Here is a collection of desserts that will make your heart melt in Seoul (Volume 2). ♥
Volume 1 was published yesterday. I will be writing a full article series on my experience in Korea within the next coming weeks.
Here is a collection of places I stumbled upon which I highly recommend:
Zapangi
Zapangi is by far one of the best not-so-hidden gems in Seoul. The entrance to the cafe is disguised as a pink vending machine door that you must find the handle to enter (fortunately, it’s quite easy to do so once you get up close). Inside the cafe you will be greeted by a magical assortment of neon signs and rainbow desserts. I highly recommend the mermaid cupcake–the tail is just way too photogenic to give up! I also ordered a rainbow ice smoothie which really hit the spot. I wish I would have had more room for the unicorn donuts, but alas, I was full. I recommend coming here twice if you have enough time, because there are just way too many cute desserts to choose from!
Thanks Nature Cafe
If you have internet searched popular cafes in Seoul, then likely this one has already popped up. Thanks Nature Cafe in Hongdae is infamous for not only its flower tea, but also its fluffy sheep (named Sugar & Honey)! The sheep are kept outside in a pen and are free to pet as long as you order something from the menu. This makes waiting way more fun! You can make a reservation in advance using their website, but I just walked in here without one when I came here in early 2018. Watching flowers bloom inside of your teacup is an experience I highly recommend seeing:
Milky Bee
While shopping in Myeongdong, I saw a number of people holding this beautiful flower petal ice cream. Not wanting to miss out on this aesthetic food experience, I had to stop by and try it for myself. Milky Bee features ice cream and gelato cones that you can customize to your liking. If my memory is correct, I ordered green tea, vanilla, and strawberry gelato to make my cone look like a lovely bouquet. It was almost too pretty to eat, but I ate it anyway!
Sulbing Cafe
If you want to try the famous Korean shaved ice (called patbingsoo), my recommendation is going to one of the Sulbing chains. They have the most options as far as flavors and toppings go. I ordered the strawberry cheesecake shaved ice, and even in the winter I thought that it was beyond amazing. The strawberries tasted so fresh and the cheesecake helped balance the flavor. I’ve decided I like Korean shaved ice a lot more than the ones sold in Japan, because it has more substance to it and tastes a lot better. Fortunately a number of Korean dessert cafes have been popping up in Tokyo lately, and Harajuku even has its own Sulbing branch!
REMICONE
REMICONE is a uniquely designed cafe that resembles an ice cream truck in central Gangnam. There are way too many beautiful sweets to choose from, but I decided on the cotton candy ice cream milk and the moon cupcake (I joked about how this is actually Night Tempo in cupcake form). There was a mango macaroon ice cream cup that I really wanted to try, but unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to. If you come to this cafe, please try all of the wonderful desserts for me!
Urban Space Cafe
Last but definitely not least, I recommend that all of my fellow lovers of aesthetic things check out Urban Space Cafe. Relive your childhood memories by diving into a ballpit and lounging in inflatables with a menu of crazy cocktails. I ordered some strange concoction that was served to me in a mini shopping kart, and I liked it so much I also ordered a cocktail with sparklers in it. Came here alone? No problem at all because there are tons of teddy bears that you can use as your date. I had so much fun taking photos under the neon lights and swimming through the ballpit. This is true Seoul Cafe culture. The original cafe I went to was in a remote district of Seoul, but they recently moved it to central Myeongdong so you can access it more easily now.
Thank you for reading my 2nd Volume of recommend desserts in Seoul! This is all I have for now, but I will be sure to update with more recommendations in the future.
In my next posts I will be writing about Jeju Island, the DMZ, and some of the gardens and art galleries I visited in Korea. Please look forward to my future posts~