Thursday 23 June 2011

The Cafes of... Oxford (part 2)


The Rose, High Street

Decent tearooms are very hard to come by in 21st century Britain. As is a decent cream tea and decent pot of tea. The Rose satisfies all three of the above and has become my haven away from home. Not only do they serve a fantastic range of black and herbals teas – Lapsang Souchong, Keemum or Assam are my three on rotation – but teas are made with loose tea and one can get three large cups out of their generous tea pots: the ideal excuse to linger for that extra bit longer. The walls are painted a luxurious red colour that pairs excellently with wooden floorboards and a modest but well selected choice of prints on the wall. It is open for breakfast, lunch – it serves a delicious and inventive menu of salads, hot dishes and sandwiches – and afternoon tea until 6pm.

Their buttermilk scones (like all their food, they are home made using locally sourced ingredients) are the apogee of teatime vice and come served warm with all the required extras. If you are vain (like me), have one scone and share a piece of cake with a friend. The moist lemon cake is near-perfect and the Apple Pie is a good option if you want something a bit ‘healthier’. If you are hungry, opt for two scones and two shared pieces of cake with a friend. Follow with a long walk around the wonderful University Parks.

The best time to visit The Rose is during a weekday afternoon where you are almost guaranteed a position at its best tables that sit by the wide windows overlooking the stone edifices of University College and the motley crowds that pass up and down the High Street. Sunday afternoons see The Rose do a roaring trade, and so it is advised to arrive early in the afternoon before they run out of their scones. Which they always do.

Ideal for: student watching, reading, catching up with old friends, tea with mummy


George & Davies, Little Clarendon Street

Known as G&D’s, I have been going to this ice cream café since I was a kilt-wearing Dragon School student. During my teen years, G&D’s would be where I would go when in need of a break from the underage drinking and smoking that went on in “shitty parks”. Residents are probably overjoyed that Wellington Square has since had its act cleaned up by the council. G&D’s is where my friend A-K and I would spend evenings doing the crossword over tea. Nowadays, I go there at least once every ten days to eat in, and once every three days to take out the delicious ice cream. (Oddly enough, the original and smallest branch of G&D’s always seems to attract a lot of very anorexic girls when I happen to be there. And what better way to fatten up!)

The cream used in the ice cream comes from cows who live a happy existence on a farm in nearby village, Marcham. As well as their staple flavours (Super Chocolate, Daim Bar Crunch, Vanilla among a lot of others), every few days they introduce a couple of “petition” flavours, as requested by customers in their petition book. Soweto Crunch (coffee ice cream laced with crushed dime bars and Kahlua), Salted Caramel and Chai Tea are three petition flavours that I wish would become main stays. The waffle cones are crisp and fresh and the rich chocolate fudge sauce topping has the consistency of magma.

G&D’s serves excellent made-to-order bagels, has an exemplary baked goods offering and its opening hours – 8am-Midnight, 365 days a year – make it ideal for the café-addicted. The atmosphere is informal, the walls are covered with cow-themed artwork and murals and the staff are young and friendly. Half litre tubs (pre or hand-packed) are available at just under a fiver to take home and devour… usually in one sitting.

Ideal for: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and all snacks in between, doing the crosswords, perusing the papers, great music

George & Delia, Cowley Road

G&D’s most recently opened cafe is based alongside the eclectic Cowley Road and is its most spacious branch. None of the intimate and independent charm of its Little Clarendon branch is lost through higher ceilings and more seating. All the ice cream and baked goodies (the muffins rank very high up in my World Muffin Rankings) are cycled over in the G&D’s bike from Little Clarendon Street to this branch, and to the branch on St Aldate’s – George & Danver. George & Delia lends itself just as well to socialising as it does to studying, a meeting with your tutor or – my perennial habit – reading. The music choice is always spot on and obviously lovingly selected: Jimi Hendrix, The Stones, Beirut among many others. A glass façade creates a wonderful feel inside and also provides a view onto Cowley Road outside… a feature, it seems, that many excellent cafes have in common. My choice of which G&D’s to go to depends on where in Oxford I am, but both provide me with the pleasure I seek from any café pilgrimage.

