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.

Where the sea (‘mer’) meets the sky (‘ciel’), Merciel offers a one-of-a-kind dining experience created by Chef Yoon Hwa-young and Park Hyun-jin. Prior to bringing the skillful fine dining establishment to the quaint spot on Busan’s dalmaji-gil, the owner chefs (who are also a restaurateur couple) have mastered authentic French culinary methods while learning from the renowned Jean François Piège and Pierre Gagnaire. The three-story building in which the restaurant’s housed is complete with two other unique spaces: Salon de Thé afternoon tea and dessert house on the second floor and BIS Gallery below it. Located on the top floor is Merciel offering what’s in its name: panoramic ocean views through the floor to ceiling windows as well as an open-air terrace.

This establishment is the Seoul outpost of the famed Pierre Hermé dessert shop that has spread from Paris to locations around the world. Pierre Hermé, known as the “Picasso of pastry,” is lauded for raising dessert into an art form. He received the Légion d’Honneur in 2007, one of the most prestigious awards in France. In other words, he's kind of a big deal—and with good reason. This luxurious dessert shop not just another brand name on a department store wall, its an art gallery in its own right. The most famous item is, of course, the macaron. They come in a variety of flavor like rose and pistachio, but his signature touch is the combinations like the famous Mogador macaron, a mixture of passionfruit and chocolate. Already an expensive confection in their native France, these macarons are priced at 4,000 won each, which is perhaps more understandable when you learn that they must be shipped daily from France to Korea. It's always a balancing act between quality control and logistics, but this shop is certainly doing its job of sharing world-class macarons with eager Seoulites.