Ya Kun Kaya Toast 아쿤

I’m not a caffeine addict. I can get through a day without caffeine.

But I’m a Teh-C/Teh addict. I think I like the condensed milk more than the tea. It’s not uncommon for me to tell ask for “ka-dai”. When I was temping at Citibank, the lady working at the Paragon’s Yakun can even remember my order (because no one ask for ka-dai) ;p

Since I landed in Korea 8 weeks ago and had to wake up early to go to school, I have been craving for my Teh-C/Teh. I tried drinking their latte but it’s not the same. I’ll be awake but it’s a grouchy-excited kind of awake. With my tea, I am everythingok-excited kind of awake.

ANYWAYS!

Been wanting to visit the Yakun Ya Kun here since forever~ But they are rather out of the place. The nearest is at City Hall but it’s not just nearby or along the way.

Ya Kun in Korea – What you need to know

Compared to Singapore, it’s ridiculously expensive. But given that it’s hard to find Singapore food here, I think it’s pretty okay. And when you are having teh-withdrawal, it’s totally worth it. I guess the higher price is because the kaya, the condensed milk and the kopi beans?

The choices for drinks are pretty limited. They have more of Americano, Lattes and the likes. There’s a Yakun Coffee (Kopi) and Yakun Tea (Teh). They are about KRW 3400 (SGD 4.20)  and KRW 3600 (SGD 4.50). The cold ones are slightly more expensive.

In terms of toast, the variety is almost the same as SG. There’s kaya, butter sugar, cheese, peanut butter and etc. But if you want cheese, peanut butter etc, you can have it at any other bakeries in Korea. Price for kaya toast and butter sugar toast is about KRW 3300 (SGD 4).  For the toast, they use exactly the same bread as SG ❤  The serving is smaller though. In SG, we get about 4 big pieces…but in Korea, it’s 2 big pieces cut into 4 bite-sized pieces. Personally I like the smaller serving and bite-sized pieces (neater to eat and more butter)! 😀

Soft boiled eggs are also available at KRW 700 (SGD 0.90). I am guessing it’s just one egg though.

There are sets too (: But if you want your set to come with kopi or teh, you need to order the set with Yakun Tea or Yakun Kopi explicitly stated. Otherwise, you get your toast with Americano/Latte. Weird. Prices as follows –

Egg Kaya Toast with Yakun Tea  – KRW 6800 (SGD 8.50)
Yakun Tea Toast Set – KRW 6200 (SGD 7.70)
Yakun Coffee Toast Set – KRW 6500 (SGD 8)

So far, I have only been to 2 outlets – LIG @ Hapjeong and Gangnam Station Branch (아쿤강남역점)

LIG Hapjeong store (Kaya Toast – Yes, Teh/Kopi – No)

Went with YiQi when she was here a few weeks ago. Was disappointed that –

– The branding wasn’t there. Can’t even find the trademark logo that we are so familiar with.
– Even though Yakun Tea and Yakun Coffee was on the menu, they are not available 😦
– Sitting area was way too tiny. More like a takeout counter catering to the office folks upstairs.

The only redeeming point was I had kaya toast after so long! And I was sick then so having familiar food was extra nice (:

NEXT!

Gangnam Station Branch 아쿤강남역점 (Kaya Toast – Yes, Teh/Kopi – YES!)

Was heading to the study cafe (more about it later) today and decided to pop by the Ya Kun there. There’s about 3 branches there – 1 near the station, 1 at the SK Building and 1 at Gangnam Financial Centre. I went to the one near the station.

To avoid disappointment, before I ordered anything, I asked if they had Ya Kun Tea. When the lady said yes, I must have brightened up cos the lady smiled too. I think from then on, she knew I was from Singapore 😀 She was extra nice!

finally after 8 weeks! (:

I was pretty down and tired but when I opened the cup and smelled it, I can feel my “energy” flowing back. I kid you not. Everything was brighter 😀 I was so emo-nemo before and the overcast sky didn’t help. But with Teh, everything is okay! I think the lady behind the counter saw me smelling my Teh and laughed. Haha!

