I am a caffeine-addict and enjoys going around Singapore to sip on various different types of coffee from various different blends of beans. Australia is one of the places that serves up one of the best coffee in the world and that explains why I chose Melbourne as the first destination to cafe-hop out of Singapore.
The influence of western coffee is so great that even a traditional country like South Korea is being influenced! Koreans love coffee and that explains why many popular areas in Seoul are named as Cafe Streets (카페러기), dedicated to caffeine lovers. The coffee culture in Korea began with the introduction of coffee and the strong curiosity and love Koreans have towards foreign food.
Seoul is well known for its themed cafes and pet cafes. Thus, my second chosen destination is definitely Seoul! Here is 12 popular cafes that I visited situated near to places and attractions that I went.
1) Kakao Talk themed:
Cafe Majo and Sady
Cafe Majo and Sady is a two-storey Kakao Talk themed store and cafe. Majo and Sady are characters from a popular Korean comics and their main store is located at Apgujeong Rodeo region. Popular dishes include the Brunch Set and and the Berry Pancake. I had the brunch set and a latte. The brunch set is HUGE and comes with a pair of Majo and Sady-shaped pancakes, soup, salad, sausage, and served with cream, tomato ketchup and maple syrup. Everything was so delicious! The soup has so much ingredients in it that I wished there was more soup instead! It's like a cream soup with chunks of potato, bacon bits, cheddar and croutons. The latte is served in a takeaway cup which has so many cute Kakao Talk-related doodles on it!
#1: Cafe Majo and Sady.
#2: Cafe Majo and Sady.
#3: Gwanghuimun right beside the cafe.
#4: Majo and Sady greets you at the entrance!
#5: Cute plushies by the window seats.
#6: Merchandise corner.
#7: The cute menu boards.
#8: Cafe and merchandises on 1st floor. More seating and washroom on 2nd floor.
#9: Cute mascot showing you the way to level 2.
#10: Level 2 seating with giant Majo and Sady plushies!
#11: Majo and Sady sign.
#12: Brunch Set KRW9,500.
#13: Latte KRW4,500.
#14: Cute takeaway cup with Kakao Talk-related doodles all around.
#15: Majo and Sady cookies.
Cafe Majo and Sady 카페 마조앤새디: 172 Gwanghuidong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Opening hrs: 1000-2300hrs (daily) | Subway: Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (line 2 exit 3, line 4 exit 4).
2) LINE Chat themed:
LINE Friends Store and Cafe
LINE Friends Store and Cafe is a cafe opened based on LINE Chat app. Many should be familiar with this app and their characters! The three-level building offers a cafe at the basement, merchandises on the first floor and apparels on the second floor. It is the biggest flagship store in Seoul. Get prepared to be welcomed by the gigantic 3.2m 'Brown' (the brown bear) at the entrance! There is another gigantic 3.2m plushie, Sally (the yellow duck), located at the basement. I literally went crazy in there and spend like 3hrs in the store - taking photos, eating and shopping. The snacks and drinks were all so cute and I just want to try them all! Had a hard time deciding which to try and in the end I settled down with the roll cake and coffee set, and some macarons.
#16: LINE Friends Store and Cafe.
#17: Gigantic Brown at the entrance.
#18: Merchandises on the 1st floor.
#19: Flying Brown, Cony and Sally!
#20: Apparels on 2nd floor, VANS X LINE footwear.
#21: Apparels on 2nd floor.
#22: Apparels on 2nd floor.
#23: Cafe and more merchandises at basement.
#24: Cute bottles!
#25: Pretty Cony kitchen set!
#26: Gigantic Sally at the basement.
#27: Brown, Cony and Sally cookies.
#28: LINE Milk Chocolate Bars.
#29: Cony Matcha Roll Cake, Brown Iced Latte, Sally Lemon Macaron, Brown Chocolate Macaron, Sally Strawberry Macron (Roll Cake and Coffee Set KRW8,000 - top up KRW3,000 for iced coffee, Macaron KRW3,000 each).
