It’s probably too early to talk about Bing-Soo or Bingsu (빙수 – Shaved ice), but it’s hot enough in Tallahassee!

Shaved ice is really popular summer treat in Korea. It is usually made with sweet red bean paste and various condiments – toasted grain powder mix (Misu-garu, 미숫가루), toasted nuts and seeds, some rice cake, jelly, fruits, ice cream, etc. Red bean is called “Pat” (팥), and it’s the most important ingredient for making this icy treat. Therefore the most common name for this dessert is actually “Pat Bing Soo” (팥빙수). During the early 2000s, Pat Bing Soo with a lot of different toppings was very popular. Also different kinds of Bingsoo made with sweetened fruit compote or green tea, coffee, black tea became popular. But during the past 2-3 years, I have observed the return of original simplicity: shaved ice with just sweet enough stewed red bean, a few pieces of well made rice cake, little bit of condensed milk or milk, and a few drops of pine nuts.

Photo below was taken at “Dong Bing Go” (동빙고) in Dongbu Ichon-Dong. It’s one of the very popular and famous bingsoo places in Seoul.

There are many places now famous for this dish, including “Gabae” (가배) of Samchung-Dong; Bing Bing Bing and Ok Roo Mong in Hongik University area and so on. One of the oldest and most popular place to taste this is “Mill Top” in Hyundai Department store Abgujung branch. You have to wait easily 30 minutes to try this, and they only focus on this dish. It’s the very simple version – red bean, shaved ice, a few chewy rice cake pieces, and condensed milk. For that, the price might seem a bit high. (Most of these famous and popular places charge $6-7 per small bowl) But it takes great care and good ingredients to make a really good bowl of Pat Bing Soo. One must start with Korean grown/ house made red bean that’s not too sweet or flavorless. The ice should be shaved very finely so that it doesn’t have a coarse texture in your mouth. The amount of milk or condensed milk should not be too much, otherwise it will overwhelm the balance of the dish. The rice cake should also have a good texture and freshness.

I really liked the version at Gabae, Samchung-Dong. Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to explain how to get to this place. But Samchungdong is a very popular date course with many precious restaurants and shops, so you might want to just take a walk in that area and ask around for this place. (Gabae is located close to the Samchung police station, but it’s tucked into a very small alley way, and the sign is not too obvious. It’s right next door to the popular cafe-chain called 5 Ci Jung).  The bottom right one is Strawberry Bing Soo. Gabae freezes and stores a huge amount of strawberries when they are in season, and use them as a base of this dish. And then they garnish it with fresh fruits and some nuts. Very delicious and refreshing! I took some of my American friends to this place last summer, and they all liked the Strawberry version more.

The most expensive and luxurious version of Bing Soo can be found at the Hotel Shilla’s lobby “The Library.” They make it with in-season apple mango shipped from Cheju island. The price? Whopping $34 + tax + service charge! Probably the most expensive dessert I have ever eaten. But it was actually worth it. They use 2 whole apple mangoes for one bowl of this. The ice is shaved so finely and thinly, it melts in your mouth. It also has slight yogurt tang. And the apple mango – it is so much better than the bland and flavorless mangoes found in a lot of American supermarkets. It’s even better than the in season mangoes I had in Taiwan. The flesh is a bit firmer, and it has a lot more fragrance and a lot more flavor. There are a few other places that serve similar version of this, but the Hotel Shilla’s version is a must try.

So, there. I think I am already longing for a trip to Korea during the summer time!

Itaewon used to be a place for foreigners who live in Seoul to hang out or Korean people to try “exotic” cuisine. For a long time, Itaewon was about the only place one could not find Thai food or French food. Nowadays there are many other places (Hong-Ik University area, Seorae Maul, Gangnam Garosu-gil, etc.) to try out hip and popular non-Korean cuisine, but still Itaewon boasts a lot of popular places for tapas, Mexican food, Japanese Izakaya, authentic French baking, and so on.

