Banana Tree (flower pot desserts), Garosugil

Do you ever get uncontrollable urges to guzzle down enormous amounts of sugar? I know I do, and as a girl I like to blame it on PMS. Completely justifiable, right? Excuses or not though, if you've got cravings for sugar that simply must be satiated, then the lovely Banana Tree in Sinsa-dong might just be the place for you.

Banana Tree is famous for several sweet things: cotton candy lattes, flower pot tiramisu, and flower pot bingsu (Korean shaved ice dessert). While I can't speak for the lattes or bingsu as I haven't tried them yet, I can say that the flower pot tiramisu is enough to zap several cavities into your sweet tooth. And, exactly as the name suggests, it comes served in a flower pot complete with dirt, pebbles, and pretty blossoms sprouting out the top. Dessert that looks fabulous AND tastes great? Win-win!

Americano coffee, 4,000 won & "flower paap", 5,800 won

Dirt never tasted so good. :3

So what's the secret to making delicious dirt? Why, ground up chocolate cookie crumbs, of course! Also, depending on which flavour you choose (banana, strawberry, blueberry, or espresso), you can either have the rich flavour of coffee permeating your taste buds, or delicious little chunks of fruit to chew on in the centre.

Deliciously soft, fluffy, and creamy. 

And sweet. Did I mention sweet? XD 

Besides the food, another appealing aspect of the cafe is its layout and decoration. It's quite a small place with only four or five tables, which makes for a very cosy atmosphere.

If you can't get a seat, you can still get the flower pot tiramisu to take away. ^^

The decorations scattered about are quite quirky as well, and a lot of fun to look at.

Price-wise, the menu is a bit expensive, but I think it's understandable considering that the cafe is located in Sinsa-dong. Gotta love those Gangnam prices, eh?

English menu also available in-store ^^

If you're a cheapo like me, coming here every single day probably wouldn't be feasible, but I definitely wouldn't mind visiting from time to time on account of its gorgeous desserts and lovely atmosphere. :D



Banana Tree, Garosugil
Hours: 11am - 8:30pm, Mon - Fri; 11am - 2pm, Sat; closed on Sunday
Address: 서울시 강남구 신사동 526 (526 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
Directions: From Sinsa Station exit 8, make a U-turn and take the first right, or come out exit 7 and take the first left. Follow this road for about 5 minutes and it will eventually curve towards the right. Keep following the curve and look out for Banana Tree on your right.

*Note: Banana Tree also has other branches in Itaewon and near Konkuk University.

건축하는 카페 (construction cafe), Gangnam

Greetings, sons! Allow me to introduce you to a cafe in Gangnam that I visited a few months ago but completely forgot to write about: 건축하는 카페 (translates roughly to "cafe that builds"). This little gem is located in the basement of the Boutique Monaco, a building which itself is quite an architectural piece of art, and its theme, as you may have guessed, is building and construction. Korea is no stranger to cafes with kooky themes, but I'd say this one is definitely unique.

So... To be honest, I know absolutely nothing about building, or construction, but I quite like this cafe for two reasons:

1. The atmosphere is quiet and calm, perfect for a spot of reading or studying solo.

2. It has very un-Gangnam-like prices, which razzles my berries immensely since I am such a frugal miser.

If you happen to be into architecture, building, or even just design in general, you might fancy this place based purely on its theme and you can treat the above as added bonuses. w00t!

To get to the cafe, first take the escalators down to the basement:

The cafe is split into two sections. You'll see one part on your right where drinks are ordered and whipped up:

Extremely reasonable prices :D

Around this part of the cafe are plenty of artsy things to ogle and books free for reading:

I love how they created this using old desktop towers :D

View of the other half of the cafe.

Aaaaand onto the second section of the cafe, where the construction fun begins! 

To get in, push on the door with the sign that says "entry" in Korean. It's just like entering a real building site:

The interior is extremely spacious and dotted with plenty of construction-related objects to admire, along with some random ones:

Check out that grill in the centre. So random! XD

 

I'm not sure why, but I grew really attached to this gas meter that was lying on top of our table:

Myyyy precioussssss.

Since Gangnam is quite a busy place, this cafe brings a welcome change of pace and makes a great place to hang out when you need somewhere quiet to take a break. Added bonus that it's also in the same building as Caffe Inbus (the Jimi Hendrix/bus cafe), so you can do a nice spot of cafe hopping if you wish :D

건축하는 카페, Gangnam

Address: 서울시 서초구 서초동 1316-5 (1316-5 Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul)
Directions: From Gangnam Station, exit 9, walk straight for 4 blocks. The Boutique Monaco will be on your right and the escalators are just past Caffe Inbus.

