Insa-dong is a neighborhood in Seoul where you can find some traditional tea houses, handicraft stalls, restaurants, porcelain stores and other cool stuff. It is known because it is both traditional and modern area the same time. An interesting fact is that many shop names are only written in Korean.
I've been there couple of times but it always offers something new to see.
반짝반짝빛나는
I visited a traditional dessert tea house Banjak Banjak Pitnaneun which has really good tea sorbets and other desserts. They have also a room to sit down on a floor the traditional way. The mango dessert was super good, I recommend to try it!
We met a craft master Shin Hyun Choul whose Kwangju Royal family ceramics have been exhibitioned all around the world (also in Finland!). He offered us traditional Korean green tea from his teapots and told about his products. It was very authentic and unforgettable moment drinking the hot tea while hearing some beautiful music!
I enjoyed probably more than six small cups of tea. Didn't mind tho, it was very good!
There are lot of restaurants to have some Korean meal with your company. The prices are not too bad in most of them so even a budget traveler should visit and try some good meal here! In Korea you can always ask 반찬/banchan more without an extra cost. They are small side dishes served along with the main menu. The most famous is probably kimchi which is usually made of seasoned napa cabbage. I tried to make it once in Finland and I thought it was really bad...but the reason was I didn't know how to make it authentically! It's super tasty and most of the people who like spicy food like it as well! I think it's better let the Korean people prepare the kimchi because everywhere else I tried it never tasted as good as here!
A great place so visit is the Green Tea House Osulloc. They have a menu full of different green tea pastries, cakes, drinks, ice cream and anything you wish to try. There was a tea tasting for free which was pretty great! They sell plenty of tea flavors so for tea lovers it's like heaven!
Ssamji-gil is a retail center with four floors of art, crafts and fashion. There you can find unique things to buy or just to see. It's a great place to do some shopping or buy some souvenirs for your family or friends! I found a cool canvas world map which I will bring to Finland.
As you can see, I found something related to Finland for a change. I find it funny that no matter where I go in Korea, I feel like Finland is following me! Such a lovely notebook.
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