Eating

Seoul Travel Tips from Alicia Yoon, Founder of Peach & Lily

Conversations with Locals

South Korean native Alicia Yoon is the founder of the New York-based beauty brand Peach & Lily and the voice for Korean beauty in the US. From her esthetician school days and her frequent trips to search for the latest in Korean beauty, Seoul is like a second home to her. Alicia shares her favourite beauty salons, the culture of elders first and where to eat in Seoul.

Photo: Peach & Lily

What is the one local dish you feel travellers can’t leave Seoul without trying? 

I love Korean street food. I highly recommend going to a PoJangMaCha (or Pocha for short) which refers to street vendors. They have these vendors in many neighbourhoods but a couple well known ones are in JongRo and Mapo. Grab a seat, grab a soju, and fill up on tteokbbeokki (spicy rice cakes), hotteok (pancakes filled with melted brown sugar), kimbap (seaweed and rice rolls filled with various meats and veggies), dakkochi (skewered chicken), odeng (fish cakes) and mandu (dumplings). It’s also a fun local experience to sit outdoors, eat and enjoy the night out alongside locals who might be unwinding from their work day with colleagues, friends or family!

What about your favourite restaurants?

Hanchu for fried chicken and beer aka chi-maek in Gangnam. YoungYang Center, synonymous with samgyetang, a healthy soup with a whole chicken in it that’s then filled with rice, jujube and boiled in a broth with ginseng, ginger and various herbs, in Myeongdong where the flagship is, that’s been a popular staple for over 60 years now.

Si Wha Dam in Insadong for modern Korean food that’s presented beautifully and artistically. Before eating here, I love walking around the neighbourhood listening to street music and checking out various art stores. And afterwards, there are plenty of cute cafes to grab traditional tea.

Maple Tree House in Itaewon for Korean barbecue. The meat is delicious as are the soups. And it’s perfectly located to go out for drinks afterwards in vibrant Itaewon. La Yeon for upscale traditional Korean cuisine with a modern cooking style to it. This Michelin 3-Star rated restaurant will serve everything cooked and presented to perfection. Yeonnam 223 Café for the tasty drinks and also a total immersive moment like you’re sitting in an illustrated cute book. I like Stylenanda Café for their pink and blue swimming pool themed cafe with a tasty cotton candy drink. Plant in Itaewon for healthy plant-based snacks with soothing decor. Baesan Warehouse Café where you can get good teas and coffee while exploring contemporary art. Arari Ovene for the most delicious, and beautiful, baked goods.

Where would you go to shop for skincare products?

Garosugil, a neighbourhood comprised of one main tree lined street, with side streets. Various beauty retailers as well as individual beauty brand stores are located along this street. The duty-free beauty stores in Doosan Tower in Dongdaemun. Myeongdong for a fast beauty, Times Square-like experience for road shop mass beauty stores. I recommend going at night when the stores and signs all get lit up.

What about your favourite beauty salons?

I love Skin Lab L by Eco Your Skin and going to the flagship Chungdamdong location. High-tech meets highly personalised skincare, body care, hair care and nail care treatments, expect to leave smiling with glowing skin. And don’t be surprised if you run into someone you might have spotted in a K-Drama or K-pop band. Shangpree women’s only spa, often touted as Korea’s top spa for incredibly transformative facials. Spa Lei, also women’s only, for the Korean bathhouse, or jjimjilbang, experience. Dragon Hill Spa is a co-ed bathhouse that has a bigger, more Disney-world like feel that’s family friendly and a bit more touristy.

Name one South Korean etiquette most travellers miss

I love that Korean culture celebrates and respects their elders. So when there’s an elderly person, it’s polite to defer to them – whether it’s allowing them to enter the door first, pick their subway seat first, pass by first and so forth.

Name some tourist traps travellers should avoid in Seoul

Instead of going to all the places mapped out in tour books, it’s worth spending a day getting lost! Bumbling around on the super clean and efficient subway system and popping into various neighbourhoods and checking out hole in the wall eateries, cafés and stores.

