A quiet hideaway amid the crowds

The cafe’s main room. By Ser Myo-ja

I found a cafe several weeks totally by accident while wandering around the shopping district of Myeongdong. My schedule at the newspaper has kept me extremely busy in recent months, and before I knew it winter had arrived. I therefore had to make an emergency shopping run to get some warm coats and sweaters.

I love shopping about as much as I like visiting cafes. But it’s not exactly fun when you’re confronted by an icy blast of wind everywhere you go and the skies appear ready to release rain any minute. After hours of unsuccessful attempts to find the perfect coat while elbowing my way through hordes of Chinese and Japanese tourists, I decided to take a break.

Myeongdong is a strange place. It seems to have everything, but on this day I struggled to find a good cup of coffee and a cozy seat. Then, suddenly, a small white sign bearing the name “Cafe 1” emerged from the jumble of signs across the street from the giant Uniqlo and Gap stores. (I learned later that the place’s actual name is Cafe SSFW, which refers to fashion jargon - SS means the spring and summer seasons, while FW refers to fall and winter for the fashion weeks held in major cities like Paris and New York that time of year.)

Inside a small clothing and accessory store filled with girly items, I found a stairway leading up to the third floor of the building. As I ascended the stairs, a bright, white space with beautifully high ceilings opened up. The building appeared very old, and everything inside the cafe was painted white from ceiling to floor. Even the sofas were draped with white cloth.

The menu was simple, featuring various coffee drinks including espressos, cappuccinos and a hazelnut latte. The cold drink menu looked more exciting, particularly the strawberry and blueberry yogurt and the persimmon and honey smoothie. If it weren’t for the weather, I would have gone for the smoothie. But what I needed was a cup of hot chocolate (7,000 won, $6.04). I was served a mug filled with heavy, sweet chocolate. The tray came with a just-baked scone and strawberry jam. The scone was tiny, but it had a rich taste and contained various nuts. I actually prefer plain scones, but this one was O.K. On a second visit my companion ordered the affogato (7,000 won), a coffee-based dessert with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. The coldness of the ice cream mixed with the warmth of the coffee created a heavenly experience.

One notable aspect of the cafe is that it’s surrealistically serene. The streets of Myeongdong are seemingly always bustling. But here, just one flight up, I found a quiet, cozy space that recharged my batteries. Whenever I want to escape the flurry of shoppers and tourists in Myeongdong, Cafe SSFW will serve as my retreat.

Cafe SSFW

*Location: 22-7, Chungmuro 1 ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
*Telephone: (070) 8299-2100

korea joongAng daily

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A quiet hideaway amid the crowds

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