MOVED - Restaurant review: Seoulmate Café, Sai Ying Pun hits a Korean sweet spot
NOTE: Seoulmate Café has moved to 4/F, Kyoto Plaza, 491-499 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay
With a courtyardunder a big tree and a wooden swing, Seoulmate Café in Sai Ying Pun has a cosy and soothing atmosphere. The desserts have a strong Korean flavour and the savoury dishes have fusion characteristics.
There are seven savoury dishes on the light meal menu. The barbecue pork burrito (HK$59) with carrot shreds and lettuce is spicy and delicious. Wrapped in a tortilla, the Korean rice mixed with pork is not too oily.
Another appetising fusion dish is bulgogi beef panini (HK$49). The bulgogi — Korean barbecued beef — is tucked into the Italian bread and has a rich, sweet sauce.
The kimchi chicken penne or rice (HK$66) is also a delight. Onions are added to the kimchi cabbage to make it less spicy to suit Hongkongers' tastes.
The dessert menu has a lot more options. We like the misutgaru cream green tea roll cake (HK$38). The moist cake is flavoured with — a Korean multigrain powder that includes barley, sesame seeds and black bean. The misutgaru green tea roll cake has a lighter green tea taste than Japanese matcha cakes.
We also like the yuzu cheesecake (HK$43) made with the citrus fruit's juice and rind.
But the tiramisu (HK$42) is too sweet, and the [black raspberry] lava cake (HK$42) is no different from any other chocolate lava cake.
The tea options are mostly organic and boast different properties, including anti-ageing, skin rejuvenation and fatigue recovery. We especially like the green plum tea (HK$29) and bokbunja tea (HK$32).
We like the service a lot: the staff and the female chef from Hong Kong, who opened the shop with her Korean business partner, are friendly and helpful. We also admire their attention to detail. The teacups, coasters and board games on offer are all traditionally Korean in style.