Caffe Inbus (bus cafe), Gangnam

For a couple of years now, Uncle Yenny has been plagued with a horrible intolerance to yeast. Ingesting any kind of yeast-containing food leads to symptoms akin to a yeast infection, which, my friends, is a very unsavoury thing to experience. Luckily though, there is one time a month when I'm able to eat bread.... Yup, you guessed it. When it's that time of the month. How is this possible, you ask? Well, the blood alters the pH level in that area, the yeast can't survive, and thus I am free to guzzle down bakery goodness without suffering from yeasty repercussions. (TMI? Nah... We're buddies now. No such thing! :P)

Luckily this month, my cycle happened to coincide with a trip to a funky little place called Caffe Inbus, which was just as well because the cafe is famous for its handmade bread and not even Jeebers himself could have stopped me from scoffing it down.

Caffe Inbus, as the name suggests, also has another awesome thing going for it -- there is a bus in the cafe. This hollowed out vehicle with a giant motif of Jimi Hendrix across the front is where the food and drinks are whipped up, and the rest of the cafe is fittingly decorated with bitumen floors, oil drums, road markings, rainbows, and peace signs everywhere. It's like hippie meets hipster in the middle of a parking lot. And it is fabulous.

I ordered a croque monsieur and an Americano because cheesy carbohydrate goodness + piping hot dose of caffeine = WINNING.

Croque monsieur, 5,700 won.

It was made using straight up white bread without any of that extra sugar Korean bakeries often tend to throw in. The fluffy softness of it went amazingly with the gooey, melted cheese.

Americano, 4,000 won. Comes in large size only. MOAR CAFFEINE.

Loving the peace signs all over the coffee cup.

The cafe is split into two parts, one being the main area and another being a smaller, sectioned off "business area" where you can head if you're there to do work. There aren't any speakers in the business area so you won't be disturbed as much by any background music the cafe plays.

Apart from coffee and bread, the cafe has all your tea, latte, and (some) alcomoholic needs covered:

Although I personally found it a tad bit pricey (I'm extraordinarily cheap though, hah) I adored the decor of the place and definitely wouldn't mind visiting again. It's a great place to go if you're in Gangnam and looking for a light snack, or when you just need some time to sit in aesthetically pleasing surroundings and regain your inner peace. If you're on the north side, you can also check out their other locations at Omokgyo's Hyundai 41 Tower and Dongdaemun's Doota Tower. (See their website for details. ^^)



Caffe Inbus, Gangnam
Hours: 6:30am - 11:30pm weekdays, 9am - 11:30pm weekends
Address: 서울시 서초구 서초동 1316-5 (1316-5 Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://caffeinbus.com
Directions: From Gangnam Station exit 9, go straight for four blocks and you'll see Caffe Inbus on your right.

May Island (study cafe), Gangnam

The other day I was out and about and had a couple of hours to kill before my shift started. This left me with two options: either go in super early and twiddle my thumbs at work... or not go in super early and twiddle my thumbs at a nice cafe instead.

I suspect you can guess which one I chose. :P

May Island in Gangnam has been on my list of cafes to visit for quite a while and I figured it would be as good a day as any to head on over and finally check it out. I'd seen pictures of it before on the internet where it was touted as a "study cafe" and my curiousity was definitely piqued. My mind was ablaze with all sorts of questions... How do study cafes work? Do they play background music, or is it completely silent? Can you study in groups? Are you allowed to talk? How long can you sit there before you get booted out?

Well good sons, the answers to those questions were soon revealed.

May Island takes up the 4th and 5th floors of a building very close to Gangnam Station.

After entering, take the lift up to the 4th floor and order your drink at the counter.

The rule is one drink per person, and one drink buys you 5 hours of cafe time. Drinks are kind of pricey and start from 6,500 won, which is a fair bit more than you'd slosh out for your average cup of joe in Korea (even at overpriced chains like Starbucks). But I suppose when you consider the fact that you're essentially hogging a table for 5 hours in an environment where you can actually concentrate and be productive, it seems fair enough.

Keep your receipt with you as proof of the time you entered. If you're planning to stay more than 5 hours, or you want another drink, bring your receipt to the counter and you can get up to 50% off your next order.

On the 4th floor are also group study rooms, which you can rent out per hour. If you're studying solo though, take the stairs up to the 5th floor and let the cramming magic begin.

1 drink per person, free wifi, free books on the shelves to read, no talking!

Okay, I'm not going to lie. When I first entered the room, I felt slightly creeped out. It was completely silent, except for the occasional sound of someone clearing their throat or chair legs being scraped across the floor. It was so quiet that you could even hear pages being turned from across the room. The silence seemed to hang in the air with an eerie heaviness. It brought back garish memories of being at uni and cramming for exams in the library... except this place had better lighting and much cooler furniture.