Here’s the directions –

– Take the train to Gangnam Station (Line 2).
– Head for Exit 9.
– Walk straight, you will walk pass a bus stop: Gangnam Station, Gangnam Station Sageori (ID: 22-167)
– Just keep walking straight and in less than a minute, you will see the familiar Ya Kun sign smiling at you! 😀

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So yup. That’s it (: Now that I have my first taste of Teh again, I am craving for it again T_T Being here in Seoul has kinda turn me into an unwillingly coffee drinker. Teh, I will come for you again! (: Maybe I’ll try out the City Hall branch. 2 more weeks and I will be back in SG. How time flies….I haven’t even started playing. Sigh.

Rubber Duck Project – Seoul

While planning to ‘visit’ the Rubber Duck, I needed to dig quite a bit before I found out where it was located. So here’s the short quick version (:

Where is the duck?
It’s currently living at Seokchon Lake (석촌호수) @ Songpa Naru Park (송파나루공원).

The park is opposite Lotte World, close to Avenue L and the newly opened Lotte World Mall.

quack!

How to get there?

It’s pretty simple (:

1. Take a train to Jamsil Station (Line 2)
2. Take Exit 2
3. Follow the crowd.

I’m serious! I was there on a weekend and we didn’t even have to ask for directions! Just followed the crowd to the lake and viola! Duckie! (:

But just in case (and luck is on your side) there’s no crowd for you to follow….

4. Turn left and walk straight. You will walk pass a bicycle place and walk under a temporary shelter.

5. Cross the traffic light (you will see the huge Lotte mascot on the opposite street on your right, constructions on your side of the street/left).

6. Turn left and keep walking straight. It feels like you are walking in a construction site but just turn (:

7. DUCKIE!!!

Visually…it looks like this –

map.

map.

Alternatively, you can walk through Avenue L and the newly opened Lotte World Mall (:

There’s a Rubber Duck Project Shop somewhere in the park too. Merchandise like rubber ducks (duh!), badge, post card and bath toys (4 ducks + a net) can be purchased there. Opened till 7pm (I think).

What else can you do there?

Shopping. Really.

Lotte World Mall has an aquarium so you can check it out. Entrance fee is about 15 000 won. Pororo is also there!

i want that donut!

i want that donut!

There is also a Totoro/Spirited Away shop selling merchandises at B1 (:

i don't watch totoro but jumped in anyway ;p i love "Spirited Away" though!

i don’t watch totoro but jumped in anyway ;p i love “Spirited Away” though!

AvenueL reminds me of Ion Orchard. LV was opposite Chanel on the first floor with Cartier tucked away in the corner.Waaay too familiar. Haha! It’s…atas. There’s even a grand staircase GOLD staircase leading to the 2nd floor (and for you to take pictures with).

cant get any more tacky.

cant get any more tacky.

so yup! That’s about it! Good luck though. Ducky was so “jet lagged” on the first day that it “fell asleep” on the job. HAHAHAH!

Cherry Blossoms in Korea (:

Now that spring is almost here, I am seeing more hits on my posts about planning a trip to Korea.Yes, I left the series hanging for a really long time. Maybe this post will kick me out of my inertia? ;p Here’s to hoping!

Anyways, the beginning of Spring is usually also the time for…CHERRY BLOSSOMS! Yayyy! Cherry blossoms are hard to catch though. So hopefully, this post will shine some light for light?

When is the best period to go?

Tricky questions. I have been to Korea 3 times. Once at the start of April (7 April 2012) and twice at the end of April (21 April 2011 and 26 April 2013). And…..I never did catch the cherry blossoms in full bloom! URGH.

But from experience, I think planning a trip that spans from the 2nd to the 3rd week of April would be the safest. Cos during my 2012 trip there, I was there for 10 days and  on the day that I was flying back, the cherry blossoms are in FULL BLOOM. It’s true. We saw it on the TV on our last day.

(Of course, the full bloom date tend to shift from year to year. Keep a lookout on KTO Facebook page for the official date (: 2014 date is out – check it out!)

