Sunday, February 16, 2014

Korean Winter D2: Fixing My Hair and Cafe Sukkara 머리 하기와 카페 수카라

I cannot resist getting my hair fixed in Korea because majority of the salons are better than those available in Singapore~ ^^ And my hair was in a horrible state at that time, so I had to make a trip!

하연 언니 and I searched on coupon websites to choose a good salon the previous night. These coupon websites like Coupang offer lots of good deals and bundles for products and services from food to beauty and even travelling~ Unfortunately they require an identification number in Korea for registration, so you've got to have a Korean friend to help you buy stuff if you're just travelling there for a short while without the alien registration number.

After being unable to decide for a long time, we finally picked out one that looked decent in Hongdae. Sorry but I realised I totally forgot to note the name of the salon or take a picture of it. Oops.

It was a morning appointment and so we set off early.


Dreamy 우장산 동네 Ujangsan Neighbourhood~ (:


I miss walking along this street every morning.


Morning subway.


Quiet and calm Hongdae, the lively partying district, a rare scene only seen in the morning!

I wanted to perm my hair again, but I sort of already expected I couldn't because it was spoilt. Yes, spoilt hair, it was that bad. Obviously my hairdresser suggested treatment and coating to save my spoilt hair.

We were given lockers to put our stuff and coats and we put on a sort of gown. The staff gave great service and even tea and snacks were served. Not very common in Singapore!


After a little more than an hour, my hair was done! It definitely looked heaps more alive and healthy than the frizzled mess it was an hour ago. Yay~



I left 하연 언니 who was still getting her hair done to wander around for the rest of the day because she wasn't free that day.

It was time for lunch and I was hungry~ I initially wanted to visit Cook and Book, a cafe with good reviews of their vegan meals and desserts, but when I reached the place it wasn't there anymore!! ㅠㅠ They either closed or moved...

Thus I decided to go to another cafe in the Hongdae area called Sukkara. It's an organic cafe serving healthy cuisine with a few vegan and vegetarian options.

Finding my way there~



I love all the pretty things you can spot around artsy Hongdae. (:



Oh yes, it was Christmas! There were pretty lighted candles in front of the churches I passed by.

Stupid me took forever to find Sukkara because I didn't realise that I walked past the cafe and kept doubling back and hunting around the area. I was wondering if Sukkara also ceased to exist like Cook and Book...

Starving me finally found it!



Well you can't blame me, the only sign indicating that it was Sukkara was that faint tiny printing on the door please~~


The cafe had a very cozy and chill atmosphere with indie music in the background. Open kitchen concept with a bar in the middle where you can see the drinks and some of the simple food being made.


The Menu!



Good thing is that they indicate whether a dish is vegan or not. But the food here is definitely on the slightly pricier side..


I heard that they served delicious soy tea lattes. Didn't get a chance to try it yet!


I ordered the special menu of the day. Requested to take out the cheese to have a vegan one.


Ta-da~ Rice gratin with soy bechamel sauce (12,000KRW)
Winter cabbage, dried mushrooms, root vegetables and brown rice baked in a creamy plant-based white sauce made from soy milk and brown rice powder. Yuzu flavoured enzyme carrot and radish pickle and chickpea salad on the side.

It was a very warm and welcome meal for a cold and starving me. A decent well-cooked meal but in my honest opinion not very outstanding and worth 12,000KRW... ^^;;

Time to fill the dessert stomach... hehe


A little disappointed cos I was hoping to see the Apple with Steamed Grain Cake I saw on Alien's Day Out that had red bean paste but it wasn't there anymore. ); So I had to settle with something else..

I was so tempted by the pumpkin pudding with cashew cream!! But decided to go with the more special Raw Persimmon Cream Pie. Raw cakes in Korea! I wondered if they were as good as The Living Cafe in Singapore.


Raw Persimmon Cream Pie (7,500KRW)
It did disappoint me actually... oops. It came from the freezer I think because the "cream" part had icy flakes in it, not creamy. The nut taste was stronger than the persimmon, in fact I couldn't really taste persimmon... Crust was a tad too sweet and on the chewy side. Conclusion, The Living Cafe in Singapore really produces waaay better raw cakes and at a slightly cheaper price!

My overall verdict about Sukkara is that the atmosphere is really cool, but the 2 items I tried were well, fine, but not that worth the price tag. I still would give it a chance to try perhaps another vegan dish and their soy drinks before I can totally make my mind up about Sukkara? (:

I chilled out for quite sometime after my late lunch and did some research on what I wanted to do the coming days using the free wifi.

Then I decided to check out 하늘공원 Haneul (Sky) Park next! I had to hurry cos I wanted to reach before the sun sets~! It's quite inconvenient how the sun sets around 5 plus during winter. Bad for photography. (-.-)


Ok I complain but the winter sun is really lovely and romantic for photos. It's soft and golden! ^^


I usually use Naver maps to navigate around Korea cos it's very convenient and better than Google maps obviously since Naver is from Korea. I prefer buses to subways where it is usually more crowded and busy~



Waiting for my bus...

Sukkara
Address: 1F Sanullim Bldg 327-9 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
서울시 마포구 서교동 327-9
Tel: 02-334-5919
Tuesday-Sunday 11am-11pm (Last order 10.30pm)
Lunch 11.30am-3pm
Dinner 6pm-8.30pm
Only drinks and desserts available all day.
Closed on Mondays

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