August 17, 2011
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Song of the Day
Sojourn in Seoul (Final Act) – Korean cha, high above Seoul - It was a rainy afternoon, we decided to stay near home base before packing up for the flight next morning. On our recent flight into Seoul, W read an article about some interesting looking Korean pastries and candies served at our hotel. We were floored by the intricate presentation, where the goodies are served to you ‘hidden’ inside a wooden box.The Lounge is located on the top floor of the hotel, with an open floor plan and good view of the neighboring buildings …..
The rain clouds are still hovering around; the Han River is on the left…..
Coex Mall across the street, where we shopped and ate; there’s subway service too…..
The menu…..
Server opening the compartments…..
So many sweets – yay…..
Dried persimmon peel (lower left corner) / crunchy puff candy (upper left corner) / some sort of white mochi (second from left) / sugar powdered orange mochi (second column from right) / chocolate block (right side)
Mini sponge cakes…..
cup cakes with fruit…..
crunchy pastries with pumpkin seeds…..
chocolate flavoured crunchies…..
pine nuts covered cake…..
square blocks of gingered candies / walnut and chocolate treats…..
served on the plate…..
The Lounge……
The entire set, including tea, costs US$28 per person plus service charge. It was worthwhile spending a good amount of time munching on these intricate sweeties while looking at the panorama of Seoul, through the floor-to-ceiling giant windows. The Lounge is also renowned for its traditional Korean dishes such as kalbi, domi gui and kalgugsu. I’ll sure come back again for another dose of sweet time. Highly recommended!
(Many thanks to W for taking a few of the above fabulous photos!)
The Lounge | 24th Floor, Park Hyatt, 995-14 Daechi 3-dong, Gangnam-gu (강남구 대치3동 995-14, 파크하얏트서울 24층) | +82 2 2016 1234 | www.parkhyattseoul.co.kr
Comments (30)
Such interesting compartments of pastries!
@CaKaLusa - And they all fit into those little compartments too! *nom nom*
These are gorgeous, almost too beautiful to eat, hehe. This is the first time I see Korean Pastries and sweets. very very nice photos. You and W travel with style and have good tastes.
OMGosh!! the best looking afternoon tea presentation i have seen thus far. I. WANT. THEM. BAD!! gosh, i miss seoul now. the best tasting steamed rice cakes i’ve had was in seoul.
elegant afternoon Sweet Treats indeed!!
@stevew918 - I’m glad you like these cuties, hehe, we just happened to stumble upon an in-flight magazine which wrote about Korean tea time. That aroused my appetite for sweets!
@rudyhou - Rice cakes? That sounds very good! Now, I have another reason to re-visit Seoul!
@agmhkg - It’s sure very much so, Angel! I’d like to have a second serving, but that’ll be on the next trip though. LOL
I love Seol! Must try this place on my next visit
Made me more excited about my Seoul trip!
I’ll get back to your posts on November.
Aaack, you stayed near coex?? I use to live just a 15 minute walk from there…. it’s a shame the timing didn’t work out or else we could’ve shared a meal together
OMG that looks great!
@Victoriawongboy - Yes, this is highly recommended!
DAMN! Gary, this post is heavenly for the taste buds in thoughts! Jeez, I love it.
look good
@oxyGENE_08 - Lots of good eats, Gene! Do visit the tea houses.
@secade - Oh drat! That’s very close by, only less than a minute by subway too! Well, there’s always a next time, right?
@yang1815 - Yes Andy, very yummy!
@ZSA_MD - ”Heavenly” is a good word, Dr. Z. It was a good find trying the local flavor.
@dmcx2010 - Thank you, I’m glad you like it!
Holey moley! That is one of the most beautiful food pictures (the first one of the entire tower of treats) that I’ve ever seen. Such clever presentation! Must show this to Tawn!
@christao408 - The promo photo in the in-flight magazine got us hooked, that’s why we ended up in this tea place. That box with little hidden traps is an interesting design, hehe.
Gary & W – great photos (next time, put some info for aspiring photographers like lens, camera settings…). I love that box for the treats, it’s so cleverly presented. Btw – my brother just picked up a Nikon D7000! Is W using a Canon or has he gone over to the “dark side” too?
@ElusiveWords - Haha~congrats for you brother getting a Nikon, I guess there’ll be some sort of sibling rivalry going? “Dark side”, do you mean shooting without flash? keke…..W is a Canon person. The funny thing is, in every Xanga entry, I always have both of our photos mixed in. Can you tell which one is which? ;D
@CurryPuffy - I think the nicer ones are from Canon. hahaha… I think you told me which lens he uses, but I can’t remember what Canon model he has.
btw – I think it’s great that you guys share an interest in photography.
@CurryPuffy - yeah, steamed rice cakes. the only thing that remained in my head for years after that initial and only trip. they have these tiny bakeries that sell ONLY steamed rice cakes, which come in different colors to indicate different flavors. should be available in many areas in seoul.
Hey Gary, long time no read – first post I read in a while, and you always manage to outdo your previous pics of food presented perfectly!
Long time no “see”! We’re very much thinking about how you’re doing. I’m glad you like my food porn!
Oooh, I love that server box!
@icepearlz - Me too! Looks like an antique!