Daily Caffeine Fix - Hapjeong / Sinsa-dong, Seoul, South Korea

There are an abundance of cafes in Seoul with only a handful that satisfy my tastebuds with a nice atmosphere. I have narrowed it down to four of my favourite cafes out of the ones I have tried.

Arco Coffee Roasters - Sinsa-Dong

Cafe latte - 5,500 won

Double espresso - 4,500 won

Hands down the best coffee I have had in Seoul, these guys take their coffee seriously. Now go get one!

Check them out [here] or [MAP]

Deniro Coffee Roasters - Hapjeong

A sweet place to have your daily coffee tucked away from the noisy streets of Hapjeong is Deniro coffee roasters. 

Cafe latte - 5,500 won

Double espresso - 5,000 won

Deniro roast their beans onsite for espressos and lattes only. No wonder it tastes so good. 

Fresh brownies made inhouse.

Great coffee accompanied by a pleasant atmosphere. The owner was so lovely he even gave us a free packet of oreos. Love this place!

Check them out [MAP]

Humming Bella Coffee & Bakery -  Hapjeong

A large cafe with two floors of seating and also an outdoor courtyard which is lovely.

Some of the goodies on offer.

Crunky Valhrona - 6,000 won

Such a light and airy chocolate cake witch chunks of crunky chocolate throughout. This cake had so much potential, the flavours were nice but the cake was a little on the dry side which ruined it for me.

Cafe latte - 5,000 won

Double espresso - 4,500 won

Check them out [MAP]

Anthracite Coffee Roasters - Hapjeong

Cafe latte - 6,000 won

Double espresso - 4,000 won

Check put my previous blog post on them [here]

I hope you get your caffeine fix in Seoul.

Betty Jane x

So Fresh - Julio Modern Mexican Cuisine - Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea

I have never had mexican food so fresh before, Julio definitely is modern mexican done well. Most of the dishes are garnished with a handful of micro greens which gives the food its freshness. I personally would have liked to see more cilantro and lime used.

Chicken Ensalada - 8,500 won

A simple chicken salad served in a fried tortilla basket, nice and light. Tastes just like summer.

Nachos Grande (beef) - 11,500 won

Not your regular style of nachos but a nice fresher version, loads of greens, chunks of beef, cheese and guacamole. Its nice to eat mexican food without the guilt of eating something heavy and unhealthy.

Paprika Enchilada (chicken) - 11,500 won

This dish was the highlight, juicy tender chicken wrapped in a soft tortilla and draped in a creamy paprika sauce. Make sure you get one of these.

Beef Chimichanga - 11,000 won

Check them out [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Cheap as Chips! - Pizza School - Hapjeong, Seoul, South Korea

Being cheap tonight so grabbing a pizza from Pizza School. It's pretty hard to find a cheap western style pizza in Seoul, but pizza here was decent and cheap as chips.

Pepperoni Pizza - 6,000 won 

Voila! For the price I paid I couldn't be happier, sure there could have been more sauce and more pepperoni on the pizza but I won't complain. The base was decent, and had alot of cheese. It hit the spot and I'd happily go back.

Check them out [here] or [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Finger Lickin' Good! Korean Fried Chicken Hot Spots - Hapjeong /Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea

The Cafe BBQ - Hapjeong

Chicken platter - 27,000 won

Koreans sure know how to make fried chicken, some of the best fried chicken I've ever had has been in Seoul. Well seasoned and super crunchy! 

The first place, well I'm still kind of unsure what this place is called so I'm gonna go with "The Cafe BBQ".

We ordred the "chicken platter" which consisted of chicken, a small side of fries, corn chips and a free garden salad which fed three people. 

Check them out - Right outside Hapjeong station exit 3

Outdark Chicken House - Hapjeong

First restaurant in Seoul to actually have customer service, I was stunned. Though the service here was better than most places they still mixed up our order. 

After repeating twice that we only wanted the fried chicken and not the half and half combo, we still got served the half and half combo which consisted of both fried and marinated chicken. 

As we were starving we let it slide and dug in. The chicken was super crunchy and well seasoned I couldn't have been more satisfied, the marinated chicken was better than I expected so I guess it was a win win situation. 

The only negative about the marinated chicken was that it's messy and they don't provide any wet towels here.

