Saturday in Seoul: Morning Run, Local Chimaek, and Exploring Nowon!!
Yesterday was Saturday. I stuck to my morning routine and headed to the gym, logging an 8km run and burning around 700kcal. Nothing feels quite as good as starting the weekend with a solid workout!
1. A Hidden Gem Local Pub: Royal Chicken Hof!
In the afternoon, I met up with my girlfriend for a date around Nowon Station. We headed over to a small local spot called Royal Chicken Hof (로얄치킨호프).
A “Hof” (호프) is a classic Korean-style pub specializing in draft beer and fried chicken. This place is cozy and quiet, with just about 5 to 6 tables and an open kitchen. The restaurant was sparkling clean, and it felt like a lovely spot run by an elderly couple who have been keeping it going for years.
We ordered Ban-ban Chicken (반반치킨—literally “half-and-half,” half classic crispy fried and half sweet-and-spicy glazed) along with fresh draft beers. The chicken tasted super fresh, like the oil had just been changed, and even the simple side salad was delicious. It always feels like a shame that international travelers rarely get to stumble upon authentic, neighborhood spots like this!
2. The Famous Saturday Lottery Line
Right near Royal Chicken Hof, there is a famous Lotto ticket retailer known as a “Lotto Myeongdang” (로또 명당—a spot rumored to sell a lot of winning tickets).
On Saturday evenings around 7 PM, right before the weekly draw, you can always see a massive line of people wrapped around the street waiting to buy their tickets. It’s a fun piece of local Saturday culture!
3. Late-Night Eats & Tech Browsing
After our chicken and beer, we walked over to Ttowa Sundubu (또와 순두부) for a second round. We ordered spicy soft tofu stew (Sundubu), a giant rolled omelet (Gyeran-mari), and a bottle of Soju. By the end of it, we were absolutely stuffed.
To walk off all the food, we strolled into the Lotte Department Store at Nowon Station to browse around. We checked out the new Galaxy Z Fold 8 display, and I have to say—Samsung really nailed the design on the Fold 8 this time!
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