The morning I left Seoul the last weekend I visited, I planned on going to a cafe in Haebangchon with some friends I met through a coffee lover’s group.
Unfortunately, when I rolled up (or rather, panted my way up the steep and winding strets of HBC, as it’s the foot of Namsan Mountain), the cafe was closed. It was an hour since the posted opening and I couldn’t find any signs of life, either in the cafe or on their instagram account, which hadn’t been updated in a while. When I peeked in the window and noticed a dead bouquet of flowers in a glass that had all the water vaporated from it, I decided that I better figure out another cafe option.
Cafe Tajagi (카페 타자기), located within Sinheung Market, is normally the go-to cafe for sunset views, but I was intrigued by their banana bread and it was opening shortly. Sinheung Market is a little confusing to get around if you’ve never been there before, but once you’re inside the market, things are pretty easy to find. Cafe Tajagi is up a set of stairs and overlooks the base of Namsan Mountain.
Meaning “typewriter” in Korean, Cafe Tajagi has a cute typewriter theme. I ordered the chocolate-chip banana bread and was pleasantly surprised. In addition to butter, it also came with a little bit of sea salt. My iced americano was also pleasant, and much needed as it was noon and I had not had my coffee yet, despite being up and about for a few hours.
The cafe filled up rather quickly about an hour after I arrived, and I imagine it’s really busy late in the day, but I will definitely be back to eat more banana bread and catch the sunset.
Instagram: @cafe_tajagi
Koffee & Kpop 
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