO)

Last night, EXO had a concert in Manila, and I'm sure, along with thousands of K-pop fans, Anna and her friends had fun singing and dancing while watching their favorite Korean boy band, not just on TV or on Youtube, but live on stage!

(By the way, congratulations to Cibo's Margarita Fores for being named 2016 Best Female Chef in Asia!)

EXO And Their Fans @ Incheon!

(The Philippine flag and other nations' flying with the summer      breeze at the entrance of Incheon International Airport)


Summer time in Korea is always about vacation. And last July 4, I joined thousands of locals (other international passengers) in flying out of the Incheon International Airport for a break. It's always a good habit to get to the airport hours before one's flight to avoid the rush. Earlier that day, I already checked in online for my flight so I could queue up at the express lane and wouldn't worry about spending much time surrendering my luggage; I just needed to make time for the security check and Immigration.

("Flying To The Future' sculpture at 

 Incheon International Airport)

But when I alighted from my airport limousine bus, my attention was momentarily distracted by some passengers running outside the building. I thought they must have been very late that they had to sprint to catch their flight. I then realized there was something wrong with the picture: these 'passengers' didn't have any bag or luggage; they were all girls, of the same age and...they had cameras! 

And being someone who's always on the look-out for a good shot, I knew that these girls weren't running to catch a flight.  They were after a celebrity catching a flight! Ha-ha-ha!

      (I would have wanted to do the 'x'-marks-the-spot 
                                 thing on EXO.)

                    (No one wants to cross the street)

As I continued to push my trolley to enter the building, a few more teenage girls ran past me. While most of them were dashing towards another gate, there was one chubby girl with a light-blue hair (yes, I think it was blue!), had a big camera, and was walking slowly while catching her breath. I asked her who was she running after; she just ignored me. I guess she was so focused on her objective and didn't want to be distracted. 

And from where I was standing, I could see what the running was all about: from the far side of the entrance were a few boys (one I think had a blonde hair) waiting to cross the street and from the other side were a lot of girls waiting for those boys to cross the street! I had to take a picture. The scene looked funny: the group of boys stood at one side waiting to cross, while the girls with cameras eagerly awaiting for those boys to cross over, but definitely not wanting to get closer to their idols by stepping into lane, lest they want to be run over by an airport limousine bus that just dropped off passengers, charging them KRW15,000 each. Ha-ha-ha!

The scene screamed (pun intended!) k-pop boy band and their devoted fans!

                            (Fans and paparazzi)

                             (Fans running after EXO)

I just took a couple of photos of them and then headed to my check-in counter. But when I entered the building, the chaos inside was more like a k-pop concert crowd...without the singing and dancing! Even though I was a good distance away from that chaos, I could hear the raised voices of the security guards. And as I was passing by an information desk, I had to ask the Korean lady at the counter what was the commotion all about. She just said two syllables: eks-oh. 

Oh. It's EXO!  Finally, I found out who's actually causing these girls to run around the airport. 

(Fans dispersing. EXO must have gotten inside already.)

So, if you were one of those girls chasing after EXO (not sure if it was EXO-K or EXO-M?) that evening I am sure you were able to catch a glimpse of your favorite boy-band, or even have their photo. But I wondered: did you have to drive down to Incheon, or did you take train or the airport bus, too? If these fans were from Seoul, the drive or a ride to Incheon International Airport is about an hour, and the bus costs about KRW15,000 (that's what I paid), and the subway costs about KRW 3,300. And that's just one-way. But I guess, being fans, these girls couldn't care less about the cost or the classes they skipped at school. All they wanted was to see their favorite boy band in person, take their photos and wish them bon voyage on their flight out of the country. After all, concert tickets would cost more, and the seat would have been a kilometer away from the stage. Here at Incheon, it's almost free and your idol is just a scream away.

When I was done entrusting my luggage to the nice Korean lady at the counter, everything seemed to have quieted down. EXO must have already entered the security check gate as their fans started to disperse. 

From then on, everything seemed normal again. Just passengers, luggage and plane tickets. 

                  (Fans going up the food courts to get a 
                                last glimpse of EXO)