Eunjae · 3 stories
I write about cafés I visit around Seoul, from coffee to small desserts. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants
Nerdy Blue Burrow is a dessert and study cafe in Seongdong, Seoul, a 4-minute walk from Wangsimni Station Exit 9. On this third visit the order was chocolate pudding (₩6,500), banana pudding, and cold brew, and the low-lit teal walls and mostly 1–2 person tables at Nerdy Blue Burrow made it easy to work alone. The banana pudding is not too sweet, so it disappears fast without ever feeling cloying.
HYBE Playground is a four-floor complex culture café in Yongsan, Seoul, a 7-minute walk from Yongsan Station Exit 1. The second-floor bakery café serves kkultteok kkultteok (honey rice cake) cake, Basque cheesecake and a ham egg mayo sandwich, with a lounge and terrace on the third floor and the Skyframe rooftop on the fourth. Between the chewy rice-cake bits in the kkultteok cake and the wide gaps between tables, HYBE Playground suits both laptop work and brunch.
Fluffy Bake Shop is a baked-goods dessert café in Mapo, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Gongdeok Station Exit 2. This visit checks the price of every item one by one — 16 madeleines, 9 financiers, 3 canelés and 2 egg tarts — and tastes the hwang cheese (yellow cheddar), espresso pecan and chestnut madeleines along with the nunettine, melon, apple churros and walnut caramel financiers. With 4-, 6- and 15-piece boxes, Fluffy Bake Shop is an easy pick for thank-you gifts and group orders.
