CHRISTY: Vancouver & Seattle Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Beauty, Business, & Food Blogger ❀

In Spring 2024, I finally got to check off being in Asia during cherry blossom season! I didn’t get to go to Tokyo as originally planned but instead went to Seoul! It was so beautiful and a dream come true. First, I made a stop to Hong Kong to visit family, before heading to Seoul and Jeju Island!

DAY 1-3: HONG KONG 🇭🇰 (3 DAYS)

If you want a full itinerary of Hong Kong from my previous trips there, check out this post!

🗓 DAY 1 – Kowloon (Sham Shui Po & Tsim Sha Tsui)

Whenever I’m back, I always love shopping and getting street food in Sham Shui Po, and then heading to see the beautiful water view of Tsim Sha Tsui. This time, I decided to try a place for lunch I had marked down for a while!

• Morning
  • Head to Sham Shui Po (great place for cheap eats, street markets and shopping)
    • Tai Cheong Bakery – Love the egg tarts and chicken tarts here!
    • Breakfast: Hop Yik Tai (awarded The Plate in 2018 by Michelin) rice rolls (so good and smooth!)
    • If you have some time, there are a lot of yummy dessert soup places here!

• Afternoon (Tsim Sha Tsui)
  • Head to Tsim Sha Tsui
  • Lunch: aqua – Popular Italian and Japanese dining experience with nice city view. We got one of their sushi sets!

• Prince Station: There’s a huge shopping mall for wedding dresses and Chinese wedding decor and outfits!

• Evening
  • Dinner: Australia Dairy Company – Breakfast for dinner, anyone? Finally tried this place! They’re known for their steamed milk pudding and custard dishes. Their sandwiches are also delicious.

• 8PM: Head back to Tsim Sha Tsui Victoria Harbour and watch light show (every night at 8PM)
• Get drinks at Eye Bar – I went here with a friend when I was working abroad, I got to be here again fast forward 3 years later post pandemic!

🗓 DAY 2 – Sheung Wan, Causeway Bay, Central, & Wan Chai

Looking for yummy souvenirs to bring back? Cookies from Jenny Bakery is usually the go-to. I also visited Wan Chai again (where I worked abroad) and it brought back some memories!

• Morning (Sheung Wan)
  • Grab cookies at Jenny Bakery – super buttery cookies, very well-known souvenir, this one is main store

• Afternoon (Causeway Bay)
  • Lunch: Deluxe Daieiki – One of my favourite Japanese buffets! The quality of the food is just so good for the price!

• Visit Victoria Peak: You can take the taxi up or take the tram!

• Evening:
  • Wan Chai
    • Dinner: Kam’s Roast Goose – I tried this in Bangkok and it was definitely not as good as it is back in Hong Kong.

🗓 DAY 3 – Causeway Bay & Central

Causeway Bay is like the Shibuya of Tokyo and I always love walking around there for the stores and restaurants. There are so many viral food places there! And while you’re there, you might as well go Central too (another favourite place of mine).

• Morning
  • Causeway Bay
    • Hysan Place
    • NOC Coffee Shop
    • Bakehouse – Egg tarts are yummy here! (They also have multiple locations)
  • Snack Options:
    • Snowysavor (mango mochi)
    • Shari Shari or icegreen (mochi shaved ice)
• Ride the “Ding Ding” tram to Central

• Afternoon (Central)
  • Lan Fong Yuen: Get the milk tea and egg and beef sandwich!

• IFC Mall
• Snacks: James Bonbon (mochi bun), Vission Bakery (croissants)
• Evening
  • Grab dinner around Central!

DAY 4-9: SEOUL & JEJU ISLAND 🇭🇰 (6 DAYS)

First time in Seoul and Jeju Island! I was supposed to go Tokyo but instead went to Seoul and it was so beautiful too. I have always enjoyed eating Korean food, been a fan of Korean skincare and makeup, and of course watching Korean dramas and listening to K-pop (haha).

I also learned Korean for a bit so I was super excited to make use of some of that knowledge! We stayed near Seoul Station as we were carrying a lot of luggages.

