Addictea • 에딕티

Addictea (에딕티) is a bubble tea franchise known for its variety of milk and fruit teas. They have their own unique flavoring, roasting and blending techniques for their tea leaves which help to retain the aroma of the tea leaves longer, giving a more fragrant tea as a result. They also one of the few bubble tea spot in Seoul that brew their tea to order, making the flavor of their tea more vibrant with a pleasant aroma. 

The brand (which then operated under a different name) is originally from Fujian, China but expanded their business overseas to Brisbane, Australia in 2016. Two years later, Addictea was officially established in Queensland, Australia. In 2019, they did Addictea’s overseas expansion with the opening of their first store in Seoul and later in Wuhan, China in 2022.

Addictea is one of my new find last fall that has become one of my favorite bubble tea spot in Seoul. Believe it or not, finding a good bubble tea spot in Seoul was actually pretty hard for me in the past. Not that I eat boba a lot (I usually don’t even order the boba), but usually bubble tea places have different type of milk teas that I like compared to the ones that are served in cafes in Seoul. 

I’ve drunk a lot of milk teas in many, many cafes in Seoul but the choice of the milk tea is usually very limited since majority of them are focused more on the coffee menu. Most cafes usually only have the choice of (black) milk tea or green tea latte. Some places will have earl grey milk tea, green milk tea or Assam milk tea. On rare occasions, I’d find places that sell black sesame latte. But that’s pretty much it. 

Not until these past couple of years I started seeing some asian bubble tea brands opening shops in Seoul and I can’t even tell you how happy I am that it’s slightly easier for me now to find boba places in the city. 

Addictea is actually one that I really like. They have a couple of milk tea options like Genmaicha, Roasted Green Tea, Ostmathus and Jasmine Green Milk Tea that I usually find back home (or back in South East Asia). My favorite menu is their Genmaicha with Milk (현미 밀크티). Their tea is really fragrant (the brew-to-order tea does make a difference imho) and overall it’s not too sweet (I usually order 75% sugar and the sweetness is just right for me). One time, I took a couple of my friends to this place and we ordered a couple of different ones. After tasting what we ordered, we all agree that the milk teas are good but the Genmaicha is the best one. So I definitely recommend you to try the Genmaicha with Milk if you come to this place. 

Addictea Hongdae (에딕티 홍대점) is one of the location that I’ve been to before. This location is pretty big with seatings available in the store. It’s located next to Halal Guys and below BHC Chicken in Hongdae. A little bit of disclaimer, these pictures of the shop were taken when I went to visit back in May 2024. Today I tried to search their name on Naver Map and it didn’t show up so I’m not sure if the place is still open or if they already moved somewhere else. But on their Instagram bio, Hongdae is still listed as one of the locations (maybe they just closed recently, I’m not sure). So, there’s that. 

The location that I went to the first time was actually Addictea Myeongdong (에딕티 명동점). The store is smaller than the Hongdae location but there are limited seatings inside for about nine people, mostly small tables for two. I usually do take-outs from this location since the place is pretty small. This place is definitely still open and appears on Naver map.

They also have another location Addictea Hoegi (에딕티 경희대점) near Hoegi Station (회기역) in Dongdaemun (동대문구) area if you’re around that neighborhood.

*Photos below are from Addictea Myeongdong (에딕티 명동점).

 

Addictea Hongdae • 에딕티 홍대점

Address: 서울 마포구 홍익로6길 10
Hours: 13:00-22:00 (Last Order 21:55)

 

Addictea Myeongdong • 에딕티 명동점

Address: 서울 중구 명동4길 15 1층
Telephone: 0507-1393-6699
Hours: Everyday 12:00-21:30

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Tam Tam • 북촌 탐탐

Tam Tam (탐탐) is small dessert shop near Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) neighborhood that specializes in handmade Korean desserts that are made daily using fresh ingredients. Their menu ranges from their best-selling rice cake, ice cream, cream pancake and lattes with traditional Korean flavors.

I visited this cafe during my last Seoul trip in May, four months after its opening. I was browsing for new places to try around Bukchon Hanok Village area and stumbled across this cafe’s listing and their interesting menu. If you don’t know already, I am a big fan of all things black sesame. And so when I saw that they have Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball Latte on the menu, that became the sole reason for me to go visit this cafe.

