Sweet seduction

3 dessert places that will make your mouth water

By Yun Suh-young

Sweets have the magic of delighting us even when we’re sad or depressed. Stuff a couple of sweets into our mouths and we’re stress-free ― at least while we’re gobbling those sugary treats down. For those in need of a sweets pick-me-up, check out the following dessert places that have recently opened in Seoul.

Pierre Hermé Paris

If “haute couture” leads the fashion world, the equivalent in the world of baking must be the “haute patissier” or head pastry chef.

Pierre Hermé, dubbed the “Picasso of pastry” and a member of Comité Colbert, an association made up of master artisans of many French luxury brands, opened his first store in Korea at Hyundai Department Store in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, next to the COEX mall in July.

The news will delight dessert addicts and especially lovers of macaron, as the store specializes in the tiny round dessert.

The contemporary French dessert brand’s Korean branch is the third in Asia, following Japan and Hong Kong. The brand has 11 stores worldwide and plans to open two more in Seoul by the end of this year.

Pierre Hermé has a particular way of introducing new items. He showcases the desserts as “collections” every September, in the same way that fashion brands introduce designs for the upcoming season.

His newest collection, “Jardin sur la Baie d’Ha Long” which means “Garden on the Ha Long Bay,” is also available in Korea. The collection is part of the “jardins” series, introduced in 2011, which draws inspiration from flowers, plants and spices.

“Jardin sur la Baie d’Ha Long” is made with coconut lime ganache (chocolate filling) and coriander jelly.

Altogether, Pierre Hermé offers 10 flavors at its Seoul store. Its most distinct flavor is Ispahan, a blend of rose, lychee and raspberry. Mogador, a mix of milk chocolate and passion fruit, is another flavor that must be tried at least once. Other flavors include pistachio, salted butter caramel, black currant, jasmine, dark chocolate, tangerine and pink peppercorn, and vanilla.

Payerne Francois, the training coordinator for the Asia branch, personally recommends jasmine as his all-time favorite.

Last but not least, the cute macaron gift box illustrated by Nicolas Vial will put a smile on your face.

Store info:

Address: Hyundai Department Store, 517 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Phone number: 02-3467-6049

Prices: 4,000 won per macaron / for gift boxes, there are 33,000 won (7 macarons), 53,000 won (12 macarons) 115,000 won (20 macarons/ circular box) and 98,000 won (24 macarons) options

Seating: unavailable

Lady M

For those looking for a richer, more filling dessert, there are cakes and crepes.

Lady M, a popular American cake franchise that originated in Manhattan in 2004, has recently opened several overseas branches in Korea under the name “Lady M Confections Korea.”

Its latest Korean branch opened in Itaewon in August, right next to Itaewon Station and across from the Hamilton Hotel. The three-story boutique is the largest Lady M store in Seoul.

Lady M’s first Korean boutique, also its headquarters, is in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam, and the company also has smaller stores across the nation at the Shinsegae Department Store’s Hoehyeon, Gangnam, Busan and Gwangju branches.

The charm of the Itaewon store is the open terrace on its top floor, where customers can enjoy eating out on a sunny day.

The brand is most famous for the “mille crepes” (multi-layered thin pancakes) available in five flavors: vanilla, green tea, chocolate, mango and strawberry. The crepes are stacked together, with a creamy filling in between the layers.

The mille crepes at Lady M are slightly thicker than the ones at Billy Angel’s, a Korean cake brand that also offers the dessert; however, Lady M’s are more expensive and no tastier. But for some consumers, a thicker cake is worth it.

Lady M also offers a variety of cakes: cheesecake, red velvet cake, strawberry shortcake, blueberry shortcake and raspberry chocolate cake.

Address: Itaewon-ro 178, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Phone number: 02-792-7707

Seating: 11 tables on the second floor, eight tables on the third floor

Prices: Vanilla mille crepes 7,000 won per piece, 65,000 won as whole

Green tea mille crepes 8,000 won per piece, 83,000 won as whole

Chocolate mille crepes 9,000 won per piece, 93,000 won as whole

Éclair by Garuharu

This small éclair shop in Gyeongnidan, Itaewon, is a hidden gem for sweets in the neighborhood.

On your first visit, the shop may be a little difficult to find, as it is tucked away on a small alleyway up in the hills of Gyeongnidan, a good distance from Noksapyeong Station.

Once inside, however, the colorful éclairs on display at the counter will instantly cheer you up.

The shop, which opened in July, serves 12 kinds of éclairs made twice a day. “This month’s éclair” is made with fruit that varies according to the season. For August, the éclair of the month featured melon cream and pineapple jam. For September, figs will be the main ingredient.

The signature éclair flavor, highly recommended by the store’s employees, is double vanilla.

Other flavors are cherry macaron, green tea and red bean macaron, bitter chocolate, caramel, passion fruit and raspberry, almond praline, lemon, orange pistachio, rose and cafe.

Among them, the rose flavor is very uncommon. The pink éclair, sprinkled with real rose petals on top, exudes a rosy smell and biting into it gives you the peculiar feeling of eating a real rose.

The name of the shop, “garuharu,” may sound more Japanese than Korean, but it is actually two Korean words put together. “Garu” means “powder” or “flour” and “haru” is “day.” The store’s name, therefore, refers to a day spent with flour, according to store owner and pastry chef Yun Eun-young, 27, who spends all day making éclairs in the kitchen next door.

Address: 247-9 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Phone Number: 02-337-8090

Prices:

Éclair: 5,550 won per piece (3 flavors are exception: 6,000 won per piece)

Macarons: 2,500 won per piece

Ice chocolate: 6,500 won per bottle