Seoul: 48 hours of LOTS of eating

The last time we went to Seoul was 8 years ago, on our honeymoon.  I remember loving Seoul.  The food was delicious, there was a ton of great shopping, and everything was pretty cheap.  However, in my quest to always find somewhere new, we haven't yet returned.  Then, upon planning this trip to Asia, we figured we might as well squeeze Seoul in, even if it was just for a few days.  So basically we went to Seoul for 2 days to eat, see some of the family (only a small portion as we were extremely limited on time), and then eat some more before heading home!  It was a glorious 2 days!  Here's a quick recap:

First, we landed in Seoul and found our hotel (Glad Mapo) which happened to be one of the nicest hotels that we'd been to!  Unfortunately for us, we only had about 4 hours to sleep before Will's aunt, two cousins, and one of the cousin's boyfriend picked us up for an entire day of family time!  They have a dog that they're obsessed with (we can relate) so the dog came along and we drove outside of Seoul to a dog friendly restaurant.  We went to a restaurant that was outdoors but "on the water" which means it is basically on a creek and you can grill outside and consequently, you can bring your dog.  Lucky for us, finding this dog friendly restaurant also meant that we ended up with the most delicious lunch.  It was SO good.

 

Afterwards, we drove to a really nice and fancy dog park where we got some drinks and watched the dog run around and play.

Afterwards, we dropped off the dog (and Will's male cousin), and went to a virtual sports arcade type place where they had all kinds of sport simulation games.  It was silly and fun but I loved how Will's family was totally up for it!

 

Then, we went to a traditional Korean restaurant that was known for their ginseng chicken soup which is one of my favorite homestyle Korean dishes.  It was delicious!

Afterwards, they took us to get dessert before dropping us off at our hotel.  Koreans do not mess around with food in general, but especially desserts.  I mean, seriously?! Look at those desserts!  They were HUGE and all SO good!  It was the perfect end to a full but super fun day with the family.  It was so fun spending time with them and so nice of them to give up an entire day to show us around.  

 

Now, believe it or not, even after all of that food, Will and I wanted a late night snack.  It wasn't so much that we were hungry but more that we were worried our trip was too short and we were going to end it without getting the chance for Korean fried chicken.  Since I am such a huge BonChon fan, I had to try the fried chicken in Korea.  We saw a "KyoChon" really close to our hotel and it was known to have awesome chicken so we got some wings to go and brought them back to eat in our comfy hotel bed, in our robes.  I know, I'm ridiculous.  Now, my official verdict:  While the chicken was good, it has nothing on Bon Chon.  I guess I'm just a Bon Chon loyalist for life!

 After a restful sleep, we got up for our second day in Seoul.  We explored a bunch of different areas like Namdaemun Market and the Myeongdong market.  We ate a yummy lunch and delicious snacks.

Then, we went to Seokchon lake to see the "Kaws" sculpture exhibit (the largest Kaws display) at the Lotteworld tower.  We were too cheap to pay to go to the top but the building was TALL.  Like as in the 5th tallest building in the world.

 

Then, to end our time in Seoul, we met up Nam, Will's friend from elementary school (growing up in Virginia), to have dinner.  He was a super nice guy and it was fun catching up with another one of Will's childhood friends.  After dinner, Will and I got one last dessert on our own and then it was time to pack and head home!