Itaewon still attracts a lot of foreigners and tourists. It’s a fun place to walk up and down and shop. (Although there are too many fake items that are not even that cheap!) However, Itaewon is not famous for Korean restaurants. There are some grilling places, of course, but it is more famous for Japanese Izakaya or other cuisines mentioned above.

About a year ago, an ambitious (and very proud) Korean chef opened a restaurant called “East Village” in Itaewon. I found out about this restaurant through the chef’s blog as well as on numerous Korean restaurant blogs. The chef-owner, Mr. Kwon, is a young man who trained at Kyunghee University’s Culinary course, and worked abroad (mostly in the USA) for a few years. He also worked in Korea for various restaurants and restaurant chains. Then he traveled many areas of Korea searching for great ingredients (best gochujang, soy sauce, dried mountain vegetables, honey, sesame oil, etc.), and he believes that Korean food can be more than just grilling meat or bibimbap or so called “palace cuisine”. He also doesn’t use MSG. Naturally I became curious and checked it out while I was in Korea in November 2011. (And then went back in summer 2012.)

Kwon says East Village is trying to establish itself as “Korean Bistro-Pub” – not a stuffy course-meal oriented one, or a restaurant specializes in a few limited items. He wants to serve creative, new dishes with seasonal ingredients, rather than things that people are familiar with. Many Korean people are not familiar with creativity or dish-oriented Korean meals. People usually go to “Hanjeongsik” places for important meetings, or pick a dish they want to eat (say, grilled beef ribs or cold noodle or chicken soup) and then go to a restaurant famous for that particular dish. On top of this big difference, East Village looks more like a cafe or a casual Italian restaurant than a typical Korean restaurant. Plus their wine list is not great and somewhat overpriced. They have a few Korean drinks available, but not much. But still – it’s a good restaurant that serves good food, and I want more people to know about this place.

First of all, the food. On my first visit I went with my mom, dad and younger sister. We didn’t opt for the course meal, but ordered a few main dishes to share.

Beef Salad (18000 Won) – Salad with grilled Korean beef (1+ level), home-made soy sauce, and dressing with homemade plum syrup and wild sesame oil.

I usually don’t like wild sesame oil (sometimes called perilla oil), but this was delicious. Vegetables were fresh and crisp, beef was tender and juicy, and the dressing was great. (Oil was a bit separated from the rest of the dressing, but not a big problem)

Fried Chicken with sweet and savory sauce (“Tak Gangjeong”) – this is a very hot item in traditional markets all over Seoul and the rest of Korea. Tak Gangjeong usually means small pieces of chicken (without bones) fried and then stirred in sweet, sticky sauce (usually containing some nuts). It’s a bit sweeter and stickier than Yangnyum Tongdak (whole chicken cut up, fried, and then tossed in sweet and sour kind of sauce).

16000 won seems a little pricey for any friend-chicken dish, so I hesitated a little bit before ordering this. However it was a great dish, pleasing to everybody – the batter, quality of chicken, and the tasty sauce that was not overly sweet. Still, it’s a little expensive (even in America, chicken wings are not over $10 and it’s hard to find an appetizer that’s over $15)

Ttok-galbi (price has changed a few times..now I am not sure how much, but around $30~40) – thick meat patty made with chopped beef rib meat, char-grilled with sweet and savory seasoning. Garnished with rice wrapped in pickled vegetable (“gom-chui”), grilled garlic and stir fried mushroom.

Ttok-galbi takes a lot of time and effort, if you use only the meat from the ribs. East Village’s chef writes on his blog that the kitchen staff spends over 4-5 hours everyday preparing this dish, cutting of meat from the ribs and chopping it. East Village’s Took-galbi is perfectly grilled and seasoned. A lot of times restaurants sell overly sweet ttok-galbi made with ground beef, not chopped rib meat, but this one was different. Again, it seems a bit pricey from a Korean restaurant’s stand point. It’s the price only for this dish, not including the usually expected parade of side dishes or rice.

We also had Assorted Fish Stew  (26000 won) – fish soup with gochujang (Korean chili sauce) and vegetables. We ordered it because mom and dad needed some kind of soup and rice to finish the meal with, which is normal for any Korean meal.