LINE Friends Store and Cafe: 535-15 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Opening hrs: 1200-2100hrs (daily) | Subway: Sinsa (exit 8).
3) Chocolate Lovers: Coco Bruni
Coco Bruni can be easily recognized with its logo, a girl on a sparrow. It is a chocolatier cafe with multiple outlets and is well known for its chocolates and cakes. All the outlets stick to a common theme of monochrome, wood and glass; which gives the store a clean and welcoming look. Their signature dessert, Secret Caramel Ice Cream, is a salted caramel soft serve ice cream dipped in dark chocolate and finish off with some sea salt flakes. The ice cream cone was really crispy and the ice cream is uniquely amazing! You cannot miss this out when you are in Seoul!
#30: Coco Bruni Apgujeong branch.
#31: Their signature Secret Caramel Ice Cream, as a standee.
#32: Coco Bruni Apgujeong branch.
#33: Secret Caramel Ice Cream KRW4,000.
Coco Bruni 코코 브루니: 666-10 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Opening hrs: 1000-2300hrs (daily) | Subway: Hangangjin (exit 2).
4) Coffee Enthusiasts: (best coffee in Seoul!)
C. Through Cafe
C.Through Cafe was initially not in my itinerary. Recently, a new trend, coloured latte art went viral on the internet and I chanced upon this cafe in Seoul on Instagram that serves really pretty latte art (called Creamart) and coloured latte art by barista Lee Kang Bin. How could I miss this out? So I decided to try my luck on getting a cup of coloured latte art. However, they wasn't selling it on my point of visit, so I settled with a cup of Iced Latte and it was the best cup of coffee I had in Seoul! Lee Kang Bin is a coffee trainer of C.Through Cafe and a judge at Latte Art Competitions, and thus the quality and standard of their coffee. Lee Kang Bin is also featured in various lifestyle magazines as well. You can view some of his works via his instagram (@leekangbin91). The cafe was really a lovely and cozy place with hip-ish music and best of all? They have swing chairs!
#34: C.Through Cafe.
#35: C.Through Cafe.
#36: C.Through Cafe.
#37: Trophy of Lee Kang Bin being a judge at one of the Latte Art Competetion.
#38: C.Through Cafe.
#39: Iced Latte KRW4,500.
#40: C.Through Cafe.
#41: Swing chairs!
#42: More seating at Level 2.
#43: More seating at Level 2.
C.Through Cafe (성수) 씨스루: 289-21 Seongsu-dong 2(i)-ga, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Website | Opening hrs: 1000-0300hrs (daily) | Subway: Seongsu (exit 1).
5) Hello Kitty Lovers:
Hello Kitty Cafe
The whole place was so pretty and cute! Though I am not a fan of pink, and definitely not a fan of Hello Kitty, but this place is definitely worth visiting! Do not expect too much on the food. They are pretty to look at but the taste is really just so-so. There are two floors of seating, with a gift store located at the corner of the first floor. Every corner of the cafe seems to be a great spot to take photo with. On the second floor, there is a Hello Kitty Room that features a single bed, an armchair and a simple vanity table. This room is definitely every little girl's dream room!
If you have the time, you can visit the Hello Kitty Island located at Jeju Island instead, the first and the largest Hello Kitty Museum in Korea. They have lots of activities (mainly for the young ones) available like art classes, dancing to Hello Kitty songs and get dressed in Hello Kitty costumes of 27 countries.
#44: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#45: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#46: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#47: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#48: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#49: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#50: Neoprint machines.
#51: Cute business cards.
#52: Hello Kitty Cafe.
#53: More seating at Level 2.
#54: More seating at Level 2.
#55: More seating at Level 2.
#56: Hello Kitty Room.
#57: Hello Kitty Latte KRW4,500, Hello Kitty Tiramisu KRW5,500.
#58: What's so special about this doll? It's so expensive!
#59: Hello Kitty Island Special Doll.
Hello Kitty Cafe 헬로키티 가페: 364-14 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Website | Opening hrs: 0930-2230hrs (daily) | Subway: Hongik University (exit 9).
