Sinnonhyeon birthday-date café, hojicha financier: Upper and Under

Back at Upper and Under in Sinnonhyeon for a birthday date

It had been a while, so I revisited Upper and Under (어퍼앤언더), the dessert café near Sinnonhyeon Station. I wanted to bring my boyfriend too, so this was my second visit~~ I came to demolish all the trendy desserts :) It was my birthday, so the whole day was a date where we only did what I wanted to eat and do, hahaha

Maybe because it's famous as a dessert spot, there were clearly far more women customers.

Weekend seating at Upper and Under: will you find a seat?

Upper and Under has seating up to the third floor, but at weekend peak hours it's full. Luckily exactly two seats were left, so we grabbed them fast.

The red brick exterior is so pretty too. If there are no seats inside, there's outdoor seating, but it was hot that day, so indoors all the way!!

Upper and Under menu and showcase desserts

The menu really is varied, from coffee to other drinks. They also release trendy drinks seasonally, so if you want the desserts or drinks that are hot on Instagram, just come to Upper and Under, haha

Delicious cakes in the showcase. They have a pound-cake-like base piled with fruit cream: tiramisu, lemon, raspberry, mango, and yangzhi ganlu (a Cantonese mango-pomelo dessert)... I can't believe I'm seeing that here, haha

The cheesecakes come in plenty of flavors too: plain vanilla, ube, and hwangchi (sweet-potato-cheese).

It looks like something out of a fairy tale. Everything is pretty enough to be a model.

The popular desserts have a lot of empty plates, but they're not sold out; the staff keeps refilling them, which I liked.

Today's picks: hojicha pecan financier and crème brûlée flan

I loved the hojicha pecan financier last time and told myself I'd eat it again, and exactly one was left.

The crème brûlée flan looked so delicious that I picked that one. A box of assorted baked treats from Upper and Under would make a lovely dessert gift, haha

Two cold iced Americanos to go with the sweet desserts! Seriously so pretty. Almost too pretty to eat, haha. It felt great to load up on pretty desserts like this after so long. Birthday privilege~~ hahaha

So happy

If you're hunting for a dessert gift near Sinnonhyeon Station or Gangnam Station, come to Upper and Under. Looks and taste are both guaranteed.

How is the crème brûlée flan at Upper and Under?

Of all the colorful desserts, the number one that day was the crème brûlée flan!!

The sugar coating on top looks so tempting and shatters crisply. Inside it's packed with a vanilla cream similar to egg tart filling~~

There are vanilla bean specks all through it and the flavor is insane. My boyfriend isn't really into sweet desserts, but after one bite his eyes went wide, haha. So good!! The crème brûlée flan feels like Upper and Under's signature dessert.

Hojicha pecan financier for ₩4,700: worth it?

My beloved nutty hojicha pecan financier. It's tiny for ₩4,700, but pecans are an expensive ingredient and one bite makes the price make sense; it tastes luxurious.

The pecans are candied like jeonggwa (traditional sweets), so they're super crunchy + nutty, and the hojicha white chocolate coating was flavorful too. My boyfriend clearly liked it and ate almost all of it, haha

The sweet-yet-nutty combination is so good.

What does the yangzhi ganlu cake taste like?

Yangzhi ganlu is said to be a Cantonese dessert with mango, pomelo or grapefruit pulp, sago pearls, and coconut milk, milk or yogurt. So the cream in Upper and Under's yangzhi ganlu cake had a fresh, yogurt-like tang too.

I think even people who don't like rich, heavy flavors would enjoy it. It's a yogurt cream cake! Sweet mango and sago pearls went really well with the bittersweet grapefruit. The looks are explosive~~

The Americano was perfectly fine, nothing special.

The yangzhi ganlu cake is zesty, so it works as a palate cleanser among the sweet desserts. It's loaded with fruit, so it feels fresh.

Are the window seats at Upper and Under comfortable?

I got lucky and sat at a window seat at Upper and Under, and it's so comfortable, hahaha. Warm afternoon sunlight comes in through the window, and the chair is so comfy it felt like a resort(?). I leaned back, instantly got drowsy, and kept my eyes closed for about 10 minutes, hahaha

Upper and Under near Sinnonhyeon Station is a dessert hotspot where all the trendy desserts come together!