Old Tea Shop

Location: Old Tea Shop, 2F 2-2 Kwan Hun-dong, Chong Ro-gu in the Insadong neighborhood of Seoul (e-mail oldteashop@hanmail.net)

We stopped here for a spot of afternoon tea. The Old Tea Shop has a very charming décor. I don't know enough to say whether it was authentic, but I loved the colors and textures. There was also a strong natural element - we sat at a "table" that was a giant urn fishbowl covered with glass top.

The tea shop also had finches (or some other little cheeping birds) flying around freely.

I had a refreshing and unusual citrus-y iced tea. Our beverages came with these oblong sticky rice pastries.

For first-time visitors to Seoul, I highly recommend Insadong and the Old Tea Shop. The little artists' shops along the main street were perfect for gift shopping - I picked up a nice pieced linen wall hanging for myself, and some little condiment dishes with a leaf design. And when you're shopped out, the Old Tea Shop provides the perfect zen oasis.