Hyemindang 혜민당

Mother-of-pearl cabinets, an old wooden staircase and boldly patterned furniture make this Euljiro dessert room look like an herbal pharmacy from the Gyeongseong era, when Seoul went by that name. The ground floor is the quieter spot, while seats upstairs look down over the alley. Seolbam layers several creams and chestnut inside a crunchy shell, and the ganache chocolate melts very softly. There are also a vanilla cruffin, a flaky pain suisse and koala-shaped buns, while the fruit tarts share one cream base under different fruit. Pay for pastries here, then collect drinks from Coffee Hanyakbang across the alley and eat them together. The alley and staircase also appeared in a TV drama.