You can see some funky airplane-inspired seats along the left wall. I wasn't bold enough to take any proper pictures of them though as they were all occupied. ^^;;

Airplane seats! (Image is courtesy of their website: mayisland.com)

Originally I had planned to just sit and read on my Kindle in a leisurely manner, but most people there seemed to actually be working really hard. Some were furiously typing up documents on their laptops, others were studying from textbooks as fat as phone directories, and here I was dawdling along, reading a trashy fiction novel. I suddenly felt grossly inappropriate. Fortunately, I had some typed up lesson plans in my bag so I fished them out and laid them on the desk in an attempt to look like I was being somewhat productive. Hah!

It got me thinking though.. Even though you could just as easily drink coffee or tea and study at home for free, there's something about being in a room with a bunch of other people who are all doing work that makes you want to do work too. Is there a name for that? 'Collective productivity effect', perhaps? o__O

Well, whatever it is, it works and I can see now why people readily fork out money to study somewhere outside of home. Perhaps I'll go back there with my Korean textbook and actually get some studying done for once!



May Island, Gangnam
Hours: 9am - 11pm Mon - Sat, 9am - 10pm Sundays
Address: 서울시 강남구 역삼동 816-6 (816-6 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://www.mayisland.com
Directions: From Gangnam Station exit 11, take the first right and then the first left. Continue down the road a few more metres and May Island will be on your left.

For anyone interested, there's also another branch of May Island close to exit 2 of Apgujeong Station on line number 3. Check out their website for details. :)

Harris Coffee Park, Gangnam

This may sound rather ironic, but, on the last day of her trip in Korea, Wendy suddenly announced that she wanted western food. We were supposed to meet in Gangnam and we were due to meet in the morning, which then meant I was posed with the challenge of finding a decent breakfast/brunch place that
a) wasn't overpriced (because I'm a cheapo), and
b) served eggs (because she was craving).
(We girls are mystical creatures and we crave randomly. Who was I to deny her requests? :P)

A quick search on the interwebs for "brunch" and "Gangnam" turned up the usual places like Butterfinger Pancakes, Bakersfield, and The Flying Pan Red. I remembered feeling less than impressed the last time I'd gone to Butterfinger and had to wait two hours for a table (staying only because the friends I was with insisted.. Americans.. hah! :P) and then after all that waiting, the food, which was overpriced in my opinion, turned out to be meh -- not great, not bad, but just okay. Bakersfield didn't serve eggs, so that option was out, and as for The Flying Pan Red... I'd never been there before, but if it was anything like The Flying Pan Blue in Itaewon where brunch averages 17,000 won a dish, I had a feeling it just wouldn't sit right with my cheapo morals.

Enter Harris Coffee Park (which incidentally is also number 2 on CNN's 2011 list of "Seoul's best brunch restaurants") and my frugal prayers were answered.

The theme of the place was Australia, given that Harris Park is a place in Australia, and that instantly won brownie points in my mind. It had a nice, modern, chic feeling to it, and made plenty of references to Sydney, where the suburb of Harris Park is located.

 

Wendy and I both decided on the "Big Breakfast" with a side of chips. After ordering and paying at the counter, we didn't have to wait very long before the food was rolled out.

Behold, the Big Breakfast! Scrambled eggs with a hefty dollop of fragrant basil pesto, bacon, sausage, French toast, seasoned and sautéed mushrooms with capsicum, and fresh salad. Om nom nom nom!

I'm no connoisseur, but the serving size was definitely generous and the food was pretty darn tasty. The scrambled eggs had a delicious, creamy flavour to them and went amazingly well with the pesto. I've yet to find somewhere in Seoul that makes scrambled eggs like Harris does.

A few weeks later, I went back to Harris with a friend who ordered the bread pudding and a chai latte while I ordered the Big Breakfast again.. It came out exactly the same as before. Consistency is good! :D

If I remember right, the Big Breakfast on its own was 11,000 won, but you can upgrade to a "set" that comes with an Americano coffee for a grand total of 13,000 won -- pretty good, considering this is Gangnam.

On that note, although the area is still technically Gangnam-gu, Harris is located closer to Sinnonhyeon station on subway line 9 than Gangnam station (line 2).

There are definitely more things on the menu besides their brunch offerings, like pasta, steak, and burgers to name a few, but I've yet to try them out. If they're anything like the brunch dishes though, I'm sure they won't disappoint!



Harris Park Coffee
Hours: 10am - 10:30pm Mon - Fri, 10am - 10pm weekends
Address: 서울시 강남구 역삼동 601-16 (601-16 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://www.harriskorea.co.kr/
Directions: From Sinnonhyeon Station, exit 4, walk straight and take the second right onto Bongeunsa-ro 4-gil. After a few meters, Harris will be on your left.
OR
From Gangnam station, exit 11, walk straight for about 800 meters until you reach the big intersection with Sinnonhyeon Station exit 5. Turn right and continue straight on until you pass exit 4. Take the second right onto Bongeunsa-ro 4-gil and look out for Harris on your left.