Today I have an extra adorable place to share with you! Quite possibly one of the cutest bakeries in all of Korea, let me share Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라윰 with you! Hongdae’s cutest bakery for the last 5 years!

Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라 윰 ♥ Pronounced sho-co-la-yoom

For the last year we always walked by this shop in Hongdae since it is right around the park where they have the art market on Sundays~ I looked at the cakes in the window a few times, but never went in for some odd reason… till today. I think I always tended to pass it late at night and assumed it was a shop for buying whole cakes~ big mistake!

Wow!  I was so surprised!  Inside it has the cutest cottage feeling ever~ pretty lamps, macaroon trees, pastel flags, just editable and non-edible adorableness all-around.

The cakes looked very cute in the window, but when you enter inside it is filled with the most adorable baked-goods ever!!!!  Each packaged individually with pretty ribbons or ties to finish them off! I adore places that pay attention to fine details like this!

 

They had little cakes, tarts, cookies, chocolates, meringues, you name it!  Everything looked so cute, I knew I had to buy a pile of things just so I could experience them all in one swoop…. like some sort of cute-eating black hole. lol

The whole place feels like a vintage pastel dream kitchen at Grandmothers cottage!

They also had a few chilled cases for cake slices, mini pies, custards, and other treats

Ok, I know I say I love to eat everything~ but I REALLY love to eat strawberry shortcake. I was DYING to buy a slice of that cake… I need to go back for one asap.

This bakery is well-known for its cakes, shoo cream bread, and puddings!

this corner reminded me how much I miss Easter here in Korea~

They also sell imported + hand-made jam as well in the shop! Perfect to spread on your tea cookies or bake with!

Cookie utensils ♥  Perfect to stick in a parfait or sundae!

Little bear cookie sets! Looks like the shape was inspired by that plush bear, doesn’t it??

I was so excited to pick out things! Not even to eat, I just wanted them to stare at hahaha

I am going to be one of those old ladies that keeps fake food on display at her house someday, I just know it ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

I want to have a tea party asap!

Nara could not resist the cuteness and snuck away with the basket to pick some treats out too hehe

Beautiful Wedgewood treasures on the shelves ♥ I loves all the little trinkets around the bakery.

 

“chocolayoom uses 100% natural ingredients and stand on using the highest quality as well as Fresh ingredients.”

Chocolate dipped coffee beans in cute little drink containers.

Packaged mini cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, bitty bunt cakes, and brownies!

The owner was abroad on business, but we got to speak to the baker on staff and ask a few questions! Even the staff had cute little outfits on ♥ baby blue polka dot scarfs and jackets with red buttons.

According to some Korean blogs we read, since the cakes are all made with fresh ingredients the strawberry cakes are the absolute BEST in spring to early summer when the fruit is in-season!

Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라 윰 also has a very nice drink menu if you want to have something to wash your adorable cookies down with on the go!  As you can see, the drinks are in Korean and English in case you can not read hangul ♥ some sound so good~ Sakurambo and Pink Lemonade? Yes please!  They also have dark and mild chocolate drinks, those are always really yummy.

Moist & fluffy choco muffins!

Cookies with jam, tarts, choco chip, dark chocolate, and even strawberry chocolate bars with real strawberries mixed in. They really have something for everyone here~ Also the selection changes often so you never know what you will find some days when you walk in.

Yummy cakes available for purchase!

Teddybear chocolate pops

Beautiful bitty cakes of fondant on display! Look at the detail on these~ ♥

Kiki greets you at the counter!

With my goodies in-hand it was time to head back home!  If you need to buy treats for a gift or to travel a bit better you can also opt to buy a box for about 1,000 won.

Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라윰 Cute Korean Cookie Haul! ♥

And here are my goodies! We ended up with quite a plate of cuteness to chow down on, so we bought some milk tea and made a pile to attack!

First up are the macarons! Chocolat Yum sells a very nice flavor selection of these in the fridge below the register~ as many of you may already know though, macarons are often expensive and very hit or miss. We got spoiled forever by our old favorite shop in Redwood city, CA (Pamplemousse) who baked these PERFECTLY…so it is hard to find ones that can match them.

