Kona Queens

Cafe Kona Queens in Samcheongdong is one of those places that I find very interesting just by looking at the exterior of the building. So one day, I decided to check out the place and see how the interior looks like. The cafe has 3 floors, the top floor has patio area where you can go if you prefer to sit outdoors. The use of wooden furniture definitely gives a rustic vibe throughout the whole place, yet modern at the same time. This place is probably more of a hang-out-meet-your-friend-and-chat kinda place rather than a studying place. Although I did see a couple of people studying and doing work meeting there. I guess if you don't mind a little bit of background noise, this place will do just fine. And as far as the drinks, I tried their mango smoothie and it was pretty good. 

Pasiya's Injeolmi Bingsu

During summer, when the weather was still hot in Seoul, I went for a small bingsu quest with a friend of mine. We tried different bingsu places for almost a week everyday. I blame it on the hot weather, really. With the weather getting chillier lately, I don't crave bingsu as much, but thought I'd share a couple of shots that I got from that time. So for the first one, we went to Pasiya (파시야) near Ehwa University (이대점). The place is not too big, so it got crowded after a group of tourists came in. We ordered their Injeolmi Bingsu (인절미빙수) and Injeolmi Rice Cake Toast (인절미 찰떡토스트). I'm not a big fan of very very sweet stuff so these two menus were good. Not too sweet, very light, and refreshing. The Injeolmi Rice Cake Toast was pretty interesting too cos the toast is crunchy but the rice cake was very soft. I believe Pasiya is a franchise so you can find it on other neighborhoods as well. 

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Foresta Book Cafe

Visited Foresta Book Cafe at Heyri Art Village a couple of weeks ago when I went to Paju. I was there on a weekday, so the cafe was pretty quite and only a couple of people were there. I have to say I love this place. High ceilings and plenty of natural lights that come into the place makes this a perfect place to read, study, or if you simply want to escape the hustle bustle of the city (although I'm not too sure how this place is on weekends though). Walking in, you'll be greeted with colorful tables and chairs and the big triangle tables in the center of the room is a nice touch to the interior of the cafe. For Korean drama viewers out there, you might've seen this place from a couple of dramas. The very recent one that I watched is the scene from 'Fated to Love You'. The cafe is also connected to the bookstore, although I don't think you can bring your drinks to the bookstore. If you're visiting Heyri Art Village in Paju, I would recommend visiting this place. 

You Are Here Cafe - Grand Opening Day

For those of you who know Eat Your Kimchi and Talk To Me In Korean, you probably heard about the cafe they're opening in Hongdae. So yesterday was the grand opening day for You Are Here Cafe and I (plus hundreds other nasties that were in town) showed our support by showing up for the big day. So here's how the day went.

On their video, they said that the cafe will open at 10 am. I got there a little late, around 10.10am-ish and there's already a line that was formed in front of the cafe (and it's quite far from the entrance of the cafe). If you see the picture below, the cafe entrance is approximately around where the trees are.

The line was moving pretty slowly and I think after 30 mins or so, there were even more people that came after me. The line has gotten really really long then after. About 50 mins in, Simon and Martina came out one after the other saying that they want buy water for people who were waiting in line. Very thoughtful of them :) So then minutes later, water was distributed to the people in line. Hyun Woo from TTMIK also came out to help distribute water. They also stopped and chatted with a couple of people, said hi, and took a couple of selfies.

Right in front of the gate, Soo Zee who was selling the EYK mugs. She was so nice too, chatting with people and taking pictures.

After about 1.5 hours or so, I finally stood on the front yard. More waiting, but at least I got to see how the place look like now. 

Finally inside the cafe! Took about 2+ hours or so. The first floor is where they have the counter, merchandise, the study room (which TTMIK is talking about in their video—I'm guessing), and a separate seating area. 

On to the second floor...

Even after I've been inside for a while, the line outside was still quite long..

Simon and Martina finally came to the 2nd floor and spent time hanging out with people. They listened to people's stories and chatted with them for quite some times (plus the usual signing and photo taking session). It was just like a fan-meet event. Simon and Martina were very friendly, approachable, and down to earth :) Same goes for Hyunwoo of TTMIK who I talked to briefly. 

Thanks Nature Cafe

Accidentally found this cafe when I was walking around Hongdae Area. I've read about the place online, so when I walk passed it, I decided to give it a try. One of the main unique thing about this place is they have sheep in their outdoor seating area. So if you want to enjoy a cup of coffee with sheep's company, you can definitely do that here. Although I just found out recently that the sheep is not going to be around in the summer. They'll be back around September when the weather is cooler. The indoor seating area itself is pretty spacious and fairly quite—at least during the time I was there. Ordered their Green Tea Bingsu, Waffle and their orange drink (I forgot what the exact name was) and they were all good. 

Thanks Nature Cafe
마포구 서교동 486 서교푸르지오상가 B121
Seoul, Korea 121-842

486 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea 

Line 2 - Hongdae Station Exit#9. Take a left up the hill at the first intersection you come to. Keep walking up the hill towards Hongik University’s main gate. Thanks Nature Cafe is located in the basement on the left side of the street.

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