Other than two other patrons in the cafe occupying one of the table on the first floor, me and my friend were the only ones there when we visited the place around 5:30 pm on a Monday. The weather was nice that day and they had the glass windows opened. So we opted to seat at one of the table on the first floor that’s perfect for people watching (or for people watching us too I guess since we’re right by the side of the street). 

Despite occupying a two-story building, the cafe is actually pretty small. There are three tables on the first floor and four tables on the second floor that accommodate seven people and twelve people respectively. The space is definitely pretty tight in-between tables, but I guess on the upside, if you come here during colder days, it’ll be warm and cozy.

Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball Latte (흑임자 경단 라떼) ₩6,000 | 9/10

Black sesame latte served with rice cake ball with red bean paste filling.

Of course the first thing I ordered was the one thing I wanted to try since I first saw their menu online, the Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball Latte. This drink was really good. The ground black sesame flavor was light and not too overwhelming, making the drink a little bit on the milkier side. On top of the black sesame latte was sweet and salty cream which paired really well with the latte. 

The rice cake balls on the skewers were soft and chewy. They were covered in ground black sesame seed and there’s actually red bean paste filling inside the rice cake balls. The filling wasn’t too sweet either and the amount was just right to compliment the rice cake. Overall, I really enjoyed both the latte and the rice cake balls. 

We also ordered the top three best sellers of their rice cake ball to try—the Black Sesame, Yakwa, and Dried Persimmon. Overall their rice cake balls were really good. The texture was nice and chewy (also, a little bit of a disclaimer if you never had rice cake before, the texture is not as soft as and different from mochi’s texture). It’s not too soft, but not too tough either. They had just the right amount of chewiness making eating these enjoyable. And everything we had was not too sweet with a hint of saltiness to the flavors.

Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball (흑임자) ₩3,500 | 9/10

Black Sesame Mousse & Fried Sesame Seeds
흑임자무스, 볶은통깨

The black sesame rice cake ball has black sesame filling and it had a nice earthy, nutty flavors. Since I’m a sucker for black sesame, I enjoyed this one the most.

Yakwa Rice Cake Ball (약과) ₩3,500 | 8/10

Sweet Rice Honey Yakgwa & Ricotta
찹쌀꿀약과, 리코타

The yakwa (a traditional Korean sweet pastry that is made with ginger and honey) was pretty good as well. The filling kind of reminded me of sweet potato for some reason. 

Dried Persimmon Rice Cake Ball (곶감) ₩3,500 | 5/10

Dried Persimmon, Mascarpone, Natural Honey
곶, 마스카포네, 천연꿀

This one was just okay for me. The rice cake ball was good but I didn’t really enjoy the filling (might also be because I’m just not too into dried persimmon in general). But it was definitely interesting and reminded me of Korean flavors.  

Other than the ones that we ordered, they also have other interesting menus such as Truffle Rice Cake Ball, Basil Rice Cake Ball, Citron Red Bean Paste Rice Cake Ball, Mugwort Rice Cake Ball Latte (쑥 경단라떼), Sikhye Bingsu (식혜빙수), and Egg Cream Espresso (에그 크림프레소). If you’re visiting or exploring Bukchon Hanok Village and want to have some great Korean traditional rice cakes (or Black Sesame Latte) instead of regular bread and pastries, would definitely recommend this place to try. 

 

Tam Tam (카페 탐탐)

Address: 서울 종로구 계동길 82 흰색건물
Telephone: 0507-1304-9165
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00-20:00 | Sat & Sun 11:00-21:30

Instagram: @tamtam_seoul

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Donut Of Curiosity

Donut Of Curiosity is the newest donut shop in Jakarta that just opened last Sunday (Sep 8) at Ashta District 8 and will surely be the talk of the town (at least for the next few weeks) because of their unique store concept. Adopting a more simplistic approach, the store is decorated with just one artistic artwork inspired by the shape of donut dough being mixed. The enormous floor-to-ceiling knot-like concrete pillar structure that stood tall in the space is surrounded by concrete walls, soft pink carpeting and it also serves as a display for their donuts that are exhibited like artworks in a museum. The whole store screams modern and artistic and definitely invites curious gazes from the passerby. Although this kind of donut store might be the first of its kind in Jakarta, I have to say it also reminds me (in a good way) of Gentle Monster stores and Nudake cafes which adopted similar design concept and vibes.

