Cafe Arc • 카페아르크

Cafe Arc (카페아르크) is a cafe located halfway between Seodaemun Prison Museum (서대문형무소역사관) and Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) next to Sajik Park (사직공원). The cafe is located on the first floor of a seven story red brick building, sharing the space with food studio, kitchen spaces, co-working spaces, and grocery shop.

The cafe features a wide curvy blue counter that serves as a coffee bar and pastry area, which is definitely a unique design for their interior. The place is pretty spacious with plenty of seatings available as well as rooftop access where you can find more seatings if you prefer to sit outdoor or want to enjoy the scenery of hanok rooftops around the area. I didn’t go up because it was raining during my visit so I just stayed indoors to avoid the rain.

The cafe offers a wide range of pastries, coffee as well as non-coffee selections on their menu. I tried their Green Grape Ade (청포도에이드) and really liked it. It was fresh, not too sweet, and the flavor’s great (I actually ordered a second glass when I was there).

Cafe Arc (카페아르크) location isn’t necessarily in a cafe filled neighborhood but I think it’s a good place to visit when you are around Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) area.

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Cafe Arc • 카페아르크

Address: 서울 종로구 인왕산로 3 1층
Telephone: 070-5220-1771
Hours: Everyday 10:00-19:00 (Rooftop ‘til 18:30)

Instagram: @cafearc_

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Tartine Coffee Bar at RYSE Hotel • 타르틴 베이커리 RYSE호텔점

Tartine Coffee Bar is located at the lobby of the designer lifestyle hotel, RYSE Hotel in Hongdae. It is one of the six locations that the famous Bay Area bakery opened in Seoul after its expansion to South Korea in 2018. Tartine Coffee Bar offers a more limited menu compared to their other branches in Seoul but still covering the basic for their pastries and coffee selections.

Other than the fact that I’ve known Tartine makes great pastries since I was living in the Bay Area, I personally first came to this location to check out their interior design because it’s quite different than their other branches since it follows more of RYSE Hotel’s design concept. The space is modern, unique and definitely stylish. If you’re looking for a cafe with good coffee and pastries selections and nice interior in Hongdae, this place is definitely worth checking out.

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Tartine Coffee Bar at Ryse Hotel • 타르틴 베이커리 RYSE호텔점

Address: 서울 마포구 양화로 130 Ryse 호텔 1층
Telephone: 02-324-9400
Hours: Everyday 08:00 - 20:00

Instagram: @tartinebakeryseoul

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Milou Farm House

Milou Farm House is a newly opened cafe/restaurant in South Jakarta that had its soft opening just last week. Adopting the concept of a farmhouse, the building of the place resembles one which certainly makes it stands out from its neighboring buildings.

First thing you’ll notice is the barn style structure with a big revolving door (that I’m pretty sure will be one of the main thing people share on social media) that leads to the inside of the restaurant. The first floor of the restaurant is where the salad bar, buffet stations (which will be coming soon in the upcoming weeks), and gelato bar are located. This is also where you’ll place and pay for your order before proceeding to the second floor where the seating areas are.

The second floor is divided into semi-outdoor and indoor seating area. If you want to take pictures of yourself or the food, the semi-outdoor area is definitely the better choice because of the natural lighting. But if you want to avoid the sun and prefer to be in a cooler space, definitely go for the air-conned indoor seating area.

The Food & Drinks

The whole concept of this restaurant is actually farm to table buffet where you can pick what you want to eat from a selection of dishes they’ll put on display on different stations. They also offer a wide range of a la carte menu that you can choose from. Since I came just a week after their soft opening, the buffet stations are not available just yet. So the food and drinks that I tried were from their a la carte menu.

Sunset Carnival at Malibu Beach (39,5K) | 7.5/10

For the drinks, I ordered based on the server’s (and bartender’s) recommendations after I told her that I prefer non sour drinks. The first one is the Sunset Carnival at Malibu Beach. The red color on the bottom worried me at first because I thought it’ll be sour (I usually associated red with berries flavor, which for me is sour), but it actually wasn’t. The drink was refreshing and not too sweet.

