Songjeong tea café with chestnut sikhye: Suwolgyeonghwa, Busan

On this Busan trip I visited a café that completely won me over! Here's my review of Suwolgyeonghwa (수월경화), a café serving Korean-style desserts and premium teas with a full view of Songjeong Beach and the beach train ☕️

Inside Suwolgyeonghwa: a hanok-style ocean-view café across two floors

Suwolgyeonghwa runs the 3rd and 4th floors of the building as its café space.

The vibe kicks in the moment you start up the stairs 〰️ they've got soft wave sounds playing as BGM, so I was already in a good mood before even walking in.

3rd floor: floor seating and a big group table

The ocean view 🌊 hits you the second you step into the 3rd floor entrance. There's a big table in the middle too, so group visits work fine!

On the left is a section with tables,

and on the right is a floor-seating area. Calm wood tones with hanok-style interior ☺️

4th floor: where you order and the best window seat

You order on the 4th floor — grab a menu, take a seat first, then place your order.

The 4th floor has high ceilings and lots of windows, so it feels really open.

The most popular seats are, of course, the window seats with the Songjeong Beach view 💝 If you time it right you can even catch the beach train passing by~ Luckily one spot happened to be free, so I snagged it fast haha.

On the right side they sell the premium tea collection. The packaging is elegant and pretty, great for gifts 👍🏻

The interior really shows off Korean aesthetics, it's so pretty,,,,

Suwolgyeonghwa menu: 10 premium teas and the Dalbodeure box

A house-blended premium tea collection of 10 kinds

Coffee / traditional tea / tarakcha

The signature Dalbodeure box plus single desserts 🧁

You can also smell the tea leaves before ordering 🍃 being able to sniff the scent yourself and choose makes it even better.

The tea of the day changes daily and gets a ₩500 discount when ordered, with tasting also available.

Our order: Dalbodeure box, Mellongmangseu and bamsikhye

The visuals were amazing ✨

🌙Dalbodeure box: five Korean sweets in one tray

A box of 5 Korean-style desserts, Suwolgyeonghwa's signature Dalbodeure box 🎁 It's not an exaggeration to say I came here just to eat this.

Gamtae myeongnan financier (seaweed and pollock roe financier) / whole red bean butter monaka / ganache monaka / black rice sulbbang (steamed rice cake) / injeolmi (rice cake) skewer. They tasted as good as they looked 🫶🏻 None of the desserts were overly sweet, and they paired really well with the tea. From the sweet monaka to the chewy injeolmi, it was fun picking through them all. My partner's and my top pick was the ganache monaka.

🍵Mellongmangseu: what melon and oolong tea taste like together

Mellongmangseu 🍈, a combination of melon and oolong tea

You smell the tea leaves on top of the teapot first, then pour it into the pretty teacup and drink. The first sip bursts with musk melon aroma, then floral notes and the deep flavor of oolong tea come through after. I always thought tea was bland, but who knew it could taste this fragrant,,,😳

🌰Bamsikhye: my first taste of this sweet, nutty rice punch

I've had pumpkin sikhye (sweet rice punch) plenty of times, but I'd never seen chestnut sikhye before, so I had to order it haha.

The sweet sikhye was full of nutty chestnut aroma~ It's an unfamiliar combo, but it was sweet and nutty and really good 🥹 If you usually like sikhye, this is a must-try!

Verdict: why Suwolgyeonghwa is worth the trip to Songjeong

Enjoying delicious traditional snacks and tea while looking out at Songjeong Beach and the beach train — isn't that true healing 💓 From the space itself to the menu, everything about Suwolgyeonghwa felt distinctly its own, and it ended up being the most memorable café of my Busan trip. If you're looking for an ocean-view café in Busan or a café in Songjeong, Busan, go check out Suwolgyeonghwa~!~!