Tucked between buildings, The Banana Tree stands out with its bright yellow walls.
When I first heard about this cafe, it was a request from a member of U-Kiss, saying we should all check out this cafe’s Facebook page and like it. Like a faithful Kiss Me, I did as suggested. However, when I looked at the facebook page, I was enchanted by the quaint looking cafe, and intrigued, because the cafe offered a food I hadn’t had in a long time.
Their specialty is pudding. Banana pudding.
I love pudding. And I love bananas. And the building is banana coloured.
Really, a homeless person on the street could have suggested the place to me, and my response would be “You had me at pudding.”
The Banana Tree is an absolutely adorable little cafe off the beaten path in Garugusil. Quite off the beaten path. We attempted to follow the basic instructions on the facebook page, but my friend and I wandered around for half an hour, not quite sure where the Casamia was that would guide us to the holy grail of pudding. Two phone calls later, we found out that we were clear the opposite side of the neighbourhood. Not long later, we were sitting on the patio of the Banana Tree, chatting to the two staff on hand.
The pudding at Banana Tree comes in three flavours: Blueberry, strawberry, and of course, banana
The owners of The Banana Tree met in New York City, and said they were inspired by the Magnolia Bakery. Known for it’s classic decor, fresh made deserts and warm atmosphere, Banana Tree definitely seems to hit the mark in bringing the same feeling to Seoul.
This isn’t the type of place to bring a large group, seating no more than thirteen in the tiny cafe, but it’s almost better that way. It was quite easy to spend hours comfortably chatting over drinks with my friend, and chatting with the friendly staff.
The menu isn’t massive, but everything on it is made with a lot of care. Ordering a set of the three types of pudding to split and a hot chocolate, I was expecting the standard order of hot chocolate, like you would get from any average cafe like Starbucks or Holly’s Coffee.
Perhaps the best hot chocolate I've ever had.
What I was brought though completely blew me away.
In a small glass saucière were two cubes of semi-sweet chocolate, and in my mug was steamed milk and a spoon.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at other hot chocolate again. It tasted magical and it felt really fulfilling to be drinking something that was so basic and traditional and perfect.
I could have been quite happy just having the hot chocolate, thinking that I’d already been overwhelmed with delicious, but then out came the puddings.
Despite the fact that my knowledge of food is scattered across multiple countries that all have different definitions of the word “pudding”, I still was expecting something a bit like the jell-o mix I’d get back in Canada. This pudding though was so much better than instant pudding mix. Light, fluffy, with bits of cake mixed in, we savoured each tiny bite, wanting each flavour to last as long as possible.
It's all in the presentation
My favourite part about the pudding was the presentation, however. The star of the menu at Banana Tree is 팝, or Pap, the flower pot pudding. Served in a miniature plant pot with cookie crumbs sprinkled generously on top, this is like a grown up version of a dirt pie. To top it off is a fake flower “planted’ in the top, and an adorable shovel shaped spoon.
I could have stayed at the cafe for hours, drinking far too many hot chocolates and eating far too much pudding, but had to be dragged away. I definitely will be returning though, and I’m looking forward to trying some of the other things on the menu (if I can ever bring myself to not order the pudding. That’s quite a difficult thing to do.)
Since neither Banana Tree or the Casamia mentioned on the website are easy to find from the station, I made a quick video to show the easiest way to get from Sinsa station to Banana Tree. While the website SAYS you should take exit 8… Don’t. It’s exit 6. Also, if you go on the facebook page on your smartphone and put the address into a GPS map, it takes you to the wrong place. So don’t follow either. Use this video instead.
And here are some of the photos I took of Banana Tree, if my descriptions weren’t enough to convince you to go.
Banana Tree
Monday – Friday: 10 am – 8:30 pm
Saturday: 11 am – 9pm
Closed Saturdays
526 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Phone number: 02) 3442-6050
Website: http://blog.naver.com/banana_526 (Korean)
