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- Top 5 new Seoul restaurants
- Tokyo hotel targets geeks with Gundam rooms
- Supertrees, high-tech flowers: Singapore's incredible new attraction, Gardens by the Bay
- 15 things we love and hate about Hong Kong since the handover
- China plans 'Swiss makeover' for tourism in southeast Tibet
- How to travel five continents in one day
| Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:45 PM PDT by Joohwan Kim, Frances Cha In Seoul, the fact that a certain restaurant may be trending online doesn't necessarily mean that it's good. Or even that it actually exists. Case in point: a while ago, "the fishing hoe restaurant" was the top searched-for term on Naver, South Korea's largest portal site -- no mean feat, if you consider the fact that Naver has more than 70 percent of the market share in a country where 95 percent of households have broadband Internet. But upon investigation, we found that although the restaurant looked ridiculously fun (customers could actually fish in a pool filled with live fish in the middle of the floor and have their catch served up on the spot) it had had also long gone out of business. No, even in the most wired city in the world, the best kind of restaurant buzz is still via word of mouth –- preferably those from the foodiest of foodies. Here are the hottest new restaurants in Seoul right now, all opened within the past year, where lines are long and the buzz is local, real and justified. 1. Vatos Urban Tacos The Kimchi Carnitas Fries at Vatos. Every time we've attempted to go to Vatos, we've been astounded by the lines and the wait time. And how we run into all the coolest people we know, all standing awkwardly around with growling tummies and increasingly bad tempers. As any traveler knows, it's damn difficult to come across good Mexican food anywhere outside of North America -- to the point where Vatos is regarded as a near miracle in this city. And the combination of Korean and Americanized Mexican cuisine (the Kimchi Carnitas Fries, ₩10,000, have sparked some copycat wars and a lot of gossip mongering) is so ridiculously good that you'll wait out that two-hour line or die trying. Another highlight of the menu is the Galbi Short Rib Taco, featuring Korean soy sauce marinated ribs and lots of cilantro and lettuce -- but not so much as to drown out the taste of the succulent meat. The margaritas are also delicious. And if you can't pick between a margherita or a beer there's always the Dos-a-Rita Corona Rita. 66-8 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 용산구 이태원동 66-8); +82 2 797 8226; open Tuesday–Thursday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m.-2p.m., 5 p.m.-11 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. More on CNNGo: Why do people take food so seriously? 2. Goldfish  Finally, decent dim sum in Seoul. Despite its explosive popularity as the new "it" neighborhood, Garosugil was surprisingly lacking in good foodie options until recently. A whole crop of restaurants have sprung up in the block left of the road on the Sinsa side, and one of the standouts is the new Chinese restaurant Goldfish, which serves handmade dim sum – the soft and delicious kind, instead of the hard little nuggets you find anywhere else outside of Hong Kong. Authentic Chinese teas are also available. As it is popular with young people on their first "sogeting" (blind dates), it's best to be wary when you pick a spot, lest you suffer from indigestion after chortling over the godawfully awkward exchanges you'll overhear ("Oh my god, you're blood type A? Me too!") In addition to the delicious dim sum, we also like the dark interior with orb lights. 535-1 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu , Seoul (서울특별시 강남구 신사동 535-1) ; +82 2 511 5266; Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 6 p.m.-10:30 p.m., closed on Monday. Expect to pay around ₩17,000 per person (lunch and dinner). More on CNNGo: World's 10 best cities for foodies 3. Pizzeria d'Buzza  What a rich person's pizza looks like, apparently. This pizza parlor is always so fully booked that the only sure way to grab a table is to drop by at 10:30 a.m. and write your name down on a reservation list for lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m. The name is also a multilingual pun -- pronounced in Korean, "Buzza" sounds like "rich person," so Pizzeria d'Buzza would be like the "pizza of the rich." But contrary to any misconceptions given off by the restaurant's Konglish name, the food is not fake Italian. The crust is not too crunchy or dry, but in the vein of fine Neapolitan pizzas, made with authentic Italian ingredients, and baked in an open air clay pizza oven. We recommend the Margherita con Bufala (₩16,300) which uses buffalo mozzarella imported from Italy, or the Buzza's Classic (₩14,000). 743-33 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (서울특별시용산구 한남동 743-33); +82 2 794 9474; www.buzzapizza.com; open daily, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; closed 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m. on weekdays. More on CNNGo: 3 top Seoul restaurants for a foolproof first date 4. Goseumdochi (고슴도치)  The Demi-glace Hamburger Steak at Goseumdochi. Three-month-old restaurant Goseumdochi -- meaning "hedgehog" in Korean -- is perched above the labyrinth of the narrow, congested streets of Sinsa-dong. Reminiscent of a Japanese Western food joint, Goseumdochi's popularity can perhaps be credited to the calm, atmospheric lighting and décor and the simplicity of the cuisine. Staple dishes include the Pork Tonkatsu (₩9,500) covered in Japanese Worcestershire sauce and the hamburger steak in demi-glace sauce (₩15,000). For the homesick Tokyoite, it is a delicious reminder of home. For the Seoulite and the bewildered traveler, it serves up a comfortable minimalist meal as a quiet respite from the rest of the city. Rather than trying to combine unusual tastes together, Goseumdochi goes by tried-and-tested tastes that everyone can relate to and enjoy. 