Fall in Coffee (Gimhae)
Review by Janine Perri, ETA ’15-’16 City: Gimhae Restaurant Name: Fall in Coffee Foods Served: Coffee, wine, dessert Restaurant Address: 463-6 Daeseong-dong, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do View Map Directions: From Gimhae National Museum subway station, take the exit closest to the bridge. Walk toward the Gimhae Tourist Information Center, which will be on your left. The café is across the street. Cost: 5000-6000 won Fall in Coffee is a coffee shop and roasting house located across the street from the Gimhae Tourist Information Center and the Gimhae National Museum. The café has a large selection of different coffees, espressos, wine, and iced beverages. This café features coffee beans from many Asian and Latin American countries. The coffee can be a little expensive, with most cups costing at least 5000 won. Fall in Coffee also has a dessert selection that includes cakes and cookies. The staff does not speak English, but they are quick to provide a menu and take your order. This two-story building has indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating overlooks the parking lot, but the indoor seating is inviting and cozy. The interior has comfortable chairs and lovely wooden tables. If you are doing some sightseeing in the area or you would like to spend some time chatting with friends or working on your laptop, I highly recommend this cafe.
City Guide Review: Shabu Maxim
Review by Monica Heilman, ETA 2014-2015 City: Gimhae (김해) Restaurant Name: Shabu Maxim (샤브막심) Food Served: Shabu Shabu Restaraunt Address: 경상남도 김해시 해반천로 34-9 View Map Directions: On the Busan-Gimhae light rail, get off at Yeonji Park station and exit left, crossing a bridge and heading down stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, go straight until reaching traffic lights. You’ll see Shabu Maxim up ahead, slightly to the right. (For an alternative route with a sidewalk, exit right from the station and walk in the opposite direction of the stairs. At the intersection, turn right. The restaurant will be on your left.) Cost: 13,000 KRW for lunch, 16,000 KRW for dinner Shabu Maxim in Gimhae is a very new restaurant that just opened at the start of this year (2015). There is another branch in Haeundae, Busan. As it’s still new, the facilities (including bathrooms) are in excellent condition and very clean. There’s even a small play area for babies and toddlers. My favorite thing about the restaurant, besides the food itself, is the space, which is open and well-lit, with huge windows to let in natural light. I’ve gone twice, both times in a large group with a reservation and sat at large tables on the second floor. The menu is your typical shabu shabu fare – raw beef that you cook in your own boiling broth, veggies and rice paper for making wraps, noodles as a second course, and a third course of juk/rice porridge with egg. If you haven’t had shabu shabu yet, it’s definitely a must-try and be prepared to eat A LOT. What’s unique about Shabu Maxim is that they’ve nixed the Korean tradition of sharing dishes and given each person their own individual pot of broth. This means you also receive separate servings of noodles and rice porridge – so you can’t rely on someone else even if you’re getting full. During my second visit, our group also got dessert, which was a choice between ice cream, iced coffee or iced tea. While I opted for coffee, some of my coworkers still had room for ice cream, which was a single scoop of vanilla. Unfortunately, the iced coffee was far too sweet for my taste, but stick with the shabu shabu and you’ll be more than satisfied.