Before opening his own patisserie in a residential nook of Seoul’s Daechi-dong, Cedrat owner and pastry chef Choi Kyu-sung had already amassed over a decade of experience in pastry making. It began when he enrolled at the Institut National de la Boulangerie Patisserie in France to study pastries and bread making. He then stayed in France for over 10 years, honing his skills before returning to Korea to work as head chef at two cafes. It was only after that when Choi felt the time had come to str

The journey began when five guys decided to take a stab at Korea’s fried chicken market. “Korea is famous for its chicken,” said Brave Roosters director Choi Se-hoon, 44. “We wanted to enter that market.” Choi and his colleagues balked at the idea of jumping into an already crowded and competitive industry without a specific idea of what kind of fried chicken they would be serving.  Brave Roosters, which specializes in Nashville-style hot chicken, soft opened in Seoul’s Sinsa-dong in November. (

At Mochibang -- a small, artisanal Japanese-style dessert shop -- one will find “ohagi.” In fact, one will find several variations of the Japanese rice cake customarily served during the autumnal equinox. Mochibang specializes in wagashi, or Japanese sweets, with a focus on rice cakes like mochi and ohagi. (Photo credit: Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Owners Lee Bo-ra and Jeon Chan-hong fill their ohagi with everything from “marrons glaces” (candied chestnuts) to fragrant “yuja” (citron). The ma

L’Aubenuit owner-patissier Lim Ho-yeon patiently waited for the opportunity to serve his patisserie’s namesake dessert. “This was something I had in mind when I was in France,” Lim, 30, said. Lim was in France for six years. Before France, Lim studied Korean cuisine in college. He then started to develop an interest in desserts. In 2011, he decided to delve further into the realm of sweets, traveling to France to study dessert at two schools. Fast forward six years to Lim’s return to Korea and t

In a city with plenty of sushi options, it can be a challenge for a new sushiya to stand out from the crowd. Sushi Ryukou took that risk, opening in Sinsa-dong this August. “I wanted to show my own personal approach to sushi,” co-owner and chef Kim Kwang-min, 33, said. Kim honed his skills while studying and living in Japan for six years and racked up more experience at a Seoul hotel.  Sushi Ryukou‘s negi toro maki (front) is beautifully layered with sushi rice, nori, tuna, the white part of the

The food at Ithaca, chef Kim Tae-yoon’s latest restaurant, is not easy to categorize.The food exhibits Korean, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Italian and Greek influences, all skillfully fused into incredibly aromatic, spiced and texturally fascinating dishes.  Fragrant shiso and fennel add an aromatic layer to Ithaca’s sous-vide whelk, lotus root and tomatoes. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)“The food here has no boundaries,” said Ithaca co-owner and chef Kim, 38. Kim, an avid traveler, explained ho

As advertised by the big bold white letters adorning the storefront of Slowwcheese, this new shop specializes in mozzarella. Every morning, cheesemaker and owner Min Jin-woo makes around 3.5 kilograms of curds for mozzarella fior di latte. “That means its small-batch,” said Min, 35.  At Slowwcheese, uber-fresh mozzarella fior di latte is stretched and plaited to order, perched over tart and sweet "Daejeo" tomatoes and fragrant basil for toothsome Caprese salad. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Wh

Taupe, a new restaurant near Dosan Park in Seoul, quickly reeled in reservations when it soft opened in June. “Yes, response has been very hot,” said Taupe sous chef Kim Chul-ho, admitting he and his team have been very busy whipping up popular eats like their savoy cabbage rolls, pork belly with ginger apple puree, and salmon and green bean risotto. Snap-worthy eats and a picturesque view from its third and fourth floor perch are certainly some of the attractions of this hip, new hotspot. But w

At Gray Gristmill, one of the latest additions to Seoul’s ever-growing cafe scene, getting a caffeinated brew is an interactive process. After perusing a selection of 12 different single-origin coffee and blends, cafe-goers choose their coffee and how it will be brewed. All coffee is displayed in vacuum-sealed, single portion packages at the counter with placards detailing their flavor profiles. For instance, there is Gray Gristmill’s single-origin Honduras coffee with “lemongrass tea,” “dried m

Hulotte -- a fine dining French restaurant into its second year of business -- settled into its new perch in Cheongdam-dong a little over a month ago. The interior is new, the location is new but, owner-chef Lee Seung-jun says, the food is not. The food is the driving force behind Hulotte, and it seems the driving force behind the food is husband-and-wife team Lee and Na Yun-jeong.  Hulotte's strip loin pairs juicy cuts of beef coated in a caramelized glaze of cumin, honey and balsamic vinegar w