Half and half chicken (fried and marinated) - 17,000 won

Our chicken came with a decent amount of fries and wedges topped off with tteokboki(fried glutinous rice which it could have done without). By the end of it we were stuffed like two christmas turkeys!

Outdark gets pretty busy during dinner so make sure to get there early to avoid waiting in line.

Check them out [here]

Betty Jane x

Yetnal Matjip 옛날 맛집 - Ginseng Chicken Soup (Samgyetang) - Hapjeong,Seoul, South Korea

Samgyetang - 10,000 won

I went to this little restaurant down the road from my apartment, owned by the cutest little korean ladies, they were so friendly and explained how to eat the dish.

This is now my new favourite korean dish, most probably because it is so similar to congee (an asian rice porridge). 

A whole young chicken is stuffed with rice and mung beans, then cooked in the ginseng broth. Some people find this dish a little messy as you need to pick the meat from the bones, and dip it in a little mixture of salt and black pepper. 

I did'nt find it messy at all, the meat was so tender it practically fell off the bones.

Also a great cure for a hangover!

To find this place exit Hapjeong station from exit three and you will see a 7Eleven with the chicken sign above it. Go up to the second level.

Look for this sign 

Hope you get to try this dish, it really is wholesome and delicious.

Check them out Yetnal Matjip 옛날 맛집 [MAP]

Betty Jane x

Looks Can Be Deceiving - Decoa Balim - Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea

I walked past this vintage dessert cafe and instantly thought to myself "what a sweet little cafe, I must try!".

As I walked through the door the owner was taking photos of this gorgeous layer cake, I smiled and thought "this place is perfect!". 

What caught my eye was this sweet little number behind the glass window, the strawberry cheese tart. 

It all went downhill from there.

Strawberry cheese tart

Looks can be deceiving, I was not expecting this tart to taste the way it did.

The tart was filled with whipped cream cheese, which I had never had before nor will I ever have again. I was not a fan of the taste and texture of the filling, the more I ate the more sickened I felt. 

If only they had filled the tart with creme patissiere it would have been a total knock out. The tart shell on the other hand I cannot fault, it was nicely cooked and crumbly.

Cafe latte, Iced mocha and strawberry cheese tart.

This is probably the worst latte I have had on my trip to Seoul. As I was sipping on my latte I noticed something nasty in my mouth, it was burnt milk film! There is nothing worse than burnt milk while having my daily coffee.

The iced mocha, had about five ice cubes in it, so it wasn't even cold. We were sitting outside so it just melted and diluted the mocha. 

You can tell how  disappointed in this place I am right? I had such high hopes.

The exterior

From a glance you would think it looks all vintage and shabby. When I actually sat down and looked around, I realised it was just a hodge podge of mismatched old furniture salvaged from a yard sale.

Nothing vintage about this place, random junk lying around and bad coffee!

Seoul seems to have a huge coffee culture, everywhere you turn there is a cafe, finding a good one on the other hand seems to be a mission. I thought I was going to hit a new spot everyday and drink loads of great coffee. 

To my demise I have only been to a handful of decent cafes.

If you'd like to try your luck at dessert roulette, 

check them out [here]

Betty Jane x

Anthracite Coffee Roasters - Hapjeong, Seoul, South Korea

Always a super cool place to have coffee, the building was an old factory which has been converted into a coffee roastery.

Some of the gorgeous treats on offer.

Cinnamon rolls - 5,000 won

Assorted scones - 5,000 won

Panna cotta - 1,500 won

Brownies - 5,000 won

Blueberry tart - 6,000 won

The coffee roasting room, this is where the magic happens.

You can also sit at this conveyor belt to watch and appreciate the aroma of the coffee beans roasting.

Cafe latte - 6,000 won

Double espresso - 4,000 won

Blueberry tart - 6,000 won

This is my second time at Anthracite and the quality of the coffee is consistently superb. Strong, bold coffee with a great choice of baked goodies to have on the side. I would come here more often but it is a little out of the way, it's definitely worth going to time and time again.

This is most probably the best blueberry tart I have ever had! I don't say it often but it was sheer perfection! The pastry was thin and crumbly, the frangipane was soft and moist. All the elements worked in perfect harmony, neither flavour over powered another. This is whats going to keep me coming back. Bliss.

Make sure you don't miss this place when in Seoul, you will be sad if you did.

Check them out [here] or [MAP]

357-6 Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Betty Jane x