The stuff of dreams – DreamWorks exhibition

When I was new in Korea, I did a semi-home-stay experience where me and a Spanish friend stayed one night at a Korean friend’s family home. The warmhearted matriarch of the home greeted us with open arms and offered us dinner. If you looked away from your plate for even a second, it would be filled up with seconds, no matter how full your stomach was.

I remember this kind-heartedness fondly, but my strongest memory from that night is something totally different. The mother left for a trip that evening, so the rest of us decided to pull an all-nighter. We had fun until the morning, when some bright mind decided it was a wise move to go watch Kung Fu Panda 2 in the morning cinema. Said and done, with 0 hours of sleep, we headed for the movies.

I can honestly say I remember almost zilch from that movie. I was slipping in and out of sleep. The pandas were taking over my dreams and I had no idea what was dream and what was “reality” (read “movie”). As a person who has never smoked or taking any heavy substances, I think that was the closest I’ve been to a mind trip.

So the name “DreamWorks” surely fits the company. The exhibition in question travels the world and is currently open in Seoul Museum of Art, just by City Hall station. With the under title “Journey from sketch to screen”, the exhibition consists of concept figures of the characters, sketches, story lines, movie clips of how the character animations and motion capture was done and finally some insights into how the soundtracks were made.

It is divided into four subsections called “World”, “Story”, “Character” and “Drawing room”. Most are self-explanatory, except the latter where visitors can create their own pictures and videos via computer screens.

Even though I have not yet seen the movie, my favorite part was the 180 degree cinema screen where we get to see in video format how How To Train Your Dragon went from paper sketch to intricately generated computer environments. The virtual ride on the dragon’s back is almost more beautiful than real life.

Info:

Name:
DreamWorks Animation – The exhibition / 드림웍스 애니메이션 특별전

Exhibition period:
2016.04.30 – 2016.08.15 at Seoul Museum of Art - 서울시립미술관

Open hours:

Tues – Fri: 10AM to 8PM

Sat, Sun and holidays: 10AM to 7PM

Every first and third Tuesday of the month: 10AM to 10PM

Mondays: Closed

Entrance fees:

Adult: 13,000W

Youth: 10,000W

Child: 8,000W

Bburi – Flower cafe

Bburi is a flower cafe located in the heart of Gangnam-gu, Cheongdam. This upscale area is perfect for a beautiful cafe and flower shop at the same time. The owner is a young lady who burns for floristry. Her passion has taken her far and wide in the pursuit of honing her skills in flower arrangement. She has trained in USA and taken the best part of her training back to Korea.

Unlike other cafes that fuse with concepts such as cats, dogs, racoons (!), toys, board games and more, Bburi is not just a cafe with flowers added as a gimmick. It would do Bburi more justice to say that it is a flower shop where you can get a cup of coffee, a chilled glass of refreshing lemonade or even a rich muffin. Even still, that is not all there is to Bburi. You will instantly notice that the flowers do not sit in some plastic pots with obscure Nordic names from IKEA, but in skillfully baked ceramic pots in shapes you’ve never witnessed before. Bburi is not only a cafe and a florist, but also a potter!

Customers can buy flowers, pots, cacti, request special flower arrangements and buy other ornaments. The staff also provides consulting and flowers and decorations for special events. People visiting the cafe can also sign up for flower arrangement and gardening classes.

http://www.thebburi.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thebburi/
https://www.facebook.com/thebburi/

Map: http://map.naver.com/?dlevel=12&pinType=site&pinId=37801440&x=127.0413228&y=37.5267999&enc=b64

Avant Garde – Rooftop lounge

Chances are that if you still haven’t heard of Avant Garde, you might have already seen it online. Their colorfully lighted seats, interior and picturesque view over either Noksapyeong or the City Hall area provides the perfect ambience for a lunch or evening drink. The atmosphere is very laid-back and cozy, which is evident by the fact that the waiters and waitresses do not force you to order side dishes. It is perfectly fine to come after work, have a drink or five with your friends and be on your way.

