The Road to 40 Day 167/365: Seonsu and the 401 Experience

We had a fun day that started late, but ended in the most pleasantly surprising way.

While the hotel did have breakfast, we weren’t able to avail of it as Che and Vino did not want to get up from bed. We slept late and had a full day on our first day, after all.

We had a reservation at 11:30am with a grace period of just three minutes, so we had to move. It was uncharacteristically difficult to wake Vino up using my regular techniques, which I think would be a problem when the school break ends. I had to talk to him about this later.

I bought some instant noodles and triangle kimbap the night before, which we decided to have for breakfast to at least have somethign before we went out. We then got ready to head out to Seonsu for brunch.

Che reserved a table for Heelit, one of the top-rated brunch places in Seonsu. Their menu mostly consisted of pasta, so we each had a different one. Che had aglio olio, Vino had rigatoni, while I had Risotto.

The setting was quite nice; it looked like a quaint house that was transformed into a restaurant. Not a lot of tables were available, and the menu was not so extensive. The flavors were nice, and combining it with the feels of the place, it’s no wonder it was rated highly by patrons.

As per the map, we were close to Seoul forest, which we wanted to explore. There was also this bingsu shop that I saw on IG, and it was luckily near the forest as well. It was a short walk from where we ate, which was just nice as we had a filling meal.

While on the way, we found some interesting coffee shops, restaurants, and apparel stores. One of the shops that captured our attention was a caricature store that used just a sharpie.

The artist said it cost 26,000KRW, which we thought was not bad, considering it’s on canvas and it was a great display of talent.

One of the caricatures had a weird looking smile of a guy, so Vino decided not to smile while he was being drawn. When he saw the final product, he said it does look like him. The whole process took about 15 minutes, with the artist looking at us and finding some key elements to represent us.

We reached Rafre Fruit Bingsu, but it was as full. We had to queue up online to get a table for us. There was a playground nearby, so we passed the time there.

Rafre Fruit had an interesting way of queuing which looked pretty straightforward, but not a lot of people seem to understand. People kept going in and out looking for their seats when it was clearly stated on the door that they should scan a code to get a table.

When we had our turn, we decided to get a peach ade, a honey and fig bingsu, and a shine muscat and mandarin orange cake.

The shop is known for serving fresh, seasonal fruits. As such, the bingsu they served depended on which fruits are available during the season. This time around, they had fig.

It was our first time trying this fruit. For me, it tasted like bland peach, while Che said it was like over ripe guava with none of the off-putting flavors or aroma.

We didn’t realize it would be quite expensive, so I had to finish it. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t really eat fruits by choice, but my desire to get my value for money trumps anything.

The cake was nice, though. It had both of Vino’s favorite fruits and he liked the cake base as well.

After our dessert adventure, we rented a bike and a kind of tricycle to go around the forest.

The tricycle was adjustable so that Vino can also drive it. He tried to have me as a passenger, but he said I was too heavy. When I went down from the passenger seat, he found it more manageable to drive the tricycle. As a result, I was running most of the way while they went around on the bike.

Vino spent a bit of time playing in the bigger playground here that featured a wall climbing part and a long slide. Even adults were going down the slide.
We returned the bikes and went back to the hotel first. We wanted to queue up at 401 Butcher, where we will meet my in-laws, Kathreen and JP.

401 Butcher is a K-Bbq restuarant co-owned by Running Man members Haha and Kim Jung Kook. As a fan of the show, this has always been on my bucket list. It’s not like I’m hoping to meet them, but experiencing the vibe of the restaurant is fine with me.

We ordered a lot of food, which was just nice. It can be argued that plenty of samgyeopsal restaurants would provide a similar flavor, but personally, the atmosphere – the people I ate with and the vibe of the place – contributed greatly to my enjoyment.

At some point during the dinner, Kathreen asked if Haha or Jung Kook would be dropping by. He said he wasn’t coming over that night, which they felt disappointed about. I was already satisfied with the opportunity to finally make it to the restaurant and not having to queue up for seats, and getting to see any of the cast members would only be a bonus for me at this point.

After eating, I went to the toilet for a while. As luck would have it, Haha appeared out of nowhere and did a fan service for everyone in the restaurant by taking selfies at every table. Che was almost teary-eyed at the chance and the fact that I was still in the toilet while this is happening.

When I went back to the table, he was taking photos with the people from the next table, so we asked for one more shot so that I’d be in the photos.

I gave him my phone, but he promptly gave it back. He gladly took Kathreen’s iPhone, though, so we think it’s an endorsement thing.

I don’t usually gawk over celebrities, but I’ve been following Running Man for more than a decade already. The cast members feel like family to me already, and I’ve always hoped to catch a Running Man taping when we’re in Korea.

We got the chance to watch them live in the Philippines a couple of years ago, but that was more of a concert than anything. This time around was a close encounter, so it was really one big tick for the bucket list.

We walked around Hongdae after dinner, hoping to find shoes for Vino, but ended up just strolling. We found a Vietnamese place, where we each had one bottle of Bia Saigon for Kathreen and JP to try.

After the short break, we called it a night and went our separate ways. We took the train, which was just about four stops from our place.

We ended the night on the sofa bed as we watched the last episodes of Bon Apetit, Your Majesty. Vino was watching with us until past midnight. He’s been following the story as we watched it, so he’s also looking for closure.

Today’s highlight was no doubt getting to take a photo with Haha, but the rest of the day was all good vibes. Tomorrow will have plenty more to look forward to.