This was also great. Every dish we ordered was made with very good quality ingredients, presented well, and was delicious. Also delicious was the “Dolsot Namul Bap” (rice with various cooked vegetables in a stone pot).

My favorite was actually this rice dish. It had really fragrant yet delicate mixture of cooked vegetables and amazing quality rice. Gochujang served with this dish was also great – not the overly sweet store-bought kind, but the traditional kind with deeper and more complex flavor. (But some Koreans complain that this dish is too expensive and too plain.)

On my second visit with my family, I ordered Beef sashimi sushi and dandalion salad with pasta in addition to the dishes mentioned above.

Grade 1+ “Hanu” (Korean beef) with sushi (vinegared rice), and “Toha-jeot” (fermented fish sauce) inside, served with wasabi and soy sauce. This was an interesting dish, and my husband liked it a lot. The raw beef – fermented fish combination might not appeal to some people, though.

Dandalion pasta salad was really good. Perfect combination of sweet, tart, bitter, and salty flavor and al-dente pasta worked great with soft dandalion leaves. This was a seasonal dish from late spring into early summer.

Overall everything was great – great ingredients, prepared well, and not too salty or sweet which is often a big problem in many Korean restaurants. All the plates and dishes they use are pretty. The bathroom condition was great, too. And the service was excellent – not too stuffy or mannered, but just friendly and smooth. The chef-owner shops at the Noryangjin Fish Market every morning, and prepares everything from scratch. He tries to have the best ingredients available. There are some stand-by items (the ones that we ordered), but the course-meal and  “Today’s Special” items change according to what the chef finds at the market. (Usually the dinner course meal is about $50/ 65 per person. Lunch course is around $16-$25 per person, which is probably the best deal at this place.)

My mom and dad were surprisingly satisfied with this restaurant. They said they would come back, although it’s a bit pricey for what they are used to paying at Korean restaurants. My sister was a bit skeptical in the beginning, saying the ambiance is not right for a Korean restaurant, but loved the food and has been back a few more times with her friends. However my younger brother and younger cousin weren’t too impressed. They are typical Korean guys who works at big firms, who eat out and drink almost everyday. They like more “traditional” Korean restaurants. Maybe what East Village needs is a more targeted customer base and a menu that’s catered to them..?! (And I really hope there will be a decent website soon!!)

East Village just celebrated a year anniversary in July, and the menu has changed a little bit. A few more soup and rice dishes were added for Koreans, and lunch items were added. In the late evenings, some of the menus are offered at a lower price as “Korean Tapas”.

I think his food is of excellent quality, and what he’s trying to do is meaningful. I just hope that the menu, food and everything else will hit the right note soon and hopefully it will be one of the hottest places for Korean food in Itaewon.

Address: Seoul, Yongsan-Gu, Hannam-Dong 736-9 (It’s on the Itaewon road. From the Itaewon Subway station, exit 3 and walk straight toward the Jeil Advertising company.)

Phone: 02-790-7782

Open: Monday through Friday 11am till 2:3opm for lunch/ 5pm till 3am for dinner and drinks+dishes/ Sunday noon till midnight (This had changed a few times, so you may want to call ahead)

Again, I introduce a gem in a very busy area without decent coffee culture – that is Myungdong. It’s always jam packed with young couples, tourists, and shoppers of all ages.

Of course there are a lot of coffee shops in Myungdong, but they are mainly chain cafes such as Starbucks, Beans Bins, etc. There is an old fashioned cafe called “Gamu,” but it’s a place to visit more for the nostalgia not for excellent coffee. (They serve “Vienna Coffee” which is strong coffee with lots of whipped cream, not made from milk fat)

For someone who’s looking for a decent single-serve coffee or a good cup of macchiato using the micro-roasted beans, Jeonkwangsoo coffee is a safe choice. Mr. Jeon is one of the so-called “2nd generation coffee people,” and has almost 20 years of experience in the coffee business. Well trained baristas work here, and the price of the “hand-drip” coffee is between 5000-6000 won ($5-6), which is pretty good for the location and the style. They roast their own beans, and there is a coffee academy next door. Their espresso machine is Dalla Corte.

