What happens when you combine a Kpop fan and a Kdrama lover? Hours and hours of fangirling over anything Korean, that’s what.
While I absolutely loved Coffee Prince when it aired on the local TV network GMA when I was in college (I used to be super bummed out when I missed an episode), I couldn’t call myself a true fan of Korean pop culture. Unlike my classmates back then, I wasn’t going crazy over some guy whose language I don’t understand and the thought of paying a huge amount of money to hear songs that I literally don’t understand was laughable. But years later, I watched Coffee Prince for the nth time and decided to try watching another kdrama, and then another. That was one year ago. Now:
- I watch more Korean shows than Filipino or Western ones.
- My playlist now has more Korean songs than English ones.
- I have been to six different Korean restaurants in the last month.
I have become the exact thing that I used to laugh at years ago – a k-fangirl.
My friend Lou, on the other hand, is a Kpop fan. She doesn’t watch kdramas as often as I do but she’s a huge Big Bang fan and she stalks other Korean boybands as well. And she’s CRAZY. She sometimes bursts into a song, mouthing lyrics she probably doesn’t understand, and dances along to it. In the middle of the conversation. In public places. But that’s why we’re good friends. We get each other. 😀
Recently, another chance to immerse in Korean culture presented itself. The Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines (KCC) organized a free movie screening of The Happy Life (즐거운 인생) starring Jung Jin-young,, Kim Yoon-seok, Kim Sang-ho, and Jang Keun Suk. I got tickets for myself and Lou and I knew it’s going to be another fangirling date for us.
Since we met up two hours before the movie starts, we decided to have late lunch first. We went to The Fort Strip in Bonifacio Global City to check out Seoul Express but it was still closed when we came. Fortunately, a new Korean restaurant-slash-dessert-place recently opened in the same area.
Seol & Bean
Seol & Bean specializes in shaved ice desserts, or what Koreans call bingsu. We hesitated at first because we also planned to eat bingsu at Café Seolhwa at The Forum but we saw that Seol & Bean also had sandwiches and pasta so we went in.
Seol & Bean’s interiors were simple but better than the façade. With its open ceiling, black-white-brown minimalist design, and plenty of comfy seats, the place gives off a cozy and relaxed vibe. It’s perfect for casual brunch or afternoons with friends. It has fast wifi, too.
Seol & Bean also serves coffee beverages, tea, fruit shakes, pastries, and pasta. Their bingsu choices are more affordable than the ones at Café Seolhwa but Seol & Bean doesn’t have green tea bingsu which was what Lou and I wanted to try. Instead, we ordered tuna pasta and sardines with olives pasta (their version of Aglio Olio). Both were good!
Seol & Bean is located at The Fort Strip, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
Korean Cultural Center in the Philppines
Next stop was the Korean Cultural Center. KCC is a non-profit organization that aims to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Korean Culture among Filipinos by providing diverse cultural programs and events.
It offers Kpop and Korean traditional dance lessons, music lessons, as well as Korean language (Hangeul) classes. At least once or twice a month, KCC holds free screenings of old movies and concerts. The Happy Life was the first screening on demand for 2016 and it was requested by Eels Philippines, the Filipino fans club of Jang Keun Suk.
The movie was about a group of old friends who used to have a college band. Years later they reunite to make music again. I didn’t expect much from it since I didn’t know the actors but I enjoyed it a lot. At the end of the movie, the fans club members even gave away small tokens for the audience.
KCC is located at the 2nd floor of Mancor Corporate Building, 32nd St. Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Café Seolhwa
To cap off our Korean day out, we had green tea bingsu at Café Seolhwa at The Forum. We previously tried Injeolmi bingsu (rice cake flavor) and Pat bingsu (red bean flavor) at the café’s Century Mall branch. Both were super good but we wanted to try the green tea flavor as well, which was not available at Century Mall at the time.
Bingsu, or shaved ice, is a popular dessert in Korea. The nearest thing to bingsu in the Philippines would probably be halo-halo but the quality of ice in bingsu is so much better. It’s so fine and soft, it’s like snow!
The Green Tea Bingsu did not disappoint. At 210 pesos, it was so filling and so delicious. And pretty, too!
For some reason, I liked the Century Mall branch more than the one at The Forum. The Century Mall branch was smaller and can probably seat only up to 15 or so people but it felt more intimate and more authentic because of the Kpop music that ran in the background when we were there. The Forum branch was also a bit crowded and noisy when we came in.
We also ordered Injeolmi toast, two pieces of toasted bread with rice cake inside and sprinkled with bean powder and caramel syrup. I know, it’s so weird but surprisingly good and filling.
Café Seolhwa is located at the 2nd floor of The Forum, 7th Avenue Corner Federacion Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. It also has branches at Century Mall in Makati, BF Homes in Paranaque, Solenad 3 Nuvali in Sta. Rosa Laguna, and soon to open in McKinley Hill.
And that ends our Korean day out! It’s so nice that we only planned on watching The Happy Life but ended up having an afternoon/evening of more Korean experiences. Knowing how crazy we are for all things Korean, we’ll probably have more days like this. Maybe we’ll even do this in Korea soon. 😉
Have you visited any of the places mentioned above? Share your experiences by leaving a comment! 🙂
