Low Roof 로우루프 (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

Located directly across the street from the O’Sulloc Tea House, Low Roof (로우루프) is a café, bakery, and pastry shop all under one roof. The space spans three spacious floors, each with a slightly different theme.

The ground-floor bar area is a convenient spot for a quick sip of their signature beverages. The bakery section looked interesting, blending modern baking techniques with classic Korean flavors. Unfortunately, their standout chestnut cream croissant was nowhere to be found. Instead, the oversized Dirty Chocolate Au Pain immediately caught my eye. (No Dubai chocolate version, though.)

I decided to climb the stairs to check out the other floors.

Second floor: Some fabric seating and a shared table in the middle — it felt a bit like a kids’ playroom.

Third floor: More like a meeting space in a commercial building.

I didn’t get to see their traditional hanok backyard, which has made the place so famous, since it was already closed for the day.

After walking up the hill to Bukchon Hanok Village, I certainly wouldn’t mind a frosty drink. Perhaps with a slice of cake. 😜😜

Green tea latte (₩6,500) — The green tea flavor was very light; instead, it was extremely milky.

Sikhye rice mousse cake (₩9,200) — One of the café’s most unique desserts. A nice effort to blend Korean heritage with modern French pastry technique. 

The pastry was designed to mimic the elements of sikhye (traditional Korean sweet rice punch). A soft rice dacquoise base paired with a rice coulis, was topped nicely with a smooth cream made of rice and jocheong (traditional Korean brown rice syrup). Hidden inside was an unexpected core of sikhye jelly and persimmon cream. There was also rice in the syrup to give the dessert some extra texture.

All in all, not bad. But if I had to be picky, a bit of sharp acidity or a firm, crunchy base wouldn’t hurt.

I was really happy to snap a few photos at the Bukchon Hanok Village just before sunset.

Two quick desserts in a row, and I’m starting to realize I might not need dinner after all.

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: ₩₩₩

Address: 175-2 Gahoe-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Anguk

Tel: +82 2-747-0709

Website: https://www.instagram.com/cafe_lowroof/?hl=en

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm daily

Balance Pâtisserie 카페 발렁스 (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

Balance Patisserie (카페 발렁스) used to be one of my go-to dessert spots in Seongsu-dong (聖水洞) a couple of years ago but since their relocation to Anguk (安國), I have yet to find the chance to check their new digs out personally.

While I had no dinner planned for tonight, I was determined to spend the evening all in Anguk for some bakery café hopping. Won’t that be great if I could also cross Balance Patisserie off my bucket list?

Tucked away on the second floor of an unassuming building near Bukchon Hanok Village, Balance Patisserie is a popular artisanal French patisserie and dessert café, known for its meticulously crafted, French-inspired creations.

I was in for a shock as soon as I stepped through the doors. There were only two kinds of pastries left in the display case. Worse yet, I’ve tried both of them on my previous visits (Tumon and pistachio tart).

Getting my order done was a nightmare. The staff didn’t speak much English, and when my Apple Pay didn’t work at first, he just stood there without offering to help. Since everything was in Korean, I didn’t hesitate to ask him to get more involved in resolving the issue.

Thankfully, the payment eventually went through, and I was all set.

Tumon (₩10,400) — On top was a thin, sugar-dusted crisp, torched to a crème-brûlée-like caramelized finish. Right underneath it was a light, silky yet rich vanilla mousse, layered with deeply satisfying Darjeeling tea-infused ganache, a soft coconut biscuit joconde, and a base of toasted, caramelized macadamia nuts for a bit of crunch.

It was just as enjoyable and pleasing as I remembered from a few years ago, although the vanilla flavor was sadly a little less pronounced. That was the only difference I could recall.

I was hoping to try more of their creations, especially some of the newer ones from recent years, but unfortunately, there was nothing new available this afternoon.

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: ₩₩₩

Address: 140-41 Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Anguk

Tel: +82 2-2194-1234

Website: https://www.instagram.com/balance_patisserie

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 7:00pm (Wed - Sun)

Tim Hortons City Hall (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

My getaway to Seoul has gotten off to a fast start. Soon after arriving at Seoul Station on the Airport Railroad Express, I transited onto a subway train to City Hall. It didn't take long for me to find my hotel next to Seoul Plaza. After breezing through a warm and efficient check-in, I stormed out heading straight towards Anguk (安國). Everything was working according to my original plan.

On the way to the metro, I spotted the President Hotel across from City Hall, just a few steps from my hotel. And there it was — a Tim Hortons, the legendary Canadian coffee-and-doughnut shop!

I decided to pop in for a quick look. Apart from the usual suspects, there was a limited-time-only chestnut cream doughnut. Could I squeeze in a quick bite before getting back to my busy day?

Chestnut cream donut (4,700 won) — I thought the dough was a bit of a disaster. 

