Unconventional cake shop emerges as hotspot

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Mon, October 2, 2023 | 20:32

Life

Unconventional cake shop emerges as hotspot

Posted : 2015-08-19 17:01

Updated : 2015-08-19 17:23

On ne sait jamais' interior / Korea Times photos by Kim Bo-eun

By Kim Bo-eun

Novelty is a crucial ingredient to success in Seoul's highly competitive food business.

Shops close in a matter of months if customers are not wowed by what they have to offer.

The latest dessert cafe in the trendy Hannnam-dong district has incorporated a confusing assortment of elements to establish itself as the hottest place in the area _ at least for now.

On entering the shop _ which has no sign outside and is only known by the unfamiliar French name "On ne sait jamais" (You never know) _ you will find yourself staring at a space created with bathroom tiles. There are no tables or chairs.

But the city's trendiest young women are already in the shop at 10:40 a.m., before it officially opens, to get a slice of cake.

They lounge on cushions and eat from trays placed on small stands.

"I wanted to create an unfamiliar ambience so that people who visit could feel as if they were traveling to a place they had never been to before," Director Park Ki-dae said.

On ne sait jamais offers 40 items baked at the shop, including Japanese and French-style delicacies as well as good old American cake.

Cakes on the menu change based on seasonally available ingredients.

Park's favorite is the mint candy crush chocolate cake. The slice comes with a small pool of crushed mint candy. Customers are meant to savor the cake by dipping forkfuls into the candy powder.

Another is the macaron cake, which has the sugary treats as well as cherries packed inside.

Mint candy crush chocolate cake

Park recommends chilling with a piece of cake and a beer, saying the two go surprisingly well. The Rogue Mocha Porter is a safe choice that blends with most of the cakes, he said.

The trendiest items always come with a premium _ cake slices are priced from 7,000 won. A whole cake can cost up to 140,000 won.

Isn't it too pricey? this reporter asks, to which Park says: "Not if you consider the price of ingredients such as mascarpone cheese and premium chocolate."

The shop is hot on Instagram and young women continue to stream in.

In the meantime, it will be on their radar because conglomerate bakeries mostly dominate Seoul's dessert scene.

"Chefs have lately become like celebrities here, but patissiers have yet to be recognized," Park said. "The market for desserts is led by only a handful of patissiers who are really serious about the cakes they bake."

But "you never know" of its fate, just like its name states.

bkim@koreatimes.co.kr