Other interesting fact that I found out was Donut Of Curiosity is created by the same team behind the famous Scarlett’s brand. It’s said that it took the chef 1.5 years to research and develop their current dough recipe, which apparently uses 3 different kinds of flour for the mix resulting in their soft and chewy donut texture.

Currently, they are offering 10 different flavors—2 savory and 8 sweet options—for their donuts:
• Maple & Beef (32k)
• Truffle & Garlic Butter (32k)
• Valrhona (32k)
• Earl Grey & Milk Choco (30k)
• Brûlée & Yoghurt (28k)
• Lemon (25k)
• Pistachio (30k)
• Matcha Strawberry (28k)
• Smoked Vanilla (28k)
• Salted Honey & Kinako (25k)

(11 Sep) An update from one of the owners regarding the current ordering system:
Ordering system is split into 3 batches per day.
Batch 1 — 11:00 am
Batch 2 — 2:30 pm
Batch 3 — 6:00 pm

For those who lined up before the opening time, you can purchase donuts right away from Batch 1 until it’s sold out.
For Batch 2 and Batch 3, you can line up to place your order and payment anytime and then come back to pick up your order at 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm respectively.

If you don’t want to go back and forth, you can try to come near the time when the donuts are being restocked but availability of flavors is not guaranteed (while if you place an order prior to Batch 2 and Batch 3 time slot, then your order is guaranteed. At least this is how I interpreted the message that’s posted on the owner’s IG story. I’d suggest you to double check with the staff during your visit to make sure that the rules still apply just in case they make any changes to their ordering system).

Maple & Beef (32k) | 8.5/10

I tried one of the savory options—the Maple & Beef—which is also their recommended menu. The donut is soft and chewy. The sweetness from the maple glaze and the savoriness from the beef bacon were very balanced. And the arugula and mayo were nice additions to the overall flavors. A solid 8.5/10 from me. Also, would definitely recommend to consume these donuts right away.

The store has no seating so you can only do take-out for the donuts. There are round height tables available in front of the store where you can eat your donuts standing if you choose to. 

Also, special thanks to @munchandsnap.jkt for taking me to the pre-opening and getting me an early access to these donuts.

 

Donut Of Curiosity

Address: Ashta District 8 (UG Floor Unit 07), Jl. Senopati No.83, Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta 12190, Indonesia
Hours: 11a.m-Finish

Instagram: @donutofcuriosity

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Seoul Angmusae Yongsan • 서울앵무새 용산점

Seoul Angmusae Yongsan (서울앵무새 용산점) is a bakery cafe that’s well-known for their wide selections of colorful sweet and savory baked goods and desserts. They had their grand opening in May 26, 2023 two years after their first Seongsu flagship location that was opened in March 21, 2021. The Yongsan location is definitely bigger than their flagship location, seeing how it occupies the first three floors of a five-story building in the middle of Yongnidangil (용리단길), one of the more recent up and coming areas in Seoul that is filled with new cafes and restaurants. The orange facade with colorful illustrations of their parrot mascot (Angmusae means parrots in Korean) definitely attract attention and make passerby’s heads turn. One of the reason contributing to their popularity (I believe) is because their visually pleasing desserts Instagram Reels went viral and were shared over and over on social media (as I’m writing this post one of their Reels has an impressive 91.5 million views).

The first floor of the cafe is where the bakery is. You walk in, get a tray and a tongs and start walking towards the display area to pick your choice. It’s hard to make one I tell you since the choices are pretty overwhelming. From savory buns to sweet desserts, you have plenty of things to choose from. This is also where you place your drinks order where you can pick it up on the second floor. 

