Brians House Grill Burger Bar, Daejeon

A late night stroll around Daejeon with friends just would not have been complete without a trip to Brian's Burger bar. Thanks Claire and Andrew for taking us there to stuff our faces with good old proper french fries and amazing beef patties. 

Burgers from W7 000, and sets which include fries and drink from W9 000.

Address:

Just behind Lotte Department Store, Daejeon

Building #119 Orange Town

423-3

Geojong-dong

Seo-gu, Daejeon

042-528-6639

Wednesday to Monday (Tuesday closed) 11am - 10pm

Brian is opening another branch in Daejeon this month, lucky Daejeon people.

Eat Me Italian Restaurant in Daejeon

While making our way to our new home town in South Korea, we spent two nights in our old stamping ground, Daejeon. It was Farmboys birthday on the 24th June, and so our friends had made a reservation at a lovely Italian restaurant in the Time World Gallery area of Daejeon. Great food, and even better company were on the menu for us.

If you're looking for a little slice of Italian (pizza, pasta, salad) then this is a definite must stop while in Daejeon.

Eat Me is on the second floor in one of the buildings just behind Time World Galleria, opposite a GS25.

Eat Me currently has a most delicious Salad Pizza on the menu, with pesto, mozzarella cheese and a wonderful green salad heaped high on a margarita pizza base. Prices range from W8 000 - W13 000 for a meal.

Eat Me is open Wednesday - Monday (closed on Tuesday)

*TED*~ Idea's Worth Spreading

If you have never heard of TED, then I'm afraid the following bit of news we want to share with you won't be very exciting. Thats ok. Maybe afer watching a video or 2 of some previous TED speakers, you may share a little in our excitement.

A few weeks ago, I came accross an advertisement for TED saying that the next local TED event woud be held in Dajeon. Now, as you may or may not know, we live in Dajeon...and of course, we just had to go. Apparantly, to be part of the audeince of a TED gathering  in the States goes for thousands of dollars (well that's what I was told, please don't burst my bubble if this is entirely untrue), anyways, all we had to do was apply (write a short blurb about us) and then wait to hear if we had been selected to be a part of it or not.

Success! Both Farmboy and I were selected (we had to do separate entries so that was rather lucky) and today is the big day! Here's a little bit of info if you're still no seeing what the big deal is :)

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

Here is one of our favourites:

More **Cup Cakes** in Daejeon!

Got a bit of a sweet tooth? Craving something decadent? Head down to Ari's Cup Cakes, which is right at the Jugangno Subway Station Bus stop, and grap yourself a yummy treat.

And then after, why not head underground for some shopping or head to the delightful SumSimDang Bakery for dinner :)

[cincopa A4HAgfKSpSZy]

Directions:

By bus to Jungano Subway Station: # 1, 101, 103, 201, 201, 317, 511, 613, 615, 701

S.dot *Mega Stationery Store Eunhendong*

Korea is full of amazing clothes and interesting people and **intriguing food**. But the best thing, in my opinion, has got to be the *S*T*A*T*I*O*N*E*R*Y*!!! Korea has the cutest, most exciting, adorable,  beautiful,  charming, delightful...I could go on and on...but I won't. Instead I'll leave you with some pics of Daejeon's biggest (*well at least the biggest one I've come across so far) stationery store, the 5 floors that make up **S.dot** just behind the tantalizing SungSimDangBakery!

And of course, we made a few purchase's...

What do you think??? I think I've got to head there again...like now :)

Directions:

By subway~get off at Jungang-no  station (number 105 just before Daejeon Station), and then just follow the hoards of people! Take exit 4 *the sign will say Sung Sim Dang* and then just follow the pwople. Its a bit of a maze in there but just look for the big Holy’s coffee, its just behind it.


By bus to Jungano Subway Station: # 1, 101, 103, 201, 201, 317, 511, 613, 615, 701 (then just go underground via the big green stairs in front of you) and take exit 4 *the sign will say Sung Sim Dang* and then just follow the people. Its a bit of a maze in there but just look for the big Holy’s coffee, its just behind it.

**P.S.** It's nearly home time for us as our year in Korea draws to a close, sniff sniff. But watch out, if you liked some of the cool stuff in the this post, we will be having one last giveaway, just for justs! So keep those eyes peeled!

*Sung Sim Dang* Bakery ~ EunhangDong, Daejeon

The area of Daejeon called Old Downtown or Eunhangdong has loads of things to see and do, especially if you like to eat and shop! One of our earlier posts was about the awesome underground shopping there *click here* and of course the 5 story mega Stationery Store *S.dot* post still to come.

But if you enjoy stuffing your face with baked goods thats don't taste like they have just been covered with layer upon layer of Korean sugar, and if you have been craving some deliciousness that can only be quenched with chocolate covered pastries and 'just out of the oven' freshly baked bread, then look no further that **Sung Sim Dang** bakery in Old DownTown (EunhangDong), Daejeon.

Just a sneak peak...

Another glimpse of their selection of edibles :)

And the best thing, they have a yummy restaurant right above their bakery so you can sit down and relax while you eat your fill of delicious bread rolls filled with creamy carbanara...check it out for yourself:

The restaurant that serves both Korean and Western style food...

