Waffles Worth Waiting For at Cafe imA
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Waffles are available at most street corners for 1,000 won, but these Korean-style waffles are mostly thin, dry and flavorless.
Thanks to the brunch trend, many cafes are now starting to offer real, honest-to-goodness Belgian waffles topped with fruits and ice cream.
When I had a craving for waffles, a friend suggested I try a certain ``cafe in Gwanghwamun where there's always a line of people waiting for a table.''
The cafe turned out to be Cafe imA, located on the ground floor of the Ilmin Museum of Art in Gwanghwamun. Since it has always attracted a fairly good-sized crowd during lunch and weekends, I thought I could avoid the crowds by going on a weekday afternoon. But I was wrong, it still took roughly 40 minutes to get a table.
Waiting 40 minutes to get a table at a cafe may seem ridiculous, but it seems like many are willing to wait for these particular waffles.
Cafe imA’s menu is composed mainly of sandwiches, coffee, cakes and of course, waffles. Sandwiches range from grilled cheese and tomato (8,000 won), panini (7,000 won) and bagel with cream cheese and salmon (8,000 won).
The imA sandwich (8,000 won) is a croissant with cheese, ham, tomato and lettuce, served with a scoop of coleslaw and pickles. The sandwich is quite good, however smaller than I expected.
Of course, who can forget the waffles. The dessert menu has two kinds of waffles, one with ice cream (12,000 won) and one with ``everything'' (11,000 won). ``Everything'' in this case, means fruits and cream.
Since it was a hot day, waffles with ice cream seemed like a better choice. You can get two scoops of ice cream, from a choice of vanilla, strawberry, green tea and chocolate.
The waffles arrived hot and fresh, with two huge scoops of ice cream and two dollops of whipped cream. The waffle is as good as any waffle can get, certainly a far cry from the 1,000 won street waffles. It is also served with maple syrup, just in case the ice cream and cream didn't satisfy your sweet tooth. The waffle serving is too much for a person to eat alone, but its good enough for two hungry people, and maybe even four people on diets.
Other desserts include apple pie a la mode (7,000 won), New York-style cheesecake (5,000 won) and patbingsu (6,000 won).
To go to Cafe imA, take Gwanghwamun Subway Line 5 and go out Exit 5. Cafe imA is on the left. The cafe opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. Go early to avoid the crowds, or be prepared to wait to taste the waffles.