The Avant Garde brand does not only consist of two pubs, one in Noksapyeong and one near City Hall, but also cafes selling both coffee, small snacks and ice-cream. The thought behind the name and the concept is that the establishments will combine drinks and food with art. The owner also runs exhibitions elsewhere and often rotates the art that is shown in the Avant Garde pub. So even for frequent customers, the interior will change periodically.

The art is contributed by different artists and every piece comes with an explanation and background. So Avant Garde is actually as much of a drinking place as an exhibition hall.

Avant Garde Rooftop
http://avantgardearts.co.kr/
https://www.facebook.com/AvantGardeRooftop/
https://www.instagram.com/avantgarde_rooftop/

Noksapyeong-dae-ro 48gil, 18, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
서울특별시 용산구 녹사평대로46길 18

Guillaume - Le Pain Véritable

Baking is not only an art but a science as well. Reaching and keeping the right temperature to keep the yeast microorganisms alive so they can help creating the perfect dough, knowing how to handle the sourdough so that the dough fermentation does not fail, and mastering the technique of skillfully creating tens of layers of dough to bake the perfect, crispy croissant. All this requires a dexterous hand and wise mind. No wonder then that the founder of Guillaume bakery was an engineer before opening his current two bakeries located in Hannam-dong and Apgujeong.

Guillaume combines a modern menu selection with choices such as rosemary or chamomile grapefruit ade, Kale and Apple juice and Rooibos sugar plum tea with a classic French interior in tones of faded pink. The layout makes the customer reminisce of vintage Paris apartments with a high ceiling, narrow but cozy hallways to the bathroom, ornaments and comfy seats. The lighting is not too intrusive and the music flows in the tones of both old and new, all the while a laid back atmosphere.

We opted for the Vanilla bean cafe au lait and the Grapefruit rosemary tea. As soon as our coffee was served, we instantly realized that regular coffee shops in Korea can’t even begin to compare with Guillaume. The coffee is served together with organic brown sugar that you can add to your own liking. The coffee itself tasted just the same, if not better than the tiny mom-and-pop stand-up coffee stores in France and Italy. The ade came with fresh slices of grapefruit, grapefruit pulp in the drink and a rich serving of rosemary twigs dipped in the drink. A very fresh choice, and you’ll feel the vitamin C pump through your veins.

After the citrusy drink we needed a sugar explosion. This came in the form of praline, raspberry and chocolate macarons. The macarons were perfectly crispy on the outside, giving some good resistance when you push with your fingers. On the inside awaiting a moist, soft, and utterly delicious filling. You could taste the freshness of the raspberry when your teeth identify tiny raspberry seeds. The chocolate was rich and thick and the praline just melts in your mouth.

What I was most excited about when entering Guillaume were the breads and pastries, seeing as the bakery calls itself Le Pain Véritable (The true/real/authentic/bona fide bread). The foreign clientele very much appreciates this side of Guillaume and many Germans come to buy sour bread, French come to buy all sorts of pastries and Swedes come for the healthy breads. When taking a bite into the pastries, you can almost taste the history and childhood in France of Guillaume himself.

The almond croissant covered in powdered sugar is perfect when you need something different from a plain croissant. The apple turnover is also perfectly crispy and you can hear the crunch from miles away when someone takes a bite before your palate hits the sweet and acid apple inside. My favorite of the day was the Éclair au Citron. I had no idea éclair came in so many different flavors and previously only knew the standard cream-filled éclair. I love when a bakery teaches me new knowledge and flavors, so I knew I had definitely come to the right place. It is very soothing to know that if I crave genuine French pastry, I can finally find the solution to my craving without leaving Seoul city.

http://www.maisonguillaume.com/eng/guillaume.html
https://www.facebook.com/guillaume.seoul

Gangnam-gu, Cheongdam-dong 88-37, Insung Bldg #101, Seoul 135-954, Korea +82 2 512 6701