548-4 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 강남구 신사동 548-4); +82 70 7571 5484; open daily, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. More on CNNGo: You wanna eat? You gotta pay: 10 stupidly expensive restaurants 5. La Categorie  The divine Lobster Bisque at La Categorie. More high-end than any of the other restaurants on the list, La Categorie is located in an unassuming building with no signs or identification. For a French fusion restaurant, La Categorie has reasonable prices, especially considering its exclusivity and quality. While a lot of Western food has been sweetened to appeal to Korean taste buds, La Categorie offers very good French fusion and experimental meals. In particular, we loved the Lobster Bisque (part of a ₩45,000 four-course meal) which features a fantastic balance of lemongrass, lobster and fresh sea urchin, combined with a sea urchin mousse and fish eggs. Reservations required. 627-21 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 강남구 신사동 627-21); +82 2 545 6647; Tuesday-Saturday noon-3 p.m., 6 p.m.-10 p.m. More on CNNGo: Seoul's 5 best barbecue restaurants read more      |
| Tokyo hotel targets geeks with Gundam rooms Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:09 PM PDT Both anime and robot fans are in for a treat next time they're in Tokyo -- a bayside hotel in the city has opened the world's first guest rooms themed around the Gundam line of giant robot mechanoids. And no, we didn't dream this up after heavy night on the sake and shochu. Hotel Grand Pacific Le Daiba in the capital's waterfront entertainment district has just begun taking reservations for three Gundam rooms, two of which can be combined into a suite for the wealthier otaku. The rooms, opened June 29, are decorated with a range of images from the 33-year-old animated TV show, have bed linen emblazoned with all manner of Gundam arcanery and even carpets and wallpaper in the appropriate colors. Squeeze 'em 'til it hurtsFans opting for the suite can expect to spend from ¥26,000 (US$327) each per night if two people are staying, or ¥25,000 a head if three's (super-nerdy) company. read more    |
| Supertrees, high-tech flowers: Singapore's incredible new attraction, Gardens by the Bay Posted: 28 Jun 2012 10:41 PM PDT Forget the casino. Marina Bay Singapore's hottest new attraction is Gardens by the Bay, a cutting-edge horticultural mega project featuring 50-meter high solar-powered "supertrees" and climate-controlled biomes. The entire project is estimated to have cost more than S$1 billion. Today is the official opening of Bay South Garden, the largest of the 101-hectare venue's three gardens. The 54-hectare section features cooled flower domes, multiple heritage-themed outdoor gardens and two lakes. Cooled conservatoriesBay South Garden's two glass biomes -- dubbed "Cloud Forest" and "Flower Dome" -- were designed to replicate the cool-moist climate of the tropical montane region, the Mediterranean and semi-arid sub-tropical regions. The conservatories feature plants and trees from these areas, which are among the most threatened habitats in the world, say Gardens officials. In addition to the permanent display of plant life and tree species, there will be seasonal changing floral displays in the Flower Dome. SupertreesRanging in height from 25 to 50 metres, the Gardens' 18 Supertrees are basically vertical gardens covered in bromeliads, ferns and tropical flowering climbers. Two of the trees are connected via an aerial walkway. read more    |
| 15 things we love and hate about Hong Kong since the handover Posted: 28 Jun 2012 09:20 PM PDT by Zoe Li, Hiufu Wong, Christopher DeWolf
On July 1, it will be 15 years since Hong Kong transferred from British to Chinese sovereignty on June 30, 1997. Like handwritten letters and privacy, pre-handover Hong Kong is becoming a distant nostalgic memory for many and a total mystery to tweens. But for the rest of us who lived through the 1980s and 1990s, through the angst of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the firestorm of Tiananmen Square, the popularity of the egg tart-eating governor "Fat Pang," the glory of the late Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing's acting peak and the sobriety of Martin Lee's pro-democracy politics, here is a look at how far we've all come. More on CNNGo: Behind the scenes of Hong Kong's most loved egg tart bakery read more    |
| China plans 'Swiss makeover' for tourism in southeast Tibet Posted: 28 Jun 2012 07:50 PM PDT by CNNGo staff China is forging ahead with high-end tourism in the Tibet Autonomous Region, especially in the southeastern region, with the first of 22 planned villages being given a Swiss motif. Xinhua News Agency (in simplified Chinese only) reported that Guangdong Province will invest more than RMB 400 million (US$63 million) in Nyingchi's (林芝) tourism industry, a prefecture some 400 kilometers east of Lhasa, bordering Myanmar and India. News of the tourism drive came only weeks after reports of foreign tourists being banned from entering Tibet. A new draw for TibetAccording to the plan, Guangdong will help build 22 "prosperous model villages" in Nyingchi in counties such as Bomê and Zayü. "Through cultivating the high-end travel industry, [the plan] will turn southeast Tibet into a new 'business card' of Tibetan tourism," wrote Xinhua. read more    |
| How to travel five continents in one day Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:10 AM PDT by Hiufu Wong Most of us will have only vague memories about what we got up to last Monday, June 18. But not Gunnar Garfors. He earned a place in history (although his feat has yet to be verified by Guinness World Records), by traveling to five continents within a single day. The idea grew into a plan when the 37-year-old Norwegian visited Istanbul a few years ago, a city that straddles two continents, and wondered: if you can visit two continents in a matter of seconds, how many can you visit in a whole day? Five, it turned out, "as long as there are no flight delays!" he says. So on June 18, Garfors, the CEO of Norwegian Mobile TV Corporation teamed up with British Adelia Television director Adrian Butterworth on a "continent run." read more    |
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