Uhjjuhdah Promenade • 어쩌다산책

The first time I discovered Uhjjuhdah Promenade (어쩌다산책) which means ‘Strolling by Chance’ (cmiiw) was through Instagram. Saw somebody I followed posted a picture of their zen-like courtyard and I remember thinking “Wow, I didn’t know there’s this kind of place in Seoul”. So then this place immediately went to my Seoul-places-I-want-to-visit list.

Located near Hyehwa station (혜화역) at the heart of Daehag-ro (대학로), Uhjjuhdah Promenade (어쩌다산책) could easily fit to the hidden-gem category because finding this place wasn’t as easy as I thought it’d be. I followed the map to the location and arrived at the destination but saw no single sign of the place. I even rounded the block twice just to see if I went to the wrong side of the building. In the end, I found out that the bookstore cafe is located on the basement of the building.

As soon as I descended the stairs, I was greeted by the sight of the zen-garden inspired semi-outdoor courtyard I saw online. From the gravel, the rocks, the plants, and the lighting, everything about the courtyard definitely gives a sense of peace and calm to visitors who step into the space.

The indoor area itself is divided into two section, the bookstore section to the left of the entrance and the cafe section to the right. Once I stepped inside, I immediately realized that this is one of those quieter places that’s perfect for reading (it is a bookstore after all) or working. The cafe has two types of seating. One big communal table and smaller seating areas for solo visitors or small group.

The bookstore is very neat and well organized. I browsed through the shelves and saw most of the books (if not all) are Korean books.

Uhjjuhdah Promenade (어쩌다산책) is easily one of the nicest bookstore cafe that I’ve been to in Seoul. I came here during a weekday and the place was pretty quiet (not sure how busy it is during the weekend though). Even if you’re not looking to buy any books, I think this place is worth the visit just for its calming atmosphere.

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Uhjjuhdah Promenade • 어쩌다산책

Address: 서울 종로구 동숭길 101 지하 1층
Telephone: 02-747-7147
Hours: Everyday 12:00-21:00

Instagram: @ujd.promenade

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Gotham Treats

Looking for a great corn flake soft serve and fat soft baked cookies in Jakarta? Gotham Treats might be the place to visit for you. Sharing the space with its sister company, Lewis & Carroll Tea, Gotham Treats is a small store that sells a variety of New York inspired treats. If you’re familiar with Momofuku Milk Bar, Levain Bakery and Magnolia Bakery that are respectively well-known for their cereal milk soft serve, thick, crunchy yet gooey cookies and banana pudding, looking at the dessert selections at Gotham treats will definitely remind you of those delicious desserts. And apparently, those are actually the inspirations behind Gotham Treats.

From 10 different cookie flavors that they have available, I tried the The Chelsea (miso & white chocolate) and The Lower East Side (mini cookie with dark chocolate and sea salt). First off, the texture was great. The cookies were soft and chunky and the size of the mini cookies is perfect for a bite size or for snacking. Sweetness level was also good for me. It’s sweet, but not overwhelmingly sweet like the typical American cookies.

For The Chelsea, it’s good but I tasted the white chocolate more than the miso. Honestly thought there would be more of the miso saltiness to it, but turned out the white chocolate is a stronger flavor on this one. If you’re a fan of white chocolate, you’ll probably going to enjoy this flavor.

For The Lower East Side, I really like them. The play between salty and sweet flavors really came through on this one. And yes, this might be a more basic flavor, but I think it’s really good.

On top of their signature soft cookies, Gotham Treats also sells a variety of soft serve ice cream, custard pudding, cakes, cereal milk, cheesecake and tiramisu that are named after different places in New York.

The Dumbo Cereal Milk was just okay for me. It’s not too sweet, but the overall flavors was a little too milky for me (I personally like the ones with a stronger cereal flavor more). It was good, but I’ve had better in Jakarta.

The Dumbo was THE BOMB. It is currently on the top of my list of the best corn flake soft serve I’ve ever had. If you’ve had Milk Bar’s cereal milk soft serve, The Dumbo will reminded you of that, but minus the extra sweet factor (most American desserts are way too sweet for me). It has the right soft serve texture and the right amount of sweetness which make eating this ice cream much more enjoyable for me. If you like cereal milk flavored ice cream, I totally recommend for you to try The Dumbo.

 

Gotham Treats

Address: Jl. Bumi No.4, Jakarta Selatan 12120
Telephone: +6281294723355
Hours: Everyday 9AM-9PM

Instagram: @gothamtreats.id

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Matcha Bae

Matcha Bae is a small, modern, minimalist matcha cafe/bar in Kelapa Gading area with a matcha-centered drink and dessert menu. From Cold Whisk Matcha to Match Lattes as well as other unique combinations such as Matcha Rose and Matcha Biscoff, Matcha Bae prides themselves in using authentic, high-quality matcha that is imported from Japan.

I visited the store one month after its grand opening. Prior to this, Matcha Bae operated online and did only delivery. But now, with the newly opened cafe, people can go and visit their offline location to get their matcha fix. Although I’m not exactly a connoisseur of matcha, the drinks I had at Matcha Bae were really good. Their matcha drinks were really fragrant, strong in flavor and very smooth. From all of the drinks that I tried, my personal favorite was the Wakana Cold Whisk. For the dessert, their Matcha Injeolmi Cake was definitely one of the more unique matcha dessert I’ve had in Jakarta.

I also met the owner during my visit and talked to her for a bit. Apart from her love for Japanese matcha, the one big reason why she ended up opening Matcha Bae was because she was inspired by all the good matcha cafes she went to when she was traveling to Bangkok and she thought there weren’t (or aren’t) a lot of good matcha bars/cafes in Jakarta. So she learned the process of matcha making and opened Matcha Bae as a result. If you’re looking for a great, solid matcha bar in Jakarta area, definitely try this place out.

 

Matcha Bae

Address: Jl. Raya Hybrida Blok QJ9 No.37, West Kelapa Gading, 14240, Indonesia
Telephone: +62 856-9371-0126
Hours: Tuesday- Sunday 10am-7pm | Closed on Mondays

Instagram: @matchabae.id

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Quench Coffee • 퀜치커피

With my tendency of wandering off small alleyways in Seoul’s neighborhoods, there were a number of places that I stumbled upon by pure accident and Quench Coffee (퀜치커피) was one of them. The cafe is not particularly small or big, but the long wooden table in the middle of the room as well as the coffee bar seating area do make the place feel more open and wide. The atmosphere here felt nostalgic, especially with the wooden vintage furnitures that are decorating the space. I spent a couple of hours reading in this place accompanied by soft classical music playing in the background and a cup of warm matcha latte in front of me. It was a nice, quiet and peaceful afternoon.

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Quench Coffee • 퀜치커피

Address: 서울 마포구 동교로12안길 9 1층
Telephone: 010-3859-6108
Hours: Everyday 12:00-22:00

Instagram: @quench_coffee_nulimlee

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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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