It has become a bit too famous during the past 1-2 years, and they have a few branches all over Seoul and one in Wonjoo. Sometimes the cafe is just too busy (especially when there is a large group of middle-age women. Oh boy they are loud.) But still it’s a cafe where you can be assured of a decent cup of coffee.

They also serve “Thick-Faced Toast” (낯두꺼운 토스트) with butter and jam, but the toast is a bit too thick and dry. Nice jam, though!

Location: Namsan-Dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea (Take the subway line #4/ get off Myungdong station/ Go out via exit #3/ Take the left fork in front of the Pacific hotel and walk for 1-2 minutes. You will see a small coffee shop with a big window on your left.)

Hours: 10am to 10pm

Website: http://jeonscoffee.co.kr/next

Phone: (82) 2-778-0675

The concert choir of the school that I work at is going to Korea for their international tour this summer. Since I am from Korea and spent more than half of my life there (and I go back every year), I was asked to answer some questions from the students. I would like to share my answers to whoever is planning to go to Korea!

Currency… get some before or there? – Korean currency is “won”. As of April 2011, $1 equals to about 1090 won. Change money while you are there, either at the airport or in the city. In my opinion Korean Exchange Bank has the best rate and service. Woori bank is also nice. If you are in Itaewon, you may be able to bargain as well!

Clothing? What is normal? What should we pack? – Weather in Korea is much like weather in America, say NYC. Summer is hot and winter is cold! May is not the hottest month, but the summer weather has been gradually getting warmer and more humid during the past few years.

What clothing shouldn’t we wear? – shorts? – Yes, Korean people do wear shorts during summertime. But it’d be wise not to wear shorts or flip-flops when visiting Buddhist temples or any other religious place. May is not a very hot month, so you may want to bring some cardigans and other spring cover-ups.

Converters for electrical devices? – Korea uses the 220 (same as European countries) with round ends. So you do need to bring a converter.

What are our options for internet access? - Many hotels and coffee shops in the city will have free Wi-Fi. Incheon airport has many free Wi-Fi spots. South Korea is one of the most wired places in the world, so you won’t have any problems!

What is the food like? - Korean traditional food is based on rice+@ pattern. Unless you are at a BBQ place, you will usually get a dish and a few (or many) side dishes consist of various cooked vegetables and kimchi (pickled cabbage or radish). Sometimes noodle can replace rice. Some dishes are hot – usually colored red! Some dishes are very mild.

What food should we experience – ie your favorites – You should try Bibim-bap, which is a rice dish with various cooked vegetables and fried egg on top/ mixed with some hot pepper paste and sesame oil. If you are a meat-lover, try “Galbi” (grilled marinated beef ribs) or “Bulgogi”. “Ttokgalbi” is also good (it’s like a round hamburger patty with sweet and savory soy sauce marinade.) “Haemul-pa-jeon” is very popular and yummy savory pancake with green onion and various seafood. “Nok-du-jeon” is another savory pancake made with mungbean flour and various toppings. One of my favorite dishes is “Naeng-Myun” (cold buckwheat noodle with cold soup/ or spicy paste and some spicy fermented fish), which can be strange at first but becomes quickly addictive!

If you are an adventurous eater, try “Kimchi zigae” (Kimchi soup usually made with fatty pork) or “Kimchi-bokum-bap” (Fried rice made with chopped kimchi and other vegetables and meats). If you are ever in a Chinese restaurant in Korea, try “Tangu-yuk” (Sweet and sour pork) and “Jajang-myun” (stir fried noodle with black bean sauce). Koreanized Chinese food is fantastic and addictive!

If you get tired of eating Korean foods, you can easily find bakeries, hamburger and sandwich shops. (There are McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Papa Johns, Smoothie King, and other American franchise restaurants in Seoul.) Among the Korean franchise bakeries, Paris Baguette and Twosome Place are good choices. There are so many great food places in Seoul, so just explore and have fun!

