Humbolt • 훔볼트

Humbolt (훔볼트) is a dessert cafe in Seongsu-dong (성수동) that has been around for quite a while now. My first visit was in 2017 and they’re still operating until today, so it really says something about the place.

Decorated with sleek gold and marble interior, the cafe occupies a three-stories space that has plenty of seatings ranging from working station style seating, casual meetup seating and outdoor seating if you prefer to enjoy the weather outside. They sell a variety of coffee & non-coffee drinks, desserts as well as bread and pastries.

To somebody who doesn’t drink coffee like me, finding a cafe that has a pretty extensive non-coffee options (and by extensive, I mean they have other menus than the generic chocolate or matcha latte) is somewhat hard. So I was pretty happy when I see that Humbolt (훔볼트) offers quite a bit of non-coffee options. I tried their Rose Latte (장미라떼) and it was actually pretty good. The temperature was just right, not too sweet, the forth is light and foamy, and it came with rose petals on top of it. It was perfect for a cold day.

If you’re looking for a dessert cafe with non-coffee options that has plenty of seatings for casual meetups or working session, I’d definitely recommend you to check out this place. And oh, I think they also have live music session as well, but you might want to check out their Instagram or call them up for more info on that.

 

Humbolt • 훔볼트

Address: 서울 성동구 성수이로 58 1층
Telephone: 02-462-5122
Hours: Everyday 10:00-22:00

Instagram: @humbolt.cafe

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Cafe Onhwa Seongsu • 카페온화 성수점

With the souffle pancake craze that was happening in Seoul in 2019, Cafe Onhwa (카페온화) is one of the places that’s well-known for their amazing souffle pancake. I first came to know Cafe Onhwa when I passed by their Ikseon-dong (이선점) location. Didn’t get to try it then, but instead, ended up visiting their Seoung-su location (성수점) months later with my friend.

Cafe Onhwa Seongsu (카페온화 성수점) occupies a spacious first floor of a building located right in the middle of Ttukseom Station (뚝섬역) and Seongsu Station (성수점역) of subway Line 2. The open-concept cafe is decorated with marble surfaces, wooden chairs and tables, off-white single sofas, and its signature gold countertops and accents spread all over the cafe. The place feels modern and sleek but nostalgic at the same time.

The entrance will lead you straight to the coffee bar/open kitchen where you can place your order and watch the barista making hand-drip coffee or making your souffle pancakes.

There are plenty of seatings available in the three sections they have in the cafe. One is the coffee bar area where you can sit right in front of the hand-drip coffee station. You can watch the barista in action or see the roasting room behind you.

The second area is the one right to the entrance, next to the roasting room. This area accommodates more people than the counter seating.

Lastly is the area left to the entrance, which is the biggest seating area in the cafe. On a side note, the single sofas and tables are pretty low, so they don’t really make a very comfortable setup for eating (or working/studying). It’s okay for drinking coffee but it was a little awkward for me and my friend when we were eating our pancakes. But overall, the interior is really nice and I also like the high-ceiling that they have, making the cafe feels more open and spacious.

Since my friend and I came to try the pancake, we ordered their popular menu, the Plain Souffle Pancake (플레인수플레) to share. We also ordered On Hand Drip (핸드드립 온) for my friend and Matcha Latte (말차라떼) for me.

The souffle pancake came with caramelized bananas, whip cream and syrup on the side. And oh my gosh, it was gooood. The texture of the souffle was super fluffy and soft. It’s almost like you’re eating clouds (well, maybe a slightly firmer clouds). It wasn’t too sweet (we didn’t pour all the syrup though) or too white-eggy (if you know what I mean) and the whipped cream was also so soft. The caramelized banana has more of a crunchy texture, giving it a nice contrast to the pancake. Overall, I liked it and I get why it’s so popular. Definitely recommend trying their souffle pancake if you’re visiting their cafe.

 

Cafe Onhwa Seongsu • 카페온화 성수점

Address: 서울 성동구 아차산로 78 1층
Telephone: 02-461-0031
Hours: Everyday 11:00-22:00

Instagram: @onhwa_cafe

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Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing • 밤부 베이커리 & 브루잉

Passed by Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing (밤부 베이커리 & 브루잉) one day at the end of one of my exploration session around Hapjeong (합정동) and decided to check the place out. The cafe is housed in a retro looking two-story house with a pretty spacious front yard that has a long communal table and smaller outdoor tables spread around the area.

The first floor of the cafe is decorated with marble countertops, rock stone coffee bar and bamboos lining up the wall, a nod to its name I assume. The seating area isn’t too big. It fits about 16 people or so and they have a section where you can sit in front of the window facing the front yard which is pretty nice.

On the second floor, there’s this interesting room that’s decorated with vintage teal wallpaper, furnitures, lamps and chandelier where they display their bakery items.

I just left a cafe before I stopped by this place so I didn’t dine in, but I did buy some of their croissants to go and ate them later that evening. And they were really good. Wouldn’t mind going back to this place to get some more of their croissant and maybe try their other pastries as well next time.

