Hands Coffee (Busan)
Review by Breanna Durham, ETA ’15-’16 City: Busan Restaurant Name: Hands Coffee Foods Served: Specialty coffee and desserts Restaurant Address: 1 Millak-dong Suyeong-gu, Busan, South Korea View Map Directions: Once you get out of the Haeundae Station stop, walk until you get to the street opposite the beach. The shop should be on the right side before you cross the street. Cost: 5,000 won + It’s a two story coffee shop that has a classical style with wooden walls and old style lamps. The low lighting makes the atmosphere romantic, but you can still comfortably work in it. Decorative teacups and plates line up on shelves beside the ordering counter. A mix of soul, blues, r&b, and big band music filters through the shop. If you want privacy, an enclosed room awaits you on the second floor- no smoking too. The floors were well swept. And at 3:34 pm on a Saturday, the shop didn’t have a large crowd, meaning a shorter wait time for whatever you get. As for your order, they serve specialty drip coffees. The staff knows a little English if you need it to order. I bought the Momora, an Ethiopian coffee. It came in a teacup accompanied by a sugar cube on a saucer. Sipping it, it felt soft and velvety. Even with the sugar cube, it retained a nice bitter taste to it, but wasn’t strong enough to need milk. No watery taste here. It had a tang to it. I enjoyed it.
CITY GUIDE REVIEW: BRICKS COFFEE (BUSAN)
Photos and review by Monica Heilman, ETA ’14-’16 City: Busan (부산) Restaurant name: Bricks Coffee Food Served: coffee, tea, juice, sandwiches View Map Prices: Around average, but there is also a great Americano and toasted sandwich set for only 6,000 won. Directions: Take exit 2 from Seomyeon station. Walk straight, turn left at Tom and Tom’s café, at the first street, then take the left fork. Continue further down this street, and take the right fork, just past 69 Slam (an underwear shop) on the right corner is Bricks Coffee. One of my favorite coffee shops in Busan, the atmosphere at Bricks is cozy and light. If you’re getting tired of huge chain coffee shops, this is the place for you. The owner is friendly and she speaks English fluently. Upon entrance, the cafe looks tiny, but head upstairs and there is a variety of seating, complete with comfy chairs and a selection of books. The last time I was there, I noticed two big stacks of National Geographic and a couple of English books tossed into the mix. Huge windows provide plenty of natural light, and the opportunity for interesting people watching, as there are many small shopping streets nearby.
City Guide Review: Coffee Namoo (Busan)
Review by Ivan Liang, ETA 2014-2015 City: Busan (부산) Restaurant Name: Coffee Namoo (커피 나무) Food Served: Coffee, drinks and sweets Restaraunt Address: 부산광역시 사하구 낙동남로 1406-1 View Map Directions: Come out of Hadan Station Exit 4. To your right should be the Gangseo Mart 강서마트 on the corner of the street. Take a left and go down that street, away from the big main street. To your left should be Namoo Coffee. Cost: About 4000₩ for a drink and 5000₩ for dessert A small, quaint coffee shop that is squeezed into a hole in the wall right off the busy main avenue of Hadan, one of Busan’s transportation hubs that connects it with the surrounding towns, villages, and a massive Samsung facility. The place is quite small and only has seating for 4, with a small bar seating 3 more almost impossibly located right next to the entrance. But it has a charm that many of Korea’s bigger coffee chains don’t really have. The counter top is rough paneled wood that has seen many open days and the tables are nestled right up against bookshelves crowded with well worn pages. Actual books! Some are even in English! The coffee is lovingly made slowly and with care, the baristas operating their chrome Victoria Arduino espresso machine or grinding your coffee by hand before making your coffee to order. With a small sitting area and most people coming to get their coffee to go before the morning rush hour or to sustain a long work day, you can easily come here and be alone with your work, studies, or thoughts. It can also make an intimate, off the beaten path dating spot that’s not a Starbucks or Angel-in-Us.