Some things to bring: Sunscreen, cash (a lot of the taxis and bus passes require cash)/ credit cards, wifi, umbrella (in case it rains), extra jacket (I realized how it’s hot during the day and gets really cold at night like Vancouver!), comfortable shoes – lots of walking! Highly recommend booking any activities early on: hanbok rentals, spas, colour analysis sessions, etc.

Some food to try:

• Seoul: Bibimpap (stone pot rice), soy crab, gimbap (rice rolls), ddukbokki (rice cakes), soondubu (broth), hotteok (pancake with sugar syrup), fried chicken, jajangmyeon, samgyeopsal (Korean BBQ), naengmyeon (cold noodles), mung bean cakes, mandu (dumplings), japchae (sweet potato starch noodles with vegetables and meat), live octopus, patbingsu (Korean shaved ice), iced americano, 7-11 ice drinks, gingseng chicken soup, a bunch of different street foods!
• Jeju Island Specific: Pork, seafood (especially abalone), tangerines, matcha, street food (some of them take credit card!)

Quick tips: If you speak Mandarin, a lot of Korean people in Seoul seem to! It was pretty nice. Some of them can also understand some English. The taxis and bus passes usually require cash so bring plenty. Also beware there may be quite a bit of stairs!

🗓 DAY 1 – Insadong & Myeongdong

The first day of Seoul for me was to definitely cross one thing off my bucket list: wearing a hanbok to a palace (PLUS with a cherry blossom tree backdrop). We had to reserve our hanbok rental place beforehand.

• Morning
  • Brunch: Nakwon Railway Cafe (we also grabbed a rice burger at Lotteria)
    • Other Options: Hadongkwan (beef broth) (20m from Gyeongbukgong), METCHA (matcha cafe) (30m from Gyeongbukgong)
  • 11AM-12PM: Dress up studio KJD ($34, 4H) – Usually requires arriving earlier before it gets too busy! There’s also a locker to put your things.

• Afternoon
  • Lunch: Korea Ginseng Chicken Soup – From the Michelin guide, not a long lineup when we went!

• Gyeongbukgong Palace (9am-5pm, closed Tuesdays, free with hanbok) – This was a super nice place to walk around especially with the cherry blossom trees
• Bukchon Hanok Village (30 mins to the right of Gyeongbukgong Palace) – After you take photos at the palace, walk over to the highly popular Bukchon Hanok Village (there will likely be a lot of people!)
• Back to Studio KJD to return hanboks
• Cafe Options: Cafe Onion, Blue Bottle (multiple locations), or Osulloc Tea House (matcha)

• Evening
  • Dongdaemun Plaza
  • Myeongdong – Very youthful and trendy area of Seoul! Lots of yummy food and stores to shop at.
  • Gwangjang Market – Love this market! Try pork belly, the Netflix famous mung bean cake and knife cut noodles, also try the Jeju Island tangerine drinks. I also picked up some snack souvenirs from here.

🗓 DAY 2 – Hongdae

• Morning
  • Yeouido Hangang Park – Very nice street with lots of cherry blossoms!
  • IFC Mall

• Afternoon
  • Lunch: Hongilpum – Soy crab here! There’s a set with hot pot as well or shrimp if you’d like. There are many places in Korea that serve this – this was just one of the spots I found!
    • Optional: VIPs Buffet – There’s a chain of buffets that apparently are really good with lots of meat and seafood at an affordable price!
  • Noryangjin Fish Market
  • Walk around Hongdae and go to photobooths!
  • Other Activities:
    • Namsan Park
    • Namdaemun Market
    • Animal Cafes

• Evening (Hannam)
  • Dinner: Surin – Fine dining
  • Optional: Itaewon for drinks!

🗓 DAY 3 – Myeongdong & Fly To Jeju Island

When you’re visiting Seoul, I highly recommend Jeju Island as well! It’s an hour flight and very convenient with lots of delicious food, cute aesthetics, cute cafes by the water, and so much wonderful landmarks. You can book a tour or rent a car (highly recommended). I went for 2 days only to explore one area (East side) but you can do longer to explore more places!

