Korea in Winter Day 7: Cat Cafe

Our girls love animals, and one of the things we talked about back home in Singapore was visiting a cat or dog themed cafe while on holiday in Seoul. Well, here we are!

We took the train back to Gangnam after sleeping in (once again) and Mummy brought us to try Kyochon fried chicken for lunch on our way to the Cat Cafe. To head to Kyochon, come out of exit 9 of Gangnam station, turn right into the street of restaurants, walk straight, cross the main road and walk for another 3-5 minutes. Kyochon is located on the second floor so look out for the entrance on your left. 

The weather forecast was rainy for the next few days.

Kyochon is apparently a trusted brand in fried chicken here.

The stairs leading up to the restaurant.

Looks like its got some serious endorsements. I am referring to the guy on the right.

Mummy ordered the spicy, original and honey combos. It took quite some time to be ready as the chicken would be fried only upon ordering. We were hopeful that the wait was worth it!

The kids seemed to enjoy the chicken. We ordered wedges and some Cass beer to complement the fried chicken. Note that the chicken is eaten together with preserved pickles and I must say they do go well together.

The setting is cozy cabin feel and they had nice seats be the windows overlooking the alley below.

The three combos cost between 17,000 and 18,000 won each. Mustard can be requested for 500 won. The best way to eat it is to use the plastic gloves provided, but you can use the fork too if that suits you better!

We left Kyochon and braved a light drizzle back to where we were in the beginning, to reach the Cat Cafe a few minutes walk away. We were impressed that even on a Monday afternoon, the cafe was keen to send out its mascot into the street under rainy conditions. We were even more impressed that even on a weekday afternoon, the cafe was quite packed. Visitors should note that an 8000 won entry fee includes a free drink, but the only food served there is cat food. Patrons aged 8 to 19 are charged 7000 won while those aged 7 and under are charged 6000 won.

Head to the lift landing

Cat cafe is located on the 4th floor. 

The cafe is in a small space on the fourth floor. No age limit. 

Visitors must remove their shoes and wear footwear provided before entering the cafe.

Change into the green slippers and sanitize your hands before entering the cafe. 

The kids get a briefing on the house rules before entering.

Visitors can sit at tables or choose to sit on the floor.

If you spread a towel over your legs, the cats know that they are welcomed to cuddle up on your lap.

The cats seem to like the attention given to them by visitors.

Shelves and cubby holes are made specially for cats to find comfortable corners where they can curl up and snooze if they want to.

But some just go ahead and get comfortable anywhere.

Entry is 8,000 won per person and includes a drink.

There are little toys lying around to stimulate the cats.

For 2,000 to 3,000 won, you can purchase treats for the cats.

Once you purchase a treat you suddenly become very popular. There are some rules when it comes to treats, and the cats with red collars do not get any. This is because they are very aggressive and may bite.

A drinking fountain with running water for cats.

This feline decided to get comfortable on our bags.

They are all over the place, and it is important you check your feet or behind you before sitting down or moving around or you might just hurt a cat.

Treats for the cats range from 2,000 to 3,000 won.

Mugshots of the cats and their names.

No sweets for cats please.

Some of our kids really enjoyed themselves so much that we stayed till close to dinner time. The peak hour crowd will be invading the subways soon and we decided to leave in an attempt to beat them to it. The Lotte Department store closes at 8pm and we wanted to check out the good deals in the food section to buy back something for dinner. Tomorrow morning we will be catching the 8.30am bus to Alpensia Ski Resort and we decided to wash up early and have more time to do some packing before waking up early in the morning.

Tonight we will dream about snow. Tomorrow, we will see snow. Yay!