Mount Namsan, N Seoul Tower and nGrill

One of the highlights of the trip to Seoul was the trek up to N Seoul Tower on Mt Namsan.  There are several methods of getting up to the top and one of which was to take the #2 yellow bus which makes regular rounds.  The Seoul city tour bus also has Seoul Tower as one of its many stops.  The third route, which I took, was to walk to bottom of the sideways escalator which takes you partway up the mountain.

As you make your way up the slope, eventually, you will encounter an eagle-topped totem pole next to the slanted elevators.

Once you make it to the top of the elevator, a short distance away is the Namsan cable car where you can purchase either a one-way or return trip cable car ride to nearly the top of the mountain.  I would really suggest taking the cable car as the views are quite spectacular.

After exiting at the top, there is a short walk up some wooden stairs before you are treated to a nice view of the N Seoul Tower.

As I had dinner reservations at nGrill, the revolving restaurant situated at the top of the tower, I headed straight for the elevators.

There was a rather neat show on the ceiling of the elevator car, simulating the sky as the elevator moved upwards before zooming off into the solar system and eventually coming to a stop at 'N Seoul Tower'.  There are were two levels where the elevator stopped.  The first is to the observation deck (which is included when eating at the nGrill) and the second is to the restaurant itself.  After stepping past the glass entrance to the restaurant, a spectacular view of the Seoul skyline is visible at every table.

If you ever get to visit the restaurant or the observation deck, the best time would most likely be around evening as you are treated to a warm sunset followed by the magical glow of city lights.  The dinner consists of7 courses of which several, including the main course, offer multiple options.  The first course was the amuse-bouche, which was quite elegantly presented and tasted rather good.

The beef carpaccio with fennel and watercress was up next.  This was good although the ingredients didn't seem to work too harmoniously together

The gazpacho with balsamic vinegar was excellent.

The next dish was by far the biggest disappointment.  The asparagus, poached egg and maple-cured bacon fell rather flat as the poached egg felt far too rubbery and didn't have much flavor.

The cod looked a little lonely when it arrived with the green beans and it would have been nice if the main course was a little larger and more filling, particularly when paying at least $75 USD for the meal.

As I'm not a huge fan of desserts, so the pineapple confit didn't make a huge impression on me although it certainly helped to fill my (never satisfied) stomach =) particularly after the disappointingly small main course.

While enjoying coffee and tea, I took the liberty of taking a shot of what I believe is the Dongdaemun area.

At this point, weariness was starting to set in once again and having enjoyed a delicious meal in a beautiful setting, it was time to head back to the hotel for some shut-eye.