Notable Areas: Dongmun Market, Manjanggul Cave (it was closed for me), Hamdeok Beach, Seongsan Ilchilbong (loved it!), Hallasan (largest mountain in Korea), Osulloc Tea Museum, Jusangjeolli Cliff

Jeju Island Specific: Pork, seafood (especially abalone), tangerines, matcha, street food (some of them take credit card!)

• Morning
  • Hang out around Myeongdong

• Afternoon
  • Head To Gimpo Airport (just about 1 hour away)
  • Flight to Jeju Island!
    • Once arrived, we rushed to pick up our Lotte rental car (check in near the exit and then take a short ride on a shuttle bus nearby).
    • We stayed at Hotel Sirius which was super nice and near the airport.

• Evening
  • Dinner Options: VIPS Buffet or Dongmun Market for street food

🗓 DAY 4 – Jeju Island

• Morning
  • Brunch: Gozip Dol – Known for their set menu with fish, abalone, tilefish, and more. So much to eat! You can try many of the well-known food in Jeju Island here. They also have our favourite orange juice. There are multiple locations and you can book online which makes it very convenient.
    • Other Food Options: Black Pork BBQ

• Afternoon
  • Jusangjeollidae Cliff – Formed 140,000-250,000 years ago from basalt lava from Mount Hallasan.

• Cafe OOO by the beach – Their orange latte was really good!

• Seongsan Ilchulbong Sunrise Peak (before it gets dark – takes about 1.5-2 hours) – Tuff cone formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions 5,000 years ago. It’s so close to the city and there’s an amazing view from up top!
  • Option: Seongsan Canola Flower Field (if it’s brighter when you visit, you may see the yellow flowers here around Spring time!)

• Evening
  • Dinner: Dongmun Market – Loved it here! They take credit card and I also got to try black pork, fried chicken, and so much other food.
  • Other Food options: Gyulkkot Cafe + KBBQ

🗓 DAY 5 – Jeju Island, Fly Back To Seoul, Hongdae

• Morning
  • Flight back to Seoul, return rental car

• Afternoon (In Hongdae)
  • Lunch Options: Mippeudong (sashimi) or Hong’s Zzuggumi (octopus)
  • Vic’s Color Lab session
  • Cafe Hopping: There are many animal themed cafes! Samoyed cafe, meerkat cafe, raccoon cafe
  • You can also visit Namsan park or Namdaemun market (famous hotteok sold at Gate 2!)

• Evening (In Myeongdong)
  • Dinner: Myeongdong Kyoja – 4 super delicious dishes only Michelin. Must go! There are multiple locations.

• Dessert: Sulbing – There were some different flavours from the one in Vancouver.
• Myeongdong Spa – They speak English here and also have some good packages! And couples spa if you want to go with your partner, friends, or family.

🗓 DAY 6 – Last Day In Seoul

• Morning
  • Take the subway to Gangnam
    • Gangnam Style statue
    • Starfield Library
    • Cafe: NUDAKE (croissants)

• Afternoon
  • Lunch: Onlygo & Co – Western brunch restaurant owned by Single’s Inferno cast (wanted to check it out!)
  • Cafe: Casanello Cafe – Cafe owned by Single’s Inferno cast

• Dinner: Jungsik – 2 Michelin star restaurant
  • Other Dinner Options: Hansung Kalguksu (1900s), Gebang Sikdang Michelin guide restaurant known for their crab

Other Notable Areas

There are so many exciting places so it’s hard to fit in them all, depending on what you’re interests are, here are some other places:

• Activities
  • Vic’s Lab Color Analysis (they spoke English!) – you will need to pay cash or use PayPal when you’re there
  • Studio KJD Hanbok Rentals – very authentic hanbok designs
  • O HUI&WHOO SPA
  • Sulwahsoo Spa
  • Korean Top Celebrity Hair Styling Experience at Jenny House
  • Korean Drama Fans: MBC Drama Studio One-Day Tour
  • Lotte World

Other Links:

• 🍴 Check out my foodie account @christyenjoys for more!
• If you have time to go Osaka or Taipei nearby, I have a 4 Days In Osaka Itinerary or 5 Days In Taipei Itinerary!
• See the full summary of my Asia trip