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Bamvoo Bakery & Brewing • 밤부 베이커리 & 브루잉

Address: 서울 마포구 월드컵로5길 33-23
Telephone: 02-3144-0446
Hours: Everyday 11:00-22:30

Instagram: @bam_voo

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Monsieur Spoon Préféré Plaza Indonesia

Just one month after opening its Senayan City location, Monsieur Spoon made yet another expansion to their locations, this time with a more premium concept compared to their previous ones. Monsieur Spoon Préféré officially opened to the public on 27 July 2022, occupying one of the space in Plaza Indonesia.

(A quick disclaimer, I visited during their opening day and as you know, first day could always go either way and there are always things to improve on.)

Ambience

Promoted as the more premium location, Monsieur Spoon Préféré’s interior design fell a little short of my expectations. I sat at the semi-outdoor area and the space felt a little cramped with all the tables, chairs and decorations filling up the space, leaving little room for guests and servers to walk around at when the chairs are occupied by patrons.

And having been to their Senayan City location, I personally think that the Senayan City location feels a little more upscale than this location.

The Food

Watermelon Feta Salad (72K) | 8/10

Compressed watermelon, feta cheese, Aiko cherry tomatoes, basil, and balsamic reduction.

A nice light, refreshing summer dish to start your meal. The watermelon and cherry tomatoes were juicy and fresh. The feta cheese gave it a slightly salty note to the dish.

Now, looking at my pictures, I do wonder if a component is missing from the one that I had because the presentation is different than the picture on the menu. Perhaps the balsamic reduction was missing?

Duck Egg Green Beans (68k) | 8/10

Sous-vide duck egg with green beans, bacon, and grain mustard dressing.

The egg was slightly overcooked (not runny, but not exactly hard boiled either). The green beans were well-cooked and well-seasoned. The bacon was savory with a hint of sweetness at the same time, giving it a nice little surprise when I took my first bite. Overall, I really enjoy the dish.

Pan Seared Yellowtail (155K) | 6.5/10

Pan seared yellowtail fillet, baby potatoes, sanfina, Aiko fondue, and basil oil.

The fillet portion was generous. The fish was cooked crispy on one side, but slightly overcooked overall and it could do with a little more seasoning for my preference. But the garnish and the pesto was was well-cooked and tasty.

Linguini Chili Crab (165k) | 4/10

Linguini with crab cooked in butter garlic, fresh chili, parsley, and lemon.

Had high expectations for this dish but the flavors didn’t really deliver. The pasta was al dente but way under seasoned. It helped when I eat it with the crab meat and the garnish, but since the amount of protein and garnish were not as much as the pasta portion, had a lot of bland pasta leftover.

Seafood Lobster Ravioli (95k) | 7/10

Mixed slippery lobster, salmon, prawn, paprika jam, and lobster bisque.

Presentation was interesting, although one of the ravioli broke when the dish was served. The pasta was too thick for my preference, but the lobster, salmon prawn fillings were delicious. Would’ve given this an 8 if the pasta was a little thinner. But overall, it was a good dish.

PRÉFÉRÉ Signature Chocolate (65k)

Tarlet filled with chocolate ganache, layered with chocolate mousse and dark royaltine, coated with chocolate glaze.

(From top to bottom) Strawberry Tartlet (38k) | Bébé Banana (58k) | Apple Gateaux (65k) | Milk Chocolate Mousse (48k) | Drink: Summer Paradise (45k)

Service

Service was pretty slow. Drinks came out 15 minutes after I ordered but it took 30 minutes for the first dish to came out and about 1 hour for all the dishes to be served. There were plenty of servers around the dining room but for some reason the speed of food coming out from the kitchen was slow.

Overall Experience

It was alright. The food was a bit of a hit-and-miss, some were good, some didn’t live up to my expectations.

The servers were nice and friendly but the speed of food and other things (cutleries, take away boxes, etc) being served definitely could be improved.

But then again, this was their first day of opening, so I understand if things weren’t perfect. Service on their other locations were good so I’m chalking these up to first day slip-ups.

 

Monsieur Spoon Préféré Plaza Indonesia

Address: Plaza Indonesia, Jl. M.H. Thamrin No.28-30, Jakarta Pusat 10350, Indonesia
Telephone: +62811 2001 1873
Hours: Everyday 10:00-22:00

Instagram: @monsieurspoon
Monsieur Spoon Préféré Menu

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Pizza Express Garosugil • 피자익스프레스

If you’ve explored Garosugil, you probably have passed by Pizza Express’ Instagrammable store front at some point during your walk. I have taken multiple shots of their colorful vintage bus stop chairs with a pizza neon light above it on multiple different occasion before finally visiting their restaurant.

Looking just at their entrance, I honestly thought it’s a small pizza place. But turns out, after going down the narrow stairs leading to the basement where it’s located, Pizza Express (피자익스프레스) is actually a pretty spacious restaurant. Decorated with skateboards, pop paintings, sandbag, a billiard table and more neon lights, the restaurant’s interior definitely feels young and hip. You can find lots of pop culture references too inside the space.

I stopped by one day in mid-afternoon with a couple of friends because they were thirsty. So we only ordered some beers and soda during our visit and didn’t get to try their pizza. Maybe on my next visit.

 

Pizza Express • 피자익스프레스

Address: 서울 강남구 압구정로10길 28 지하1층
Telephone: 070-7757-9200
Hours: Everyday 12:00 - 22:30

Instagram: @pizzaexpress_kr

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