6) Multiple Intimate Corners:
(3rd best coffee in Seoul!)
The Bridge Cafe
The Bridge Cafe is a cafe bistro that occupies the second and the third story of a building that offers multiple cozy sitting spaces and private areas, with different unique settings - some with proper dining tables and chairs, and some with mats and cushions; probably about 20 of these private corners. However, most of these spaces have pretty narrow entrance and low ceilings, so it could be a little trouble if you are a really tall or big-sized person. The coffee here is pretty good as well!
#60: The Bridge Cafe might be a little hard to spot along the streets since it's on the 2nd floor. Look out for this sign!
#61; If you see this sign, you are at the right stairs to go up.
#62: The Bridge Cafe.
#63: The Bridge Cafe.
#64: The Bridge Cafe.
#65: The Bridge Cafe.
#66: One of the intimate corners.
#67: Another intimate corner.
#68: Iced Latte 6,000.
The Bridge Cafe 카페 더 브릿지: 347-17 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Opening hrs: 1000-0100hrs (Sun-Thu), 1000-0200hrs (Fri, Sat) | Subway: Hongik University (line 9).
7) Health Enthusiasts:
Slow' Brick Cafe
Earthy themed cafe, Slow' Brick is a collabouration with Skin Talk, a beauty brand that aims to bring a better life to consumers. Slow' Brick specializes in their cleansing juice that comes in 5 colours - 5 different combinations of fruits and vegetables. RED: apple + carrot + beetroot + tomato. ORANGE: apple + carrot + lemon. YELLOW: grapefruit + orange + pineapple + apple. GREEN: apple + celery + orange + carrot + tomato. PINK: apple + tomato + grapefruit + carrot. The cafe also serves coffee, organic tea, cakes and salad.
#69: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#70: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#71: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#72: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#73: Slow' Brick Cafe.
#74: Choco Choco Cake KRW5,000, Chamomile Tea KRW5,000.
Slow' Brick Cafe: 44 Dongmak-ro 7-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Website | Opening hrs: 1000-0000hrs (daily) | Subway: Sangsu Station (exit 1).
8) Matcha Lovers:
O'sulloc Tea House
O'sulloc Tea House, a premium Korean green tea brand originated from Jeju. O’sulloc is a matcha themed café specialized in presenting the authentic taste of Korean traditional tea. The café offers a variety of desserts and beverages with matcha (or green tea) as the main ingredient. If you don't like matcha, you can try their hojicha alternative The café also promotes tea drinking and the health benefits of tea.
There are so many matcha items to try on and I finally decided on getting the Green Tea O'Fredo (matcha frappuccino with matcha soft serve) and Green Tea Tiramisu Set. They have another version called the Green Tea King O'Fredo at an additional of KRW1,500, which is matcha frappuccino with whipped cream, matcha ice cream, red bean, matcha cake and a cookie. Their green tea is really really nice and taste so different from the usual ones. It is very smooth in taste and there is no bitter aftertaste. I also got their popular Green Tea Milk Spread that tasted amazing!
#75: O'sulloc Tea House.
#76: O'sulloc Tea House.
#77: O'sulloc green tea leaves.
#78: O'sulloc Tea House.
#79: Green Tea Milk Spread KRW8,500.
#80: Seating area at Level 2.
#81: Seating area at Level 3.
#82: Green Tea Tiramisu and Green Tea King O'Fredo Set KRW11,500.
O'sulloc Tea House 오설록 티 하우스: 170, Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Website | Opening hrs: 0900-2300hrs (daily) | Subway: Anguk (exit 6).
9) Awesome Shaved Sorbet:
Savoureux
Savoureux is popular for its shaved sorbet (소르베), a cross between bingsu and ice cream. The most popular flavour has got to be pretty looking emerald shaved sorbet of blue soda flavour. Disappointed that it was sold out on my point of visit! Chose a less pretty looking pastel purple blueberry sorbet instead. It was so good! The sun is drying out both my lips and throat, no water how much water I drink, and it feels so good to be having this! It tastes really good and the ice flakes just melts in your mouth. It's somewhat similar to Taiwan's Snow Ice dessert. Other unique flavours includes watermelon sorbet, and ivory sorbet of vanilla flavour, nature sorbet of Jeju green tea flavour, and many more.
