Grabbed a cab to our hotel, Hotel Aventree, which was located in the Nampo-dong area where there are a ton of shops, including the big-name Korean cosmetic brands - kind of like the Myeongdong of Busan. More conveniently enough, our hotel was right above a shopping mall.
Room was very new since this hotel only just opened a few months ago.
Lunch at this Korean-Chinese restaurant in the mall below our hotel. Seemed to be quite famous because they had posters of celebrities that had gone to visit.
Finally got to try authentic jajangmyun! Their mandu (Korean dumplings) weren't bad either.
Started to rain quite heavily in the evening, soon after we headed out of our hotel so we had to go back indoors.
Dinner at CoCo Inchibanya since it was just inside the mall our hotel was above and it was still raining.
Kind of had dessert for breakfast this morning.... at the Korean Dessert Cafe. Wanted to go there for dessert after dinner the night before since it was in the same mall but was too full by then.
From what I've read online, this is a very famous chain that first opened in Busan but now has many branches nationwide, including Seoul. Had read about this cafe before coming to Busan but forgot about it, only to find that it was in the mall below my hotel! So convenient.
According to the reviews I've read, the injeolmi toast was supposed to be the best so we got that (right), as well as the honey one (can't really remember its name but its on the left with ice-cream). So sinfully delicious!
I think this salon right opposite the cafe is quite famous? - pictures of celebs all along its walls including the likes of Jay Park and Kim Woo Bin from The Heirs.
My Korean friend Jinhee whom I've known since our foundation days in London lives in Busan and was kind enough to take me around for the day :)
Met her at Shinsegae Departmental Store which is apparently the world's largest, even beating out Macy's in New York. Shinsegae is near the Haeuendae beach area and took around 45mins for us to get there by cab from our hotel. According to my friend, Nampo-dong used to be the place to hang out but Haeundae is quickly taking its place. Haeundae definitely did seem newer and more modern with all the tall buildings clustered in that area.
Spent nearly the whole day just walking around Shinsegae and catching up with Jinhee!
Famous croquette stall in Shinsegae's food hall.
Patbingsu and green tea latte at Twosome+ Coffee.
Naengmyeon (Korean cold noodles in chilled broth) at the food court in Shinsegae. Super refreshing!
Went back to the Korean Dessert Cafe below our hotel for dessert after coming back from Shinsegae.
Finally got to try their Sulbing which they seem to be most famous for! Definitely different from the usual patbingsu but still yummy!
- Injeolmi Sulbing -
DAY 5
Was our last day in Busan so we just roamed around the shops of Nampo-dong since they were right at the doorstep of our hotel.
Thankfully the sun decided to come out on our last day and it didn't rain!
Dumped all of my shopping back in the room and couldn't resist immediately changing into a top I bought from one of the shops..
For lunch we had street food at BIFF (Busan International Film Festival) Square which was only a 2mins walk from our hotel.
By noon the lunchtime crowd started to emerge.
Famous hotteok stall that my friend Jinhee recommended. Apparently Busan is supposed to be famous for hotteok.
You definitely can't miss this stall because it was the most crowded and had a long line snaking all the way around it.
Savoury yet sweet, crispy yet chewy.
Definitely worth the queue!
Nomnomnomming.
Went back to Korean Dessert Cafe to try their red bean sulbing for dessert. I miss this! :(
On the KTX heading back to Seoul!
"Seoul" long, farewell, Busan!
Will definitely go back to Busan the next time I go to Korea because I didn't even get to cover all the places I wanted to visit (i.e. Hauendae beach, Jagalchi Market) due to the rainy weather putting a dampener on my plans and a lack of time.
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Keep a lookout for the next part of my Korea trip soon!
x
