Village 11 Factory • 빌라쥬11팩토리

I stumbled upon Village 11 Factory (빌라쥬11팩토리) store last fall on one of my hangouts with @dianahenry08 when she was visiting Seoul. We were walking around Garosu-gil (가로수길) and decided to walked into this store because of their body wash vending machine and their store displays, which we noticed when passing by the entrance. Talk about don't judge a book by its cover, it certainly applies to this place because from the outside, I would never imagined how fun the interior of the store would be. I mean, there are 2 floors, divided into different sections, and each sections have their own themed decorations. And all of them are pretty well designed and executed. 

To be honest, I walked into the store because I was curious. That's about it. Never imagined that I would be walking out of the store purchasing something—which I did ended up doing by the way, thanks to a certain friendly staff that gave me an explanation of their Body Oil Wash and asked me to try washing my hands with their samples. After that, I'm sold. Their Body Oil Wash (which probably is the majority of product displayed all over the store) is probably one of the nicest body wash that I've ever used. It moisturizes my skin without leaving that oily residue plus the scent is really nice. I'm not an expert at product review and describing this kind of things nor somebody who has been using and testing different kinds of body wash (which I'm sure there are better ones out there), but I'm telling you, if you are in the store, at least give it a try. This is probably one of a few products that I got really excited telling my friends about (other than camera equipments, electronics and food stuff). And I actually brought some of my friends to this store on separate occasions, asked them to try it out, and they too liked the product and ended up buying the Body Oil Wash. So at least I'm not that bias ;)

And oh by the way, if you are wondering, this is NOT a sponsored post. I just like it that much.

p.s: check out the video for more shots from this store!

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Watch the video here:

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BookPark • 북파크

I still remember the first time I stumbled upon a picture of a book cafe online. It was a couple of years ago and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Back then, book cafe hasn't became a thing. My association of rows of books wasn't usually paired with a cup of hot chocolate or ice green tea on the side to sip on. The consumption of food and drinks is usually prohibited in libraries and bookstores. And reading books in libraries or bookstores usually involved some level of discomfort caused by standing too long in one of the corners of the bookstore or sitting down for a prolonged period of time on one of those uncomfortable library chairs.

I don't know when the book cafe trend started, but it's definitely a thing in Seoul. I stumbled upon quite a number of book cafes in the city and BookPark (북파크) is one of the recent book cafe that I visited. Located on the 2nd and 3rd floor of Blue Square (블루스퀘어), the place is pretty huge for a bookstore. Other than great selections of books, you can also find Hollys Coffee inside the store, plenty of chairs and tables if you decide you wanna read a book or do some studying, and there's even a balcony area for you to chill at if you want to enjoy the nice weather outside. If you are not into books, there's a section on the third floors that sells accessories, toys, stationeries and other knick knacks that you can browse. And they also have another cafe on this floor (which name I didn't pay attention to) and a sitting area with tables bigger than the one in Hollys Coffee area.

If you're looking for books, definitely check this place out. If not, this is also a great place to meet up with people or to get some work/studying done. Or if you are not into all that, you can always come for their instagrammable tall bookshelf and stairs ;)

p.s: thank you @seoul_stateofmind for bringing me and @_marshellia to this place!

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And oh, started to upload video to my Youtube channel. Subscribe of you wanna see more! :) Here's the first video.

 

BookPark • 북파크

Address: 서울특별시 용산구 이태원로 294
Tel. No: 02-6367-2018
Hours: 10:00 - 23:00
Subway: Hangangjin Station (Line 6) Exit 2

Instagram: @bookpark_

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Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Seoul • 미스터홈즈베이크하우스

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse has been on my radar since the time their infamous cruffin started popping up on Instagram a couple of years back. I still remembered the first time I heard about this cruffin hype in San Francisco where people lined up early mornings just to get a taste of the croissant textured muffin. As much as I'm curious on how good it actually is, I never once made the effort to go to Larkin Street at 7 am to join the hype. But then, lo and behold, a couple of years after that, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse opened its Seoul branch. And there it started again, the whole cruffin hype and the stream of people posting cruffin and ootd shot from Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Seoul (미스터홈즈베이크하우스). Since my friends wanted to go, I finally got to try this cruffin that I've been hearing so much about.

