Rina D.
Yelp
Was excited to check out this new cafe in ktown but got disappointed very quickly.
First, beautiful ambiance!! Very spacious, modern, good k-rnb playing, but a couple of the tables were not cleaned. I was trying to choose a table to sit at and noticed like coffee/tea stains (I thought they were part of the marbling at first but felt the texture and it was not part of the table).
When you walk in, there are two kiosks you can order from but I would suggest going inside and ordering as they give a good discount if you pay in cash.
I ordered the Da-On Sang as it seemed like one of their signature dessert sets, but felt like all the dessert pieces were WAY too sweet and this was not worth being over $30. I feel like one of the biggest compliments in an Asian dessert is being flavorful but not overly sweet, but the desserts on this set were not impressive at all. They also just looked pretty but were not really special once you took a bite out of them. The strawberry isn't in season so it was pretty sour, with the mochi being bland.
My worst experience was just with the vibe. I know this isn't the cafe's fault but it really added to my experience here. There were a group of Koreans in the next table who stared at me MANY times, altogether, and talked badly about me. I am a Korean myself so I understood everything they said. One of the comments they made was, "Did she really come to eat all that by herself?" Many times I looked up while taking pictures of my dessert sets and they were STILL just staring at me, meeting eye contact many times.
As someone who loves checking out new places as soon as I find out, it is not easy to coordinate a time to go with friends and I find myself going alone often.
I only really make a note here because even when they were leaving, they were looking back at me and said their goodbye's to the workers in Korean. I heard friends and family have came during their opening day so I don't know for sure if they have relations, but please make it a welcoming, non-gossiping, and non-judgmental place where customers can come with friends OR ALONE and enjoy this beautiful cafe.
Hoping for a better experience next time but this is probably one of the most expensive cafes in NYC so I don't know if I will come back any time soon.