Suwon bakery café with whole wheat carrot pound cake: Caffeine Focus

I found a café in Haenggung-dong with a great view. Caffeine Focus, where you can see the Hwaseong Fortress wall. The weather was nice today so it looked even prettier. And yes, another fig dessert review :)

Where do you park at Caffeine Focus?

Caffeine Focus is a café in Haenggung-dong with parking available — there's space for about 1-2 cars right on the main road in front of the shop. So I parked right there. On weekends I'm guessing the spots fill up fast if you don't get there early.

This is the 2nd floor view, and it's genuinely gorgeous. You can even see a hot air balloon, and the contrast of blue sky against green grass is so easy on the eyes. To think you can enjoy a view like this without going far... it felt like a little trip within everyday life.

Sourdough ciabatta baked right in the shop — this is a Haenggung-dong bakery café known for its ciabatta.

• Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–20:00
• Closed every Tuesday
• Parking: Changnyongmun public parking lot or space in front of the café

Weekday afternoon bakery lineup and what sells out first

Even though I visited on a weekday, the plain ciabatta at Caffeine Focus was already sold out. So I couldn't order a sandwich either, since they were short on ingredients. The ciabatta lineup is olive cheese, squid ink cheese, and choco fig.

Whole wheat carrot pound cake, egg scone, vegan banana muffin, Basque cheesecake. I was curious about the whole wheat carrot pound cake since it's made with healthier ingredients, so I ordered it right away.

I actually came to try the Basque cheesecake, but by the afternoon that was gone too. If you take part in the Naver receipt review event, you get 50g of handmade cardamom granola. I tried it with Greek yogurt at home — the cardamom flavor is pretty strong.

Inside Caffeine Focus: fortress-wall views from the 2nd and 3rd floors

Caffeine Focus is a 3-story building with seating on both the 2nd and 3rd floors. Head up to the 2nd floor and this is the view through the window.

The weather was perfect and the view kept making me want to pick up my camera. It's a great café for photos and for just relaxing. Maybe that's why there were people working alone on laptops as well as a lot of couples. It's also nice for a quiet date.

A clean, modern interior with sleek chairs and tables.

Why the 3rd floor is the best seat, plus the rooftop next to it

Go up one more floor to the 3rd, and you get an even better view right in front of you. The 3rd floor view was the best of all. It really feels like you've gone on a trip — a picture-perfect, wide-open view, this is the prime seat in the house. The house-shaped design with cozy lighting gives it a warm feeling. It would be lovely to spend time here reading a book. On weekends I imagine it's hard to grab a seat here. Open the door on the side and there's a rooftop space, which would be great for spending time outdoors when the weather is cool.

What we ordered: two ciabattas and whole wheat carrot pound cake

I ordered choco fig ciabatta, olive cheese ciabatta, whole wheat carrot pound cake, and an iced americano. And the owner was so kind! Once I actually placed the order I realized I'd bought nothing but bakery items. I hadn't seen choco fig ciabatta anywhere else, so I had to try it!

The americano goes really well with the olive cheese ciabatta. Add a fried egg to this and it would be a perfect brunch.

Olive cheese ciabatta at Caffeine Focus

A ciabatta with cheese and olives baked in — moist and chewy at the same time. They say it uses a levain natural starter, cold-fermented for over 12 hours, which might explain why it sat easy on the stomach. The salty flavor of the cheese and olives made me want to keep dipping — if only there'd been olive oil on the side, I could have kept going. Serving it with olive oil and balsamic would make the set-up even better.

Choco fig ciabatta at Caffeine Focus

A cross-section of the choco fig ciabatta. It has chocolate and figs baked in, and the candied figs were less sweet than I expected, which I liked. The chocolate also wasn't overwhelmingly sweet — more of a refined sweetness, so I'd guess they use a higher-grade chocolate. I'm a chocolate fanatic, so I know my chocolate flavors. Maybe because the ingredients are pricier, the choco fig ciabatta felt a little expensive. But setting the price aside, it's one I'd want to eat often. Fig season is almost over, so come try it while you can!

Whole wheat carrot pound cake at Caffeine Focus

Made with whole wheat flour, this carrot pound cake has no sweetness to speak of, which older folks would probably love. It's a dessert kids could eat too. They must use very little sugar — it's plain yet moist. It was small, so I finished it in no time. The ciabatta was tastier, so next time I'll probably just order ciabatta.

A beautiful view plus healthy, tasty bakery items. The owner uses good ingredients, so eating bread here didn't feel guilty at all — it tasted like something that wouldn't put on weight. Caffeine Focus is a bakery worth seeking out in Haenggung-dong — great bread, great view, and I left feeling completely rested!