The second and third floor are where all the seatings are. The place is pretty big with plenty of tables and chairs available. The interior is filled with eclectic modern furnitures and colorful, vibrant decorations, giving a trendy contemporary energy to the space. One side of the room is covered with folding windows that were fully opened since it was a cloudy summer day and the weather wasn’t too hot when I was visiting. The tables next to the opened windows are a perfect for people watching since you got the view of the street below. 

Black Sesame Latte 흑임자 라떼 ₩7,000 | 6.5/10

I ordered this not knowing they put coffee with the latte. Since I’m not a coffee drinker and the coffee in this drink was pretty strong, it tasted just okay to me. The black sesame was (I believe) in the cream/froth part on top which was served with cacao powder sprinkled in shape of Seoul Angmusae’s mascot. I asked if they could make the Black Sesame Latte without coffee and they said they can’t. Too bad. 

Chicken Basil Soft Bun 치킨바질소프트번 ₩8,500 | 8/10

Chicken, Cranberries, Basil Pesto, and Sweet Sun-Dried Tomatoes.
치킨과 크랜베리, 바질페스토와 쫄깃하고 달콤한 썬드라이 토마토의 상큼함이 조화를 이루는 맛.

The Chicken Basil Soft Bun was pretty good. There’s a good balance between the savoriness from the basil pesto and the sweetness form the cranberries and sun-dried tomatoes. It was a pretty satisfying flavorful bite. 

Smoke Duck White Bun 훈제오리화이트번 ₩7,500 | 7/10

Smoked Duck, Pickled Onions, Lettuce and Honey Mustard.
훈제 오리와 절인 양파의 상큼함과, 허니 머스타드의 달달함이 조화를 이루는 맛.

The Smoke Duck White Bun was more on the savory side. They nailed the smokiness of the duck meat, the texture is not tough but it’s a bit dry for my personal preference. So did the bun for that matter. It was a bit dry on the outside but fortunately the inside is pretty soft. The honey mustard sauce was pretty good and it paired well with the duck. It was an okay dish for me.

Also, I do wish all the buns were warmer (since they put everything out on display, everything was lukewarm).

Angmusae Egg Madeleine Vanilla & Lemon ₩4,800 each | 7/10

Bought the Vanilla and Lemon Angmusae Egg Madeleine to go and the packaging is pretty cute. Taste wise, they’re a little bit on the dry side for me, but flavors were pretty good and not too sweet.

I went to the third floor to see what the place looks like and it’s pretty much giving similar vibes to the second floor. The difference is probably there’s only one sofa (instead of three) on this floor but there are more chairs and tables available.

The music playing in this cafe when I was there was the Top 100 Pop Hits playlist and almost all the English pop songs that were playing I actually recognized or familiar with. Noise level was medium to high I’d say, depending on how busy the place is. With how big the cafe is and the wide variety of menu that they have, I think this is a good place to hang out at.

 

Seoul Angmusae Yongsan • 서울앵무새 용산점

Address: 서울 용산구 한강대로62길 55 1, 2, 3층
Telephone: 0507-1350-4710
Hours: Everyday 08:00-23:00

Instagram: @seoul_angmusae

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Cheong Su Dang Bakery • 청수당 베이커리

Cheong Su Dang Bakery (청수당 베이커리) is one of the many popular aesthetic cafes in Ikseon-dong (익선동) that has gone viral on social media since the first time they opened their door to the public. Their iconic entrance of lush bamboo trees around a small pond with stepping stones leading to the entrance of the cafe is probably one of the most popular photo spot around this neighborhood and it has been shared thousands of times on social media. And even if you’ve never seen the pictures of this place online, the beautiful facade of the bakery will definitely make you stop in your tracks or pique your interest at the very least if you happen to walk by this place.

Since their opening in Summer 2020, the bakery has maintained their popularity among the locals as well as tourists which led to their space renewal and expansion last year in July. The beautifully designed space is the work of Glow Seoul, an architecture and design studio that’s responsible for many other popular cafes in South Korea. The current space is a combination of 6 hanoks surrounded with bamboo trees and ponds with calm flowing water, giving patrons a tranquil escape in the middle of the city. 

