Travel Vertical Vlog

The first stop of our Samcheongdong (삼청동) exploration the next day was Milkcow In Boots, a bread shop that seemed to be popular at the time. The picture of their bread frequently popped up on my Instagram so we decided to check the place out since we happened to pass it by. There was already a line forming in front of the shop and we joined in to wait for our turn. We bought two of their cube bread and a bottle of milk. They also gave us mini cube bread as freebies which Mar immediately tried and said it was just alright (see the vlog for her reaction). And I have to agree with her. I also think it was just alright after I tried the bread when we got home. Not really worth they hype.

After the bread shop, we walked around the area and stopped by a flower stall and decided to buy a small bouquet of flowers for Eun-gyo’s unnie because it was her birthday. We were planning to surprise her with a cake when she gets home from work so birthday cake was the other thing on the list that we needed to buy. Before that could happen though, we passed by Granhand on our way back to the subway station and with Mar being a fan of all things scent related, we naturally stopped by.

Granhand is probably one of my favorite perfume store. They have a wide selection of nice scents and all their stores and products are well-designed. The branch we visited was Granhand Sogyeok (그랑핸드 소격), a small store in one of Samcheongdong’s alleyways. Mar ended up purchasing a bottle of perfume and got her name stamped on the bottle. It’s a complimentary service that they have for customers who want to customize the label of their newly purchased perfume.

After the perfume shopping is done, we encountered a couple of buskers who were singing on the side of the road. I always feel that the buskers at different neighborhoods in Seoul sing or cover different genres of music. While the performances in Hongdae are more well known for its K-pop influence and the ones in Sinchon tend to be on the pop acoustic ballad side (imho), British rock seemed to be the theme in Samcheongdong judging from the ones we encountered tonight. The first singer we saw was singing Sting’s ‘Shape of My Heart’ and the second singer was singing Coldplay’s ‘In My Place’ and ‘The Scientist’. In a sense, it’s nice because you feel, hear and experience different vibes in every neighborhood.

We finally stopped Paris Croissant (파리크라상) to buy the birthday cake for Eun-gyo unnie’s surprise birthday celebration later that night. We were looking at the cake selections on display while discussing in Indonesian which one we should get for her. Suddenly, from behind the counter somebody said, ‘This cake is pretty popular amongst the customers.’ in Indonesian. Of course both of us were super surprised. Not because we met another fellow Indonesian (there were plenty of Indonesian tourists at the time in Seoul), but because we met a fellow Indonesian who works at a Korean store. Even when I was living in Seoul, I don‘t think I’ve ever met an Indonesian who works at a Korean company.

Following her recommendation, we settled on the Strawberry Crepe (딸기 크레이프). She helped us out with our order and we ended up chatting for a bit before I asked her for her Kakao info, suggesting we should hang out sometimes. We did end up hanging out together during my next trip to Seoul and found out that we actually have mutual friends back home in Jakarta. I also later found out that the story of our first encounter at Paris Croissant somehow ended up circulating amongst her coworkers. But instead of the actual incident, the story evolved to another scenario where a guy customer (I guess my short hair could be the reason for the false assumption) asked for her for her contact info because he’s interested in her. It’s so funny and we had a good laugh about it. Anyway, we ended up becoming friends and I hung out with her every time I’m in town, and we still do until today. And that’s the story how I met my friend Winny. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’re probably familiar with her face from my instastories.

After we got home, we quickly set up the cake, candles and cameras and get ready to surprise Eun-gyo unnie when she got home. I was constantly checking my Kakao because Deok-chun oppa was going to text me when they’re close by so we can match the timing. Don’t know why, but both of us were ridiculously nervous for no apparent reason when that text came in and they were about to arrive. But anyway, she came home and we immediately sang (slightly off tune) ‘Happy Birthday’ to her when she walked in. Candles were blown, flowers were given, cake was cut and she was thoroughly surprised and didn’t suspect a thing. So the surprise was a success.

Greysuitcase Travel Series - Seoul Spring '17 - Paris Croissant (파리크라상) Strawberry Crepe (딸기 크레이프), Seoul (서울), South Korea.

Eun-sa unnie later came over and we ordered jjajangmyeong (짜장면) and Nene Chicken (네네치킨) delivery for our super late dinner/supper birthday celebration. And of course we had the birthday cake for desserts afterwards. It was a fun night and Happy Birthday Eun-gyo unnie! :)

Places:

Granhand Sogyeok • 그랑핸드 소격
Address: 서울 종로구 율곡로3길 69
Telephone: 02-333-6525
Hours: Sunday -Thursday 11:30-20:30 | Friday & Saturday 12:00-21:00
Instagram: @granhand_official

Update:
Milkcow In Boots has now closed permanently.