Sinchon (Updated)

Went for a project meeting outside of school today. Our consumer behavior group (consisting of me, Valerie, Suzy and Hyung Tak) met up at this cafe at Sinchon, which is the supposedly cool area for students, since 2 of the top universities, Yonsei University and Ewha Womans (Not typo hor! Correct spelling!) University, are situated there.

Suzy was the one who suggested this place. The exterior looks rather Marche-ish, and inside, there are individual rooms for people to rent. We went to one of such rooms. It’s rather cosy inside, with cushioned seats and a very large table for people to discuss. I guess the cafe is opened with students in mind, since they can meet up and chat or discuss projects in the comfort of an individual enclosed room. Each room is fitted with wireless internet as well, so that the guests can make use of the Internet.

The first 3 hours cost $5 per person, and subsequent hour costs $1. And we were allowed to ask for unlimited drinks from the menu, as well as a one-time order of food (we all had ramen, which was the most filling). Not too bad for a place to meet up!

One interesting thing happened though. When our 3 hours of booking was up, we wanted pay and extend our room usage. However, it was not possible, cause someone else had earlier booked the room. So, one of the waitresses actually came into our room and KNELT DOWN in front of us to apologise. I was so surprised that she suddenly made the move I had nothing to say. Suzy was cool though; she actually insisted we stayed till our time was up, rather than leave slightly earlier so that they can clean up. She probably has encounted such scenes often here.

Bottom picture: Sinchon. Like most other neighbourhoods, this place is pretty good for resting, eating, shopping and other leisure activities.

After the project, Hyung Tak, Valerie and I went over to a Korean-Chinese restaurant for dinner. This place is rather special, as it only serves one menu, loosely translated as phoenix chicken dish. And it is really really good! The stew comes with chicken parts, onions, rice vermicelli, potatoes and is really spicy! Especially at the end when the vermicelli started to soak up all the gravy; that was so amazing! The good thing was the chilli heat did not linger in the mouth and throat long; downing water relieved the spice immediately. And eating the chicken with rice was so satisfying! Woah, I have not eaten a meal that makes me sweat for a long long time, and I really liked it so much. Average cost per person: $8, but it was so good that I will gladly pay the same price to come again.

Before we went back, we went over to Yonsei University as well. For those who don’t know, Yonsei is one of the 3 top universities in South Korea, with Korea University and Seoul National University forming the other two (commonly known as SKY universities here). Unfortunately, it was really dark by the time we got there, so we couldn’t get a good view of the school.

Also, the place was rather deserted, probably cause it was a Saturday. Look at the picture below, doesn’t it look like a haunted house? I am so glad I am studying in Korea University. Apparently, the rivalry between Yonsei University and Korea University is so strong that KU students don’t dare to wear the school jacket around Sinchon, for fear of being jeered at. Exciting sia!