Coffee Nap Roasters • 커피냅로스터스

Famously known for its 7,000-brick hill interior, Coffee Nap Roasters (커피냅로스터스) is a small hip and definitely Instagrammable coffee spot in Yeonnam-dong (얀남동). The images of their unusual interior and seating arrangement soon went viral on Instagram after they opened in April 2018. My first visit to the cafe was three months after their opening and I went there solely because I was curious to see the architecture and interior of the space for myself after seeing the many, many pictures online.

When I arrived, the first thing that threw me off a little was the size of the coffee shop itself. Judging from the photos I’ve seen, I knew that the place isn’t that big but I guess I was expecting it to be slightly bigger than it actually is. But, luckily, I was there on a weekday so the place wasn’t too crowded.

This place is more of a coffee spot, so there’s not a lot of non-coffee options on the menu other than Lemon Ade, Apple Tea, Milk Tea, and Choco Latte. I opted for an Ice Apple Tea since it was a hot summer day.

Sitting inside the cafe was quite an experience in itself. Intended to give the visitors an experience of sitting on a hill surrounded by nature while drinking their coffee, I can understand the concept when I look at the interior of the space. I also really like how they execute ‘The moon hiding behind the hill’ idea with the big round mirror that is placed inside the cafe. The whole concept was definitely unique and well executed. In one article, the architect, Design Studio Maoom, explained:

“Getting rid of the tables and the chairs, and looking up from the low hill, where your sight is, became the space and scenery. Having a diverse way to sit, beyond overcoming uncomfortableness, would mean the beginning of a new experience. This small place is a tiny coffee shop where you can enjoy a cup of coffee with wherever you choose to sit, becomes your space.

The hill is a space where you can sit and relax for a moment. A place where one wants to rest.”
—archdaily.com

Other than the brick hill, the other two indoor seating options were a wooden bench at the bottom of the hill and the seating area in front of the window that is facing directly to the hill.

Although I can understand what the architect’s intentions were, there are several things that me, as a visitor, experience quite differently than what they described. First, personally, having the option of sitting wherever you choose kind of giving me a little anxiety instead of relaxation to be honest. It wasn’t really a problem when I was there since the cafe wasn’t too crowded. But I imagined if the place is packed, I think it could get a little uncomfortable to have to step around people to get to an empty spot or when you want to leave or when you want to use the restroom which is located at the top of the hill. Not to mention the close proximity of the other patrons around you. And if you choose to sit on the seating area in front of the window, you’ll be facing the people who’s sitting on the hill directly or at the very least, you can get that feeling of being watched or stared at. I tried sitting at the seat in front of the window and honestly, it was a little awkward when I made eye contact with the people who were in my line of sight.

Second of all, sitting on the brick hill wasn’t actually comfortable at all. I mean, you probably could’ve guessed by looking at the shape and materials of the hill. But yes, I fell like the hill is definitely not meant to accommodate people for long talks, unless you’re okay with sitting on a hard surface for a long time. Plus, I think for girls, you probably might want to plan your outfit accordingly if you intend to sit on the hill because wearing a short skirt or heels might be a little uncomfortable.

Honestly, I think the outdoor seatings and the flat surface area near the big round mirror probably are the more comfortable seating areas in the cafe.

Even so, this cafe is one of the more interesting cafe I’ve been to and I think it’s worth a visit if you want to check out their interior design or get some coffee. To find out more about the architecture and interior design concept of this place, you can read it here and here.

Note: These pictures were taken before the pandemic.

 

Coffee Nap Roasters • 커피냅로스터스

Address: 서울 마포구 성미산로27길 70
Telephone: 02-332-4131
Hours: Everyday 09:00 - 20:00

Instagram: @coffeenap_roasters

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Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue

Café Kitsuné Indonesia has just opened its second location in North Jakarta after opening its first location at Ashta District 8 back in 2020. Located next to the main lobby of PIK Avenue Mall, Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue opened its door to the public on April 27, 2022.

Departing from their turf green nature inspired interior at Ashta District 8's location, Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue chose hot coral as the lead color to decorate the modern space, combining it with the signature wooden textures that are often seen in Café Kitsuné other locations. One new addition to the cafe that sets it apart from the other location is the outdoor bar area that has been set up for those who are looking to wine and dine at the cafe instead of getting a caffeine fix.

