I like it in the city when two worlds collide

I’d been planning a Busan trip early this year, looking up accommodations with private pools and walking-distance access to beaches. I could sightsee a little and make sure I always had a great meal, but it was going to be a staycation above anything else. Maybe I could even write a little. 

Plans changed when my cousin decided to join me on this trip, and I chose Seoul (yes, again) instead so there would be way more places to check out since it was going to be her first time. 

May 27

We got in at 6 a.m. from a red-eye and couldn’t check in until 10 a.m., so we headed over to Yeouido Hangang Park. We sat at one of the tables outside the CU on the river cruise dock, which became another instant secret spot for me that I’ll be seeking out whenever I’m in the city. It’s cheap and quiet—in the morning, at least—and it brings you so close to the water. 

After settling at the hotel we set out for Anguk Station. Dotori Garden has been on my list for quite some time, but it was out of the way and not very accessible by train so I always put it off. I don’t know why I never noticed that they’ve had an Anguk branch all along, but I finally clued in and made sure it was the first place I went. 

On the way I got a Handmade Coke from this trendy cafe called Onion, which also had a lot of baked goods on display that looked delicious. The drink was light and super refreshing, made with coffee along with certain fruits, flavoring, and spices, and did taste very much like a better cola. I’m kind of craving it right now just typing this. 

I got some squirrel-shaped cookies, a cream cheese canelé, and of course a chocolate acorn madeleine. It was so soft and dense and rich. 

The whole place was absolutely charming. All of the customers were out in the garden, but there was this room just off the entryway that was empty but perfectly cold. Summer was already pretty much in full force in Seoul and I was happy to have my little treats while I got to cool off. We had to leave a little too soon for my liking, but when I’m back on a solo trip I’d love to just spend a whole afternoon here. 

We walked around Bukchon, stopping by an open house at the Traditional Culture Center. There were so many little shops run by artists and artisans, and I got a whole handful of art prints at this cool illustrator space. 

First-day eats: Bonjuk & Bibimbap Cafe’s jangjorim butter bibimbap, which is soy-braised beef with an insane, deep explosion of buttery flavor. A mini four-cheese “Chicago pizza” from 7-Eleven that was very good. And dinner at Sushiro, where my favorites were the salt and lemon salmon nigiri and the special unagi nigiri. We also tried the excellent mandu from downstairs. 

May 28 

We had lunch at Rolling Pasta, and I ordered the steak cream pasta. Just very nice, very decadent cozy coddle-y comfort food.

I was excited to go to the postcard store in Seongbuk, and even better, the fountain plaza was right by the subway station. We saw ducks and even a beautiful grey heron along the stream. I once again had to wonder what it would do for my mental health if I lived in a city with this much access to public parks and bodies of water and, like, just nice places to go for a walk and sit outside. 

But that wasn’t even the best part of this neighborhood. That would be Chaekbonyang, the cat bookstore a ten-minute walk away. It’s on a pretty steep slope, with a wooden gate that creaks open to signal your arrival. There are sweet little knick-knacks everywhere. You’re welcomed by the kind shopkeeper, who asks you to take your shoes off before you enter—and by the two resident cats. 

Haro, who has an adorable one-sided overbite.

And Hadong. 

I just know the book selection must be great and I would’ve loved to buy some, but there didn’t seem to be any English editions available. I bought a few souvenir cards instead with really cute art. 

I went off on my own so I could rest before going to the CGV across the street to watch Backrooms (it was so interesting to note some of the translation choices from the subtitles I could read and understand). We met back up later to have gelato for dessert. I got Fanta chocolate chip, which seemed to be vanilla with chocolate-covered bits of grape Fanta but kind of chewy but also crunchy and raisin-y? It was fine.

May 29

I noticed immediately that the Lotteria near the hotel, which is a major part of the reason I even stay there, was closed. I thought it was gone forever, but it was only being renovated and set to reopen in July. But still: that meant no quick saunters to simple, fuss-free cheeseburger bliss.

I had to go all the way to one station over for my fix. I ordered the burnt beef burger: squid-ink bun that looks like Rey’s portion bread (ugh just making a sequel trilogy reference makes me want to scrunch my nose up), cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, and brown butter oil. It was good, but I still like the classic cheeseburger better. 