Where is the best place to view cherry blossoms?

I’ll get to that in a bit but in the meantime….

If you have already planned your trip and it’s in early April, try to head to Busan (: The blossoms there are out much earlier. I saw them in bloom in my 2012 trip! (Let me know if the pictures aren’t showing up!)

along a street in Busan.

on the Busan City Tour bus. the blossoms are just right next to us!

And IF your trip is towards the end of April, then….you can try heading to Namsan Park. My tour guide during my 2011 trip brought us to this area near the entrance of Namsan Park (I think) and it was magical!

they were already falling.

my 1st time seeing cherry blossoms!

Or you can head to Lotte World or Everland. I heard their blossoms “stays longer” as well.

You can also try your luck at the palaces. During my trip last year, we were too late 😦 But we managed to catch some at the entrance of Gyeongbuk Palace (:

me and ber with the last few stalks of blossoms. imagine if it’s in full bloom!

The best place for cherry blossoms? 

JINHAE JINHAE JINHAE!

I’ve never been there myself but the photos on Instagram were super duper pretty! I couldn’t go there during any of my trips cos the blossoms are either gone or the itinerary was so pack, we couldn’t fit it in 😦

I did tell my ex-colleague who is making a trip to Korea in April to go there. So hopefully he can squeeze it into his itinerary and take some awesome photos.

how pretty is this!! photo from: boomsbeat.com via google

You can go to Jinhae from either Busan or Seoul by either bus or train. Heard that traffic can be quite bad during the Jinhae Festival though. But I’m sure it will be worth it! I’m afraid I can’t provide more details about getting there cos I’ve never been there 😦 But here’s the official route recommended by KTO –

[BUS] Take an intercity bus to Jinhae (진해).
From Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal, go 30m forward and turn right onto Jungwondong-ro (중원동로) Road.
Go 350m forward, and stay left at the fork.
Go 230m forward to arrive at the festival venue.

OR

[TRAIN]
Take a train to Jinhae Station (진해역).
From Jinhae Station, go 640m forward to arrive at the festival venue.

Alternatively, you can click here and read about it on discoveringkorea.com

The Jinhae Gunhangje Festival is from 1-10 April. Do pop by if you are there!

Another place to take photos…

Yeouido! You can rent a bike and cycle through the cherry blossoms streets. Sigh. Won’t it be nice?

Other things to do in Spring…

For a list of festivals in Korea, please click here.

You can also head to Everland! I think Spring is tulip festivals there (: The number of tulips is amazing. You really can’t help but smile when you see them.

from 2011 trip (:

Oh and…In Jeju…You can see fields of these (no idea what they are. magnolia?) –

sho pretty!

Sigh. It feels kind of weird to be not going to Korea during this period 😦

I AM COMING FOR YOU, AUTUMN IN KOREA! FIGHTING!

things i miss about Korea…

Apart from my delicious 바나나 우유 (Banana Milk) –

@ Busan back in 2012!

I miss the train stations. No, not the many many steps. But the train announcements!

much more accurate than ours!

Oh. And I miss the hearing the chime/melody that plays when a train is nearing the station. Can’t seem to video of that. Note to self: Do a recording the next time.

I also miss the TV ads. The very silent TV ads. None of the noisy attention grabbing ones we have on TV.

I remember this was playing repeatedly when I was in Korea in 2012.

I think I saw this when I was in Korea back in April.

I miss the closeness of modernity and traditional. 

Seoul 2013.

There’s something about palaces that I find fascinating (: I love palaces! I can spend the entire day there and explore every single palace again and again!

I miss slurping on ramen in cold cold weather!

cheese ramen! NOMS!

Oh! This too!

먹쉬돈나!

And I think most of all…I miss being a tourist! 

@ The Secret Garden, Seoul 2012

@ Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul 2013

Nothing beats the wonders of discovery (:

It’s only been 6 months and yet it feels like it’s been eons. 한국아~ 보고 싶어!

On the side, I should really continue my “Planning a Trip to Seoul” series soon ;p