One of the best places to see and eat a lot of different cuisines is the basement of any department stores. (Hyundai and Lotte are two big department chains in Korea.) The whole floor is packed with bakeries, smoothie-shop, ice cream shop, coffee store, fried food shop, dumpling shop, and many many other restaurants and grocery stores. If you have time, go visit the Lotte department store in Myung-dong area. It’s fabulous! Top floors of department stores present more sit-down, formal (and more expensive) restaurants, but the basement is more fun.

What shopping items are a great value for Americans? - Clothes, shoes and accessories. Koreans make such amazing quality clothes and jewelry at such amazing prices! Many street shops in Myung-Dong area and other shopping centers (Dongdaemun market, for example) exhibit a huge array of fashion items ranging from cute pajamas to high-end looking bags. Also you can find many attractive stationary items as well as traditionally made paper items and potteries. Korean traditional brass-ware spoons and chopsticks would make good souvenir.

Phrases to know? – Hello – [Annyung-ha-se-yo]/ Thank you – [Kamsa-Hamnida] or [Komap-sumnida]/  Excuse me – [Shille-hamnida]

What are the people like? - Younger generation is more outgoing and Westernized. Usually Korean people are very friendly and willing to help foreigners. You may notice that Korean women are very well-dressed, even on a college campus and commuting trains!

How are Americans viewed? – I don’t think there is any conformed ideas about Americans, although many people may think that “Americans” = white Caucasians.

How to conduct ourselves – ie rude loud Americans? – Just do whatever seems polite to you. Public smoking or loud conversations are rude, for example. Korean people are physically a bit conservative, so personal space is important. A lot of people are now used to the idea of hugging friends, but not someone they just met. Also you should get used to the formal bow – a lot of people say hello and goodbye that way.

Character: personal grace, dignity, respect for elders – Koreans are proud people. Also they respect elders, although sometimes you see some conflict between old people demanding unconditional respect/ younger people who want to claim their own rights.  For example – young people would usually stand up if they see an old person standing in front of them. But sometimes old people tell younger people to stand up just because they are older and they want to sit down.

What is a brief history of S. Korea that might help us understand the Korean people – Well, this is not a question that I can answer shortly or easily. However you need to know about the Korean War n the middle of the 20th century and Japanese occupation during the early part of the 20th century. East Sea is a very sensitive issue (Japanese people keep pushing the political agenda to say that is a “Sea of Japan”).

Itinerary details, short paragraphs about each city? – Seoul is the capital city of South Korea. Very dynamic, always changing, amazingly crowded, and incredibly modernized place. Kyungjoo is a very historic place as it was the capital city of Shilla dynasty (3 Countries – Shilla – Coryo – Chosun – and Republic of Korea). There are beautiful temples, towers and tombs in Kyungjoo. Daegu is a very hot and dry place. You may notice different dialect in that area, which is very different from what people in Seoul use.

Do-s/ don’t-s - Don’t lift your bowl (soup or rice) when you are eating.  This is considered OK in Japan and China, but not in Korea. Also don’t blow your nose at the table.

What to expect at homestays? Gifts? Monestary? – Get used to the idea of taking your shoes off when entering someone’s home. Even if there is carpet in the living room, Koreans take their shoes off and keep everything clean. For gifts, Vitamins and Omega-3 are very appreciated. Also things from popular brand names such as Polo and Burberry. (The prices for these brands are 2-3 times higher in Korea.) A lot of people drink coffee, so good coffee beans from famous American roasters (Counter Culture, Intelligentsia, Peet’s, etc.) would be nice as well.

What should we hope to gain from this tour? – Experiencing a country that you have never been before would be a very valuable thing for any young student. Also the standard for classical music performance is really high in Korea as well as the quality of performance venues throughout the country.

What books should we read to help us prepare? - I think the following two websites would do just fine:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea

ENJOY your visit to Korea!

