4 Korean-Inspired Cafes in Manila and Ortigas, Philippines

My idea of the perfect lazy day is to spend it in a cute cafe. The coffee and the food don't have to be particularly spectacular - for a lazy day at a cafe, I find the ambiance to be of utmost importance instead: somewhere relaxing, with pretty interiors and good music (a cute barista wouldn't hurt either).

In spite of our hectic Seoul-all-you-can itinerary the last time we went to South Korea, we managed to find time to visit Jukjeon Cafe Street and Hongdae and explore a few quaint cafes, which I loved. I love Korean cafes. They're like Kpop idols - cute, sometimes quirky, and usually pretty. If it weren't impractical I would be happy to fly to Seoul for a long weekend and do nothing else but go cafe-hopping.

Seems I'm not the only one who's grown fond of Korean cafes, because currently there are four cafes in Manila that all have the cool Korean cafe vibe. Two are conveniently near my place which is perfect, and the other two are a bit of a drive but definitely worth it! Check them out under the cut, and maybe with some background music care of f(x) and EXO's D.O.? Enjoy!

Current favorite Kpop song. Squishy Do Kyungsoo FTW!

A Little Bit of Seoul in Manila: Cafe Noriter

Many things make me miss being a college student – a daily allowance from the parents, literature classes, an awesome literature teacher (shout-out to Mr. Borra!), college parties, and believe it or not, studying at coffee shops.

Coffee shops are an intrinsic aspect of college life, and they seem to flourish anywhere where there is a university – the university town of Dumaguete has streets lined with cafes, and Hongdae in South Korea is home to cute and quirky cafes (plus some awesome clubs, but that’s for a whole other post).

My first encounter with Café Noriter was in its Dumaguete branch. It took me a couple of years to finally visit the one in Manila, a lovely place on the second floor of an old building in the DLSU area. I met up with Ria, a former co-worker who had just visited Seoul at the time. We wanted to exchange Seoul stories and decided Cafe Noriter would be a nice setting to do just that.

I'm done rambling, here are some pictures of the place, and the food!

College Grub

Look, a loft!

Let's close this out with a Lazy Saturday Morning song:


Cafe Noriter

2nd Flr. Reyes Bldg., Estrada St. cor. Taft Ave., Malate, Philippines

Facebook Page

Snapshots: Quirky, Cool and Cute Cafe Benches in Seoul, South Korea

On our first morning in Seoul, we took a walk along Samcheongdong and got inspired by the many random and quirky things you can find in their shop windows. Seriously, Samcheongdong feels like a real-life, 3-dimensional Pinterest board.

Speaking of which! I should really take some time out to get my Pinterest boards started. I've always wanted to make a real life vision board but it's just too much of a hassle to get photos printed and such, so maybe a virtual one would be a better idea.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend, whatever's left of it!

Snapshots: Cafe Noriter, Dumaguete, Philippines

For nearly a year now I've been into all things Korean thanks to KPop (this from the girl who loves The Virgins, MGMT and Florence the Machine - yeah, I'm a music schizo like that :D). And as fate would have it, a friend is getting assigned to Seoul for three months, so I'm going in November to pay him a visit! So I've been dreaming of Seoul of late, and trolling other travel blogs about where to go and what to do (besides fangirl to death, naturally. You're seeing a totally different side of me aren't you? :P)

Anyway, I keep hearing about this area called Hongdae which apparently is an artsy area in Seoul near a popular campus. Apparently the place is lined with cool clubs and cafes, and on weekends they have flea markets and such. As I was looking at some awesome pictures from Sleepwalking in Tokyo (here and here) I got reminded of this cafe I chanced upon on a random trip to Dumaguete in 2008.

So where Cafe Noriter gets is name from is the Korean word for "playground". The interior of the place was quirky-cute, with pictures and polaroids lining the walls along with books and random trinkets and things - the place had a very Asian pop culture vibe, which to me personally translates as cutesy, light and happy. It was a very feel-good place, and no doubt a favorite hangout of students from the nearby campus.

Apparently Cafe Noriter also has a branch in Manila now, somewhere in Taft Ave. I must definitely check that one out.

And while I'm on the subject, some new KPop videos! For kids who grew up in the 90's like me, these videos will probably remind you of the bubblegum pop era of The Spice Girls and the 1,001 boybands of our youth - except with a 21st century twist, I guess?




Note to Self: On my next post, I must write about (or at least mention) some totally non-commercial, non-mainstream bands so I don't completely lose all my coolness points. But whatever, KPop's fun, and I choose fun over cool (or musically original) sometimes. Haha! :P

Cafe Noriter website: http://dreamcafenoriter.com