Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue

Café Kitsuné Indonesia has just opened its second location in North Jakarta after opening its first location at Ashta District 8 back in 2020. Located next to the main lobby of PIK Avenue Mall, Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue opened its door to the public on April 27, 2022.

Departing from their turf green nature inspired interior at Ashta District 8's location, Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue chose hot coral as the lead color to decorate the modern space, combining it with the signature wooden textures that are often seen in Café Kitsuné other locations. One new addition to the cafe that sets it apart from the other location is the outdoor bar area that has been set up for those who are looking to wine and dine at the cafe instead of getting a caffeine fix.

I visited the cafe with my friend, Winda, and had the chance to experience dining at the newly opened cafe/restaurant earlier this week. First off, the service was good. The servers who waited our table were friendly and pretty attentive. One thing that I also appreciate was the fact that they seem to understand the menu. Not in the kind of I-memorize-the-description-of-the-menu kind of way, but it sounded more like they have actually tasted the drink/dish so they can describe the taste and give their opinions about it. This is quite a rare occasion in my personal dining experience in Jakarta (or maybe I just have bad luck with servers when dining out) so it's always a nice surprise when I do actually encounter knowledgeable servers which makes the dining experience even better.

Now let's talk about their menu. We had a chance to try a couple of their drinks, food and desserts. But since there were so much food, I didn't try them all because, you know, there's only so much space I have in my belly. I'll give my personal opinions on the ones that I tried as well as the explanations that we got from the servers and the chef.

DRINKS

When we were ordering our drinks, I asked our server on their non-coffee signature drink and he recommended the ube latte and charcoal latte, which honestly sounded pretty good to me. He personally likes the ube latte so I ordered the iced ube latte and gave it a try. And it was good. The drink is not too sweet, perfect amount of milk, and you can still taste the ube (which didn't taste artificial imho). It was refreshing and light.

During the middle of our meal, the manager came over and asked if we wanted to order another drink and I asked her the same question I asked our server earlier. Her answer was the same. It seems like ube latte and charcoal latte are the favorites around here. Although she personally like charcoal latte better than the ube latte. So this time, I ordered their hot charcoal latte and I have to agree with her on this one. I think I enjoy the charcoal latte more than the ube latte. Maybe it's because I ordered it hot this time that it makes the flavor richer and not diluted by ice. Taste wise, it tasted earthy with the right amount of sweetness and it kind of reminded me of the melting gray drink I had at Uni'con (which I'm sure probably use similar ingredients since charcoal latte has been trending these past few years). Their matcha latte was also pretty solid too.

Breakfast Menu

The first breakfast menu that I tried was the Truffle Eggs Two Ways which consists of egg “parfait”, scrambled eggs, white truffle oil, mixed mushrooms duxelles and it comes with buttered toasts. When the dish was placed on our table, the delicious truffle oil aroma immediately hit me. The eggs were perfectly cooked, it was seasoned well and I can really taste the truffle oil when I took my first spoonful of egg. This is a great dish for breakfast.

Smoked Salmon and Ikura Bagel is the new addition to the breakfast menu that's currently only available at Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue. This is also one of the chef's recommended dish.

For the sweet breakfast menu, we got a sampler of the Azuki Toast courtesy of the chef and the host which is a toasted brioche bun with smooth azuki paste, butter balls, icing sugar and fox shortbread. If you like red bean and looking for a lighter breakfast option, this dish is probably for you. The regular portion usually comes with three pieces of toast instead of one and I believe the chef told us that they made their own azuki paste as well. Also, I really like their buttery fox shortbread.

Sandos Menu

The Spicy Fried Chicken Sando consists of brioche bread with spicy fried chicken thigh, asian slaw, kale, and gochujang chili mayonnaise. Generous sauce, super flavorful and the spiciness is not over the top (I can't really eat spicy food but this was still bearable for me).

Quick Bites Menu

Truffle Mac and Cheese Balls were just okay for me (maybe just because I personally am not a big fan of mac and cheese in general). They were crispy, the breading was not too thick, plenty of macaroni with parmesan and cream cheese stuffed inside with a hint of truffle oil. The homemade tomato sauce was pretty good and it helps to cut the cheesiness of the mac and cheese and give the dish a better balance.

