Hey! I turned 22 yesterday! Can you guess what song has been stuck in my head the whole day? I hadn't thought about my birthday all year and didn't plan on anything, but as the days crept closer and closer to the 5th, I started to think, maybe I should do something! Your girl doesn't turn 22 everyday after all. But nothing that involved a giant hangover in the morning (pls). That's when Sharon called to see if I wanted to check out Common Ground and then Sandra suggested bowling.
Common Ground is the city's latest hot spot. Made entirely out of shipping containers, it's now the world's largest pop-up shopping mall. It houses only local independent designers, which I think is great, and currently about 16 different dining options. Before checking anything else out, I went straight to food truck market. After watching Chef a couple of months ago, I've been all about my meals coming out of a moving vehicle.
No cubanos, but the Kimchi Bus offers another take on the Kor-Mex trend. This one in particular has quite a bit of street cred (see what I did there), having traveled all over the globe introducing the versatility of Korean food to the world.
I opted for the kimchi fries. Even if you aren't feeling tacos, you gotta stop by for the fries. Trust me, it's so worth the calories and so simple to make on your own!
And what's a birthday without some cake! I was so pleased to see Dore Dore on the ground floor of Common Ground. Ever since I came across these rainbow cakes on Instagram, I've been meaning to pay the main Sinsa location a visit, but it's just always been too out of the way for me. It's a birthday wish come true!
Unlike the crepe cake from Billy Angel, Dore Dore's layers don't taste according to color. It just tasted like milk! But it sure does make for a pretty picture. They have another rainbow cake option with cream cheese frosting. I think that would've been more up my alley.
TBH, this is the forth slice of cake I've had this week. What can I say, I love my sweets and everybody knows it.
For the world's largest pop-up, I can't say that there's a lot to see here. A couple dozen stalls of clothes, and a few more dedicated to curious oddities and phone cases. I picked up a regular white tee, which I ended up distressing once I got home, and a pair of clip on fish eye lenses for my phone for just 3,000! What a steal.
Even if you don't end up getting anything, you can't leave without a picture by these iconic blue containers. There's gotta be over 500 pictures on Instagram to prove it.
It took a few tries but I got it! :) Thanks Sharon!
After a couple of hours, we grew weary of window shopping and hopped into a cab to Gangnam to meet up with Sandra. I didn't manage to snap any good photos of dinner, but we went to one of my absolute favorite izakaya-type restos called Kodachaya 코다차야. It's a chain, which usually means basic, but I were given the choice, I would take my friends here everyday. To make it brief, it's basically an indoor outdoor food market where everything is made to order. You grab your own drinks and pick up your own orders. It's a very interactive and unique experience. They have one in Hongdae too, but I prefer this one by Shinnonhyun station.
After dinner, I swapped out my beat up Toms for a pair of beat up bowling brogues. I heard about Beer and Bowl through a TV program. With only five lanes, it's smaller than your usual bowling alley, but it's the kind of place you go when you want to stay out late but don't want to go to a club or noraebang for two reasons: 1) they have a very long cocktail menu and 2) they're open until 5 am. 5 am!!!
I found out I'm terrible at bowling. But I did manage a strike! Hey, 12th time's the charm right?
Common Ground 커먼그라운드
Seoul, Gwangjin-gu, Jayang 4 dong 13-28
서울특별시 광진구 자양4동 13-28
(02) 467-2747
Beer and Bowl 비어앤볼
Seoul, Seocho-gu, Seochodaero 73-gil 42 Liga Square 2F
서울특별시 서초구 서초대로73길 42리가스퀘어 2층
(02) 532-6462