　The banh mi pizza at Slice -- a fresh, aromatic pie with a fiery kick -- was not on the menu when this eight-seater, New York-style pizza shop opened in Cheongdam-dong a little over two years ago. 　After about a year in business, owner Alex Ham first put it on the menu as a special and it stuck, becoming a new addition to Slice’s repertoire of pies, which currently total six. 　“I’m a huge fan of the banh mi sandwich,” said Ham, 46, adding this was “probably the main reason” behind his decision

The sea urchin pasta at Titolo, a new Italian spot in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong, looks like a straightforward iteration of the popular dish, like its banking on the huge dollop of sea urchin garnishing it to singlehandedly wow with a massive wash of briny umami. Then the friendly wait staff gently blends the sea urchin into the creamy strands of pasta and everyone digs in. There is a lot going on in this dish, with sea urchin acting as just one of many components to deliver an unctuous, creamy slic

After racking up experience in the realm of fine dining, Joo Woo-seok struck out on his own as head chef of Ferment B nearly six months ago.“I wanted to see what I could do,” Joo, 32, explained his decision to take a risk and helm his own kitchen. At Ferment B, which is located in Seoul’s Sinsa-dong, Joo channels a fine dining aesthetic into semi-casual plates that are beautifully presented, delicate and flavorful. “We aim to use fermented ingredients freely to create dishes inspired by various

It started with salami, charcutier Jo Woo-ram, confessed, taking a break from hours spent crafting wobbly, luscious blocks of pate and meltingly soft wheels of blood sausage to explain how it all began. “I went to study cooking in Italy,” Jo, 31, said, where he developed a fondness for salami.When he returned to Korea, he found himself craving salami and decided to make it himself. “It tasted good but I wasn’t sure if it was accurate,” he recalled. Maison Jo sells a diverse selection of pate, sa

My Funny Dessert’s ascension to worth-the-wait status has been a year in the making, and that is something of a miracle given the shop’s hard-to-find location and utter lack of a phone number. Situated on a small street about a 10-minute walk away from Hanti Station in Daechi-dong, the three-seat nook was originally meant to be a pastry and sweets atelier, but opened as a tiny French dessert shop last February. The three-seater shop offers a variety of desserts including tarts, macarons, madelei

In many ways, the word “conflict” is at odds with the actual concept of barista Park Jin-hoon’s new spot. “I do not want competition between roasters, I want to promote communication,” said Conflict Store owner Park, 33, who wants his cafe to be a level field by spotlighting multiple roasters instead of one in his space.  Conflict Store owner-barista Park Jin-hoon alternates between grinding machines and the hand grinder pictured here. (Photo credit: Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)In essence, th

From its small perch in Seoul’s Samseong-dong, Plan Plan is doing creative, structured, delicious things with cake. This tiny 14-seat dessert shop has been spinning out mouthwatering sweets since 2015, infusing mousse cakes and other treats with its own aesthetic. The aim is to create toothsome cakes that will even appeal to those who are not fond of sweets, “cakes that one can eat every day,” said Plan Plan co-owner and pastry chef Moon Sun-young, 39.Both Moon and co-owner and pastry chef Kim E

At Sushi Shimizu, a single piece of sushi, that first oblong oval of glistening fish over rice, serves as a reminder of the importance of “shari.” Shimizu’s shari -- also known as sushi rice -- is quite warm, slightly saline with the structure of each grain of rice remaining distinct. For co-owner and sushi chef Lee Kwang-yeol, this is no accident. “I want the salt to be noticeable in the shari,” said Lee, 34. “Strongly-seasoned shari works well with oily fish like blue-skinned fish or tuna.”  S

Caravan, an expanding eatery with new roots near Seoul’s Dosan Park, seems to have mastered the art of all-day dining. At its latest outpost, which opened mid-December in Sinsa-dong, diners can tuck into breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and bar snacks in an airy space with high ceilings, floor-length windows and powder blue and buttery orange-brown seating.  Caravan’s crispy pork belly is marinated in beer and honey, braised, garnished with pineapple sage, perched over sauteed potatoes and serv

Sushi Kiyose, one of the newest sushiya to open in Seoul, is much like its name -- a serene space where one can slowly savor the soft, delicate wash of flavor from each piece of sushi with small dishes that also merit the same degree of near-meditative consideration. “I wanted a pristine space where one could come and quietly enjoy sushi, hence the name ‘kiyose,’ which means ‘clear ford,’” explained head chef Lee Sung-jun, 34. Hinoki wood, the same fragrant wood used in temples, palaces and onse