47th Avenue Tea House {47번가 찻집} @ Insadong, Korea

We visited our first traditional Korean tea-house, 47th Avenue Tea House {47번가 찻집} in Insadong during our summer holiday to Seoul.

It was an excellent decision as we were very impressed by the beautiful ambiance of this quaint tea-house tucked away at one of the little lanes in Insadong. It seemed as if we entered a different world away from the hustle and bustle of the busy main street...

There are many different traditional Korean tea-houses in Insadong so you will definitely be spoilt for choice!

Even along the small lane that 47th Avenue Tea House was on, there were about 2-3 other tea-houses there..

So picturesque and charming, isn't it?

Housed in an actual hanok {한옥, traditional Korean house}, the lush greenery, traditional wooden frames and Korean tiled roofs made me fall in love with this place.

So many Instagram-friendly spots to take pictures at haha..

At 47th Avenue Tea House, you can choose to sit at the traditional floor seats or at the tables.

Whenever there's such a choice, I usually like to choose the traditional floor seats for a more "authentic" experience haha.

Do note that you'd have to take off your shoes when you enter this area, and it is just a hard floor with thin mats, not on a padded tatami floor, so it might be uncomfortable for you if you're not used to sitting cross-legged or if you have knee problems.

However, if you come with babies or small kids, I think this would be a better area to sit at as there's more space for them to sit and tumble about.

The table seating area is also very rustic and comfortable.. but with more small tables, this might be more cozy for couples than families?

Some autographs of famous Korean celebrities that visited 47th Avenue Tea House..

47th Avenue Teahouse has a wide range of tea, coffee, smoothies and selected traditional Korean snacks for you to choose from. Prices start from 6,000 won {S$7.05}.

I recommend going for their set menu which includes one plate of snacks {honey cookie, grilled mochi, dried persimmon or ice-cream toast} and 2 cups of tea {hot or cold}. The sets cost either 21,000 won {S$24.70} or 22,000 won {S$25.90}.

This tea-house is rather tourist-friendly so don't worry if you aren't able to read/speak Korean. The staff can speak English and the menu has English translations too.

Since we were already there, we decided to splurge a little on a Strawberry & Banana Bingsu {18,000won or S$21.20} and a Grilled Mochi Set {21,000won or S$24.70}. The shaved ice bingsu {빙수} is seriously the most expensive ice kachang I have ever eaten hahaha...

The Grilled Mochi {or tteok in Korean} with kuromitsu sauce, shaved almonds and kinako powder was absolute heaven. Crispy on the outside, soft & chewy on the inside. Damn. I wish we ordered 2 plates of that.. I'm still thinking about it even up to now and yeah, maybe I will try and recreate it at home one day.

The boy had a cup of hot mulberry tea while I went for a cold cup of jujube tea. It was kinda sweet with a slight herbal taste.

Mulberry tea is good for lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure, regulating the digestive system etc. while the benefits of jujube tea include relieving constipation, strengthening the immune system, boosting bone health, increasing blood circulation etc.

You can try many other Korean traditional tea here e.g. citrus tea, cinnamon tea, green plum tea, pomegranate tea, ginger tea, Chinese quince tea etc.

It was a lovely place to spend a lazy afternoon... if we had more time, I would definitely have liked to visit some of the other traditional Korean tea-houses too.