I visited the cafe with my friend, Winda, and had the chance to experience dining at the newly opened cafe/restaurant earlier this week. First off, the service was good. The servers who waited our table were friendly and pretty attentive. One thing that I also appreciate was the fact that they seem to understand the menu. Not in the kind of I-memorize-the-description-of-the-menu kind of way, but it sounded more like they have actually tasted the drink/dish so they can describe the taste and give their opinions about it. This is quite a rare occasion in my personal dining experience in Jakarta (or maybe I just have bad luck with servers when dining out) so it's always a nice surprise when I do actually encounter knowledgeable servers which makes the dining experience even better.

Now let's talk about their menu. We had a chance to try a couple of their drinks, food and desserts. But since there were so much food, I didn't try them all because, you know, there's only so much space I have in my belly. I'll give my personal opinions on the ones that I tried as well as the explanations that we got from the servers and the chef.

DRINKS

When we were ordering our drinks, I asked our server on their non-coffee signature drink and he recommended the ube latte and charcoal latte, which honestly sounded pretty good to me. He personally likes the ube latte so I ordered the iced ube latte and gave it a try. And it was good. The drink is not too sweet, perfect amount of milk, and you can still taste the ube (which didn't taste artificial imho). It was refreshing and light.

During the middle of our meal, the manager came over and asked if we wanted to order another drink and I asked her the same question I asked our server earlier. Her answer was the same. It seems like ube latte and charcoal latte are the favorites around here. Although she personally like charcoal latte better than the ube latte. So this time, I ordered their hot charcoal latte and I have to agree with her on this one. I think I enjoy the charcoal latte more than the ube latte. Maybe it's because I ordered it hot this time that it makes the flavor richer and not diluted by ice. Taste wise, it tasted earthy with the right amount of sweetness and it kind of reminded me of the melting gray drink I had at Uni'con (which I'm sure probably use similar ingredients since charcoal latte has been trending these past few years). Their matcha latte was also pretty solid too.

Breakfast Menu

The first breakfast menu that I tried was the Truffle Eggs Two Ways which consists of egg “parfait”, scrambled eggs, white truffle oil, mixed mushrooms duxelles and it comes with buttered toasts. When the dish was placed on our table, the delicious truffle oil aroma immediately hit me. The eggs were perfectly cooked, it was seasoned well and I can really taste the truffle oil when I took my first spoonful of egg. This is a great dish for breakfast.

Smoked Salmon and Ikura Bagel is the new addition to the breakfast menu that's currently only available at Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue. This is also one of the chef's recommended dish.

For the sweet breakfast menu, we got a sampler of the Azuki Toast courtesy of the chef and the host which is a toasted brioche bun with smooth azuki paste, butter balls, icing sugar and fox shortbread. If you like red bean and looking for a lighter breakfast option, this dish is probably for you. The regular portion usually comes with three pieces of toast instead of one and I believe the chef told us that they made their own azuki paste as well. Also, I really like their buttery fox shortbread.

Sandos Menu

The Spicy Fried Chicken Sando consists of brioche bread with spicy fried chicken thigh, asian slaw, kale, and gochujang chili mayonnaise. Generous sauce, super flavorful and the spiciness is not over the top (I can't really eat spicy food but this was still bearable for me).

Quick Bites Menu

Truffle Mac and Cheese Balls were just okay for me (maybe just because I personally am not a big fan of mac and cheese in general). They were crispy, the breading was not too thick, plenty of macaroni with parmesan and cream cheese stuffed inside with a hint of truffle oil. The homemade tomato sauce was pretty good and it helps to cut the cheesiness of the mac and cheese and give the dish a better balance.

Soup & Salad Menu

The Wakame Salad was probably the most pleasantly surprising dish for me. I generally more of a meat person than a salad person and quite picky about the salads that I like. But this one was really, really good. The mixed mesclun salad, dry wakame, cabbage, carrots, cherry tomatoes with generous kewpie sesame dressing and topped with fried shallot was delicious. It was a great mix of sweet and savory, very flavorful yet super light and fresh at the same time.

Also in this picture is the Sea Salt Latte, one of their signature drink, which I tried just a little bit since it has coffee in it and it was pretty good too. I also overheard a couple people on other tables ordered this drink.

Main Menu

Kitsuné Burger
Beef patty, mayonnaise, emmental cheese, fried egg and bacon. Served with hand-cut fries.

The Grilled Salmon with Roasted Paprika was probably my favorite dish from this meal. The perfectly cooked salmon was paired with roasted paprika, creamy sautéed kale, cherry tomatoes, grenaille potatoes, light creamy sauce and bonito flakes. Everything was well-seasoned and when I took a spoonful of all the components in the dish in one bite, it tasted really, really good. It was creamy but fresh and juicy all at the same time.