Soup & Salad Menu

The Wakame Salad was probably the most pleasantly surprising dish for me. I generally more of a meat person than a salad person and quite picky about the salads that I like. But this one was really, really good. The mixed mesclun salad, dry wakame, cabbage, carrots, cherry tomatoes with generous kewpie sesame dressing and topped with fried shallot was delicious. It was a great mix of sweet and savory, very flavorful yet super light and fresh at the same time.

Also in this picture is the Sea Salt Latte, one of their signature drink, which I tried just a little bit since it has coffee in it and it was pretty good too. I also overheard a couple people on other tables ordered this drink.

Main Menu

Kitsuné Burger
Beef patty, mayonnaise, emmental cheese, fried egg and bacon. Served with hand-cut fries.

The Grilled Salmon with Roasted Paprika was probably my favorite dish from this meal. The perfectly cooked salmon was paired with roasted paprika, creamy sautéed kale, cherry tomatoes, grenaille potatoes, light creamy sauce and bonito flakes. Everything was well-seasoned and when I took a spoonful of all the components in the dish in one bite, it tasted really, really good. It was creamy but fresh and juicy all at the same time.

Dessert Menu

Daifuku Mochi is mochi filled with crème d’ange and strawberries, served with chocolate crumbs. The texture of the mochi is pretty nice, not too thick and soft. Everything in this dish is made in-house from scratch according to the chef. I'm not really a fan of strawberries in general so this one was just okay for me.

Millefeuille is my favorite one out of the two dessert menu we tried. The puff pastry was buttery and crumbly with the right amount of sweetness. The vanilla cream was fluffy and light and it was served with a scoop of delicious cereal ice cream. Everything in this dish works well together and it didn't leave me feeling overly stuffed. I would definitely order this again on my next visit.

The head chef, Chef Andri, who’s also the head chef of Ashta’s location came to our table at the end of our meal to ask us about our dining experience and we ended up chatting for a bit about the menu since we have a couple of additional follow-up questions after our meal. He was really friendly and answered all our questions as well as gave us more explanations about other dishes that we haven’t tried. Additional recommendations from the chef include Pork Belly Katsu Don and Pork Ribs which he told us to try on our next visit.

All and all, everything was good. Some menu items are better than others (obviously) but I really enjoyed my visit there and had a pleasant experience overall. Would I consider coming back here again? Yes, definitely.

Lastly, there’s this photo booth that they have inside the cafe. It's a complimentary service that they offered to the patrons and me and Winda took a couple of pictures together inside the spacious booth. A couple of things that were funny were, first, the camera placement was a tad too high for our height (or maybe we're just on the short side) so we had to tiptoe if we want to be vertically centered on the frame. Second, the display screen was a little blurry for some reason. Only the screen though because the pictures on the photo strip were sharp when they came out and it gives you two copies per session. Third, there is no cancel option anywhere so if you don't like the shots, it'll still print them out for you anyway. I thought having the photo booth is a pretty good idea and it makes the experience of visiting the cafe/store more fun.

 

Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue

Address: PIK Avenue Ground Floor, Jl. Pantai Indah Utara I No.6, Jakarta 14470, Indonesia.
Telephone: +62 812-1116-2204
Hours: Everyday 08:00 - 22:00

Instagram: @cafekitsuneindonesia
Menu: Drinks | Food

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Bear Café • 베어카페

Bear Café (베어카페) is a hanok cafe that is located in the quiet neighborhood of Seochon (서촌), just west of Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁). I actually found out about the cafe because of its publication, Bear magazine, that I’ve seen multiple times whenever I went to a bookstore or a ‘Kinfolk’ influenced/hipster cafes in Seoul. I did a little research and turns out that the magazine is pretty well-known amongst the locals. Almost feels like the Korean version of Kinfolk magazine if you know what I mean. The search results also then led me to discover this cafe, which in the beginning I wasn’t really sure if they’re even owned by the same company, but turned out they are. Here’s an excerpt from Timeout that explains a little about the place:

“Seochon’s Bear Café’s been getting a lot of hype from culture-savvy crowds of Seoul. Created by Design Eum, a publishing group that issues Bear magazine and Kinfolk Korea, Bear Café serves up specialty coffees paired with a tranquil ambiance and culture-related activities; housed in a charming 70-year-old hanok, it juxtaposes tradition and modernity with the well-preserved garden and quality café menus.”
—Timeout.com

Just like any other hanok cafe I’ve visited in the past, Bear Café (베어카페) also retains its original hanok structure for its cafe area. Going into the cafe feels like visiting a friend’s house actually. You go in from the car port at the entrance to the building into a small garden area where outdoor seatings are available before finally arriving at the main building of the cafe. Also, turns out this cafe also serves as an exhibition space where they would have different exhibitions or products on display throughout the year.