The perfect macaron should be crisp, chewy, airy,creamy and not overly sweet! READ UP ON IT HERE♥ 

Every so often we see macarons in Korea, but they are always dry, super ick sweet, and brittle total disappointment.

So how did our lemon and raspberry macarons from Chocolate yum measure up?

NOT BAD!!  Nara and I agreed that so far these are the best we have found here in Seoul! They had a nice light flavor and crisp, with a soft inside~ wish it was a tiny bit more chewy, but what can you do? lol.  The filling was something we have never had inside one before though, it was a kind of caramel, brown sugar, chocolate-ish smooth spread. I prefer ones that have a lighter filling that fits the flavor better, but these are still the best ones we have had in a long time and will most likely buy them again!

Next up is the character cookie of Marie!

This was a really yummy butter tea cookie with a nice smooth and light chocolate filling! This one was very sweet though, so I could only handle one before I had a sugar overload lol.  You can buy tea cookies in Korea, but most are packaged or if they are baked they taste bland and are often hockey puck hard   these are perfect!! Chocolat yum knows how to bake, I am so glad the taste matches the cuteness so far!

Nara and I both really enjoyed these cookies~ simple and small!  The cookie was a bit harder with (we think) a bit of almond extract and the icing was a nice little bit of sweetness to finish it off!  I will totally be buying these again if I have friends over for tea or something ♥

The bear set was also really good, you get two in each pack ♥ At first I thought they would be butter cookies just like the Marie cookie I bought, but they are actually different!  The chocolate has a nice light and smooth chocolate filling and the cookie had a similar light choco flavor to it which I enjoyed. The sugar one was a bit less buttery VS the others and the filling was a really yummy peanut butter spread!

The chocolate chip & coconut cookies are not cute, but they looked so promising so I bought a pack to try~ soooo glad I did!  These are my favorites out of the whole pile hahaha go figure!  They are super thin and crumbly, but crispy and just melt in your mouth….mmmmm. Nara hates chocolate and coconut, but he loved these as well!

The cutest cookie in out tray tasted the plainist, go figure!  Dont get me wrong, it was a very yummy butter cookie and worth every penny for the adorably decorated top cookie you get with your two plain ones, but in the end it was just a cookie.  These would make GREAT gifts since they come packaged so nice, so I will buy these again for gifts when needed~ just not for random munching XD  The icing it is topped with is very hard so it travels very very well.

Finally the last in our pile of treats, the bitty brick of cheesecake!  AHH THIS WAS GOOD!  My #2 favorite in the pile, it was a legit soft and creamy cheesecake~ not too sweet and not cakey like almost every other cheesecake in Korea!  It was a perfect single serving and even though it was nice and soft it was still very easy to unwrap and place nicely on the plate! I want to go back and try all the other cakes now for sure.

Directions to Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라윰

Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라 윰

서울특별시 마포구 서교동 358-125

Hours: Sunday- Thursday open from 11am- midnight. Friday- Saturday open from 11-2am

If you are coming by the Seoul Metro the best way is to take Green Line #2 to Hongik University aka Hongdae

To get to Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라 윰 it should be quite easy if you are familiar with the Hongdae area since it is pretty much right before Hongdae park. For tourists or people new to the area it can be a little tricky at fist since Hongdae is a little cluttered, chaotic, plus it new buildings are going up all the time lately.

My best advice is to eyeball this map since most of the major things in Hongdae are all on one looooong street, so you are simply walking all the way down and making a turn.

While walking from the metro you are going to have to cross a large street to get from one side of Hongdae (the side with the metro station and mainly pubs + restaurants) to the other side where all the shops and some of the clubs are.  Everyone pretty much crosses where they feel like it, so just follow the crowds to the street filled with clothing shops and people~  it should be easy to spot.  You are going to walk down this road of shops till almost the end where (as of this posting in 2012) you will see a Lush and a very pink Etude House on your left, this is the road you want to turn down to head towards Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라 윰.

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Eventually you will see the shop on your left, it is a  bit back from the road (as you can see in the photos of the shop above) lurking in the shadows, so make sure you do not miss it.  Right next to it is Tom’s Cat Cafe, and across from it is ZARA ♥

Have you been to Chocolat Yum 쇼콜라 윰 before? Did you visit after reading here? Got any favorites?  What would you like to try? Comment below!! ♥