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.

Mingles is undoubtedly one of the most interesting modern Korean restaurants in Gangnam. As its name suggests, Mingles utilizes Japanese, Spanish and French styles of cooking with Korean cuisine as its backbone. By undertaking the serious work of studying the ingredients as well as well as demanding an exacting selection, the chefs at Mingles have been successfully demonstrating creative ways to expand and further existing concepts of Korean cooking. Utilizing seasonal ingredients and recipes that have been passed down through palace kitchens over the hundreds of years, they create impressive combinations of the traditional and popular. Their nutty, citrus yuja danja (citron pot), once offered to the kings of old, and their jangajji (pickled vegetables) that have been fermented for an extended period of time are just some of the innovative efforts that enable patrons to get a taste of the past and present. The crème brûlée trio made with Korean traditional sauces is another such recipe that defies existing concepts and offers to your palate flavors unlike any before. Having received one star from Michelin in 2017 and ranked 15 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in the same year, Mingles has proved its strength in innovation and their influence in the local food scene.

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.