If you’re planning to visit this cafe and want to avoid the crowd, going on a weekday might be better because it usually gets busy during the weekends.

Note: These photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Bear Cafe • 베어카페

Telephone: 070-7775-8001
Address: 서울 종로구 자하문로24길 24
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11:00-19:00 | Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays

Instagram: @bearcafe.new

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FELT Coffee Dosan • 펠트커피 도산공원점

FELT Coffee (펠트커피) announced the opening of their second branch, FELT Coffee Dosan (펠트커피 도산공원점), on May 10, 2019 on their Instagram account. Sharing the space that was designed by WGNB with Juun.J’, a youthful, street culture inspired Korean fashion label that is well-known for its ‘street tailoring’, the building certainly stood out from their surrounding neighbors.

Stepping into the abstract geometrical black concrete building felt like stepping into a piece of art in museum. The first thing that will greeted you is a courtyard with a single tree in a floating pot supported by wire suspensions, giving an illusion that the pot of tree is levitating mid-air. The courtyard is probably the most colorful part of this whole building.

Entering the store/cafe area, you’ll be greeted with a matching all-black interior surrounding the space. On one side is Juun.J’s flagship store area and on the other is where Felt Coffee set up their coffee bar and seatings. The cafe itself is not too big but the triangle shaped high ceiling makes it feels like the cafe is bigger than it actually is. Similar to the pot in the courtyard, there are black electronic modern candle lamps hanging on top of the coffee bar (which honestly reminded me of the floating candles in Hogwart’s great hall) that give an illusion that they’re levitating. The seating arrangement is also a little unusual. Two rows of tables and chairs are set up facing a glass window with the view of the courtyard, giving you a clear view of the levitating pot as well as people who goes in and out of the store. I quite like it actually. It almost feels like sitting at a gallery looking at an art piece and people watching while enjoying your drinks.

Note: These photos were taken before the pandemic.

Since the architecture is very intriguing, I ended up searching for more information about the place and came across an article that talks more about the design concept and thinking behind it.

“The architects express that ‘black is a magical colour’, attracting and absorbing light, hence the design follows the concept of ‘dark matter’. The architects fused a triangle, circle, and square to form one abstract, geometrical building, bound by its uniform black concrete facades. The ambiguous shape generates curiosity from passersby, and intentionally sticks out amongst manicured Dosan Park surrounds in Seoul’s upmarket Gangnam district.

Interiors also feature a blacked-out, monochromatic colour scheme. Felt Coffee is housed within a narrow strip beneath the pitched roof structure. A skylight traces the top edge, allowing a sliver of natural light to illuminate the café below. The coffee shop faces a central open courtyard, at the centre of which a singular potted tree is suspended above a pit of volcanic rocks.

Courtyard facing windows allow for a little more light, however the entirely matte black interiors give a predominantly sultry vibe. Although perhaps not what you’d choose for your go-to friendly neighbourhood coffee spot, the overall impact is undeniably intriguing.”

—yellowtrace.com.au
(Click to read the full article & for more photos)

 

FELT Coffee Dosan • 펠트커피 도산공원점

Address: 서울 강남구 언주로164길 23
Telephone: 070-7756-3145
Hours: Everyday 11:00 - 21:00

Instagram: @felt_seoul

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Green Mile Coffee Bukchon • 그린마일커피 북촌점

Green Mile Coffee Bukchon (그린마일커피 북촌점) is a charming small coffee shop located near Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을). The company, Green Mile Coffee (그린마일커피), which started in 2009 believe that good coffee starts with a selection of good ingredients and it is based on that belief that the company was built upon.

There are two floors in this cafe. The first floor is where you place your order and where the coffee bar/kitchen is. Seeing the shelf on the wall containing small wooden rectangles reminded me of an old hotel concierge cabinet. I wasn’t sure what they were at first but after I placed my order, the barista pulled the leather holder of one of the wooden rectangle and handed it over to me along with my receipt. Turns out, there are numbers engraved on each of the wooden panels which served as your order number. Pretty cool concept.