Dessert Menu

Daifuku Mochi is mochi filled with crème d’ange and strawberries, served with chocolate crumbs. The texture of the mochi is pretty nice, not too thick and soft. Everything in this dish is made in-house from scratch according to the chef. I'm not really a fan of strawberries in general so this one was just okay for me.

Millefeuille is my favorite one out of the two dessert menu we tried. The puff pastry was buttery and crumbly with the right amount of sweetness. The vanilla cream was fluffy and light and it was served with a scoop of delicious cereal ice cream. Everything in this dish works well together and it didn't leave me feeling overly stuffed. I would definitely order this again on my next visit.

The head chef, Chef Andri, who’s also the head chef of Ashta’s location came to our table at the end of our meal to ask us about our dining experience and we ended up chatting for a bit about the menu since we have a couple of additional follow-up questions after our meal. He was really friendly and answered all our questions as well as gave us more explanations about other dishes that we haven’t tried. Additional recommendations from the chef include Pork Belly Katsu Don and Pork Ribs which he told us to try on our next visit.

All and all, everything was good. Some menu items are better than others (obviously) but I really enjoyed my visit there and had a pleasant experience overall. Would I consider coming back here again? Yes, definitely.

Lastly, there’s this photo booth that they have inside the cafe. It's a complimentary service that they offered to the patrons and me and Winda took a couple of pictures together inside the spacious booth. A couple of things that were funny were, first, the camera placement was a tad too high for our height (or maybe we're just on the short side) so we had to tiptoe if we want to be vertically centered on the frame. Second, the display screen was a little blurry for some reason. Only the screen though because the pictures on the photo strip were sharp when they came out and it gives you two copies per session. Third, there is no cancel option anywhere so if you don't like the shots, it'll still print them out for you anyway. I thought having the photo booth is a pretty good idea and it makes the experience of visiting the cafe/store more fun.

 

Café Kitsuné PIK Avenue

Address: PIK Avenue Ground Floor, Jl. Pantai Indah Utara I No.6, Jakarta 14470, Indonesia.
Telephone: +62 812-1116-2204
Hours: Everyday 08:00 - 22:00

Instagram: @cafekitsuneindonesia
Menu: Drinks | Food

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Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta

Two weekends ago, my friend invited me to dinner at Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta. I never been to this place before so it was fun to check the place out. From the unique décor of Indonesian traditional artworks juxtaposed in the modern space, to the sleek wavy wooden panels framing the dining area, the interior of this restaurant is definitely memorable.

As for the food, we tried their all you can eat buffet which offers different selections of Asian and Western dishes. The dishes of the regular buffet was okay. There are enough variations of the menu items and they are seasoned well. Although if you’re a fan of bolder flavors, you might find the dishes are seasoned more on the lighter side (at least imho), but they’ll make you full without making you feel like your stomach is going to burst (again, imho). The dessert selections are quite varied from cakes, pastries, to Indonesian traditional snacks and sweets and they’re pretty good.

The AYCE also includes the recent additions to the buffet package which are the live cooking stations and show kitchen with menu curated by executive sous-chef Lukman. The menu for these two sections are more unique compared to the regular buffet stations which I think is one of the reason to try this buffet. The menu is still Indonesian inspired but, dare I say, with a twist, drawing inspirations from other culture’s dishes as well.

My favorite dish from the menu was Tuna na niura which is tuna placed inside a crispy nori cylinder with andaliman peppers and calamansi. From the presentation itself, the dish already intrigued me. But what I didn’t expect was the burst of flavors that exploded in my mouth the moment I bit into it. The dish is in a perfect bite size and the taste of tuna combined with the freshness of calamansi and contrasted with the texture of the crispy nori was very well balanced. It was such a pleasant experience, I had to go back and order a second portion. Other runner-up menus that are pretty tasty include Nasi Bebek Ireng, Rendang Tortellini, Sei Sapi En Croute, and Rawon Bakso.