The Menu

Yummy yummy putting food in my tummy :)

P.S Cheap delicious food plus free refills...who could possibly say no to such treats!

Directions:

By subway~get off at Jungang-no  station (number 105 just before Daejeon Station), and then just follow the hoards of people! Take exit 4 *the sign will say Sung Sim Dang* and then just follow the pwople. Its a bit of a maze in there but just look for the big Holy's coffee, its opposite it

By bus to Jungano Subway Station: # 1, 101, 103, 201, 201, 317, 511, 613, 615, 701 (then just go underground via the big green stairs in front of you) and take exit 4 *the sign will say Sung Sim Dang* and then just follow the pwople. Its a bit of a maze in there but just look for the big Holy's coffee, its opposite it

**Christmas in Korea**

Another Christmas has come and gone...sniff sniff...and apart from an amazing bus ride experience on a' totally tinselled and christmas tree'd'  bus driven by Santa himself, Christmas in Korea was pretty uneventful.

I asked my Korean friends what plans they had to celebrate, and most of the responses were "Dinner with friends". A little bit different from the family filled holidays back home :)

To stop ourselves from getting too homesick this festive season, Farmboy and I headed to the streets to find our very own Christmas Tree...and here is what we found, filled with lots of love and homemade decorations...

*Eat Me* Italian Restaurant near TimeWorld, Daejeon.

EatMe is a really awesome Italian restaurant in the TimeWorld area in Daejeon. Just a 3 minute walk from Time World Galleria Depertment store, and with prices ranging from W8 000 - W13 000 for yummy pizza's and tatsy pasta's...you can't go wrong! Anway, see for yourself:

Directions:

With the main entrance to TimeWorld behind you, walk right towards the Paris Baguette. Take your first left up a dirty road,    with the Western "Sponge Bar" in front of you. Walk for about 2 minutes and EatMe is on your right. Look for a small, round,    black sign with "EatMe" written on it on the second floor on your right. The entrance is just round the corner, on your right by   a jewelry and accessory store :) Its in the 2nd floor.

The following buses go to TimeWord:

#104, 106,116, 211, 216, 301, 315, 318, 604, 605, 706, 911.

Or get off at City Hall Subway stop, exit 2 and walk straight for about 10 minutes.

*Costco* wholesale shopping at it’s best here in Daejeon

Farmboy and I headed off on a little adventure this Saturday. When I left my house the sun was shining, and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day (but I had my trusty brollie *umbrella* with me just in case the weather man was right about the days weather).

Well... by the time I got to Farmboys bus stop ( a mere 7 minutes away) there were gale force winds, and it was pouring with rain...probably not the best weather to head off exploring in.

Anyway, we had heard mixed reviews about the infamous Costco here in Daejeon, and thought it was about time we head on over there to check it out. I had obviously misheard my super friend Holly in her previous account of their trip to Costco, as I thought she had said the membership fee was W300 000 (about $300), and so we thought we would just have a look around as you need a membership card to shop there. Well, I didn't realise you actually need a membership card to even enter the building! Ridiculous! Well, luckily i realized my mistake, minus a zero from my initial idea of the membership fee, sign up, realise you can only pay with cash, spend ages trying to find the stairs to get to the basement to draw some cash, head back upstairs to pay with cash (unless you own a fancy smancy Samsung Debit/Credit card), say cheese and hey presto...you are now the proud owner of a Costco card!

We were bowled over by the size of the place and by the number of foreigners. I was a little disappointed as I soon realise that the everything was for sale in BULK (duh I know but I didn't really think about this before) and so I really have to need for 4 liters of maple syrup when I just need about 500ml. But it was a great experience, they had loads of things to try...so lots of snacking for us...yay!



And lunch was good too...especially when we looked around and realised why so many foreigners come to Korea and end up piling on the pounds...the picture belows explains this:

The size of one pizza slice! I know this is a common thing in the States, but in South Africa I've never come across 1 piece of pizza being so darn big! But Farmboy said it was really yummy and my hot dog was pretty good too, so I guess good things also come in Really Large packages too :)

If your looking for good old *tasty* cheese, salami, sauces, spices, great looking meat and *normal* tasting bakes good head over to Costco :)

Membership

W30 000

Directions

Costco is right next door to Seo-Daejeon Train Station (map)

By bus: 612 goes right past, and Bus's 119, 201, 202, 314, 612, 613, 701 go very close. You will probably get dropped off infront of Say Department store. Then just  follow the signs for Seo-Daejeon Station.

Subway: Seo-Daejeon Subway stop, follow the signs for the Station. Its about a 7 minute walk from the subway

Hours:

• 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Monday - Sunday
• Closed : NEW YEAR'S DAY,
LUNAR NEW YEAR'S DAY,
CHUSEOK
• We close at 7:00 pm on
NEW YEAR'S EVE,
LUNAR NEW YEAR EVE,
and CHUSEOK EVE.

