my instant coffee princes

there was a time i didn't drink coffee. not a single drop. i'd termed it "that evil thing" because it always came scalding and bitter, left a sour aftertaste and kept me up all night. then i arrived at seoul, where everyone was drinking it ALL THE TIME. and it soon became obvious that if i wanted to survive, i'd better learn how to appreciate a nice brew.

so from instant cups to an aromatic pot, painstakingly made from imported roasted beans, i drank them all. and if you're also looking for a nice cuppa while in seoul, why not check out some of my recommendations?



i'm a newbie, and am not going try to pretend otherwise. all i (think i) know is that there are the instant types, the hand-drip ones, and those brewed from beans, but if you ask me, they all taste about the same. in fact, i even like the instant ones better, but the coffee snobs will snub me.

so instead, i'll introduce cafes by their locations (i.e. accessibility and potential for people-watching) and decor set-up. but before i skip the whole twelve steps and head right into it, here are some stuff i read on the coffee culture in korea.

did you know that...

• the number of visitors to coffee shops in Seoul is estimated at 350,000 per day, according to trend monitor, a local research survey firm, and 24% of adults (aged 19-44) were found to be visiting coffee shops 2-3 times a week
  
• competition is fierce among coffee shop operators, where as many as 12 major franchises including cafe bene, angel-in-us, hollys, starbucks, and the coffee bean and tea leaf operate over 1,000 stores in seoul
  
• starbucks made its first foray into korea in 1999 as the first foreign take-out coffee chain, and now has 340 stores country-wide. BUT, it still falls behind homegrown brands, cafe bene and angel-in-us, who operate 553 and 406 franchises respectively

source: joongangdaily.com 

so anyway, here we are (you lucky thing!), where i'm going to share my favorite cafes- some, your typical big names, but others, my own secret hide-outs!


myeongdong: hollys coffee

located right across dunkin donuts and above body shop, hollys is un-missable. what i like most is the free wifi, and the bright, spacious set-up of the huge store, right smack in the middle of myeongdong, where one can rest or escape from the cold after frantic shopping!

myeongdong: mmmg cafe

one of my favorites, for the unique, locally-designed stationery and stickers sold in the store, one level below the cafe. drinks are typical of what you can find anywhere, but i like visiting because this isn't located on the main alley and is seldom crowded. also, it's right beside leechul kerker (where i used to do my hair) so its convenient for me! if you're looking for it, it's along the street where uniqlo is.

myeongdong: angel-in-us

one of the more famous homegrown brands (owned by lotte), it is also second (after cafe bene) to venture overseas (now available in china and vietnam). but actually, i just like that its EVERYWHERE, so anytime i want a coffee in a familiar place, i'll just head into angel-in-us, and know that the coffee will be good, even if not the best.


chungmuro: cafe bene

leader of the pack, and cafe bene is expecting to venture into new york by this month and see its 800th store by end of the year! but business-talk aside, i like most its european architecture and the overall relaxed atmosphere and they also offer a special menu of nutritious drinks (like one made of 5 grains mixed with milk, or coffee with ginseng). actually, there's a specific cafe bene that i frequent (chungmuro exit 7) because its HUGE and has so pretty fairylights at night.


samcheongdong: zoo coffee
samcheongdong is THE place to go for chillaxing afternoons. not only are the cafes unique, most also provide fabulous views of chic koreans on the sidewalks. my family visited the zoo coffee, a safari-themed cafe, and my dad discovered an awesome al-fresco section at its rooftop, which also provided great pics!

samcheongdong: "little prince cafe"
its not really called "the little prince cafe" (i haven't figured out what it's called, even though i've been there countless times!), but they have this "little prince coffee" which combines coffee and chocolate and I LOVE IT. plus, the whole indie feel rocks- from the handwritten notes of patrons to the gruff black-rimmed specs owner, its AWESOME. you just need to walk down samcheongdong and surely, you'll spot it!


anguk: cafe jazz
now this is really OUR SECRET! cafe jazz located at anguk station, it's where we go to relax, to study, to chit-chat, to laze. it's slightly off the main road so you'll have to walk to locate it, but once you do, it's such a treasure :)

hongdae: hello kitty cafe

even if you hate cats, just visit. its an eye-opener, really. anyway, hongdae is fun, so you can walk down to ktv at luxury if you get bored of seeing kitty's face everywhere! (p.s. the coffee prince cafe is also located here, so search around!)

noksapyeong: big mug

the very first cafe i ventured into, and it will always have a special place in my heart. located at noksapyeong, this tiny cafe only has 5 tables but do go because it serves the BEST hot chocolate. they literally provide real melted chocolate and you add your own milk to make it a drink (see pic on most right above). every time i go, i'll order this, and stay for ages too, because they also have free wifi!

just down the street, there are two other go-worthy places, do check them out if you have the time.

c-lover

water-street

then of course, i've also mentioned coco bruni and deux creme (both at garosu-gil); you can read more about them here.

and at this point, i'll need to introduce another "did you know", because i am really impressed by their system! in seoul, one does not hang around after placing your orders. instead, they'll hand you one of these:

which is something like a mini-alarm system, so when your order comes up, it will ring to notify you to grab your stuff from the counter. some of the more advanced ones even come with mini screens so ppl can watch advertisements/mini videos to pass time while waiting for their drinks!



but, the extent of korea's love of coffee doesn't just end here. i've previously talked about their caffeine addiction, and like me, they love their instant coffee too! i can't tell you enough how many times these instant coffee princes have saved me from freezing to death during the biting winter, and really, korea just isn't the same without instant coffee!


and according to korea herald, just last year, koreans drank a total of 22.8 billion cups of coffee (which equates to approx 452 cups per person!) so if you're headed to seoul, be prepared to be overwhelmed!

or if all else fails, and suddenly you're craving your usual kopi-o, fear not. because seoul has the answer in ewha:

our very own singapore kopitiam!!

p.s. if you're hoping to find out more, all reading materials have been linked in bold throughout the article.

enjoy!