Ideal for: sunny days, lounging on the sofa, people watching – the world outside and the customers

The Vaults & Garden Café, Radcliffe Square

The Vaults is attached to University Church, in a cobbled square off the High Street and next to the Radcliffe Camera. It is very easy to walk straight past the old-fashioned bicycle that heralds the café entrance: I only discovered this amazing nook a few weeks ago. The inside is filled up with long wooden tables and chairs, the walls are white and bare and leave the old stone vaulted ceiling to speak for itself. Everyday a full selection of hot dishes is prepared from a range of local ingredients (pork chilli sausages, anyone?) and for just under ten pounds you can treat yourself to a home cooked meal served with scrumptious potatoes, vegetables, soup, bread and more. The selection of home baked cakes is enough to make you wish you had multiple stomachs to manage it all after the main course. Service is done school-dinner style and queues grow in size very quickly around the lunch hour.
From 2.30pm lunch is cleared away and the afternoon tea spread is laid out which includes the full cake selection and freshly baked scones. Hope that the weather is good enough so that you can enjoy your meal outside in the garden. Don’t be put off by the gravestones.

Ideal for: cake cravings, a decent lunch, quiet reflection (before midday only), basking in Oxford’s architectural beauty
Said bicycle

Blacklisted: The Blenheim Buttery, Woodstock

The one to avoid is the beguilingly good-looking Blenheim Buttery, a 2 minute walk from one of the gates of Blenheim Palace. The bay window seats make the Buttery seem like a delightful place to take tea – and it is… if only the food, tea and service matched up. The scones were dry and definitely didn’t even taste as if that “little old lady from up the road” had baked them. The server looked positively galled when I asked her to toast the scone – to make swallowing it easier. “No. It won’t fit in the toaster.” I reframed from instructing her how to toast under a grill. The lemon drizzle cake tasted as if it had never met a drizzle in its life: probably a result of the arid existence under the unloving care of the server. The tea was made using a Twinning’s tea bag. Enough said. After a 20-mile cycle, I felt a little short changed especially after all the fantasising I had done about how perfect afternoon teas would necessarily be near Blenheim Palace. However, I am aware that my requirements are slightly higher than those of Average Joe’s. If you don’t mind dry scones and continental abruptness: enjoy!

Wednesday 22 June 2011

The Cafes of... Seoul (part 1)


Caffe Bene, a multimissitude of locations in Seoul and Korea

Korean chain Caffe Bene may just seem like a local version of Starbucks – their omnipresence would suggest so. But not only is my favourite café chain a whole lot airier and brighter in terms of décor – unlike, Starbucks, their toilets are always in pristine condition – but their drinks offering is a whole lot more inventive and delicious, especially for non-coffee drinkers. All drinks are offered either hot or iced. Their Grain Latte and iced Grain Benesto are winners. Waffles, gelato and honey bread are also on offer. My local branch, situated in a side street at the western end of the Cheongye stream, was newly opened when I arrived in Seoul. Two storeys of high ceilings and wide floor space (as well as a separate smoking area: no need to part with your coffee and book when in need), pleasant and unobtrusive music and large windows to look out of make this branch a perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Ideal for: alone time, reading, a quiet catch up, free use of Mac computer.


Café Yeon, Samcheong-dong

One of the most beautiful parts of Seoul, a complete universe away from the neighbouring skyscrapers of Jogno-ro in vibe, architecture and noise, is Samcheong-dong. Traditional Korean buildings with their slated roofs are mixed with European style cafes and boutiques up the plane tree-lined streets which run all the way up to the foot of Samcheong mountain. Café Yeon is located up some steep stairs on the hill runs along one side of the main road. The interior design is, like its exterior design, in the traditional style: the outside doors slide open, shoes are left in the courtyard outside, the floor is wooden with the ondol under floor heating and guests sit down (cross legged or otherwise) on the flat pillows provided. This café is teeny tiny so forget getting in on a Saturday. Weeknights are dead, and if you are the sole customer the staff are more than happy to play your choice of music, chosen from their extensive CD collection. (I opted for AC/DC’s Back in Black followed by Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.) Café Yeon also hosts live music events and has every Lonely Planet you might need to complete your world tour.

