Seoul and Hell Pizza - A Day Out

Today I met a friend in Seoul for the afternoon, we met for lunch in Apgujeong because I really wanted to go to Hell Pizza.  Hell Pizza is a New Zealand pizza chain that has recently opened three stores here in Korea.  I've been wanting to go for awhile but wanted to go with another Kiwi to fully appreciate it.  My friend is recently back in Korea after a trip round South-East Asia so this was a good chance to catch up.

We were wondering if it would taste that same, although my friend has not lived in New Zealand for about six years so did not really remember it anyway. For me it was a bit different as I've only been here just over a year. One of the apartments where I lived in Wellington was really close to a Hell Pizza store so I ate it more that I usually would have. I'm not actually much of a pizza fan, I only really like Hawaiian flavor but I do like Hell's Pizza and its great that it is New Zealand owned and operated (in New Zealand).

There are three stores in Seoul, South Korea now. Two were opened first and then they have since added a third.  You can visit the Hell Korea website here for directions and details if you are interested (its in Korean but you can use the maps at the very least).  The locations are Apgujeong, Cheongdam, Jamwon (Bampo area). We went to the Apgujeong one and it was pretty easy to find although we were following some directions from online which seem to be a bit out of date so I will update here.

Directions to Apgujeong Hell Pizza:
Take the orange subway line number 3 to Apgujeong Station, take the exit number 2, when you come up out of the exit turn around and walk a couple of meters and then go around the first corner that veers off to the right.  Once you round the corner continue to walk straight for a while, you will pass a Dunkin' Donuts then a KB bank and then you should see the familiar black.  You can't miss it, there are lots of delivery scooters out the front.




Hell Pizza - Apgujeong in Seoul, South Korea

Our Experience in Hell:
The place is pretty small as I think their main business, as with most Pizza, is deliveries - while we were there we watched the bikes go out numerous times.  There are a couple of tables inside and a bench along the window that you can sit at so if you do go there you can eat in like we did.
The menu contains most of the favourites, its not as big as the New Zealand menu as Koreans apparently don't like a lot of choice.  I was happy however as my favourite was there - the 'Greed' pizza which is basically a Hawaiian (ham, cheese and pineapple).  My friend got the 'Wrath' one and we got some wedges to share.  All in all it was a pretty good meal, the pizza tasted just like it does back in New Zealand and the wedges were good too.

It was a nice (albeit expensive for Korea) lunch and I was a very happy Kiwi. I had been really feeling like something from New Zealand so it hit the spot.  Will definitely go back there some time.



Decor

After a long lunch we wandered around Apgujeong but there is not that much there unless you want to have Plastic Surgery (its the place to go for cosmetic enhancement). We decided to go over to Itaewon and go to the bookstore and foreign markets etc.  We taxied over to Itaewon because by now we had been walking for a while and it was hot. It only cost about 6,700won so that was pretty good, thankfully the car was air conditioned so we could cool down.

Itaewon:
In Itaewon we visited the English book store 'What the Book?' - you can find the link in my useful links list on the side. I couldn't really find any books that really jumped out at me and I have lots to read at home anyway so I was very good and resisted the urge. I did buy a magazine - crazy expensive (11,710won) but a bit of a treat as I don't go to Itaewon very often.

After that we wandered again and then decided we were thirsty and needed a nice air conditioned cafe for something to drink and a sit down.  I decided on iced chocolate for me and then looking around saw a sign for a chocolatier cafe. I figured they would have iced chocolate and boy was I right.  Turned out they had several different kinds, I was not sure which one to pick - they also had lots of handmade chocolate and desserts available.  It was an upstairs cafe and nice and big and airy and I think it might be a chain.

It's called Cafe Jubilee and it's on the corner above QuiznosSub (at an intersection on the main drag). I had an iced chocolate the 'pure' one simply because it was the first one on the list and I was overwhelmed with having more than one choice. It was OK, kinda thick and not the best I've had but not bad or anything.  I think I will try a different one next time I go there and I am sure I will go again.  I noticed on the way out they had some little ice cream desserts that looked nice.


We split a choice of six chocolates, the selection at the front counter are all numbered and you pick how many you want and then which numbers to make up your selection.  We had the Dark Truffle and the Heart and then I had a hazelnut one and my friend had a caramel one.  They were all really good - the heart one was a pretty red colour and was not what we were expecting taste wise, you would think it would be something red but it was passion fruit (which actually makes sense).  It was our favourite anyway, nice presentation and nice taste.

We finished off the day by checking out a couple of the foreign markets, I didn't really need anything but I picked up a few things anyway - some Milo cos its always good to have some in your cupboard if you need some comfort, some Salt and Vinegar chips I think they are a brand from England (they were pretty good, I was eating them as I wrote this) and some Tim Tams - you can get these at Home Plus but when I bought them I found they were from Indonesia and they obviously make them different as they did not taste as good.  I checked the back of these and they are from Australia so they should be the good ones.



My Goodies

The last thing I bought was just on a whim as I was so enamoured with it.  You have to say one thing about Americans they think of it all.  Where as the rest of the world would think why put marshmallow in a jar the Americans say, "the hell with you" and go ahead and do it.  So I give you 'Fluff' its marshmallow in jar and apparently you can put it on bread (cos I've always wanted a marshmallow sandwich?), in drinks and on desserts; the possibilities are endless and I was intrigued. There is even a serving suggestion for a 'fluffernutter' which you mix it with peanut butter on a sandwich - ummmmm I think I will pass on that one all the same. Thank you America for making all my (never even imagined) dreams come true.


Marshmallow Fluff (America in a Jar)

 

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