Cafe Jubilee - Itaewon

For this blog post, let’s zip up to Itaewon in Seoul for a coffee shop/chocolatier. Café Jubilee is located across the street from Hamilton Hotel where the Coffee Bean used to be. I'm not very good at remembering exit numbers after a while, sorry!

It’s a map!

I’ve only been here a couple of times to just kind of pass time while waiting for people to meet up usually. It’s a decently sized place with a nice patio for a smoking area. They also have lots of window seating so it makes a nice place to sit and people watch in Itaewon, too. Both times that I’ve been here, it hasn’t been very busy at all, and they have wi-fi.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a chocolatier shop, so they have lots of different yummy desserts and chocolates available. I haven’t ever tried any, unfortunately, because I’ve usually just eaten a huge lunch and I’m not hungry enough to have dessert.

Macaroons (top left), chocolates, and truffles (bottom shelf).

Nuts (top left), cake pops (top right), and truffles (bottom).

Muffins (top), tortes (middle), scones (middle right), and cakes (bottom).

I believe they also have some popsicles and such available in a cooler. I think next time I go in, I’ll try a cake pop or a muffin – those both look really yummy right now. You can also get iced and hot coffees and teas here for the usual Korean coffee shop prices (around 3000 – 5000 won).

Iced caramel macchiato.

Overall, I think a nice little dessert place to stop in and relax and try something new.

Updated So, I came up this morning to Cafe Jubilee to try a cake pop for breakfast since I'm always too full after lunch to get dessert here :). So, this is a cake pop.

Took me 5 minutes to open the damn thing The texture is like a cake, but denser. This one is the chocolate one (I told the guy to surprise me when he asked me what kind I wanted). I think they have strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, and something else: they aren't labeled. The flakes on the outside of this one are chocolate flakes. It was really quite good and very chocolatey. I'll have to try a strawberry or something next time.

Updated: 08/08/2012

Before I jump in to my update, Cafe Jubilee has updated their business hours to the following:
Monday - Thursday: 7am - 2am
Friday and Saturday: Open 24 hours
Sunday and Holidays: Closed

So I went back to Cafe Jubilee to pass time until meeting some friends for lunch and tried something new for breakfast: a coffee fondant.

It was really very good and warm since they heated it up in the microwave before serving it to me. The middle has a sort of coffee flavored cream and also what tasted to me like peanut butter. The texture is light and fluffy so it doesn't sit heavily on your stomach. I wouldn't say it's extremely filling or anything, but it tastes really good and is good for a light breakfast or snack.

I also looked a little closer at their drink cooler/rack and noticed that you can get mini bottles of wine to go with your chocolate (bottom shelf).

So yeah, I still recommend this place for some good chocolates and desserts and to just chill for a bit out of the sticky heat of Korean summer.

Village Coffee - Forest City, NC

So, Doug and I had several hours to kill between lunch at Louie’s and the wedding, so we sought out a coffee shop. We found 1 (maybe the only one in Forest City) called Village Coffee.


Village Coffee is located at 247 Oak Street in Forest City, NC. It’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. My GPS told us it was in a field about a block further down the road after all.

Anyway, the inside is spacious, but they don’t really have very much seating for customers. I guess with a city the size of Forest City (6963 people according to the 2009 census...it also apparently used to be called "Burnt Chimney"), they don’t need much. They do have a conference room available for usage though oddly enough. They also have a drive-thru which probably lessens the foot traffic in and out of the shop.

With Doug strutting his stuff to the loo

I liked the wall painting on the wall by the entrance.


I ordered a drink that was apparently named after a local band – sorry, I’ve forgotten the name by now! But something like "something hawks iced something er something". Anyway, it was pretty good.


They also offer some dessert items, like cheesecake and such. The staff here was very friendly and they didn’t yell at us for sitting in their lobby for 3 hours using their wi-fi to amuse ourselves. However, to be honest, we were the only ones in there except for 1 lady that I think was selling stuff that sat down for a bit.

Overall, it’s a nice little place to stop for a bit to have a coffee if you’re in the area, so stop in and check out Village Coffee if you’re passing through.

Starbucks! - Yeongtong

I have plenty of things to blog about, but first, breaking news for the Yeongtong area (well, maybe not). Yeongtong has finally rated a Starbucks. Sometime while I was gone on vacation at the end of May/beginning of June, a Starbucks opened a block from my apartment building.