Ideal for: Inpiration, traditional Korean teas, good music, cosying up to a loved one.


Rabbit, Garosu-gil

The independent café is on Gangnam’s trendy Garosu-gil – where all the good-looking, well dressed young things hang out. Rabbit is famed for its cupcakes (light and delicious) and the Wasabi Latte (sweet and moreish). Their adorable Rabbit mugs are available to buy. As is the case with all decent cafes located in popular areas, it gets busy on weekends and the hustle and bustle makes it a place better suited for a group outing and a sugar hit to continue through the marvelous boutiques that line this other plane tree-lined street. Whether it was fortune or coincidence that I arrived in Korea at the start of the year of the Rabbit (me being a Rabbit, too) and chanced upon this little gem is still a mystery.

Ideal for: girly gossips, fashion envy.

Didier’s Gauffres, Hongdae

Koreans love their waffles. Starting up a Belgian waffle bar in Hongdae, – the quirky, edgy, arty environs of the Hongik arts university – is thus not such a bad idea. Didier himself is a proper Belgian and makes a variety of waffles (Liege, Bruxelles) that would make anyone with the slightest semblance of a sweet tooth weep with joy. The first time I tried my Liege waffle with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce I wanted to run out into the street and shriek like a crazy person. I settled for sending my Belgian grandparents a text instead. The bar itself is formed of smooth metal surfaces and can seat about five people, perched on black and red bar stools. Most orders seem to be for take out and you are likely to have the place to yourself. The waffles are made fresh and so patience is needed. A bag of five mini waffles is available, too.

Ideal for: alone time, studying, a late evening sugar craving, orgasms of the palate

Tartine, Itaewon

Itaewon is for gays and foreigners according to most upright Seoulites. And, indeed, its position right next to the US Army barracks does lend it an atmosphere of seediness and revelry (think Soho). Off the main street sprout small alleys that are mostly a continuation of the market stalls, but nestled away almost out of view is the small and quaintly furnished, Tartine. The name would suggest something European and tart based is served, but Tartine is famous for its North American home-made style pies. The array is displayed on a shelf in the window and all the favourites are there – blueberry, mixed berry, apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue. Tartine is small and you are lucky if you get a seat during peak times (the usual symptom of café-going in Seoul). Most visitors opt for the take out option, but if you decide to spend a while in its homely environment – think Little House on the Prairie meets quasi-French farmhouse hospitality – you can eat your chosen dessert warm with ice cream and browse the collection of American cookbooks and home living magazines. On weekends they will politely ask you to leave after one hour to allow others the pleasure of its pies.

Ideal for: cosy dates, comfort food

Reminis, Anguk-dong

The divine Reminis earns prize position in this café-aficionado’s books.  The cakes are worthy of being displayed in their own art exhibition, so gorgeous to behold they are: the Koreans take cake decoration to new levels of artistry. Head baker, Yun-sun Goo (female!) has created novel treats which fuse western style baking with Korean tastes such as the green tea and chocolate cake: chocolate brownie base layered with chocolate mousse under a green tea mousse layer and adorned with a mini green tea macaron and a sugared chestnut. Words cannot and should not describe. It should only be experienced. The strawberry tart is the most delicious I have ever tried and the macarons are lighter and far superior to anything La Duree can offer. Opt for their chocolate cake if you want to push the limits of decadence.
Remini's Green Tea cake

Reminis wins my loving affection for its atmosphere, too. It is located on a corner of Anguk-dong that resides in an area of Seoul where the building of modern glass atrocities has been prohibited to preserve the old, traditional architecture. One can stare endlessly out of its glass facades and it is always quiet enough for one to enjoy one’s book. The interior is light, beautifully and simply decorated and anything you order is presented on a ceramic slab that brings to mind the glorious Korean celadon pottery. All their teas are made the proper way (with leaves in a tea pot) and served in befitting china cups.