Name one best kept secret of Seoul

I love the hiking trails nearby The Blue House in the neighbouring areas. They aren’t touristy like in Namsan and have delicious local eateries near the trails.

Do you have a skincare tip for travelling?

Depending on where you’re travelling from, it can be a long drying 14 hour flight! Don’t be shy about doing your skincare routine, yes even a sheet mask, on the flight. Your skin will thank you for it. And after landing, try sheet masking each night for a few days straight so stays hydrated which can help prevent it from going haywire during your travels. I highly recommend the hydrating, fragrance-free, alcohol-free, gentle and fast-acting Peach & Lily Original Glow Sheet Mask.


WHERE TO EAT IN SEOUL


Hanchu
Where: 68 Nonhyeon-ro 175-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Fried chicken and beer

YoungYang Center
Where: 25-32 Chungmuro 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Ginseng chicken soup

Si Wha Dam
Where: 13, Insadong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03162 South Korea
For: Beautiful Korean food

Maple Tree House
Where: 26, Itaewon-ro 27ga-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 04350 South Korea
For: Korean barbecue

La Yeon
Where: 249 Dongho-ro, Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Upscale dining experience

Yeonnam 223 Café
Where: 223-14 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Drinks

Stylenanda Café
Where: 23 Wausan-ro 29da-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Swimming pool café

Plant
Where: 2 floor, 117 Bogwang-ro, Itaewon 1(il)-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Plant-based snacks

Baesan Warehouse Café
Where: 322-32 Seongsu 2(i)-ga 1(il)-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Tea and coffee

Arari Ovene
Where: Seongsan 1 World cup buk-ro 12an-gil, il)-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Beautiful baked goods
 

WHERE TO GO IN SEOUL


Garosugil
Where: 06028 Garosu-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Beauty shops


Myeongdong
Where: 66, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Fast beauty experience

Skin Lab L
Where: 80-19 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Beauty treatments

Shangpree
Where: 27, Dosan-daero, 51-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Facials

Spa Lei
Where: 06524 5, Gangnam-daero 107-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For: Sauna

Rome Travel Tips from Katie Parla, Journalist

Conversations with Locals

Rome-based journalist Katie Parla is a food writer and cookbook author. She wrote about the sumptuous Roman dining scenes and expounded on its ancient food culture in publications such as Conde Nast Traveler, Bon Appètit and The New York Times. Her book Tasting Rome reads like a treasure trove of old world Italian recipes, straight from the tables of Rome’s renowned kitchens. Katie reveals where to go for an aperitif, the restaurants to avoid and the unlikely Roman classics to order.

Photo: Reva Keller

What do you feel defines Roman cuisine? 

Roman cuisine can be defined in a number of ways. We can think of it as the natural evolution of cuisine passed down from the Popes, peasants, and shepherds of the past with the important addition that a lot of what we eat in Rome is influenced by the food of the Jewish community, which was confined to a Ghetto by the Pope for centuries. We can characterise it by its main ingredients and techniques: Pecorino Romano, lamb, pasta, tomato-based sauces, offal, and seasonal produce; frying, braising, roasting.

What is the one local dish you feel travellers can’t leave Rome without trying? 

I’ll give one vegan dish and one that is the opposite of that. Cicoria ripassata in padella, a classic side dish of blanched, ideally wild, bitter greens that have been sauteed with extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and peperoncino is a must try because it is nearly impossible to recreate elsewhere. I have tried. Roman cicoria is special. The other is rigatoni alla pajata. Everyone associates cacio e pepe and carbonara with the city. They are great. But ordering them is a no-brainer. Rigatoni con la pajata, pasta with the intestines of milk fed veal cooked in tomato sauce, is so profoundly and soulfully Roman. You would be hard pressed to find it anywhere else and it speaks to the Roman affection for offal, which I share.

What about your favourite restaurants?

I have so many! In the trattoria category I love Cesare al Casaletto, Santo Palato, Armando al Pantheon. All do classics with a few of their own spins on things. For coffee and pastries, I love Regoli. For coffee, I go to Sciascia for a classic experience and Faro for third wave.

Photo: Reva Keller

Where would you go for an aperitif?