If you want to see a lot of good lo0king young people hanging out, or taste the “it” food for those young people, or hear Korean indie rock bands performing, you need to visit the Hongik University area (aka Hongdae). I have a soft spot in my heart for this area, but it is so far away from where my parents live or anywhere that I visit regularly that I rarely have a chance to go there whenever I am in Seoul.  But this summer I had a mission – visiting the rising star cafe of this area, Chan’s Espresso.

Their machines are very fancy and justly famous among Korean bloggers – Synesso and La Marzzoco espresso machines, the Clover coffee machine, Mazzer grinders, Everpure water filtration system, and even the orange Smeg refrigerator. Instead of roasting their own beans, Chan’s imports beans from the famed Tim Wendleboe of Oslo and Intelligenstia of Chicago. Unfortunately, that means that the beans will never be completely fresh due to the shipping time from Norway and USA to Korea. However, I think it works better than roasting poor quality beans, which happens often in a lot of new roastery-cafes in Korea. Also they don’t do the latest Korean cafe fad of cakes, sandwiches, or waffles – only coffee. I like that.

Let’s get straight to the point: I was highly impressed with the Tim Wendleboe double shot cappuccino! It was a totally new experience for me to enjoy espresso so deep and layered with so much complexity. It also looked much thicker than the regular espresso shot, and had an almost terra cotta-like color. I usually prefer espresso on the sweet side and not too acidic, but this Tim Wendleboe cappuccino had a really pleasant acidity that I enjoyed very much. Also it had a deep sweetness as well as really great body-feel to it. I wish I had been able to compare the Tim Wendelboe espresso to a shot of Intelligentsia, but by then I had already consumed too much coffee and could not handle any more! Oh well – such was my luck.

My husband ordered Tim Wendelbo’s Kenya brewed by Clover. That was not as good as the cappuccino. It was too muddy, had too much sour flavor, and just not good.  It might also have been the Clover machine, which I find myself liking less and less…

Anyways. Chan’s cafe is cultivating a very serious fan base already, which doesn’t surprise me at all given the quality of their coffee. It’s a place that I will definitely go back next time I am in Seoul.

Location: Seogyo-Dong, Mapo-gu, 409-10 (“Parking lot street”, aka “Joochajang georit”)

To find your way: Take subway #6. Get off at the Sangsoo station. Exit #1. Turn back and go toward “Geukdong Electronics” and look for a restaurant called “Yogi” and 7-11 convenience store. Take the small road between those two and walk toward “Donkatsu cham jalhanun-jib” and you will see Chan’s on your right. (It’s a labyrinth kind of area with many little cafes and restaurants, and Chan’s has a big, black steel door and a big glass window at the front.)

Price: Espresso for 5500 won (about $4.8)/ Macchiato, Cortado, Americano for 6000 won/ Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha for 6500 won

Recently Konkuk University area in Seoul saw a lot of commercial development, including the glitzy Lotte department store and Tower Palace.  With a large university, a few apartment complexes, a big department store, a mega movie theatre, and hundreds of other retail stores, this is one of those busy-traffic areas in Seoul. (Other examples: Dongdaemun market area, Myungdong, and Gangnam station area) Because of the enormous amount of traffic, many of the restaurants in these areas are not that great, and the same effect holds for coffee. However there are always a few gems in these areas, and Choi-Ga Coffee is one of these gems.

Choi-Ga means “Family name Choi”. And yes, the owner of this cafe is Mr. Choi. But “Ga” could also mean “Beauty” in Chinese characters with the same pronunciation as “Family name.” So Choi-Ga has another meaning, the most beautiful, or the best of the best.

This coffee shop has been open since July 28, 2008. Mr. Choi used to work in the hotel business – he worked for the best hotel in Seoul for 20 years as a restaurant manager, development manager, and education consultant. Because he was in the restaurant business at a premium hotel, he got into the world of freshly brewed coffee and espresso early on (before the coffee boom in Korea began), and making and drinking good coffee has been his hobby for a long time.

