The Hanok (더한옥)

Stumbled upon this place when I was exploring Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) area with my friends on one afternoon. I was just peeking through the front door, trying to get a glimpse of what's inside and that was when a lady came out and opened the door inviting us in. First we were reluctant to go in because we weren't sure if we wanna spend time at the cafe, but the lady was nice enough to say it's okay for us to just look around the place and we don't have to buy drinks. So we went in and did just that. Entering the cafe is just like entering an old time hanok house because of all the vintage furnishing that's around the cafe. The cafe's atmosphere is pretty cozy and quite overall and we decided to sit down and order some drinks. Nobody was there when we came in but a couple of couples came in not long after we did. They have different rooms inside the Hanok and an outdoor area so you can sit wherever you like. And oh, as it turned out, the lady who invited us in was the owner of the place. She was very friendly and kindly chatted with us for a while. If you're curious about the story behind the place, you should asked her because she'll gladly explain it to you :)

Homilbat (호밀밭)

First time I visited this place was last year when I came to Seoul for traveling. It's supposed to be one of the best bingsu places in Seoul, so I thought it's worth a visit since I was visiting Ehwa University area anyway. Little did I know that even during lunch time on a weekday, the place was packed. There were quite a long line when I got there and since I was pressed on time, I ended up not going to the place. So now, a year later, after I moved here I got plenty of opportunities to go back and try this place. This is one of my favorite bingsu places so far. I like the milky type of bingsu so eating their milk bingsu with fresh fruit is just perfect. Their home-made rice cake and red bean are good too. I noticed here some people ordered one for each person, but I think ordering one to share between two people is enough :)

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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.