I have a ton of go-to spots if I’m grabbing wine for aperitivo – Mosto’ in Flaminio, Litro in Monteverde Vecchio, Il Goccetto in Centro, La Mescita in Garbatella, Sorso in San Paolo, Il Vigneto in Pigneto. For cocktails, Mezzo in Pigneto or Fischio in Trionfale. I love Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa’ and Artisan for beer.

Photo: Reva Keller

You talked about the quinto quarto on Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy. It was born out of poverty, but it seems like a no-waste approach when it comes to Italian cooking. Do you think it is more relevant today in light of the emphasis on environmental sustainability?

In reality, the quinto quarto (offal and poor cuts) isn’t just born out of poverty. If you look at Bartolomeo Scappi’s work, he documents plenty of offal cuts for Papal consumption. Organ meats taste good so the Roman nobility wanted to eat them, too. Certainly some of the quinto quarto classics derive from a culture of poverty, but not exclusively. Absolutely a no waste approach is typical of Italian regional cuisines, but it was typical of every cuisine I know of before the mid 20th century when the world began producing way more food than its population could reasonably consume.

The sustainability question is an interesting one. In Rome, there is more food waste than ever and while offal cuts remain a feature of the cuisine today, they aren’t as popular as they once were and the hunger for prime beef cuts is out of control. The number of Italian owned steakhouses and burger joints in town has absolutely exploded.

As you were originally from New Jersey, what’s the difference between coffee in America and coffee in Italy?

In Italy, coffee is pretty much exclusively related to two production methods – espresso machines and moka pots, both inventions of the early 20th century. Espresso is consumed on its own or with milk (cappuccino being the most popular example of this), quickly as the name suggests. Moka, which is not espresso by definition due to the lack of pressure in the pot, is consumed at home also on its own or with milk. Neither tradition calls for large quantities of lingering over a cup, whereas in New Jersey we have a little bit of everything, from gas station coffee to Starbucks to more thoughtful third wave coffee shops. I suppose we can also add the Swiss-born Nespresso machine to both Italian and New Jersian coffee practices!

Name some tourist traps travellers should avoid in Rome

Any place with a table out front overflowing with pasta dishes, pizza, pre-made cocktails and withering produce! All the places in Piazza del Colosseo. There are many others, of course, mainly situated near tourist attractions, but there are exceptions and you can eat really well at Armando al Pantheon even though it’s 150 feet from the Pantheon.

Name one best kept secret of Rome

If you have €100 cash and “know a guy”, you can visit the Jewish Catacombs off the Appia Antica. There’s no lighting system so you go in with flashlights and walk through these underground burial chambers and it’s amazing.

Where would you go in Rome if you’re longing for the countryside?

The Caffarella Park. It’s incredible. There are grazing sheep, ancient ruins, rolling hills and it feels totally rural even though it is trimmed by a densely populated residential neighbourhood.


WHERE TO EAT IN ROME


Trattoria Da Cesare al Casaletto
Where: Via del Casaletto, 45, 00151 Roma RM, Italy
For: Roman classics

Santo Palato
Where: Piazza Tarquinia, 4 a/b, 00183 Roma RM, Italy
For: Carbonara and daily specials

Armando al Pantheon
Where: Salita de’ Crescenzi, 31, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
For: Offal specialties

Pasticceria Regoli
Where: Via dello Statuto, 60, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
For: Coffee and pastries

Sciascia Caffè 1919
Where: Via Fabio Massimo, n.80/a, 00192 Roma RM, Italy
For: Coffee

Faro
Where: Via Piave, 55, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
For: Third wave coffee

Enoteca Mosto’
Where: Viale Pinturicchio, 32, 00196 Roma RM, Italy
For: Aperitivo

Litro
Where: Via Fratelli Bonnet, 5, 00152 Roma RM, Italy
For: An extensive wine list

Il Goccetto
Where: Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 14, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
For: Small bites

La Mescita
Where: Via Luigi Fincati, 44, 00154 Roma RM, Italy
For: Italian wine bar