I met up with Ate Inah in Gangnam at the Platform-L Art Center to see the Haruki Murakami exhibit. 

It was a very full, dynamic experience. They had us moving across rooms, crossing the terrace overlooking the open area, and climbing to the next floor. Whenever you think it might be over, you’ll be informed that the exhibit continues here, and now here, and now the basement, and now the other basement that wasn’t even accessible from the previous elevator. 

It featured art pieces by Korean artists inspired by his work, sections about how he lives (how he writes, his favorite meals, his affinity for cats, the places associated with him), and drawings by his late friend and collaborator Mizumaru Anzai. 

The centerpiece was easily this walk-on glass shelf full of books by and related to Murakami in lamp form. 

This section at the very basement was an interpretation of a jazz bar, with visual projections on the screen and curated music playing. Guests are invited to sit on the floor, including some bean bags, presumably able to stay until it was time to close. It reminded me of one of my favorite places that I came to collect when I was depressed and freelancing, a now-gone art gallery in Karrivin with a small theater that would play films and videos related to the current exhibition. 

We had dinner at Rentei, a quaint little izakaya-style joint specializing in udon. 

We sat at the counter and I ordered the tobiko cream udon. Cream-based noodle dishes with white onion  remain superior. 

May 30

Mint Choco World is another Seoul favorite that I’ve been putting off since it’s not as easy to get to and I was letting my social anxiety get to me. But today I finally bit the bullet. 

Half my motivation for going was getting to see all kinds of minty desserts they’ve thought up.

Ultimately I got a chocolate latte with mint soft-serve, an eclair, a dark chocolate cookie with the perfect hint of mint, and a mint chocolate Dubai chewy cookie. I’ve been a mint chip girl since I was little, so I loved everything. They’ve perfected mint chocolate like an art—none of it was cloying and it was always the right amount of sweet. 

The girl at the counter was very friendly and I just had such a nice time. It wasn’t too crowded, but I loved getting to watch couples and pairs of friends come in and enjoy their treats while wholesome pop of decades past (“I Just Called to Say I Love You”) played over the speakers.

Mint Choco World is in the Mapo neighborhood of Yeonnam, which I found trendy artsy and brunch-y. So many intriguing cafes and places to eat. On a Saturday afternoon there weren’t very many cars on the street, and the center of it is lined with trees. I’m definitely coming back.

I took a cab to the Olive Young across the street from my hotel to get something for a friend. On the way I was really craving a pizza, wanting to relive the four-cheese from 7-Eleven. And a short walk from Olive Young was this little kiosk selling takeout boxes of square pizza slices out of a window! I got the cheese and the garlic cream with potato fries (it was So Much in the best zaniest way and so soft to the bite). 

Ate Inah had also gotten me garlic bread with light, airy cream cheese from Garlic Boy at Gwangjang Market, and it was a dream. 

At around 8 p.m. I had this last-minute impulse to see the Han River at night, so I went ahead and did just that. The park was full of people holding picnics, but I walked past them all until I was at the edge of the dock. There were people on neon-lit jet skis splashing each other and doing tricks while the people beside me cheered them on. 

I put in my earphones and listened to “Safety Zone” (naturally), and then Adele’s “Hometown Glory.” The moment very much felt like the verse after the first chorus come to life—but also like the scene just before the song plays on Skins, when Cassie tries to belong on a night out by a river in a city very far from home. 

I met up with Ate Inah at around 10 so we could go for Korean BBQ. They had great mandu and mini burger patties, and of course the samgyeopsal and the beef paired with rice was phenomenal. I don’t think I’ve gone for K-BBQ in Manila in years, but I want to go again one of these days. 

I got too full too soon as I often do, but I couldn’t think of a better way to end our Seoul trip. 

I only know the recipe to roam: (Almost) everything I ate in Osaka

In college I experienced the worst blowup I will ever have with my parents. I had fucked up my education and I’d been hiding it from them, and they had never been so disappointed in me. It had felt like the end of the world at the time. 