Ordered the cruffin (크러핀) and the Ferrero Rocher croissant (페레로 로쉐 크로와상). To be honest, they both were pretty good but the filling on the cruffin was a tad too sweet for me. If it has less fillings, it might be better for me since I don't really like super sweet stuff. But overall the pastries were good, although I still don't know if I would spend a couple of hours lining up for a cruffin early in the morning.

Apart from trying the cruffin, I also got to see their super awesome branding design in store. If you are into dessert, cafes, and ootd, you probably have seen their famous 'I GOT BAKED IN SEOUL' pink neon sign somewhere online. The designer/co-owner of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, Aron Tzimas, apparently has successfully made this neon sign and the store's carry-out boxes into a must have Instagram shot if you are visiting Mr. Holmes Bakehouse. I have to say this Mendl's Bakery (from Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel) inspired design for the carry-out boxes is executed beautifully. If you are looking to try some cruffin in Seoul, definitely give this place a visit. If not, you can always come for their other pastries or their neon/marble interior for some great ootd shots ;)

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Update:

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Seoul has closed permanently. The San Francisco and Los Angeles locations also have closed permanently after the company filed for bankruptcy in February 2021.

 

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Seoul (미스터홈즈베이크하우스)

Address: 서울특별시 강남구 압구정로10길 34
Tel. No: 02-547-2004
Hours: 10:00 - 22:30
Subway: Sinsa Station (Line 3) Exit 8

Instagram: @mrholmesbakehouse_kr

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Stumptown Coffee Roasters Garosu-Gil • 스텀프타운 커피 로스터스

I first heard about Stumptown Coffee Roasters (스텀프타운 커피 로스터스) after I moved to Seattle. Just like I associate Blue Bottle Coffee with San Francisco, I associate Stumptown Coffee with Puget Sound and Portland. I'm not necessarily saying that those brands are the best brands in those two cities (they might as well be, but what do I, a non-coffee drinker, know. really), but more because of my friends and the people that I met in those two cities just happened to named those brands as their favorite coffee to drink. Seeing the brand in Seoul, this time in Garosu-gil (가로수길) to be exact, gave me a sense of familiar feeling and reminded me of the time I spent in Seattle. Funny sometimes when I realized the things that I associate with a certain period of my life seemed so small and unimportant back then, but now, they could mean hundreds of memories.

I didn't know when this place was open in Garosu-gil, but I'm guessing not too long ago since I didn't remember seeing it there last summer. I was actually talking about Stumptown Coffee beans with a friend of mine a couple of days before and was telling him that he should try their coffee beans because it's pretty well-known in Portland. And whaddaya know. A couple of days later, I just happened to pass by this place when I was exploring Garosu-gil. Since I'm already there, I thought I would buy a bag of their coffee beans and give it to my friend to try. There was some kind of discount going on I think, cos I get a small discount and a free bottle of cold-brew coffee.

A little about the place, the coffee stand is actually in the same building as the Official Holiday by Koon store. It has a small outdoor seating area, which is pretty nice and cozy I would say. I didn't get to browse around the store other than the Stumptown's corner, but I would definitely go back and check out the store and maybe have a cup of tea and sit around for a bit.

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Update:

This cafe is now closed.

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Amorino • 아모리노

I went to Garosu-gil (가로수길) for a Sunday afternoon stroll after church last week and passed by this gelato place called Amorino (아모리노). Wasn't really planning on getting a gelato or anything, but that rose-shaped gelato on a cone looked interesting. Plus I was sweating from all the walking around and could actually feel that my face was burning. So, taking a break at a gelato place sounded perfect. Ordered hazelnut and vanilla on a cone and it did came out like the pictures they have on the banners in front and on the counter of the store (just minus the macaron in the middle, cos I didn't order one, but it looked exactly like a flower). The gelato has good texture and tasted nyum. The only downside was I had to somewhat quickly finished it cos the weather made it melts pretty fast. Anyways, hope everybody have a good weekend!

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