Cafe Onhwa Seongsu • 카페온화 성수점

With the souffle pancake craze that was happening in Seoul in 2019, Cafe Onhwa (카페온화) is one of the places that’s well-known for their amazing souffle pancake. I first came to know Cafe Onhwa when I passed by their Ikseon-dong (이선점) location. Didn’t get to try it then, but instead, ended up visiting their Seoung-su location (성수점) months later with my friend.

Cafe Onhwa Seongsu (카페온화 성수점) occupies a spacious first floor of a building located right in the middle of Ttukseom Station (뚝섬역) and Seongsu Station (성수점역) of subway Line 2. The open-concept cafe is decorated with marble surfaces, wooden chairs and tables, off-white single sofas, and its signature gold countertops and accents spread all over the cafe. The place feels modern and sleek but nostalgic at the same time.

The entrance will lead you straight to the coffee bar/open kitchen where you can place your order and watch the barista making hand-drip coffee or making your souffle pancakes.

There are plenty of seatings available in the three sections they have in the cafe. One is the coffee bar area where you can sit right in front of the hand-drip coffee station. You can watch the barista in action or see the roasting room behind you.

The second area is the one right to the entrance, next to the roasting room. This area accommodates more people than the counter seating.

Lastly is the area left to the entrance, which is the biggest seating area in the cafe. On a side note, the single sofas and tables are pretty low, so they don’t really make a very comfortable setup for eating (or working/studying). It’s okay for drinking coffee but it was a little awkward for me and my friend when we were eating our pancakes. But overall, the interior is really nice and I also like the high-ceiling that they have, making the cafe feels more open and spacious.

Since my friend and I came to try the pancake, we ordered their popular menu, the Plain Souffle Pancake (플레인수플레) to share. We also ordered On Hand Drip (핸드드립 온) for my friend and Matcha Latte (말차라떼) for me.

The souffle pancake came with caramelized bananas, whip cream and syrup on the side. And oh my gosh, it was gooood. The texture of the souffle was super fluffy and soft. It’s almost like you’re eating clouds (well, maybe a slightly firmer clouds). It wasn’t too sweet (we didn’t pour all the syrup though) or too white-eggy (if you know what I mean) and the whipped cream was also so soft. The caramelized banana has more of a crunchy texture, giving it a nice contrast to the pancake. Overall, I liked it and I get why it’s so popular. Definitely recommend trying their souffle pancake if you’re visiting their cafe.

 

Cafe Onhwa Seongsu • 카페온화 성수점

Address: 서울 성동구 아차산로 78 1층
Telephone: 02-461-0031
Hours: Everyday 11:00-22:00

Instagram: @onhwa_cafe

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Center Coffee • 센터커피 서울숲점

Opened by the professional barista Sang Ho Park, who is the 2013 United Kingdom Brewers Cup Champion (and placed 4th at the world tournament that year) and the 2015 UK Coffee in Good Spirits Champion (and placed 6th at the world tournament), Center Coffee (센터커피) is another great addition to the coffee scene in Seoul. Having founded his own company, Spark Coffee Consulting, which is based in United Kingdom, he decided to expand his business to Asia and opened Center Coffee in Seoul. Here’s an excerpt from their website explaining about their philosophy:

Let’s meet for coffee

This is a phrase we often use when we meet people.
With this phrase, we at Center Coffee don’t just regard coffee as a beverage.
We think a cup of coffee helps shred awkwardness, enables us to share ideas,
and acts as a bridge to connect people.

So we want to share diverse stories through coffee.
To enlighten what good coffee truly is.
Who produced it, where, how it was cultivated, and how it was roasted.
To share the passion that motivates us to showcase the best flavours coffees can have. 
Most importantly, sharing the various experiences you can have with coffee.

—Center Coffee

The cafe itself has two floors. The first floor is where you order your drinks and the second floor has seating area as well as patio where you can seat outside when the weather is nice. Center Coffee has a nice range of coffee selections with unique brewing techniques which coffee aficionado will appreciate. The cafe was pretty quiet the day I went to visit. A couple of people were there, but they were either reading/studying or talking amongst themselves with low voices. I, too, quietly drank my chocolate while looking out through the window enjoying the sky changing colors from blue to orange and enjoyed my time there.

Center Coffee • 센터커피 서울숲점

Address: 서울 성동구 서울숲2길 28-11
Telephone: 070-8868-2008
Hours: 10.00 - 21.00 Tuesday - Sunday | Closed on Mondays

Instagram: @centercoffee

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