I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.
Ex-Boyfriend Toast: Jam-packed love story that went viral
"Ex-Boyfriend Toast" sold at PHiL Cafe in Brooklyn / Captured from Uber Eats
By Kim Se-jeong
Food doesn’t always go viral for its flavor — sometimes, it’s the story that sells. That’s the case with “Ex-Boyfriend Toast.”
This simple dish — a slice of toasted bread topped with cream cheese and blueberry jam — has evolved from a viral internet post in Korea to a popular item at a cafe in Brooklyn.
“Treat yourself to a delicious toast — made with blueberry preserves and cream cheese — that has an interesting background story as to why it got its name!” reads the item description on PHiL Cafe's Uber Eats menu. Priced at $10, it is reportedly one of the cafe’s most frequently ordered items.
Lee Young-ji holds Ex-Boyfriend Toast in a scene from "Earth Arcade" on tvN. Captured from tvN Joy's YouTube channel
The backstory involves a Korean woman who missed the toast her ex-boyfriend used to make for her. After their breakup, she texted him asking for the recipe — making it clear she wasn't trying to rekindle the relationship. To her surprise, he sent back a detailed set of instructions. She shared their text exchange online back in 2018, and it quickly went viral.
As the post gained popularity, Korean convenience store chain GS25 briefly sold a “Boyfriend Sandwich” made with the same ingredients in 2019. The item is no longer available.
Interest in the toast recently spiked again after it popped up on an episode of "Earth Arcade," a variety show on tvN. During a quiz segment where participants had to guess the names of various breads, the now-famous toast appeared and IVE’s An Yu-jin answered “blueberry cream cheese toast,” sidestepping its internet-famous nickname. Her response sparked a playful debate over whether she had given the correct answer or not — but in the end, it was accepted.
The original toast has since inspired multiple variations. PHiL Cafe also serves an “Ex-Boyfriend Croffle” — croissant dough pressed in waffle iron and topped with blueberry jam and cream cheese. Social media is filled with new takes on the dish, along with upgraded versions of the toast featuring extra ingredients such as banana, strawberry and basil, as well as an ice cream sundae.