Sorso
Where: Via Ostiense, 187, 00154 Roma RM, Italy
For: Aperitivo

Il Vigneto
Where: Piazza dei Condottieri 26/27 00176 Rome, Lazio, Italy
For: Aperitivo

Mezzo
Where: Via del Pigneto, 19, 00176 Rome
For: Cocktails

Fischio
Where: Piazzale degli Eroi, 00136 Roma RM, Italy
For: Cocktails

Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa’
Where: Via Benedetta, 25, 00153 Roma RM, Italy
For: Beer

Artisan
Where: Via degli Aurunci, 7/9, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
For: Beer
 

WHERE TO GO IN ROME

Appia Antica
Where: Via Appia Antica, 42, 00178 Roma RM, Italy
For: Jewish catacombs

Caffarella Park
Where: Via della Caffarella, 00179 Rome Italy
For: Rome’s countryside

Brittany Travel Tips from Audrey Le Goff, French Food Writer

Conversations with Locals

Audrey Le Goff is a French food writer at Pardon Your French and the author of Rustic French Cooking Made Easy. Audrey talks buckwheat crepes, the proper French greeting and Brittany’s rainy weather.

Photo: Pardon Your French

What do you feel defines the cuisine in Brittany? 

To understand Brittany cuisine, you have to understand its land. Brittany is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean. On one side, L’Armor (the sea) provides an abundance of fish, seafood and shellfish, which are all prominent on Brittany’s tables. On the other side, L’Argoat (the inland) has rich soil fields and a mild climate prone to growing sturdy produce like artichoke and cauliflower, root vegetables, apples and a wealth of buckwheat – a star ingredient of Brittany cuisine.

With a strong farming heritage, Brittany is also known for its excellent meat and dairy production: milk, cream and amazing butter which gives way to lots of very buttery baked goods. Compared to the idea of what most people have of French cuisine, Brittany cuisine is far more rustic, humble and often focuses on the taste rather than the look. Simple techniques, uncomplex dishes, no fancy pastries… It’s all about celebrating the sea and the land, honouring the local ingredients and keeping things laid-back.

What is the one local dish you feel travellers can’t leave Brittany without trying? 

Crêpes, of course. But make sure to go for the authentic savoury buckwheat crêpes. Those made with wheat flour are only meant to be enjoyed with sweet fillings, for dessert. When dining at a crêperie, order a crêpe complete. The most classic buckwheat crêpe filled with ham, cheese and egg. For the whole Breton experience, eat it alongside a glass of cider, plus a mug of lait ribot (the local buttermilk).

That said, you can’t leave Brittany either without trying a kouign-amann or a gâteau breton.

Photo: Pardon Your French

What about your favourite restaurants?

I am partial to my hometown Lorient which has a good dining screne, including great restaurants like Le Tire Bouchon, L’Alsace à Quai, Le 26-28 and Le Jardin Gourmand. Although sadly, my absolute favourite local crêperie La Rose Des Sables did not survive the Covid-19 lockdown and permanently closed just last week. Local chef Jérôme Le Teuff makes great chocolates and pastries. When living in Rennes during my university years, my favourites spots were Crêperie St Georges and the crêperie La Rozell. But do know that just as important as the restaurants are, markets are equally as important in Brittany. The Lices Market in Rennes on Saturdays, is one of France’s most bountiful markets. Here you will find the best galettes saucisses – an iconic street food in Brittany – which are buckwheat crêpes wrapped around pork sausages.

Photo: Pardon Your French

Name one best kept secret of Brittany

I think my hometown Lorient is one of Brittany’s newest best kept secrets. Up until a few years ago, Lorient didn’t have a great reputation and never struck as a must-see site. The town was almost entirely bombed during WWII and re-built in the 50s and 60s with quite plain, unappealing architecture. Forget cobbled streets and medieval charm. But recently, Lorient has experienced a wonderful revival, with plenty of tasteful renovations, new restaurants, and a major new sailing hub attracting sailors from worldwide. It is today an attractive sea-side town with marinas, beautiful surfing beaches and lots of bars and cafes. And because this revival is quite recent, Lorient still isn’t as touristy as other sea-side towns, which makes it even more enjoyable for a relaxing stay in Brittany.