But the chestnut cream wasn’t too sweet. That was the one redeeming quality.

At least I got my first bite of the trip out of the way. Here’s hoping the treats that follow are a lot more enjoyable.

Food Rating: 4.8/10

Price: ₩₩

Address: 188-3 Euljiro 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: City Hall / Euljiro 1(il)-ga

Tel: +82 070-7450-1017

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 9:00pm (Mon - Fri), 8:00am - 9:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Abebe Bakery Seoul (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Abebe Bakery Seoul is one of the city’s most viral dessert sensations in recent memory, famous for its decadent, Jeju Island-inspired cream-filled donuts and artisanal buns. Originally from Jeju Island, the bakery has built a loyal following with its soft, chewy breads filled with rich, inventive pastry creams.

I first came across the bakery while researching for my upcoming trip to Seoul. What I didn’t realize was that it had recently arrived in Hong Kong, soft-opening its first shop near K11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The shop offers a colorful selection of cream donuts and cream buns, showcasing ingredients from Jeju Island. Favorites include Jeju matcha and Wimi Hallabong, a vibrant local citrus fruit. Other signature flavors include Dirty Chocolate and Pistachio.

The main difference between the cream donuts and cream buns is their texture and preparation. The donuts are lightly fried and coated in sugar, crumbs, or cocoa powder while the buns are baked, dusted with Castella cake crumbs, and almost always have a thick, ultra-chewy layer of traditional Korean rice cake (mochi) at the bottom.

Black sesame cream donut ($38) — I’m a sucker for anything with black sesame ganache, so this was a no-brainer.

The black sesame crumb coating and rich black sesame pastry cream made this a dream treat for any black sesame lover. The only slight drawback was that the donut seemed to be lightly fried only on the outside, so it tasted more like a bun than a classic donut.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop W, G/F, Ocean View Court, 31-43 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily 

Tiffany Restaurant 名寶石餐廳 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It wasn’t an easy decision, but we finally said goodbye to our family apartment after  it has served us for 40+ years. I was there for more than half of it. Now that it’s gone, I can only hope mom finds comfort in being a little closer to me and little nugget. I hope she settled into our peaceful, cozy neighborhood.

And interestingly enough, we’re back in mom’s old area this afternoon for little nugget’s lessons. For nostalgia’s sake, I decided to go back to Tiffany Restaurant (名寶石餐廳) for our late lunch. It felt like the perfect little detour — a trip down memory lane.

As far as I could remember, Tiffany Restaurant used to be called “Ruby Restaurant” (紅寶石餐廳). Back then, the group had a few branches across Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Dad used to love visiting the one near our home. He wasn’t the kind of man who splurged on fancy meals often, so we mostly came on special occasions.

I had a strange feeling the moment we walked in this afternoon. Everything looked the same — the decor, the menu, even the familiar faces from the service team. But deep down, I could feel something different inside me. This no longer felt like our “hood”.

The tea tasted just as strong as it did twenty years ago. It was that particular kind of boldness you don’t normally get from a Hong Kong-style soy sauce western restaurant.

I ordered the deep-fried grouper fillet like I always do. Even though Tiffany Restaurant is a Hong Kong-style soy sauce western restaurant, they always seemed to use high-quality ingredients. Maybe that’s why the old patrons keep coming back. 

The thick slice of grouper fillet was again pretty delicious again — crispy on the outside, tender and satisfying within. Newer generations of soy sauce western restaurants probably wouldn’t bother with produce like this, at these kinds of prices.

And just as we were settling in, this guy arrived in time for dessert.

I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to visit again. But I truly hope they’ll keep thriving so we can return from time to time, and let a little nostalgia find us once more.

Food Rating: 5.7/10
Price: $$$
Address: 148 Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Prince Edward
Tel: +852 2381-1516

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 11:30pm daily

Melt in July 七月柿 Express (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Located at the entrance of trendy Pink Street (粉紅大街) at Shenzhen Bay MixC (深圳灣萬象城), Melt in July Express (七月柿, literally means "July Persimmon") is a popular East-meets-West fusion restaurant with an intriguing food and dessert menu. Unfortunately, despite having it on my radar for quite some time, I’ve never gotten around to crossing it off my list.

But today, I finally had the perfect opportunity especially since I had a pickleball game scheduled at a nearby community centre.

As planned, the moment we finished our match, we headed straight to Shenzhen Bay MixC to satisfy our snack attack.

Under the same group behind Melt in July Farmhouse (七月柿 蕃茄食堂) which is known for its healthy eating, Melt in July 七月柿 Express’ food and dessert menu goes beyond just East-meets-West dishes. There are also comfort-food options that blend local flavors with a modern Korean twist. All in all, there are always more to this than meeting the eye.

Since we were all a little hungry after the game, we started with a quick savory bite.

