Guest Author: Lindsey
Whether you are a fully fledged sashimi connoisseur or a timid novice, Mitaya in Gangnam offers an authentic experience of Japan’s most revered delicacy. While the restaurant came highly recommended, I soon discovered why due to the beautifully designed Japanese décor, fresh sashimi, and extensive Japanese alcohol selection.
In Korea, Cafés are a dime a dozen. You can’t walk a block without seeing a Coffee Bean or a Tom & Tom’s. Although you can find huge corporate chains on every block, the smaller, more intimate cafes can often be hard to find, especially if you are unfamiliar with an area. In the last few months, I have found some very unique and upscale cafes which are well worth the extra dollar or two for a good cup of coffee. My favorite has been Baek Eok (100억), which means 10 billion in English.
Club Eden opened its doors in December 2008, effectively making it Seoul’s second newest club next to Club Heaven. Located in Gangnam’s prestigious Ritz-Carlton hotel, Eden totes itself as a “megaclub,” and it does not disappoint. The dance floor is the biggest in Seoul, and on any Friday or Saturday night is guaranteed to be packed.
For the past couple of months, I have started to become bored of the beer choices Korea has to offer. Essentially, you can either choose from lager number 1, lager number 2, or lager number 3, all produced by conglomerates. Micro breweries are essentially unheard of in Korea. Understanding that many people have more sophisticated tastes for our fine friend hops, the series entitled “Finding the Best Beer in Seoul” will attempt to find the best Brew Pub in Seoul. The first venue reviewed on the list is “Big Rock Brewery”.
Club Heaven is Seoul’s newest megaclub that attracts Seoul’s trendiest clubbers. Club Heaven stands amongst the top electronic music clubs in Seoul, which boasts one of the highest trend and fashion turnover rate in the world.
Located close to the landmark Renaissance hotel in south of the Han river (“강남”, or Gangnam), Club Heaven is located below right next to Artnouveau City Hotel. Its rivals include Eden and Le Nuit Blanche, both of which are located to the south of the Han river, as well as Club Volume, located next to Crown Hotel in Itaewon (north side of the river).
Club Heaven sports state-of-the-art laser system as well as sound system to please the most audiophiles. The club also features a few unique installation such as a confetti set that unleashes paper shower as shown below, and a thumping wooden dance floor, which is designed to make it seem like you’re dancing, even if you just stand on the floor.
Read on to see more club pictures, club reviews, directions and phone number!
There are 3 clubs that represent clubs around Gangnam Stn area (Subway line #2, or the green line). The three brothers include NB and Harlem, two of the only hip hop clubs situated south of the Han River. The third club is Club Mass, which describes itself as “premier electronic house music club in Seoul”, and I give them credit for getting the description right more or less… perhaps they included an extra word that does more than justice.
Of course, there are other clubs around the area. Club Eden for example, is about 15 minutes by walk from Gangnam St. #7, but in my opinion, such a mega club caters to a different type of clientèle or guests altogether. Mega clubs such as Club Eden, Volume, or Heaven all have entrance cover fee of 30,000 Won while NB, Harlem, and Mass cost around 15,000 to 20,000 Won. Costs of drinks in those 3 clubs are generally cheaper than aforementioend mega clubs, where a shot of tequila ranges from 5,000 Won to 10,000. In comparison, a tequila shot costs around 5,000 in Mass/NB/Harlem. So the pricing difference itself acts as a mechanism to bring in different types of people. Club Mass, in effect, attracts casual Gangnam clubbing crowd.
When you order a cheeseburger do you expect cheese to be an option? When you go hunting for a new car, do you expect to pay extra for four wheels and a steering wheel? When you go online shopping for a laptop, do you add special instructions with your purchase requesting a keyboard and a working screen? I am hoping your answers are no.
Expectations are a funny thing. What molds our expectations? I would say information. We know what to expect because of the wealth of information at our fingertips. You know that cheeseburgers have cheese. Someone way back decided to put cheese in the burgers and then told everyone around them that this new invention was called a cheeseburger. Eventually information got passed around to the greater public. That’s how it is done and it became standard.
Read more after the jump.
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For the next few months, I will be checking out these bars. I will further categorize these venues into the following categories:
- Cocktail bars
- Wine bars
- Hotel bars
- Whisky bars (bars with a good selection of whiskies, since I am a single malt fan)
And also, when I have the time I will have some “fun” reviews of more affordable and louder bars.
If you have any suggestions or recommendations, feel free to leave a comment.
Bar list after the jump. (30+)
My sources tell me that there are some major changes happening to the club scene in Seoul, besides the fact that Club Circle is undergoing renovation. I do hope Circle remains competitive after its facelift, and let’s see if they will go by the same name when it opens again…
3 updates happening to the club scene in Seoul after the jump.
Gangnam area is definitely where the night life is at. As a matter of fact, I would segment Seoul night life into four main areas: Gangnam (station, 강남역 부근), Apgujeong Rodeo/Cheongdam-dong area (압구정 로데오/청담동), Itaewon (이태원) and Hongdae (홍대). Of course there are also awesome places like Garosugil, Shinsa (신사동 가로수길), Seorae Ma’eul, Bangbae/Banpo (반포/방배동 서래마을) Insadong (인사동), Samchung-dong (삼청동) and etc., but in this Review series I will write about clubs in Gangnam. In a series of posts I will review all the clubs near near Gangnam station (Line #2, green) including:
Reviews of NB and Harlem after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