I found out about this cafe from a Korean blog (http://blog.naver.com/joowoo5?Redirect=Log&logNo=40062426860) last year and befriended the owner while I was visiting Seoul in December 2010. This cafe has been very popular among the locals and students of Konkuk University as well as some who visit from farther away.  Mr. Choi roasts coffee beans at the cafe, using the “Proaster” machine made by the Korean company “Tae-Hwan.” His espresso machine is Gaggia. I personally like the drip coffee much more than any espresso drinks here. Mr. Choi personally makes hand-drip coffee for every single order, and he prepares the strength according to the customer’s preference. (Mild, Medium, and Strong)

Choi-Ga cafe also serves very nice waffles and ice cream. I find waffles to be a very puzzling fad in Korea, especially among the young girls. I never understood the fascination with this – Korean girls do not eat waffles as a breakfast, but they have become popular as a fancy dessert or pass-time snack. Waffles are often decorated with fruits, caramel or chocolate syrup, scoops of ice cream and whipped cream and can have a price tag as high as 12,000 won. (about $11-12) Considering a good meal costs about $5-8, this does not make any sense to me. But somehow young girls go crazy about eating waffles.

Just to make sure I wasn’t missing something amazing about waffles (!), I ordered waffles at three different coffee shops – once at a very big chain (Caffee Bene. This one served below-average coffee and undercooked, soggy waffles), once at a coffeeshop near Sejong University, and once at Choi-Ga cafe. The nut-waffles with blueberry ice cream at Choi-Ga cafe were very tasty and well-prepared. (Small nut-waffle with ice cream is 6500 Won and large size is 11000 won)

I asked Mr. Choi what his coffee “philosophy” is, and his answer was this:

“Coffee is honest. What you put into the cup is what you taste. If you make a cup of coffee with the best beans you have and best skills you can produce, that cup will taste good. I try to make every cup to be the best I can.” And I have the feeling that his philosophy will continue to please many more coffee-craving customers in that busy subway area.

How to get there: Take subway line 6 or 2, and get off at the “Konkuk University” station. Take exit #2. Walk toward the Sejong University direction for about 150m. When you see “Rainbow Glasses” store, turn left. Walk about 60-70m, and it’s on your left side. Look for “최가커피” sign on a wooden panel.

Phone: 02-465-7998

Pricing: Drip coffees: around 4500Won-6000Won, depending on the beans you choose/ Espresso drinks: around 3500 Won – 5000 Won

Seoul is bursting with many artsy coffee boutiques. Hand-drip coffee is still the most favored method for drip coffee, and more and more small batch coffee roastery and cafes armed with Clover machine and top line espresso machines (La Marzocco and Dalla Corte are favored) are popping up everywhere. There are some really fantastic cafes and roasters, but many of them are just following the “trend” to make money. I feel as though about half of them will not exist the next time I visit Korea.

Anyways. Buam-dong is the “Seo-rae-maul” of the Gangbook (northern part of the Han River). There are so many little coffee shops and restaurants in this quiet area near Bookak mountain. Club espresso began the trend a few years back, but that coffee shop has lost its touch. Instead I found a newer gem called “Dropp” – a cafe near the Buam-dong office with minimal decoration and sophisticated atmosphere that serves small batch roasted organic coffee.

Young baristas working here seem to be very well trained, and I really loved their espresso macchiato. Silky smooth, sweet, and well balanced. Their drip coffee is also superb.

To go here: Take the subway line #3 (orange line). Get off at the “Gyungbok-gung” station. Go out exit # 3. Walk about 10 meter, and then wait for a bus. Take bus 7022, 7018, 0212,1020 and take off in front of the Buam dong office. The Dropp is on the right side of the three way fork, and it’s near the “Bom” photography shop.

Photo courtesy of Jinho Kim (blog.naver.com/schreier)

Club Espresso in Buam-dong, Seoul (image from www.clubespresso.co.kr)

Korea’s cafe scene has changed drastically over the past 10-15 years, and now the big cities in Korea are bustling with amazing independent roastery and artisanal cafes.

