New Beginnings!

It's official. I will be calling Seoul home for the next chapter (not sure how long that will be though ;p) of my life!

To date my blog posts in Seoul have been snippets of this and that.
However as I am calling the city my home, I will go back to my usual format which is
"the search for the perfect brew"!

Wish me luck and keep visiting as I sniff out this city!

Italiano in Korea

I've been actually quite impressed with Italian restaurants in Seoul.
I do think it's a lot better quality than Italian I'm used to on the coast because
A) It's less salty and greasy
B) There seems to be generally more variety
C) Presentation of dishes and restaurants are par excellence
D) Lunch prices are around $20 for two to eat their heart out.

So here is a collection of dishes I've had at a couple of Italian places here.
Wasn't a huge Italian fan back home, but here I could do with a pasta and pizza maybe once a fortnight.
A humorous sight is that instead of Kimchi, they offer pickles in dainty bite sizes. It amuses me a great deal!

Sorak mountain and surroundings

A weekend away at Sorak Mountain was the perfect antidote to the city blues.
Some fresh sashimi as well as seafood pancakes cooked on the spot and consumed outside after a couple of hours of trekking was where it was at.

Lake Cafe

A cafe known for its trendiness as well as its gourmet morsels in the heart of Varsity hub. This uppity cafe caters for all tastebuds from humble students to yuppies about town.

Ambience
Placed by the water (albeit an artificial lake), it's scenic and peaceful on the outside. On the inside it's all very modern, hip and decorative in a minimalist sort of way.

 Food
I've only dined here for brunch and lunch but both times I was impressed by the presentation foremost. Tasted was satisfactory but I must say there was a bit of a discrepancy between visits. One time cinnamon toast was perfection, the other, just a bit soggy. However I have noticed this issue among many cafes that serve cinnamon toast, not so popular except with me. Other morsels had here were all nice but nothing extraordinary in terms of taste.
Main meals can be pricey but brunch prices are much the same  elsewhere on the coast and although it's not housed by the beach, it's a tranquil atmosphere.

Elk take two

Because I liked it so much the first time, went back to Elk for the second time (okay, third of fourth time, but I was without my trusty camera on repeat visits).

I don't need words to garnish the delishness! Refer to my first blog post on Elk for more detail. I am about 10000kilometres away from the Gold Coast right now, and of a few select things I miss about the sunny coast, this place and Vintage will have to be on top of the list.