They also serve pretty looking soft serve ice cream (소프트) in unique flavours like red ginseng, blue soda, black sesame, cranberry, black bean, Thai milk tea, banana, yam, and many more. They are also popular for their jumbo biscuit choux puffs (슈) that comes in a number of flavours with different toppings, such as the Strawberry Crunch Choux that consists of strawberry cream-filled jumbo choux puff, topped with chocolate and pretty pink strawberry crunch (biscuit bits). There was this glass cabinet display of the ice cream flavours that they used to have and the colours were so pretty and arranged in an ombre fashion.
#83: Savoureux.
#84: Savoureux.
#85: Savoureux.
#86: Savoureux.
#87: Blueberry Shaved Sorbet KRW8,900, Iced Latte KRW4,500.
Savoureux 샤브르: 154 Sogyeok-dongJongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Website | Opening hrs: 1030-2230hrs (daily) | Subway: Anguk (exit 2).
For the Artsy Fartsys...
10) Takeout Drawing Cafe
The two-storied Takeout Drawing Café serves as an art exhibition space and café. This café serves interesting beverages such as Paul’s Meringue Factory (espresso with milk, topped with a meringue cookie), Iceberg Macchiato (espresso poured over an iceberg-shaped ice cube made from milk), and Storming Ant (black sesame foam with milk). I had the popular Paul's Meringue Factory, which you are supposed to dip the meringue into the coffee and eat it. The coffee is pretty strong and bitter on its own. This cafe is really artsy and cozy with an industrial look and design to it.
#88: Takeout Drawing Cafe.
#89: Takeout Drawing Cafe.
#90: Takeout Drawing Cafe.
#91: Takeout Drawing Cafe.
#92: Paul's Meringue Factory KRW7,500.
Takeout Drawing Cafe 테이크아웃 드로잉 카페: 683-139 Yongsan-gu, Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea | Opening hrs: 1100-2300hrs (daily) | Subway: Hangangjin (exit 3).
11) Coffee Arco
Marble tables, chalkboards and white walls seems to be the latest trend, and this cafe has it all! This cafe is so pretty! Love the neon-litted words that helped bring attention to them. A nice place to chill with funky music going on. While, this cafe seems to be the new kid on the block along the streets of Garosu-gil as the place looks relatively new and no much information could be found about them. I had their creme brulee which was excellent, but the coffee still needs much improvement.
#93: Coffee Arco.
#94: Coffee Arco.
#95: Coffee Arco.
#96: Coffee Arco.
#97: Coffee Arco.
#98: Coffee Arco.
#99: Coffee Arco.
#100: Coffee Arco.
#101: Coffee Arco.
#102: Flate White 5,500, Creme Brulee 5,000.
Coffee Arco 커피 아르코: 519-17 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Opening hrs: 1030-2300hrs (daily) | Subway: Sinsa Station (line 3 exit 8).
(2nd best coffee in Seoul!)
12) Cafe aA Design Museum
Café aA Design Museum is a five-storey building in Hongdae that houses a museum, a café and a designer furniture showroom. The place is owned by famous vintage furniture collector, Kim Myung Hwan, who also owns one of the famous Italian restaurants in Hongdae – AGIO. Café aA Design Museum was the venue where BoA’s Only One music video was filmed. Another artsy fartsy cafe with a relaxing atmosphere, serving good coffee!
#103: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#104: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#105: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#106: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#107: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#108: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#109: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#110: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#111: Cafe aA Design Museum.
#112: Iced Latte KRW6,000.
Cafe aA Design Museum 카페 에이 에이 디자인 뮤지엄: 408-11 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea | Website | Opening hrs: 1200-0000hrs (daily) | Subway: Sangsu (exit 1).
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