FAVORTITES: Bakeries and cafes

Aside from trying out restaurants, I occasionally like to visit a few bakeries and cafes once in a while.  Recently, I've came back from a Korea trip and there, you can literally find cafes everywhere you walk (well besides the rural areas).  Seeing so many cafes, especially in Korea made me admire more of the vibe of sitting down and just relaxing.  Their bakeries are so comforting because of the scent of the fresh bread.

Since every cafe and bakery in Korea is so elegant and classy, the prices may be less affordable.  I've also tried some bakeries whose's breads lack in presentation and the atmosphere is a bit messy, but those bakeries are much more affordable for the living standards we have today.  

1. Tous Les Jours

This is a French-Asian bakery that started in United States in year 2004.  They claim to use the highest quality ingredients from South Korea.  They have a variety of loaf breads, breads with fillings, baguettes, cakes, and sandwiches-just like any other bakery.  There is however, no seating area.  

I've noticed this bakery quite a lot of times during my Korea trip.  I tried the blueberry bagel, a sponge cake, a cheese pizza, and a cream cheese bun.  When I came back home, I found another Tous Les Jours and the quality was just as great.

2. Paris Baguette (Cafe)
This bakery/cafe has over 1800 stores with the name of both Paris Croissant and Paris Baguette. Their first store was opened in 1986 in South Korea.  Just like Tous Les Jours, you can find this bakery everywhere, possibly even more than it.  The food is almost exactly the same as Tous Les Jours, except they have more room for seating and more variety of cooked meals.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try this bakery/cafe in Korea, but I did try it when I got back home.  (There are more pictures for this one).

Top Left: Coffee Bread (very plain)

Second: Mushroom Croquette

Third: Green Tea Twist

Bottom: Mocha Bread (my favorite)

Top Right: Turkey Avocado Sandwich

Cappuccino 

Tuna Melt with a side salad

French Toast with Fruits

Pepperoni Baguette Pizza

3. Osulloc (this page is in Korean)
You may have seen these pictures in my previous post.  This cafe provides all green tea delicacies such as green tea pound cakes, green tea sponge cakes, and green tea lattes.  There are only a few of Osullocs in Korea.

I would have to say the food here is very expensive but it is very rich in green tea flavor.

4. 85 Degree Bakery
I've also did a post on this. Out of all these bakeries, I've been to this one the most amount of times. Their breads are similar to Tous Les Jours and Paris Baguette but not as exquisite. They have cakes, breads, teas and coffees.  This bakery/cafe originated in Taiwan and soon it spread all the way to the U.S.

I was very pleased with the taste of every item.

5. Traditional Chinese Bakeries in General
Traditional chinese bakeries basically have the same things.  Some of the common ones are egg tarts, bbq pork bun (char siu bao), wife pastry, pineapple bun (there's no pineapples, just saying), paper sponge cake, and more.

Although these types of breads do not look as great or taste the best, they are the cheapest.  On average, most buns cost less than a dollar each.

PART2: Korea time

I The The After spending 4 days in Hong Kong, we went to Korea for the rest of the trip.  This was my first time here and I was so excited about it.  

Our first day started in a what they call a "Hanok" which is basically a homestead owned by one person. In each homestead, there are a few rooms that are fairly small. The owner rents out each room to guests just like the way a hotel does it.  We only lived in this Hanok for a day, just for the experience.  They also serve a breakfast of authentic bibimpap. 

Yes, this is the shape of a piece of poop. Inside, there is red bean paste.

The restaurant for our dinner tonight.

A bimbipap in a tin can. 

Hey look, we're eating again! This is the next morning's breakfast provided by the owners of the Hanok. 

They were performing a traditional ceremony dance.

Lunch.

 Chicken with ginseng soup. At the bottom, there is sticky rice. Not what j expected, cause I thought there would be more ginseng taste.

Seafood pancake.

Oh hi dad. And sis.

It's green tea cafe. 

This little snack was around $35 U.S. Dollars, pricey right?

The Seoul tower.

Korean dinner buffet!

My first plate. Sorry about the presentation on this plate, ya know, at buffets, you've gotta get the most you can to get the money worth!

These three plates were served more formally, because we had to order these separately.

Second plate. Looks about the same.

This was breakfast the next morning.

At EWHA University, an all women's university.

Always leaving me behind, just kidding. I purposely took this picture.

When you come to Korea, it's a must to try their fried chicken.

On the left is the spicy flavored, and on the right is the honey flavored.

One of the stairways in the subway station.

Seafood for dinner.

Raw crab.

Steamed crab. I personally liked this better than the raw one.

About to watch the show, NANTA. It was presented on Broadway as well.

Couldn't take pictures during the show so I took one right before.

They sell crepes too!

Missed eating banana so I decided to get a banana smoothie.

Breakfast next morning. We were in a rush to read to an island.

About to zip line over to the island! I didn't get any pictures during the ride because I didn't want to drop my phone.

We're here! 

About to try out a restaurant on the island.

Bibimpap with rice.

On the boat.

This was so good! Flavored ice with red bean paste with mochi on top. I don't know what the snowman was called but it was like a piece of bread with red bean filling. 

Dinner time.

Missed the Chinese side of me.

My sister says good morning.

Grabbing a quick breakfast at cafe pascucci and then heading to a place to make kimchi!

This is the finished product and they call it "kimchi baby". So cute.

Heading to a seafood place market. It's a hectic day.

Recognize hear shoes?

So this is how this seafood market works: first, you pick out the seafood you want to eat(they're lol fresh!). And you pay for the seafood on the spot. After, you bring it to a semi-restaurant place that is close by and they cook the seafood for you but of course, with extra charge. They cook it for you according to how you would like it cooked(ex. fried, steamed, in a soup...). Then you eat it .

This is raw octopus. It was was moving when it was served.  Once you put this in your mouth, the legs of the octopus will stick into your tongue.  It was scary but it was a nice experience.

Abalone. It was way cheaper then the price in America.

This is a steamed fish. 

They put the rest of the fish into a soup.

An inside look of the restaurant. And yes, you have to sit on the ground.

We went to see the cherry blossoms. 

Sad to leave Korea, but we'll hope to see you soon.