My friend, Winda, who’s a foodie made a reel about the place. Check her video down below:

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A post shared by 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑎 𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑎 | 𝗝𝗞𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗘 🇮🇩 (@munchandsnap.jkt)

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Bear Café • 베어카페

Bear Café (베어카페) is a hanok cafe that is located in the quiet neighborhood of Seochon (서촌), just west of Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁). I actually found out about the cafe because of its publication, Bear magazine, that I’ve seen multiple times whenever I went to a bookstore or a ‘Kinfolk’ influenced/hipster cafes in Seoul. I did a little research and turns out that the magazine is pretty well-known amongst the locals. Almost feels like the Korean version of Kinfolk magazine if you know what I mean. The search results also then led me to discover this cafe, which in the beginning I wasn’t really sure if they’re even owned by the same company, but turned out they are. Here’s an excerpt from Timeout that explains a little about the place:

“Seochon’s Bear Café’s been getting a lot of hype from culture-savvy crowds of Seoul. Created by Design Eum, a publishing group that issues Bear magazine and Kinfolk Korea, Bear Café serves up specialty coffees paired with a tranquil ambiance and culture-related activities; housed in a charming 70-year-old hanok, it juxtaposes tradition and modernity with the well-preserved garden and quality café menus.”
—Timeout.com

Just like any other hanok cafe I’ve visited in the past, Bear Café (베어카페) also retains its original hanok structure for its cafe area. Going into the cafe feels like visiting a friend’s house actually. You go in from the car port at the entrance to the building into a small garden area where outdoor seatings are available before finally arriving at the main building of the cafe. Also, turns out this cafe also serves as an exhibition space where they would have different exhibitions or products on display throughout the year.

If you’re planning to visit this cafe and want to avoid the crowd, going on a weekday might be better because it usually gets busy during the weekends.

Note: These photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Bear Cafe • 베어카페

Telephone: 070-7775-8001
Address: 서울 종로구 자하문로24길 24
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11:00-19:00 | Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays

Instagram: @bearcafe.new

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FELT Coffee Dosan • 펠트커피 도산공원점

FELT Coffee (펠트커피) announced the opening of their second branch, FELT Coffee Dosan (펠트커피 도산공원점), on May 10, 2019 on their Instagram account. Sharing the space that was designed by WGNB with Juun.J’, a youthful, street culture inspired Korean fashion label that is well-known for its ‘street tailoring’, the building certainly stood out from their surrounding neighbors.

Stepping into the abstract geometrical black concrete building felt like stepping into a piece of art in museum. The first thing that will greeted you is a courtyard with a single tree in a floating pot supported by wire suspensions, giving an illusion that the pot of tree is levitating mid-air. The courtyard is probably the most colorful part of this whole building.

Entering the store/cafe area, you’ll be greeted with a matching all-black interior surrounding the space. On one side is Juun.J’s flagship store area and on the other is where Felt Coffee set up their coffee bar and seatings. The cafe itself is not too big but the triangle shaped high ceiling makes it feels like the cafe is bigger than it actually is. Similar to the pot in the courtyard, there are black electronic modern candle lamps hanging on top of the coffee bar (which honestly reminded me of the floating candles in Hogwart’s great hall) that give an illusion that they’re levitating. The seating arrangement is also a little unusual. Two rows of tables and chairs are set up facing a glass window with the view of the courtyard, giving you a clear view of the levitating pot as well as people who goes in and out of the store. I quite like it actually. It almost feels like sitting at a gallery looking at an art piece and people watching while enjoying your drinks.

Note: These photos were taken before the pandemic.

Since the architecture is very intriguing, I ended up searching for more information about the place and came across an article that talks more about the design concept and thinking behind it.

“The architects express that ‘black is a magical colour’, attracting and absorbing light, hence the design follows the concept of ‘dark matter’. The architects fused a triangle, circle, and square to form one abstract, geometrical building, bound by its uniform black concrete facades. The ambiguous shape generates curiosity from passersby, and intentionally sticks out amongst manicured Dosan Park surrounds in Seoul’s upmarket Gangnam district.

Interiors also feature a blacked-out, monochromatic colour scheme. Felt Coffee is housed within a narrow strip beneath the pitched roof structure. A skylight traces the top edge, allowing a sliver of natural light to illuminate the café below. The coffee shop faces a central open courtyard, at the centre of which a singular potted tree is suspended above a pit of volcanic rocks.

Courtyard facing windows allow for a little more light, however the entirely matte black interiors give a predominantly sultry vibe. Although perhaps not what you’d choose for your go-to friendly neighbourhood coffee spot, the overall impact is undeniably intriguing.” —yellowtrace.com.au (Click to read the full article & for more photos)

 

FELT Coffee Dosan • 펠트커피 도산공원점

Address: 서울 강남구 언주로164길 23
Telephone: 070-7756-3145
Hours: Everyday 11:00 - 21:00

Instagram: @felt_seoul

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