Tea Sorbet (39,5k) | 8/10

One of their signature drinks is the tea sorbet. I tried the Temple of Rose / La Vie En Rose + Black Tea + Strawberry Basil (I couldn’t remember which Rose I chose honestly but it looks like the pictures above). Again, when it arrived on the table, I was worried that it was going to be sour just because of the color. But once again I was pleasantly surprised by how light and refreshing the drink is. Nothing is overwhelmingly sour or sweet and it’s definitely a unique combination that’s perfect for a hot day.

Buffalo Chicken Wings (59,5K) | 7/10

For appetizer, I tried the Buffalo Chicken Wings that come with the sides of vegetable sticks and ranch dressing. The sauce is really bold and flavorful and covered the five pieces wings thoroughly. This is a good option if you want to order a light appetizer to share.

Spicy Chicken Burger (79,5k) | 7.5/10

Served with homemade brioche buns, glazed with spicy buffalo wings sauce and homemade coleslaw, the portion of the spicy chicken burger is definitely big. I had to eat it open faced so it could fit into my mouth. The buns were nice and soft. The chicken was cooked nicely. The breading on the chicken is crispy and definitely well seasoned. The sauce is the same sauce as the buffalo chicken wings, so maybe order a different appetizer if you’re planning to order this as your main course. The fries is well-seasoned and crispy. Overall a good chicken burger.

BBQ Beef Brisket Steak with Fusion Jimbaran Sauce (159K) | 8/10

36-hours sous vide tenderized smoky beef brisket with homemade BBQ sauce infused with rosemary and thyme, served with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes (or the option of truffle fries). This is probably my favorite menu out of all the dishes I tried. The steak is well cooked, tender and cut in a good bite size portion. The sauce is tasty and definitely unique since they made a fusion of BBQ and jimbaran sauce. The sides were also well cooked and seasoned.

Belgian Waffle (49,5K) | 7/10

Served with mix fruits, honey maple syrup, and brown sugar coconut glaze jam. The portion of the waffle is pretty generous. The waffle is not too thick and I personally think the texture of the waffle is a little bit on the softer side (I usually prefer my waffle to be a little crispy on the outside but soft on the inside).

Lastly, I also got to try some of their gelato. Milou Farm House makes their gelato in-house and they offer 24 different flavors for you to choose from. After tasting a couple of different flavors, one thing I noticed about their gelato is all of them are not too sweet, which is always a plus in my book. They taste light and fresh with the right amount of sweetness to end your meal.

Flavors that I tasted were Peanut Butter, Hokkaido Japanese Milk, Cookie Monster, and Black Charcoal. I give 7.5/10 for the Peanut Butter and Hokkaido Japanese Milk (this one is actually pretty different than any other Hokkaido Japanese Milk flavors I’ve tasted before). A 7/10 for the Cookie Monster (the blue one on the picture below) because the chunks of cookies mixed in with the gelato were a little big for my preference and so it felt a little disconnected from the flavor (almost like an ice cream with a cookie crumble topping instead of a cookie flavored ice cream if you know what I mean).

Black Charcoal (35k) | 8/10

Black charcoal was the best one out of all the flavors I tried, maybe because I like black sesame which is one of the main ingredients of the flavor. The black sesame flavor definitely came through on this one. If you like black sesame, definitely try this flavor out.

The Service

The service was good. The servers were very polite, friendly and they definitely know the menu because when asked for recommendations, they were quick to give answers. The food came out in a timely manner. They also brought out new individual plates out when they noticed our plates were already full of sauces from previous courses which was nice.

All and all, had a good time during my visit to this place. If you want to visit the place and check out their buffet, I suggest you check with the restaurant first on when they’ll have that available. But if you’re okay with just their a la carte menu, then you should be good to go anytime since they’re already open for public.