The term “roasted beans” was a very strange one in the early 90s as “coffee” in Korea meant  instant powdered coffee for such a long time. The most popular and available kind back was a single packet of coffee granules with lots of sugar and palm-oil based coffee cream powder. (aka “coffee mix”, which is still readily available in supermarkets and convenient stores) In the early 90s, stores like Jardin coffee and Bremer coffee opened with the name “Wondu coffee” meaning coffee made from roasted bean (basically dripped coffee) and became very popular among young people. I was a high school student and loved giong to one of those Jardin shops with my friend in our school uniforms – it was like a very big guilty pleasure as we were not so sure if it was ok for high school students to drink coffee but it tasted good nonetheless!

The big sales point of such “wondu coffee” shops were flavored coffees. It was fun for a while but soon I learned that those French vanilla flavored and Raspberry chocolate flavored coffee beans were old coffee beans with new make-up. Then in 1999 the first Starbucks shop opened in Korea – I was back for a summer break from my graduate studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, where one of the first Starbucks shops suffered a window damage from a local vandalism. After the huge success of the first Starbucks store located in the biggest women’s college in Korea, almost every universities in Seoul had to have one nearby. Every summer break I would go back home and there would be more Starbucks stores.
Then smaller chains started catching up, providing cheaper espresso drinks. Big shopping areas like Myungdong and a lot of college areas were covered with big and small coffee shops.

I cannot recall when the artisanal cafe movement began in Korea, but I remember visiting a small coffee shop near Korea University where the owner was roasting his own beans and served really fresh and super-tasting coffee as early as 1996 or 1997. I would also hear about and visit some independent coffee shops with ridiculously high price tag ($8-9 for a cup of dripped coffee or cappuccino!) since the late 90s. Also many cake shops opened with small coffee bar as well as big bakery-cafe chains such as “Twosome place” and “Paris Croissant.” (Korean bakeries are very much like Japanese bakeries, which was largely influenced by French baking style. The cakes are much smaller and lighter than the American varieties, and the selection is much larger.)

Quite a few really awesome cafes with great coffess with $4-5 price tag became popular during the past 3-4 years. These shops are usually run by young people who recently finished their barista training, who roast their own coffee in the store, and who run a coffee academy along with the cafe. This kind of artisanal cafes seem to be replacing the cheap, small chains and become more and more popular. In 2007, a soap opera called “Coffee Prince No. 1″featured a high-end cafe that hired only men as their baristas and became a mega-hit in the TV box office. I think that raised the awareness on the good coffee, barista, and so on. One interesting thing is that a lot of these artisanal coffee shops focus on the hand-dripped coffee. To me, it’s like a very delicate version of Costa Rican Chorreador – the barista takes great care of the water temperature, texture of the coffee, and height and direction of the water poured into the ground beans. Watching this kind of coffee-making is almost like watching a painter working on an art-work. This kind of dripped coffee is 10 times better than machine dripped coffee, but still my passion lies on espresso drinks…

One of the best coffee shops I visted in Korea is called “Club Espresso,” and this shop serves really amazing espresso drinks. They have a big roasting machine in the store, and they sell freshly roasted beans by the bag. Pretty spacious and comfortable as well. This shop also serves really fantastic cookies, cakes, and cheese cakes, all baked in the store. The only problem is that it is a little difficult to get to unless you have a car. The owner here worked in various coffee shops in the early 90s and self-taught a lot of things before he went to Japan to learn some more.

Here is the direction:

Take the subway line 3 (orange line) and get off at the “Gyungbokgung” station.
Take a bus (1020, 7022, and 7018) and get off at the “Buam dong office” – it’s on the way to the “Bookak san” road.

Website: www.clubespresso.co.kr (only in Korean)

* There is a very famous dumpling restaurant called “Sonmandoo” if you follow the “Bookak san” road. They serve homemade Korena style dumplings at its best with nice view of the Bookak Mountain. Have a bol of dumpling soup or steamed dumpling there and walk down to get some coffee at the Club Espresso – a perfect day.