Read Part 1 HERE !
The ever-kind California local offered to drop me off at Wilshire/Western station – bless her boundless generosity! – where I happened to chance upon SF9’s Meet & Greet at the AT&T store. A lengthy lineup snaked around the corner of the building; I observed as girls with signed posters giddily trekked out of the entrance and made their way across the street to where I had positioned myself.
Pausing briefly at the north side of the intersection, I caught faint views of Inseong, Dawon, Rowoon, Taeyang, and Jaeyoon from in between lofty security guards and passing vehicles.
When my stomach alerted me that dinnertime was near, I waltzed into Nature Republic for a quick browse before heading over to MaDang Courtyard.
The three-level plaza was home to The Face Shop, Paris Baguette, Beard Papa’s, Daiso, H-Mart, CGV Cinemas, and more. Fighting fatigue and suppressing gustatory desires for a little longer, I managed to make quick rounds into several shops of interest before finally collapsing at Bento Bae.
Majority of the restaurant was filled with diners at this time, though there were surprisingly few customers in the lineup. The girl taking my order was not only patient with my indecisiveness, but also caring enough to suggest swapping not-so-fresh rolls from my customized bento set for better quality ones.
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Bento Bae offered clean bathrooms (with hooks!), outlets, lemon-infused water, and password-secured Wi-Fi to diners – all of which were of utmost importance to frenzied travellers with dying phone batteries. Like Panera Bread and recent McDonald outposts, electronic discs/remotes were presented upon completion of orders; these remotes would buzz to notify clients when their meal(s) were ready for pickup from the counter.
Due to extreme famine, I cannot recall the precise names of the rolls that made up my customized Chef’s Special Bento Box. However, I can firmly state that some pieces were fleshy and well-seasoned, while others were on the stale side. Nine pieces of sushi proved successful in curbing my appetite.
This was not synonymous with lack of room for dessert, however.
SomiSomi, a relatively popular soft serve ice cream shop, was conveniently situated next door. The lineup had extended across Bento Bae’s storefront when I had passed by earlier, though had been reduced to half its original length when I made my departure.
Without much thought, I joined the seven parties ahead of me. The line inched forward at a slow yet reasonable pace. Turning around some few minutes later, I realized that more eager ice cream-goers had been stepped into the lineup. There appeared to be a never-ending wave of customers for soft serve in starchy fish-shaped cones.
Research had been conducted via Yelp prior to this visit, so I was already somewhat familiar with the ordering process. Many remarks were in agreement regarding the speed at which the soft serve melted. I was particularly alert about this comment, not only because items that quickly disintegrate bother me tremendously, but also since I was carrying more items than normal, even for the regular commuter. Sticky hands, heavy bags, and a clean camera do not make for a pleasant combination, ever.
SomiSomi offered four flavours of soft serve: Ube, Milk, Matcha, and Black Sesame; two different flavours could be swirled together every other week. For my visit, I chose to have Ube and Milk swirled together and topped with Oreo bits and Fruity Pebbles. The fish-shaped waffle, or “bunggeoppang” as the shop denotes it, appeared soggy and too satiating for a post-dinner treat. Having excluded this doughy component and its custard/Nutella filling, the total cost of the soft serve was a meager $3.75.
Ube, otherwise known as purple sweet potato, carried a blue tint that caused it to exhibit an almost-lavender tone. Unlike its appearance though, its flavours were barely discernible underneath the gentle sprinkle of toppings.
Milk, on the other hand, was sweet and creamy, embodying the very essence of classic Vanilla. Neither excessively rich nor sugary, it provided the appropriate dosage of sweet satisfaction.
Milk, on the other hand, was sweet and creamy, embodying the very essence of classic Vanilla. Neither excessively rich nor sugary, it provided the appropriate dosage of sweet satisfaction.
Admittedly, the portion of soft serve received was much greater than anticipated. While the centremost section of the swirl was hollow, the quantity of ice cream was still more than that of Toronto’s independent dessert parlours. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised to find that its rate of dissolution was nowhere near as rapid as other reviewers had commented. This may have been owed to the omission of a piping hot fish waffle though.
I was impressed with SomiSomi on a general note: numerous times have family-operated businesses in the GTA climbed to the top of the hype ladder via social media from offering subpar food items at ridiculously high prices. This Koreatown shop not only went above my expectations by producing a delightful, attractive dessert, but also maintained efficient, assembly line operations and friendly service to boot.
H-Mart was the last stop I had wished to make before departing, but exhaustion had stopped me from venturing further. The trek back to Wilshire/Western was more tiring than before. The subway was nowhere to be seen either.
Frankly speaking, the subway station was eerily quiet for a weekday evening. Streetlights were also few, so waiting for the bus was honestly quite nerve-wracking. Several orange buses passed by before one headed in the direction of DTLA finally arrived.
Frankly speaking, the subway station was eerily quiet for a weekday evening. Streetlights were also few, so waiting for the bus was honestly quite nerve-wracking. Several orange buses passed by before one headed in the direction of DTLA finally arrived.
Once again, I somehow managed to make my return in one piece, all while in a groggy daze. Perhaps having a compass on hand was more useful than I thought.
Behold my Day 1 purchases!
Behold my Day 1 purchases!
As a result of pure luck, I had also managed to trade the Artist Engagement passes I received (but weren’t too fond of) for GOT7 Hi-Touch and SF9 Audience passes. This had been executed internally within the group, and would pave the way for a 11:00 AM Artist Engagement session the next morning.
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