Days later my mom took me to what was then a new restaurant called Dohtonbori. The interiors were fun and there was a tabletop grill at every booth where you could cook your okonomiyaki yourself. It was here that we tentatively patched things up, that she did the kindest, most loving, most quintessentially mom thing she could do and welcomed me back into her arms with a smile. I’m pretty sure I was bawling in public from the gratitude. 

I don’t think I could ever imagine what it was like for them to let that anger go and treat me with grace and comfort, even after what I’d done. But all they ever really wanted to do was love me. 

I thought back to this day a lot as I ate my way through the real Dotonbori ten years later. How I would’ve told them about the food, maybe even how we would’ve experienced it together the way we did at that restaurant. And even though they weren’t really there, I carried them everywhere. 

The place I immediately went for the day I arrived was Sushiro. I had the limited-time basil mozzarella salmon, uni rolls, and the adorable and slightly silly hamburg steak sushi. The mozzarella tempura was addictive and they had a promo with Puppet SunSun, so I chose a drink order that came with a little puppet charm. 

I chose to include the daily breakfast at my hotel since I really liked the food when I first stayed here, and it was worth the splurge and waking up early. The daily menus had so much more variety than I thought possible. Fried skewers, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki, bacon and scrambled eggs, baked beef belly with loads of onions (I have no idea how they made it so flavorful), grilled chicken with lemon sauce, mini hamburg patties in demiglace, penne in different tomato sauces, shepherd’s pie, karaage, grilled salmon, mackerel, tiny pizza with different toppings, tiramisu and kiwi cake for dessert.

Karaksa Hotel is really the only choice for me in Osaka. The shower is decently sized and separate from the toilet, which I’ve really had to dig for when browsing places to stay in Japan. The location is perfect (if not all that close the nearest subway entrance). The doors are magnetic and the Do Not Disturb signs are magnets. Best of all: they offer free refreshments all day from the fancy touchscreen dispenser and there’s a microwave you can use any time for leftover food or konbini finds. Even better: they have boxes that you can use to pack shopping hauls and food instead of buying/bringing an extra suitcase, and they even let you borrow tape to seal it. (There’s also a service for shipping the boxes to your address, but I chose to check in mine.) 

In Umeda I stopped at a food court and ordered mentaiko pasta at a place called Pesca. The noodles were super al dente and thinner than regular spaghetti, and the sauce was creamy and lemony and just slightly briny with loads of soft, chunky salmon. 

For dinner that night I had another pasta, this time a plate of carbonara from Saizeriya. I liked the unlimited drink bar, and the pasta itself was salty and eggy. 

I was finally reunited with the true love of my life, ramune-flavored Skal, and it was just as good as I remember. My other konbini favorites: cheesy chicken nuggets from Lawson and their blue mint chip ice cream, the coffee jelly that’s Hoseok’s favorite and that Aya had reminded me to get, ready-to-drink iced honey latte, and the chocolate chip scone from Family Mart. 

I also managed to grab Snoopy-shaped treats that were supposed to be for White Day, and I’m still thinking about that thin chocolate-covered Wittamer cookie the kind stranger had given me at Art House.

Another place I’d been wanting to check out was Bikkuri Donkey. I got the hamburg steak with cheese sauce, and it was fun eating it with chopsticks (the texture of the rice and meat were perfect) while basking in the cozy, slightly dark interiors of the basement.

I wanted to have authentic yakisoba for lunch, but the place was still closed, so I crossed the street to Lawson and chanced upon this omusoba instead. The sauce was sweet and salty and I loved the richness added by the egg and creamy mayo. I will probably look back on this for years. 

For my last lunch, I went back to Sushiro. The cheese and mayo seared salmon was great, but the best I had there was definitely the cheesy seared eel. The cut was the perfect thinness and the burst of flavor from the hidden dollop of unagi sauce is core memory material. 

I got to order real street yakisoba for dinner. The noodles were flat and springy and it was topped with thin strips of wagyu beef. I held the plastic bag of takeout in my hand as I took my final walk around Dotonbori—the weight of it a promise that I still had something new to look forward to even after saying goodbye to it all.