Since there’s only a single bench available on the first floor, I headed up to the second floor to find a seat. The interior of the cafe seems to be Japanese style influenced. Covered in wooden surface, the placement of the furnitures give a sense of calmness and spaciousness, despite of the fact that the space is not too big to begin with. There are also windows that allow enough natural lighting to come through which I think contribute to that spacious feeling. I’m not sure if it’s because it was a weekday or it’s just how it usually is, but the cafe was pretty quiet. The type of place where people speaks in low volume or in hushed whispers (there were three other couples there and that’s exactly what they did).

When I was there, the rooftop access was closed. But since my visit, I’ve seen photos on their Instagram where people went up to sit on the rooftop area. It makes a pretty photo spot too since you can get the view of the traditional rooftops from the surrounding area as your background. If you’re visiting Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) and looking for a cafe to stop by, this place is worth a visit.

Here’s a video of the place:

Note: These photos and video were taken before the pandemic.

 

Green Mile Coffee Bukchon • 그린마일커피 북촌점

Address: 서울 종로구 북촌로 64 1층
Telephone: 가회동 11-49 2층
Hours: Weekdays 08:00-19:00 | Weekends 10:00-19:00

Instagram: @green_mile_coffee

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Coffee And Cigarettes • 커피앤시가렛

Located on top of the 17th floor of the old Yuwon building (유원빌딩), Coffee And Cigarettes (커피앤시가렛) offers a resting place to those who need a break from their day. Originally started as a project for ‘Instant Vacation Club’, the space was transformed into a cafe that sells coffee, desserts and tobacco. It was officially opened to the public as Coffee And Cigarettes (커피앤시가렛) on November 5, 2018. The spacious cafe also offers a great city view along with the view of the foot of Bukhan Mountain (북한산), Inwang Mountain (인왕산), and Dobong Mountain (도봉산) all at once through the big windows they that have installed on one side of the wall.

Honestly, the first thing that popped into my mind the first time I found out about this place was ‘Do they actually let people smoke inside the cafe?’ because I don’t think I’ve ever heard a cafe that has the word ‘cigarettes’ in their name and I don’t think I’ve ever stumbled upon a smoking cafe either in Seoul. But regardless, the name itself and the photos I saw online were enough reasons for me to decide to check the place out.

The journey of getting to the cafe was an experience in itself. From arriving at City Hall station (which I don’t necessarily associate with hip cafe area), entering the old building that looks like an office, riding up the elevator (at this point I felt like I should have an employee ID of some sort hanging on a lanyard around my neck) and finally stepped on the 17th floor greeted by the view of the cafe through the glass door, the whole thing was a little unusual to me. Almost felt like I was suppose to go to the office but decided to play hooky and hang out at a cafe instead. It was interesting.

For a Tuesday, the cafe was pretty busy when I got there. Not to the point where you have to wait for a table kind of busy, but there were lots of people considering it was a weekday. The patrons themselves varied from younger crowd who were there to solely visit the cafe, to older office workers who seemed like they work around the area and were on their coffee break. Most people were keeping an eye on the tables next to the windows, ready to move over the moment the current occupants decided to leave. I can’t blame them though. The view outside the windows was refreshing. It’s rare to find a cafe in Seoul located on higher floors that offers a view of the city and the mountains all at the same time. I wished I could sit on one of those tables as well and just stare at the view. But honestly, I wasn’t really in the mood to compete with other people who has the same idea as me. So instead, I settled for an empty table near the entrance and ended up watching people playing some sort of musical chairs with those window side seatings while enjoying my milk tea. It was pretty entertaining.

And to answer my earlier question, no, this is not a smoking cafe. They sell cigarettes, tobacco and lighters but they don’t actually let you smoke inside. Last time I checked, if you want to smoke, you have to go to the rooftop to do that. I haven’t been to their rooftop before. Maybe on my next visit.

Here’s a video of the place:

Note: These photos and video were taken before the pandemic.

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UPDATE:

In April 2020, a photomatic booth was installed at the cafe available for customers to use.

In November 2020, Coffee And Cigarettes announced on their Instagram that they have decided to renovate and expand their space. The new space was revealed in December 2020.

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Coffee And Cigarettes • 커피앤시가렛

Address: 서울 중구 서소문로 116 유원빌딩17층 1706호
Telephone: 02-777-7557
Hours: Monday - Friday 08:30-21:00 | Saturday & Holiday 11:00-21:00 | Closed on Sundays

Instagram: @coffeeandcigarettes1706

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