Daejeon's Bike Rental System

Daejeon has recently introduced a really great bike sharing system whereby anyone can rent a bike (the rental places are situated by most Subway Stations) for a very small charge, and explore the city. Cool hey :)

The bikes are bright green, and are hooked up to very cool 'techno looking' bicycle stands. Just follow the info below to figure out how to use them!

The following awesome information is from socius, a really useful Dajeon website :) so thanks to Socius for the useful info!

Price:

The bicycles are free for the first hour, 500 won for each 30-minute segment in the first 3 hours and then the price jumps to 2,000 won per hour for ever 30 minutes after 3 hours. The examples given on the Ta-shu website indicate that for a trip of 100 minutes the charge would be 1,000 won (100-60 free minutes= 40 minutes, which is two 30-minute segments). Likewise, a trip of 200 minutes would cost 4,000 won. This is 200-60 free minutes = 140 minutes. The next two hours are charged at 500 won per 30 minutes, so that’s 500 x 4 =2,000, plus 20 remaining minutes at 2,000 per 30 minutes. 2,000 + 2,000 gives us the 4,000 won total.

Renting:

You need a Hankkumi Transit card and must register it online with the City (*not entirely sure how to do this yet*) to start using the program. Only prepaid cards work at this time. You can also use your cell phone.

How to:

1. Find a Kiosk. You must have a registered Hankkumi Transit Card.

2. Press the "대여" (rent) button.

3. Bikes in green are available for rent.

4. Choose your payment method. Your choices are Hankkumi Transit Card and Cell Phone.

5. If paying by Hankkumi transit card, touch your card to the sensor. Wait for the beep.

6. (con't...) If paying by phone, select "phone payment." First, choose your phone service provider (SK, KT or LG). Enter your phone number and then your Alien Registration Number. Press on the grey "Receive Registration Confirmation Code" (인증번호 받기) button. When the code arrives on your phone, enter it in the bottom box and press OK (확인).

7. Go to the bike you selected.

8. Press the "Rent" button on the bicycle panel (대여). It will make a ting sound.

9. To remove the bike from the stand, wait for the "드르릉" sound. You can then remove it. Push the bike forward to remove it form the stand.

10. Ride safely!

Returning your Bike:

you can return the bike to any renting station! So you don't have to return to the same place where you rented it from :)

1. Connect your bike the docking station. Back the bike into the station. When you hear the "ting" sound your bike is successfully connected.

2. Check the bike. Push on the handlebars to ensure the connection is not loose. If you cannot remove the bike, it is secure and you are finished.

Indoor Climbing Gym ~ Daejeon

Now that its goetting really REALLY chilly here, it has become too cold to climb at the big outdoor climbing wall at The World Cup Stadium here in Daejeon. But never fear fellow rock climbers (*I feel so cool saying that, now that ive officially joined the club!) there is a great Indoor climbing gym here in Dajeon.

Membership is W60 000 a month, or W10 000 per entry if you want by day.

Directions: The following buses go to the gym, No# 103, 113, 602. The bus stop is called 헌국통신연수원 (Hanguk dongshin yeonsuwueon). Its located very near to Tanbang Station click here for a map. Once you get off at that stop, if you are facing the big green bridge, the gym will be on ur right hand side and there is a sign with a man climbing. The name of the gym is Konglish (kaliming gim but in Korean) 

Its just a bouldering gym, so a good place to get  a good work out, & get strong for the climbing season (or so I am told hehe)

 

*Cafe Bene*, Gwangeodong, Daejeon

Korea is home to some of the best coffee shops in the world...and thats not an over statement. Every corner is filled with either big chain coffee stores like Angel-In-Us, Holly's Coffee and Starbucks, or smaller, unique coffee corners like Holy Cross & Gom Espresso. Whether your looking for the ideal cup of coffee/hot chocolate/cafe late or you're just looking for a quiet corner to read a book or search the net, the coffee places here are fabulous.

Cafe Bene is another one of those chain stores and has just opened up here in Farmboy's "dong" (dong refers to the neighborhoods that each city/town in divided up into here in South Korea...Farmboy stays in Gwanjeo-dong).

Moroccan in Daejeon

If you've had your fill of kimchi and kimbab, and are looking for something delicious but most of all *home cooked* ...then head to the area behind Chugnum University in Yuseoung (Gung-dong). This Moroccan restaurant is very plain and simple, but with a very lovely and welcoming couple, the food definitely makes up for the lack of decor.

If there are a few of you going, drop the lady an email (karimkim480@yahoo.co.kr) or phone ahead (042 862 4594 or 010 8402 4594) to make a booking. They usually have a small menu but the last time we went they just had their lamb curry available and some delicious smelling kebabs.

Buses 115, 105 & 109 drop you off near the famous Santa Claus Pub, and from there, walk back from the bus stop a few steps and turn left up the busiest looking street (there is a Pharmacy on the corner) and then just walk straight for about 3 minutes and its on your left...*don't be scared off by the "basicness" of the place, just one bite of their fresh *limitless* naan bread and you'll be hooked!
*They only accept cash, so make sure to draw some before you get there. If you don't remember, there are loads of ATM's around the corner*

P.S They also stock lots of Halal foods and other yummy tasting ingredients for you to make your own curries and such :)