Name one French etiquette most travellers miss

Well, of course this rule doesn’t apply anymore in the Covid-19 era, but in France, kissing on the cheek is the proper way to greet someone, even between two male or female friends. Don’t try to hug or you’ll likely get pushed back in bewilderment. Hugs are perceived as a quite intrusive gesture, and you will never see people hugging to say hi, except lovers. To make things even trickier, you’ll need to judge how many kisses should you bestow, as the number can vary from one French region to the other. Four kisses in the South, three in the North and in Brittany, it’s two.

What’s the perfect itinerary to explore Brittany? 

Brittany is a large region with incredibly varied landscape, so try to see a bit of it all. Start with Rennes, the capital and biggest city of Brittany, which has an exciting cultural scene and a lively medievel old quarter with lots of typical taverns. After that, venture in-land to experience a more bucolic Brittany living. There a plenty of small medieval cities in-land such as Dinan, La Gacilly, Locronan, or Pont-Aven that’ll make you feel like you stepped back in time. The city of Quimper is also a must-see, with cobbled streets and superb slanted half-timbered houses – traditional Breton architecture. Lastly, and most absolutely, head to the coastline. I would recommend a stay in Carnac on the Southern coast, home to beautiful beaches and an impressive Megalithic site; or a stay in the walled city of St-Malo on the Northern coast, filled with history and pirate legends.

What is one travel tip you would give to travellers heading to Brittany? 

Definitely pack a rain jacket. Brittany is known for its changing weather and iconic crachin breton (Breton drizzle). The cliché of Breton people wearing thick blue stripes sweaters and yellow rain coats exists for a reason. Even in the Summer, you can get rain and wind on a daily basis. But don’t let the weather stop you! I actually think a hike on a craggy coastal path is far more typically Breton when done under a drizzle and gusts of wind.

Where is the perfect weekend getaway in Brittany?

Brittany’s coast has islands aplenty, and they all make for the perfect weekend getaway. Belle Île, Brittany’s biggest island, Ouessant or Île-de-Bréhat are popular islands with stunning beaches and untouched nature. But my personal favourite is perhaps l’Ile de Groix, off the coast of Lorient. It is a tiny huddle of slow-living, accessible by a 45 minutes ferry ride from Lorient. It offers tall cliffs on the north side of the island and a famous beach of turquoise water on the east side, called Les Grands Sables, that’ll make you feel like you are in the Caribbean. You can eat amazing mussels and frites at Port Tudy, the island’s main town, while watching the fishing boats entering and exiting the harbour. If you’re like me, you’ll never want to leave.

WHERE TO EAT IN BRITTANY


Le Tire Bouchon
Where: 45 Rue Jules le Grand, 56100 Lorient, France
For: Traditional French cuisine

L’Alsace à Quai
Where: 19 cours de la Bove, 56100 Lorient France
For: Fish and chips

Le 26-28
Where: 26 Rue Poissonnière, 56100 Lorient, France
For: Contemporary seasonal cuisine

Le Jardin Gourmand
Where: 46 rue Jules Simon, 56100 Lorient France
For: Well-dressed dinners

Pâtisserie Jérôme Le Teuff
Where: 4 Rue Joseph Rollo, 56100 Lorient, France
For: Chocolates and pastries

Crêperie St Georges
Where: 11 Rue du Chapitre 35000 Rennes, France
For: Crêpes
 
La Rozell
Where: 14 Rue de Penhoët, 35000 Rennes, France
For: Crêpes
 
Lices Market
Where: 3 Place du Bas des Lices, 35000 Rennes, France
For: Galettes saucisses

WHERE TO GO IN BRITTANY

Lorient
Where: 56100 Lorient, France
For: Beaches for surfing and an up-and-coming dining scene

Rennes
Where: Rennes, France
For: Culture

Quimper
Where: 29000 Quimper, France
For: Traditional Breton architecture

Carnac
Where: 56340 Carnac, France
For: Beaches and the coast

St-Malo
Where: Saint-Malo, France
For: Beaches

l’Ile de Groix
Where: Groix, France
For: Weekend getaways