Yun-Sun trained at the Cordon Bleu and runs weekend baking courses in the kitchen of Reminis (very expensive, of course). They also make cakes for special occasions and anyone in need of a wedding cake can browse through a photo album of stunning photographs before making that most important of decisions.

Ideal for: orgasms of the palate, people watching, contemplation, alone time, reading

The Art of Sipping Tea


Talk about Café Culture and two – of many – possible scenes can spring to mind. One is the blur of Starbucks or Costa facades that inhabit every high street and by street in the land. The other is the façade of a small curb-side café, its tables and chairs outdoors inhabited by Parisiens (or Romans depending on your locale) sipping espressos, smoking and watching the world go by. One is fast. One is slow. I know where I’d rather be.
Tea as it should be: Reminis, Seoul

One of the greatest of my many indulgences is spending long afternoons in cafes. The only company needed a pot of tea, a slice of something nice, my book, and occasionally a stranger to talk to. There is something soothing about letting the world rush on around you at its terrific pace while you take repose, in the middle of it all.

Unfortunately, the café scene in the UK suffers from a preponderance of chains such as those mentioned above, take-out culture and, most perniciously, very early closing times. Save for some rare exceptions and a few West End Starbucks, cafes usually close their doors at around 5pm – ridiculously early considering how many hours remain in the day before most people decide to head for bed. As a result of this and most shops’ early closing times, we are left with practically no other options than to go to bars and pubs. While I am vehemently partial to drinks of an alcoholic content and enjoy (some) drinking establishments, there are times when I am not in the mood for their bustle.

One city, already very much established and continuing to move up very rapidly in the world, with a wonderful café culture is Seoul. Like most things executed by the Koreans, everything down to the smallest detail is well thought through and mindfully presented – putting coffee in the ashtrays to banish the smell of stale cigs; a small contraption which buzzes and flashes when your drink is ready at the counter; sanitisers for doors handles; well selected music and décor; free use of a Mac computer, and delicious snacks and drinks such as the Grain, Sweet Potato and Wasabi lattes – only for the open minded Westerner.

A foreigner to Korea may be surprised by how most of the people sipping coffee and sharing desserts in cafes are in their Twenties (which means they look like they are in their teens).  The café phenomenon has emerged within the last ten years; the concept is not a traditionally Korean one and thus the older generations have not developed a taste for this European tradition.

The fact that Koreans live with their parents until marriage necessitates the need for boyfriends and girlfriends  sadly, Korea is not as open minded about same sex couples yet  to go out on dates. This increased demand for cafes has meant that most stay open until Midnight, seven days a week, giving the people of Seoul greater variety when choosing how to spend an evening.

Contrast this to a recent Monday night in Camden Town when my best friend, Rachael, and I spent a good while trying to find somewhere to go for a spot of tea. After fifteen or so minutes of searching for an appropriate establishment we settled for the outside tables of a Brazilian restaurant and builder’s tea: the wonderful InSpiral café being, on this occasion, closed for a staff party.

I may have left London and my usual haunts, but my new home of Oxford has managed to satisfy and surpass my café expectations, giving me some great options for escape when the parental home becomes stifling and country living too quiet. The absence of both job and money in my life at the moment has meant that I have handed my CV in to a few of these cafes. But will working in one quell my love for them?

Find your perfect place with my discerning guide, divided by city over the upcoming blog posts. Let the masses take their take-out, while you take-in the clink of cups, the hiss of the coffee machine, the babble of chat and maybe even just the right music for your mood. 

Monday 6 June 2011

Living the Teenage Dream?


I have relapsed into a second adolescence. Angry at the world, angry at my parents and dependent on them for food, laundry and lifts into town. Hi, my name is Caroline and I’m a university graduate.

Whilst the move back to the family home may be a shock to any quasi-adult after three years away, imagine what it was like for this quasi-adult who not only spent what are traditionally the most trying years of the parent-child dynamic at boarding school, followed by four years living alone in London throughout university and beyond, but then spent three months living alone in Seoul.

