December's things to do

Salmon sashimi lovers, here’s one for you. Mibbeudong is famed for its tomato salmon noodles – a refreshing, cold tomato broth packed with vegetables and long strands of salmon sashimi cut lengthways to resemble noodles. If you’re a little less excited over this, another popular item on the menu here is the Mibbeudong itself, a rice moat topped with a tower of mixed sashimi, uni and ikura.

The trendy neighbourhood of Seongsu is home to a plethora of cafes, but if you’d ask us to choose, we’d have to pick 5to7 as one of our favourites in the area. The dessert cafe is a lovely spot to head to after a walk around Seoul Forest with plenty of drink options to quench your thirst. Be sure to grab a serving of their boba souffle pancake while you’re at it too.

Originally from Japan, with more than 130 studios nationwide, ABC Cooking Studio has expanded to other parts of Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, and has finally landed in Seoul. This Lotte World Mall location is the first and the only studio of ABC's in Korea. Can't imagine a cooking class inside a mall? Well, if you just have one look at this place through its full wall window, you'll be surprised at how open and breezy it is. And very likely, you'll be anxious to join the little groups of part time cooks. What sets out ABC Cooking Studio from the rest of institutions of the kind is the freedom of choice in the curricula. While most cooking classes are set up for a certain period of time for a particular type of cuisine or license, this institution allows you to choose any date, time slot and menu among the 3 different courses (cooking, bread and desserts) which it offers at all times. There are different menus for each course, and they change every month. The cooking course, for example, includes the Japanese Menu (Japanese home cooking and dinner parties), Home Party Menu (Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas dinners, Halloween parties, etc.) and World Menu (Asian, European, etc.). Instead of demonstrations or lectures, every class taught here is practice based. At each kitchen island, individuals in a small group (4 to 5, depending on the course) create their own result with the help of one teacher. There are signature gift wraps and greeting cards...