On My Playlist #03

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Un'icon • 언아이콘

If you’re a fan of a white minimalistic cafe, Un’icon (언아이콘) might be worth checking out if you ever found yourself around Mangwon-dong (망원동) area. I visited this newly opened cafe during one hot summer day after having lunch nearby. The place is not that big and seating is a little bit limited. But since I was there during weekdays, I got a seat right after two guys who finished their drinks left when I came in.

I made my way to the counter to see the menu and have no idea what’s good here. So, like any other times I went for a first visit to a place I never been before, I usually ask whoever is behind the counter for their recommendations on their signature non-coffee menu. The guy wearing the red shirt recommended Melting Gray (멜팅그레이) to me. He said it’s their popular non-coffee menu, so I ordered one following his recommendation.

To be honest, I was a little bit skeptical when I saw what it looked like. Sure, the black syrup-like liquid that’s slowly dripping down the white milk looked cool and totally Instagrammable. But from past experiences, this kind of ‘Instagrammable drinks’ usually don’t taste very good or overly sweet. Still, I gave it a try. That’s the whole point of going to new places anyway right? Trying new things and hopefully discovering good stuff along the way. The black liquid that goes into the Melting Gray itself is handmade and made out of seven ingredients. What those ingredients are, I’m not sure to be honest. Maybe I should ask next time I’m there.

I gave the whole thing a good stir before taking my first sip of the cold grey liquid. And what do you know, it actually tasted good! I was genuinely surprised and I remembered I even hummed unconsciously after my first taste. It wasn’t too sweet and was actually refreshing. Wether it’s because the ice ratio was perfect or perhaps the fact that I let it set for a bit since I was taking photos of it before I drink it made the whole thing refreshingly cool, I’m not entirely sure. Either way, I like the drink and it’s been a while since I tasted something different that I like. Next time I come here, I might try their other non-coffee menu. We’ll see.

Video of the space:

Un’icon • 언아이콘

Address: 서울 마포구 월드컵로13길 19-23
Telephone: 010-4186-0131
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 13:00 - 21:00 | Sunday 13:00 - 20:00 | Closed on Mondays

Instagram: @uniconcoffee

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Gentle Monster The Salvation Moon • 젠틀몬스터 플래그십스토어

Visiting Gentle Monster Sinsa flaghip store (젠틀몬스터 신사동 플래그십스토어) to check out their new installation has somewhat became a tradition for me every time I visited Garosugil (가로수길) after I haven’t been to the area for a while. Since they always change their interior almost every season, it almost feels like visiting a new store every time I stepped into their newest campaign. But at the same time, the place also gave me a sense of familiarity since the location, the layout of the building, and the products they are selling remained unchanged. Here’s what the current campaign is all about:

Gentle Monster kicks off the ‘13’ Campaign in Korea through a reimagined Sinsa Flagship named, ‘The Salvation Moon’, The new space tells a story of the world impacted and changed after the 13th Month, painting the stories of survival of different life forms. The Sinsa showroom illustrates an oriental hope-filled message behind the struggles and desperation of those whom worship and pray to the new moon for salvation.

— Gentle Monster website

The one thing that struck me the most when I stepped into the store was that the installations reminded me of Stranger Things for some reason. The combination of the outer space elements with creatures that resemble monsters, or aliens really, gave me a strong Stranger Things vibes, especially the flower-shaped-claw-machine like installation that opens and closes slowly on the second floor. It really reminded me of the head of the Demogorgon. Anybody else think so too or is it just me?

Gentle Monster Sinsa Flaghip Store • 젠틀몬스터 신사동 플래그십스토어

Address: 서울특별시 강남구 압구정로10길 23
Telephone: 070-5080-0196
Hours: 12:00 - 21:00 Daily

Instagram: @gentlemonster

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Bread Lab • 브레드랩

Bread Lab (브레드랩) is the place where you can go to to find a selection of homemade bakery in the neighborhood of Yeonnam-dong (연남동). Make your way to the entrance of the bakery on the second floor of the house like structure, which also serves as a home to one of the popular Thai restaurant in the area on the first floor. The vintage vibe of the brown wood aesthetic which covered the walls and ceiling of the room will greets you as soon as you stepped into the main area of the bakery, in addition to a row of fresh baked bread and pastries laid out for you to choose from.

There were a couple of other girls who were contemplating on which bread or pastries they should put on the trays on their hand when I was there. I have to say that Marshellia and I had the same problem too when the time came for us to choose which item we should try. Good thing that they put out signs for their best seller items and we ended up picking the interesting looking Green Tea Danish, which was ranked 3rd according to the displayed sign, to share. After we paid for our danish and our drink, we sat ourselves on a table next to the open door leading to the patio area. The Green Tea Danish was good. Super flaky and not too sweet, just the right amount of green tea and powdered sugar mixed together.

After we’re done with our food, I wandered around the bakery and found out that the place is actually bigger than what it seemed to be from the outside. There is another sitting area next to the room that we were sitting in and their outdoor patio area is actually pretty spacious too. Too bad it was a little hot that day so we opted to stay inside, near the door to avoid the hot sun but close enough to the outside to enjoy the gentle cool breeze that blew once in a while.

In terms of the atmosphere, I think this place might not be comfortable for long hours of study session since I found that the height proportions of the chairs and tables are a little bit awkward and uncomfortable, especially if you have to sit up or do some work on the table for a long period of time. But in terms of hanging out and chatting with friends, I think this place is a pretty nice option for it.

Here’s a video of the place:

Bread Lab • 브레드랩

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 연남동 229-67
Telephone: 02-337-0501
Hours: 10:00 - 22:00 Daily

Instagram: @bread_lab

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On My Playlist #02

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