Slow-stewed beef brisket pita burger (慢燉牛筋腩皮塔堡) (¥55) — The burger was made with pita bread, which adds a hint of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flair. 

Inside, there were succulent beef brisket, purple onion, and cabbage, all brought together with a Mediterranean-style sauce. Not bad.

Matcha tiramisu (抹茶提拉米蘇) (¥48) — The menu mentioned fermented bean curd (腐乳) as an ingredient, but it hardly registered it in the flavors. Instead, there was a sharp burst of soy-bean notes (“beany!”), paired with matcha and of course, coffee. Texture-wise, it was spot on. Soft, fluffy, and properly enjoyable.

Roasted long-jing tea Basque cheesecake (龍井焙茶巴斯克) (¥36) — This was a pretty ordinary Basque cheesecake, topped with a scoop of hojicha ice cream. Interestingly, the ice cream was decorated with long-jing tea leaves, adding a distinct tea aroma to the mix.

However, personally, I thought the flavors from the cheesecake, ice cream, and tea leaves didn’t quite come together as a complete package.

As usual, we grabbed some bread after our afternoon tea before heading off to our next event (a foot massage). It was a busy afternoon for us in Shenzhen, but everyone needed this after a pretty eventful work week. 

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop B1-38, Pink Street, Shenzhen Bay MixC, 3213 Keyuan South Road, Nanshan district, Guangzhou, China

深圳市南山区深圳湾万象城B区粉红大街B1层B1-38号铺

Closest Metro Station: Houhai (后海)

Tel: +86 19128337786

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/57/94BM

Rivet Coffee (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I’m spending a lazy Friday afternoon in Futian, around the perimeter of the rapid train station. After grabbing a quick bite at Sister Wah Beef Brisket (華姐清湯腩), I headed over to Ping An Financial Centre (PAFC) to check out a few places including Rivet Coffee, which I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting before.

Perched on the 6th floor of PAFC, Rivet Coffee operates as part of Obsidian Bar, a premium lifestyle and luxury dining concept that focuses on modern gastronomy and high-end exclusivity.

Rivet Coffee is a daytime coffee shop and café that also functions as a tea salon, with a small selection of French pastries.

There’s also a bakery side to their business, although the variety was fairly limited to say the least

Opera cake (¥65) — I had a bit of spare time before my spa appointment, so I decided to sit down and enjoy a slice of cake.

The opera cake wasn’t on my original list, but because of the small selection they had here, I ended up getting a slice of the French classic for my sweet treat.

I heard that, to achieve perfection with an authentic opera cake, they have to make sure each of the distinct layers is precisely stacked with the proper dimensions and, of course, that the flavors of each layer had to be flawless.

Up close, it looked a little rough. And once I took my first bite, I quickly realized the flavors just weren’t right. Some ingredients were obviously missing, and the proportions between the layers probably didn’t match the classic recipe. But it was a nice try.

That was all the time I had for my sweet craving. Time to head over to One Avenue for my spa appointment.

Food Rating: 5.8/10

Price: ¥¥¥¥

Address: Shop SL401-402, Level 4 PAFC, 5033 Yitian Road, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福田街道福安社区益田路5033号平安金融中心SL401-402 号铺

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 (755) 2266-3041

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 6:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/94/ulCM

Patt Patt 日式蛋糕 One Avenue 卓悦中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

With my long absence from Shenzhen’s café scene since early August, I’ve been trying to catch up on the latest news from social media. There have been several new openings of late, and many online discussions seem to point to Patt Patt Japanese-style Cakes as one of the most promising, up-and-coming tea spots thanks to its cozy atmosphere and delicious offerings.

Originally from Guangzhou, Patt Patt has a few locations in the city centre. They’ve just opened their first café in Shenzhen, choosing One Avenue (卓悦中心) as its debut location. Since we were having Japanese food at the mall this afternoon, I decided to swing by for a quick dessert right before lunch.

I have to admit, the space here is pretty nice and cozy — somewhere you could easily spend an entire lazy afternoon. But were the desserts as good as advertised?

Thai milk pudding combo (¥55) — This came with a Thai milk tea pudding and a Mont-Blanc–style cake also flavored with Thai milk tea. The dish was decorated with cookies and fresh fruits.

I thought the pudding itself was okay, but it wasn’t especially memorable. I had higher expectations for the cake, but the sponge cake with a hint of Thai milk tea didn’t really surprise me in either flavor or texture. If it weren’t for the vibe, I’m not sure it would attract much attention.

We don’t really have a plan for the rest of the afternoon after lunch. I guess we’re just happy to be back in Shenzhen and enjoying some time to chill.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop L201, West Zone, Level 2 One Avenue, Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华路卓悦中心商场西区2楼L201号铺

Closest Metro Station: Gangxia (岗厦)

Tel: +86 18124686075

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/2f/639M