Café on the Uicheon bike path in Dobong, Seoul: lemonicano at Uisagye

A Ttareungyi ride along Uicheon, exploring hidden spots near home

Uicheon is a stream that runs where Seongbuk-gu, Nowon-gu, Gangbuk-gu and Dobong-gu meet, so it's easy to reach from any of the four districts, and the bike paths are so good that it's perfect for a Ttareungyi (Seoul's public bike) outing. I love traveling, but I realized I've always gone far away, abroad or to other regions. This time I thought I'd get to know the hidden spots near home, so on nice days I've been riding a Ttareungyi along Uicheon and exploring here and there. Since Uicheon sits where Seongbuk, Nowon, Gangbuk and Dobong touch, it's convenient to visit from all four districts.

With such good bike paths, it's a great place for an outing. After riding for a long while, my thighs had done so much work that my energy dropped and I suddenly got hungry. I also wanted to rest while looking at the pretty stream, so I visited Uisagye (우이사계), a lovely café with a view of Uicheon.

Uisagye location and opening hours

Uisagye is at 178 Uicheon-ro, Dobong-gu, Seoul, and it's open daily from 10:00 to 21:00.

• Address: 178 Uicheon-ro, Dobong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: daily 10:00 - 21:00

What is the space at Uisagye like?

Uisagye is a well-known Dobong spot for its signature chimney bread (굴뚝빵, a rolled, hollow cylinder of baked dough). It's a two-story house remodeled into a café, with café space on both floors and a terrace on the 2nd floor. There's even a chimney bread model on top, which was so cute.

Maybe because it's a new café that hasn't been open long, Uisagye is clean inside and out, and it feels perfect for coming alone to read or just relaxing while looking at the stream. There are lots of tables in various spaces, so I think it would be comfortable for a date too.

Uisagye menu: what kinds of chimney bread are there?

Chimney bread is the main signature dessert at Uisagye, and you can choose from original, cinnamon, choco, cheese, ice cream, and even sandwich-style gimbap (seaweed rice roll). I hear chimney bread is trending in Japan these days, but not many places in Korea sell it, so finding a chimney bread specialist at Uicheon in Dobong was a surprise! They say Uisagye's chimney bread is made with high-quality Canadian flour, so it's light and chewy. They add variations to the basic original, so you can pick whatever suits you: cinnamon, choco, cheese, ice cream, and even sandwich-style gimbap.

Ordering choco chimney bread, iced latte and lemonicano

I ordered the choco chimney bread (₩5,800), an iced latte (₩4,800) and a lemonicano (₩6,000), and it took about 10 minutes to get my order. After riding a Ttareungyi along Uicheon for so long, my energy was gone, so I went for the choco chimney bread, plus an iced latte and the lemonicano, a drink I'd never seen before. I guess they bake the chimney bread fresh after you order, because it took about 10 minutes.

How does the choco chimney bread taste?

Uisagye's choco chimney bread feels like the basic original chimney bread topped with chocolate sauce and powder. I'd assumed the dough itself was kneaded with chocolate and baked, but it was more like the original with chocolate on top.

Chimney bread at the Uicheon-view window seat

It's early summer and the sun was strong, but I couldn't give up the Uicheon view right in front of Uisagye, so I sat at the window seat. Eating while looking at the green stream and nature, I really felt like I was on an outing even though I was in Seoul. Good coffee and dessert tasted even better thanks to the atmosphere.

I think Uisagye really nailed the branding of its signature chimney bread: even the drink cup is chimney-bread-shaped. They also gave me scissors for cutting it, so I could eat it neatly.

What does the lemonicano taste like?

Uisagye's lemonicano is made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, tonic water and espresso, and it tastes like a fizzy soda with added tartness and the bitterness of coffee. The iced latte, nutty and lightly sweet, gained extra flavor when eaten with the sweet chocolate. I ordered the lemonicano out of curiosity since I'd never seen it, and it was a flavor I'd truly never had before, and so appealing. How do I even describe it? It feels like a soda, but the tartness and coffee bitterness together make the flavor amazing!

I still think about that taste, so on my next Uicheon ride I'll definitely come back to this Dobong favorite, Uisagye, for dessert and a lemonicano.