My first visit to Cheong Su Dang Bakery was last year in spring with my cousins (this was 3 months before their expansion). They came pretty early, before the place was even open and immediately got a table when the cafe opened. Maybe because it’s still early and a weekday because usually you’ll need to line up to get a table at this place, especially on the weekends. The cafe has a couple of different indoor and outdoor seating areas—individuals and community tables and table floor seatings—and we picked a table facing the street that’s a little bit hidden between two walls.

Since the dessert portion is pretty big, we decided to order 2 desserts and 2 drinks to share between the three of us. 

Stone Drip Egg Coffee (스톤 드립 계란 커피) ₩7,800

Stone drip coffee with fresh egg yolk cream on top, torched crème brûlée style.
스톤 드립 커피 위에 신선한 계란 노른자로 직접 만든 크림을 올려 토치로 마무리한 크램 브륄레(crème brûlée)식 커피.

My cousin ordered this and since I don’t drink coffee, I can’t really give a review on how it tasted. But she said it was pretty good. 

Black Sesame Fromage Cake (흑임자 프로마주 케이크) ₩15,000 | 8.5/10

Sponge cake soaked in black sesame, topped with roasted walnut, mascarpone cheese, milk cream, and black sesame powder.
흑임자 베이스를 흠뻑 적신 시트 위에 구운 호두 마스카포네 치즈와 우유크림을 얹은 후 청수당의 현무암을 표현한 스폰지 케이크와 흑임자 가루로 데코한 청수당만의 특별한 디저트.

My favorite out of the two desserts we tried. As a black sesame flavor enthusiast, I really enjoyed this chilled dessert. Moist sponge cake with earthy, not too sweet black sesame flavor. The roasted walnut in the middle was a nice little surprise to the bite.

Strawberry Compote Souffle Castella (딸기 수플레 카스텔라) ₩18,800 | 7/10

Soft and warm made to order soufflé castella with refreshing strawberry compote and fresh milk cream on top.
부드럽고 따뜻한 수플레 카스텔라 위에 상큼한 딸기 콩포트와 신선한 우유크림이 듬뿍 올려진 디저트로 주문과 동시에 만들어지는 오더 메이드 디저트.

Honestly, this one is a bit underwhelming for me (or maybe I was just expecting too much). Not that it didn’t taste good or anything because flavor wise it was good and it was a well-made dessert. I think anybody who likes strawberry or souffle castella would enjoy this dessert. It’s just for their signature menu and considering the price point, it felt a little bit ordinary. Like I’ve tasted these flavors before. Also worth noting, this is a warm dessert.

Is this place worth the hype it has on social media? If what you’re looking for is an aesthetic cafe to take nice pictures at, I’d probably say yes. But with caveat that you know how to take a good shot and to properly edit your pictures because from a photographer’s perspective, the lighting around this place is a bit challenging, especially on a bright sunny day. My suggestion is to go during sunset time or on a cloudy day for a better lighting (less harsh contrast on the shadows and highlights and you can pull more colors out of your shot). 

But if what you’re looking for is a nice relaxing place to hangout at, the short answer is probably no, especially if you have to line up for hours for a table. This place is always pretty packed with locals and tourists (I don’t know how it is nowadays but every time I passed by this place in the past it always looked pretty busy) and it can get a little bit noisy when the place is full. The drinks and desserts that I had were also just alright considering the somewhat high price point (although price wise, it’s probably similar to other cafes in the area since cafes in Ikseon-dong are notorious for being on the more expensive side).

My personal take, if you’re really curious to check out the place and experience dining at the bakery then go for it. They do have nice interesting architecture and interior design and their menu is pretty decent. But if you’re traveling, have limited time and have other cool cafes that you want to check out, you can probably just see the cafe from outside and spend your time somewhere else. Would I go back to this place again? If I have friends who are visiting Seoul and they want me to go check the place out with them, then sure, I wouldn’t mind going for their sake. Other reason that might make me want to go back is to check out their new space after the expansion (and only if the place is not busy). But for now, I think I’m pretty content with just visiting this place once.

 

Cheong Su Dang Bakery • 청수당 베이커리

Address: 서울 종로구 돈화문로11나길 31-9
Telephone: 0507-1318-8215
Hours: Everyday 10:30 - 21:00 (Last Order 20:30)

Instagram: @cheongsudang_

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