Beliefcoffee Roasters • 빌리프커피 로스터스

I've been spending time back home these past few months and after 1.5 months of hiatus from this blog, I'm back with new updates. I'm currently back in Seoul and gonna stay here for a bit, so hopefully I got more stuff to share these up coming weeks. Spent my first day back in the city being reminded on why I picked summer as my least favorite season in South Korea. It's pretty hot and humid around here, although since I just came from Jakarta, it wasn't a rude awakening, but still... I'm pretty sure I can say the summer weather is in full swing right now with the temperature in 30°C range, high humidity in the air, and cloudy sky followed by occasional rains throughout the day. 

I ended up spending my afternoon at Beliefcoffee Roasters (빌리프커피 로스터스) in Hapjeong (합정) drinking ice green tea latte and catching up with Soo Zee. We stayed there for a good couple of hours with the rest of the crowd that filled the place even though it's only Tuesday. Soo Zee said they're probably escaping the heat in their houses and opted for the cool air-con in the cafe. With the weather outside, I could totally understand that. The cafe is pretty spacious. They have 2 floors, 1st floor and an underground floor. Plenty of tables available available on the first floor and you can find more seatings on the underground floor that has a very interesting interior. If you are looking for a place with cool air-cons to escape the summer heat, this place is definitely worth a visit.

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Watch the video:

 

Beliefcoffee Roasters (빌리프커피 로스터스)

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 양화로11길 50
Tel: 02-322-3100
Hours: 09:30 - 23:30

Instagram: @beliefcoffee_roasters

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Fritz Coffee Company • 프릳츠 도화점

Went to Fritz Coffee Company (프릳츠 커피 컴퍼니) on a nice spring Sunday afternoon with Soo Zee and Leigh to do some work and play. It's been a while since I hung out at a coffee shop on a weekend, I forgot how crowded it can be. This place was especially busy and packed when I walked in. Since I was the last one to arrive, I tried to look for Soo Zee and Leigh when I came in, but couldn't find them anywhere. Apparently, they were on the second floor on the balcony area, which I didn't know this place have. The whole coffee shop is definitely much bigger than it lead on from the outside.

The place is famous for its pastries it seemed like, cos they have a bunch of pastries selections laid out on trays displayed across from the coffee bar. I got the usual, my usual, pain au chocolat with a cup of warm hot chocolate. They were good. I also tried the plain croissant, and I would say it's pretty good. Soo Zee and Leigh thought it was alright, the Old Croissant Factory has better. I never been to the Old Croissant Factory so I didn't know better. 

Anyways, one of the thing that happened during this visit was since the place is pretty big, they have this loud speaker installed on the balcony area to call out orders. The volume on that thing was a little on the loud side and it gets annoying after a couple of times. We just laughed it off after the baristas shouted out the fourth order number. If you are looking for some peace and quite, definitely stay away from the speakers or try to find a seat in the first floor area.

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The Best Croissants You Can Never Have

Remember when I said we came to Fritz Coffee Company to work and play on my previous post? The main reason why we came here was because Soo Zee and Leigh need to shoot some stuff for their Do Stuff Video. They were nice enough to let me tag along and introduced me to this place. Here are some of the behind-the-scenes shots that I took when they were working. Some of these shots were taken at another location that we visited after we left Fritz. 

If you haven't seen their video, check it out on the link above. And then grab a croissant after that if you must ;)

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Sunset at Gyeongbokgung

After walking around Hongdae (see my Lunch at Hongdae post for the first part of this post), Ken & I decided to go to Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) cos none of us have ever been there during sunset. It was an impulsive decision, really, so we didn't really pay attention to the time when we made our way to the palace. By the time we arrived at the ticketing counter, we already missed the last time for entry. Bummer. But the sunset was pretty, so we decided to just hang around for a bit, do a little shooting and people-watching around the palace's gate. 

There was quite a lot of foot traffic around the area. The people exiting the palace combined with the evening rush hour crowd made the area very interesting to observe. The tourists who stayed in one spot for a good 15 minutes retaking selfies after selfies to get that perfect shot, the locals who leisurely taking their afternoon walk with their friends, family, and loved ones around the palace's ground enjoying the sunset, and the office workers in suits walking in a rush without even glancing at the the palace, kept me entertained as we stayed and lingered there for almost an hour. One thing for sure though, everybody's slowly (and some, rushingly) making their way away from the palace. And soon after that, we decided to joined the crowd and called it a day.

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Mono Sushi

Passed by Mono Sushi (모노스시) when I was on my way home after exploring Samseong-dong (삼성동) for a little bit. It was during that weird hour when it's too early for dinner, but I already felt a lil' bit hungry from all the walking around I've done earlier that day. So when I see this place, I thought, the place looks nice, they sell savory stuff, let's give it a try.

I walked into the minimal store and headed over to the counter where there were only a couple of selections left. I picked the Sweet Chicken with Nut Maki (견과류 달콤 치킨) and the Prawn Mayo Wasabi Maki (와사비 통새우마요) and to my surprise, they tasted better than I expected. Lots of flavors, definitely uncommon flavor combinations for makis. They also give you free soup with your orders. I think for next time, I gotta come at an earlier time so I can try the other options that they have.

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