December's things to do

Try Google-ing Sindang-dong. You’ll be bombarded with images and links to tteokbokki. After all, the alleys of Tteokbokki Town, reminiscent of the 80s, have a long history of the street food dating back to the 50s. However, for a little change in menu within the same district is Baozi, a restaurant specialized in Chinese style dumplings. The main dish, baozi (a steamed bun sometimes filled with meat or vegetables) comes in two sizes, King or Little. While the rest of the mandu (dumplings) menu includes gyoza, fried gyoza and jjinppang (steamed bun). They also serve cold buckwheat noodles and manduguk (dumping soup). While you can choose between mild and spicy for the baozi and gyoza, the spicy, (described as Shin Ramyeon’s level of spiciness by the employee) is the recommended choice. If you can’t take the spice, ask the chef to mix the two flavors. The softness of the baozi bread goes in well with the texture of the filling, consisted with a generous amount of chives. The Little version comes in 6 and is enough to be called a meal. As for the gyoza, it has the same filling but the skin made with sticky rice has a chewy texture. With a perfect combination of crispy and chewy, the gyoza will have you thirsty for some beer. At the friendly price of 5,000 won to 6,000 won, and with only 3 tables on the first floor and a few more in the basement, Baozi definitely gives off a cozy ambience which makes it a great place to enjoy a dumpling meal.

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...

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.