Cafe Majo & Sady, Dongdaemun

If you've lived in Korea for any amount of time, or even just visited on a holiday, chances are you've heard of an app called Kakao Talk. Kakao Talk is pretty much the Korean version of Whatsapp, except with much cooler emotions. Along with the default yellow smileys, there's also a set featuring these two webtoon characters called Majo and Sady:

Majo is a brown bear and Sady is a white rabbit, and supposedly they're married. Hmmm.

Hehe

Even though I don't know much else about them, there's a special place in my heart for them because they have a pooping emoticon. This is the emoticon Angry Eddie and I always use if one of us needs to go to the bathroom:

Well, now that we're all up to speed on my bowel movements and have thus become intimate buddies, let us move along!

In August of 2013, the first ever Cafe Majo & Sady (a themed cafe dedicated to these two characters, in case you couldn't tell by the name :P) opened up in Sinsa-dong of Seoul. Since then, a multitude have popped up including two in Jeonju city and several more around Seoul (Dongdaemun, Nowon, and another coming soon to a spot between Cheongnyangni and Sindap stations). If you're not in Seoul, fret not as they're also planning to open branches in Suwon, Dongtan, Bucheon, and Busan.

The one in Dongdaemun happens to be closest to my area, so off I went to check it out. It was a grey, gloomy day out, but even that couldn't detract from the awesomeness of the place:

It was half snowing, half raining so these little guys got moved inside.

Mmm... sweet, sweet desserts.. 4,800 won for a cupcake, 5,800 for tiramisu, 8,500 for pancakes, and 9,500 for the brunch set (pancakes, salad, soup, and a sausage)

Funky waiting buzzer

Okay, I'm not guna lie. Despite being hungry, I thought the cafe was kinda pricey so my miserly reflexes kicked in and I ended up settling for just a latte.. A cheese latte. I live on the wild side, yo!

Cheese latte (4,800 won)

On the first floor, the corner beside the counter was set up with plenty of merchandise for purchasing:

And the second floor was where all the decorating and plush toy magic happened:

Although it's a bit expensive by my cheapo standards, I would probably still come here again because it's really hard to say no when everything is so cute. Even the drink cups are adorable!

Luckily I'm the kind of person who can nurse a single drink for several hours, so forking out a bit more is fine if it means I get to loiter around for as long as I like and soak up the pleasant atmosphere. Hooray for Korean cafe culture where it's considered acceptable to linger for extended periods of time, and hooray for Korean cafes with uber cute deco! XD



Cafe Majo & Sady, Dongdaemun
Hours: 10am - 11pm
Address: 서울시 중구 광희동2가 172 (172 Gwanghee2-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://www.cafemajosady.com
Directions: From Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station, exit 3, you can see the cafe across the road to your right. It's best to take the crossing that's a little to the left of the exit, as there isn't one in front of the cafe.

Beesket juice & smoothies, Dongdaemun

Last week, my awesome-ous cousin Joyce came to visit Seoul. One afternoon, we were on our way to Hongdae when we decided to take a detour to Dongdaemun Shopping Complex. Then on our way to Dongdaemun Shopping Complex, we decided to take a detour to Dongdaemun Design Plaza. What is a shopping expedition without a few detours? :P

Unfortunately though, detouring = walking, and walking = tired, grumpy Asians. However, after traipsing around, we finally found a place to rest our weary soles. (Pun intended. Hah!) It was a cute, funky little "DIY" juice place called Beesket. According to their website, the name comes from a combination of "bee" + "basket", because just like how bees go around collecting nectar from different flowers, you too can go around collecting different ingredients to create your own personalised drink.

When we arrived, the friendly staff gave us little red baskets to put our ingredients in. Each cute little basket was accordingly shaped like a piece of honeycomb. We simply chose the ingredients we wanted (up to 3) from the huge array available and popped them into the basket. Then we presented our baskets at the counter and a few minutes later, hey presto! Freshly whizzed up juice according to our preferences. :D

So many choices!! @__@

Watermelon, carrot, and kiwi for me. Mango, kiwi, and raspberry for Joyce. :3

Even the tables are shaped like honeycomb cells! Cuuuute!

Another really impressive thing is the emphasis they have on healthiness. When you select your ingredients from the plethora that's available, you can see what vitamins, minerals, or benefits each one is good for. Also, each order comes with your own customised print-out of the ingredients you used, how many calories you're consuming, and what vitamins and minerals are found in your drink. On top of that, you can rest assured that there are no other little nasties thrown in, like added preservatives, or processed sugar. It's just pure, natural healthiness in a cup.

Tadah! Plenty of calcium, potassium, and vitamin A for me. Woohoo! (At least I think by "Ka" they're referring to potassium? o__O)

On the same printout you receive, you can rate your drink with a "Beesket score" of 1-5 and pin it to the front counter for other customers who may need inspiration for ingredient combinations.

That being said, though I adore the concept of this place, it was a tad bit pricey (your basic customised, 3-ingredient juices start from 5,900 won, and then some ingredients, such as mango, blueberry, raspberry, etc. have an extra 500 won surcharge). So while it was fun to try out for the novelty of it, it's probably not a place I would frequent, based on me being a total cheapo. However, if you're somewhat of a health fanatic and constantly live your life on the go without time to make your own juice fresh every morning, or perhaps you don't have time to sit down and actually chew on your fruits and vegetables, orrr... perhaps you're just rich, then this might just be the place for you. Added bonus if you happen to live around Dongdaemun, of course. :P



Beesket, Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Hours: 8:00am - 11:00pm weekdays, 11:00am - 11:00pm Sat, 11:00- 10:00pm Sun
Address: 서울시 중구 을지로 281 동대문 디자인 플라자 B1 (Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Euljiro 281, Jung-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://www.beesket.com
Directions: From Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station, exit 1, enter the Dongdaemun Design Plaza complex (basically a bunch of buildings grouped together) and look out for the building called Dongdaemun Design Market. Inside, you'll find the Cafe Square area where Beesket is located, along with other drink shops such as Gong Cha.

*Note: Beesket now has other locations around Seoul including Myeongdong and Jamsil Lotte World Mall. Check out their website for details ^^