It’s located across from the Worldmark building on the Grandmart side of the main street through Yeongtong. A worse map than usual in Paint - I blame being all sniffly and having sinus problems.
I’m here early (8 am), so it’s not too busy. The hours listed on the door are 7 am – 11 pm. The inside is quite spacious as far as storefronts in Korea go with seating for plenty of people. They don’t have Wi-Fi yet, but I’m told they will soon (I’m typing this in Word while drinking my coffee – I’ll go somewhere else to post it soon).
There’s an upstairs, too, which is quite a bit smaller, but more importantly, there are bathrooms upstairs. If you’ve been in Korea for any length of time, you know that finding a decent bathroom while out and about is akin to striking gold.
The décor strikes me as being modern with a bit of antiquity thrown in when I look at the table legs. I think it works well and adds a nice element to the look.
You can get your typical Starbucks fare here: mugs, coffee, Via, etc. I don’t see Bearistas yet, but I’m hopeful.
The barista also gave me some weird sticker thing with numbers on it that I really have no clue what it’s for.
The food and drink offerings are also standard Starbucks items: espresso, frappuccino, bagels, sandwiches, desserts, etc. One of the best things about Starbucks in Korea is that I know I can get soy milk in my coffee. I’m having my typical Starbucks drink today: venti iced soy caramel macchiato.
I’m also hungry since I’ve been up half the night due to my sleep schedule not being evened out yet due to travel and sinus issues, so I’m having a chicken burrito. I don’t know if I’d have it again, though. It would taste great except for the sauce that’s in it. I don’t really care for it but I can’t quite place the flavor. It’s almost a bit sweet…kind of like the Korean bulgogi sauce but not as strong if that makes sense.
The music isn’t too overpowering (yet) so you can still hear your companions without having to yell. As I’m sitting here right now, the song Everyday by Buddy Holly is playing, which makes me smile for some reason. I think it reminds me of listening to the Stand By Me soundtrack with my best friend when we were kids.
,br/> At any rate, the opening of a Starbucks gives me hope that a sandwich shop will re-open in the area (like a Subway or a Quizno's).

Until then, happy exploring!

Droptop Cafe

Alrighty, I've been meaning to check this place out since it opened a few months, and I'm finally getting around to it: Cafe Droptop. Cafe Droptop is a new coffee shop in Yeongtong - it opened up a few months ago between Cafe Pascucci and ABC Mart, and right behind the Yeongtong Park bus stop (by the foot bridge by Homeplus). It's hours of operation are the same as Cafe Pascucci's: M-F: 7am - 2am; Sa, Su, Holidays: 8am - 2am (ooohhhh, competition, girlfriend!!). I'm off work today for the elections, so I might as well do something semi-productive with my day :)

And here's another of my lovely maps:

outside view of the shop from inside the building

One of the very first things I noticed about this cafe when it opened was the door handles:

I just thought the 'D' forming the handles was unique and liked it.

Every time I've been by this place, they haven't been busy at all. I don't know if I just walk by during non-peak times or what - it might pick up in the evenings. Despite it being empty in here right now, just me and one other girl, I can't hear myself think even with my iPod on. The music in here is up too loud, like in most coffee shops in Korea, which is completely un-necessary in my opinion. Why do people go to coffee shops? To visit with a friend or to study are the most common reasons, yet they feel the need to have the music soooo freaking loud that you have to shout to talk to your companion or put in ear plugs to do any work. *sigh* I digress.

They offer free Wi-Fi (after you enter the password posted by the register) and also have power outlets under the booth seats. The young man working today was very friendly and started to bring my tray out to me in the lobby, but I was already standing near the pick-up area, so he just handed it off to me. He's also the only employee here as far as I can tell, so this must be their slow time of day (I got here about 10:30 am).

I like the interior design, and they have a separate smoking room for their smoking customers. The counter says "modern" on it near the Droptop logo, so I think they're striving for a clean, modern look in the interior design. The white ceiling and back wall give a clean, open look while the pipes kind of add a unique industrial feel to the place. This used to be a hair salon, so I'm not sure if having the piping exposed is purposeful or not - this is the only Cafe Droptop I've ever seen in Korea.

the back wall

view of the interior from my seat in the corner

interior from another angle

As far as drink offerings and prices, they're pretty typical of Korean coffee shops. Prices range from 3000 won for an Americano to 5600 won for a cafe mocha. They also offer a selection of teas and hot chocolate drinks. For food, they have sandwiches, breads, "cheese balls," and some desserts. Prices on these are between 3500 won and 6000 won mostly. I'm hesitant to try any of the breads since they tend to be sweet in Korea, even if they're a cheese bread or garlic bread of some sort.

display case

They also offer sets for desserts w/ coffees and sandwiches with coffees.

sandwich specials

They also seem to have a daily special during the week. Today's Wednesday, so the special is a macaroon brownie and 2 cups of Americano coffee for 9000 won.

So what did I try on my first venture to Cafe Droptop? Well, I saw the Oreo brownie and it was all over (I hadn't eaten yet today, so it looked especially delicious).

Oreo brownie or sin on a plate

It looks like it would be super sweet or rich, but it's not. It's really no sweeter than a regular brownie. And it has crumbled up bits of real Oreo on top - not the Korean Oreo-wannabes.
And for my drink I got a cafe mocha with no whip cream.

cafe mocha w/ "no whipping"

Overall, I think this coffee shop is pretty nice. I'll have to check out their oven chicken breast sometime and post it along with some other drinks.

Update June 2nd
I recently decided to stop in for a pretzel for a snack at Droptop, and I will not be doing that ever again.

That orange....stuff on the left is the cheese. It was pretty gross. The pretzel on the right was a pepperoni pretzel. The pretzel was barely lukewarm. So yeah, I don't really recommend the pretzels here, but the desserts are decent.