 

Milou Farm House

Address: Jl Ciranjang No 30, Kebayoran Baru, Jakart Selatan 12180, Indonesia
Telephone: +622127099488
Hours: Mon-Fri 9AM-6PM | Sat-Sun : 8AM-8PM

Instagram: @miloufarmhouse

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Kontemporary1 • 컨템포러리1

Kontemporary1 (컨템포러리1) also known as Kontemporary Koffee is a small gallery cafe located in the hip neighborhood of Hannam-dong (한남동). The unique space serves as a coffee shop as well as a space for art exhibition that changes from time to time. Opened in September 2018, I remember the cafe went viral on social media for its famous big painting-like revolving glass door as well as its unique interior. If you’re looking for a cafe with unique furnitures, you definitely want to check this place out because they have furnitures made out of wooden panels that are cut in various different shapes that are assembled together to create shelves and furnitures that look like art pieces from a museum (which is very fitting for the concept of the space).

Kontemporary1 also has one of the best milk tea I’ve ever had in the city. It has the perfect sweetness and hints of orange peel, floral, and pineapple (they gave me a card with the flavor notes which was a very nice touch). I thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s definitely one of the more memorable great milk tea I’ve had in Seoul.

Note: Pictures were taken before the pandemic.

 

Kontemporary1 • 컨템포러리1

Address: 서울 용산구 이태원로54길 48
Telephone: 010-2606-0139
Hours: Everyday 12:30 pm - 09:00 pm

Instagram: @kontemporary_koffee

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Penn Deli

Say hello to Penn Deli, a newly opened cafe in South Jakarta brought to you by the same team who brought you Penn Restaurant that’s located in the same building one floor above it. Penn Deli opened its door to the public just last week, offering fresh-baked pastries, sliced cakes as well as delicious sandwiches inspired by New York City’s delis. The small cafe that’s neatly decorated with hip modern artworks and wooden furnitures accommodates about 12 people or so and is a prefect place for a weekend brunch if you’re looking for a great sandwich selections.

The Ambience

I love the design of the place. My favorite part is probably their menu boards which were reminiscent of one of those broadway signs and retro movie marquees in New York. The interior feels very hip and modern yet nostalgic at the same time. The one thing about their relatively small space is that the AC was way too cold for me personally. I visited during a hot sunny day and I was freezing inside. I guess it’s a good thing if you like cooler space, but for me, the temperature could’ve been turned up a notch.

The Sandwiches

Penn Deli’s hero menu is their sandwich selections which are available in limited quantity daily and usually sold out fast. I tried two of them and I can understand why they’re proud of their sandwiches.

Broadway Sandwich (155K Full Portion/83K Half Portion) | 8.5/10

Sliced steak, grilled onions, pickled jalapeño and cheese. This was my favorite menu from my visit. The steak was tender, cooked nicely, and was cut in perfect bite size. Add that to the combination of grilled onions, cheese and the sauce, my first bite was heavenly. It was super flavorful and juicy and everything works together really well. I also really like the sauce. Not sure what it’s made out of but it tasted like barbecue sauce with an asian twist (like sweet onion teriyaki sauce maybe?). It was really good.

The Park Ave Sandwich (95K Full Portion/53K Half Portion) | 7/10

Grilled chicken, pesto, tomato and cheese. Overall, this was also good. The pesto really was the main hero of the dish. The juicy tomato gave it a fresh note to the bite so that the pesto is no too overwhelming. Took off points because the chicken is a little dry for my taste. But overall, a solid sandwich.

Strawberry Danish (25k)

S’mores Cake (65K)

Butter cake, cracker, chocolate ganache, and marshmallow meringue. The portion of their sliced cake is pretty big. It’s probably good for 2-3 people to be honest. The s’mores cake is a little too sweet for my taste, but it might be perfect if you’re having it with a coffee.

 

Penn Deli

Address: Jl. Wolter Monginsidi No.25, Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta 12180, Indonesia
Telephone: +6282299996366
Hours: Weekdays 09:00 am - 09:00 pm | Sat & Sun 08:00 am - 09:00 pm

Instagram: @penndeli

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