The gear-change from Seoul to Oxford was abrupt. I swapped a paid job and my own flat in a heaving, buzzing Eastern metropolis where I had a wonderful group of friends, for unemployment, a hamlet in bucolic Oxfordshire, my social life in either Seoul or the Smoke and loo seats left up. The first month was spent in holiday cheer as I enjoyed the April sunshine, frolicked around the countryside and reacquainted myself with things like butter and hummus and bread. My original plan to return to Korea within one to two months meant I relished this time of rest and recuperation. But circumstances changed and my plan to move back East was put on hold.

The second month has elapsed. My frustration and stagnation has mounted as I steadily eat into my savings  the weekly trips into London are necessary to maintain both sanity and social skills – and try desperately hard not to bite the hands that feed me. Since resigning myself to the fact that at least the next three months will be spent in the UK, I have resumed the soul-destroying, emotional rollercoaster ride that is the job hunt.

My parents assumed that by sending me to university they were setting me up for life. And why shouldn’t they have? In the 1970s, the time of their matriculation, graduates were guaranteed jobs. Little could they foresee that the combination of increased population, and hence the labour supply, growing numbers of graduates and dwindling number of jobs in an already competitive market place, would mean that obtaining a degree was the first and smallest in a long line of hurdles that have to be leapt over to reach employment. Or at least the sort of employment I desire.

The lengthening of life spans and years spent at university have delayed the time at which people are required to “grow up”. At my age my mother had obtained her degree, her Barrister’s qualification and got married and is often surprised at how immature her 24-year-old daughter is.

University is more an extension of adolescence rather than the first phase of adulthood. It in no way prepares you for what you will have to face when you no longer have your student accommodation, student loan and hours of your own student time.

In the past, university leavers – people used to a certain level of purpose and stimulation and, in theory, at a threshold level of intelligence whereby months of inertia gets exceedingly tedious– walked into a job without an interview. Now, their contemporary counterparts find themselves in a frustrating situation where in order to find a job (well, actually it’s more like unpaid internships at this stage) befitting the years spent earning a – or in my case, two – degrees, a huge amount of time and energy needs to be spent in the pursuit.

This makes finding and performing a menial side job  required for both money and a semblance of aforementioned purpose  rather tough and may even hinder one making adequate progress in the primary objective. I have taken on the extra challenge of trying to make in-roads in a notoriously and perennially competitive industry. I am being as proactive as I can, stopping short of going into these offices in person and offering sexual favours. Is that what graduates in a few years will be forced to do to get anywhere?

I complain tirelessly. To friends, to family, to strangers. But mainly to my wonderful and long-suffering mother who has endured much and has offered in advice and help even more. At times like these I think that having a boyfriend-type equivalent would come in handy… to alleviate the boredom etc.

I am trying to acquire a Buddhist perspective and not assign too much emotional significance to my current feelings of frustration and occasional anger-infused bitterness. After all, suffering is transitory: the bad times will come and go just as the good times come and go. And then there is my adherence to Nietzsche’s school of thought: suffering is a needed and indispensable part of existence. “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”

It is also my belief that nothing we do in life is wasted. We learn from everything we do and it all contributes or will contribute to something. Eventually. It is my belief, but one that is not always successful at staving off those feelings of frustration and anger-infused bitterness.

My working friends enviously urge me to enjoy this time of freedom, where I can and do happily forget what day of the week it is. Although there are the moments where I feel as if I have reached the lowest point of my life, my living conditions far, far exceed any minimum human rights criteria. My laundry washes, irons and folds itself. Food is plentiful and from Mark and Spencer. I have the time to indulge my love of walking, cycling and yoga. Consequently allowing me to indulge my voracious sweet tooth and not get fat. When it comes to cake, one can never have too much of a good thing. (Ask me again in twenty years?)

I have been able to spend rainy afternoons baking and writing countless, world changing articles… I can while away days exploring Oxford and more of London, being spontaneous, visiting museums, enjoying plays, reading Shakespeare and booking trips to Bulgaria at a week’s notice. I have been able to entertain guests in an English Country Garden, without having to buy the wine. Maybe I have already used up my karmic quota and it’s downhill from here on out?  Or maybe this time is just what I need to learn some very much-needed patience.