Today we decided to explore a neighborhood we hadn't been to yet.
Itaewon (Eee-tay-wahn) is a very popular neighborhood among the expats that live here in Seoul. It's right outside USAG Yongsan. It has an antique furniture street, a fashion street, and tons of amazing restaurants.
We've heard that at nighttime, the place turns into bar/club central. Seeing as we have two little minions in tow with us at all times, we decided it'd be best to go during the day.
Itaewon is very different from other parts of Seoul we've seen so far. There are street vendors literally lining the sidewalks. The sell socks, hats, funny t-shirts, more socks, fried squid, toys, anything they can make a little money on.
And the amount of store fronts in this place is astounding. Everywhere you look, there's an entrance or stairs leading down or up to a doorway, or an alley with more stores. It's crazy. Koreans love to shop!
This toy vendor (above) was set up in the ramp going down into a parking garage.
When we go somewhere new, we usually try to have one shop/restaurant/activity planned... and the rest we kind of just discover along the way.
Today our plan was to hit up a dessert cafe called Sweet East.
While I love a good chocolate pie, one of my absolute favorite desserts is funnel cake. Never in a million years did I think we'd find funnel cakes in Seoul. But we did. And holy moly, was it good!
Sweet East doesn't just serve your normal, boring fried pancake batter.
They've taken it one step further and created a menu of specialty funnel cakes! Cookies n' Cream, Chocolate Banana, Strawberry, and Carmel Apple, or you can just get the Carnival Classic.
The lady at the counter was very sweet and spoke very good English. The funnel cakes come in regular or small sizes, and they also have quite the drink menu as well.
We ordered a regular sized Carnival Classic funnel cake for the boys' and I to share and my husband ordered a piece of carrot cake. He also ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte and I opted for a White Chocolate Mocha.
These two could hardly contain their excitement.
The whole cafe was just adorable. Very clean, modern vibe.
I also thought the bathroom was super cool and different so I had to take a photo.
The bathrooms we're behind a sliding wooden barn door. And on the inside was all stone (almost like stained cement). I was also relieved NOT to find a squatty potty. Yay for American toilets!
Anyways, enough about potties.
Almost all the tables were filled when we arrived (a good sign!) and it only took about 6-7 minutes for them to make our funnel cake and bring it to our table. They also brought glasses of water for the boys for free.
I couldn't even snap a photo fast enough before they dug into it. Understandable though, it was so good! The little red and black bowls are whipped cream and vanilla ice cream... Perfect! Our coffees were good also. Tasted a little different; not bad, just different.
All in all, I totally recommend a visit to Sweet East dessert cafe if you are in the Itaewon area. Great service, good prices, and yummy food.
Sweet East Cafe
34-91 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Hours: 10am-10pm Mon-Sun
Phone: 02-790-3349
Email: sweeteastcafe@gmail.com
Method of Payment: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Cash
Directions:
If you are looking at the Itaewon archway, go to the right side of the road and walk toward Suji Deli. Keep going past the Deli (on your left) and then turn left into the first alleyway.
In this photo, the alley is right behind the right-most tree.
Keep walking down the alley until you see Sweet East on your right! (Refer to photo 4).
Happy exploring!
What a cool place! That funnel cake looks delicious.
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