➹ tiramisu caffe coffee prince franchise

Last November, me and my friend accidentally found the Coffee Prince franchise cafe while wandering around the streets of Hongdae. We were really looking for the Hello Kitty Cafe but we ended up lost and just aimlessly exploring the busy streets that night. Fortunately, the Hello Kitty Cafe turned out to be on the same side street as this Coffee Prince franchise! So we eventually found our target. However, for a moment there, I kind of wanted to go into the Coffee Prince shop and reminisce the pleasant time I had when I visited it last 2008.

For me, 2008 is part of those long gone heydays of the drama, Coffee Prince. That was when I first visited Seoul and met a new friend who was a foreign exchange student at that time. I didn't really know where to go around the city with the limited time I had... So I was extremely delighted when my friend offered to take me to the Coffee Prince shop at Hongdae!



Now, there are (at least) 2 Coffee Prince shops in Hongdae (as far as I know). There is of course, the actual set of the Coffee Prince drama – where 슈퍼주니어 also shot their parody from PKL's Wonderful Outing (kya!). And then there is the relatively newer franchise store which is closer to the subway stop. My friend took me to the franchise version that year. I was far too amazed with the Hongdae scene so I did not pay attention on how we actually got there ... which was why it was pretty neat that I managed to find it again after 3 years!

Here's how cozy it looked like during Fall of 2008:







The franchise shop had a better ambiance for me, though it lacked the nostalgic feel of the original set. I liked that everything was cute and pretty and comfy at that shop. The baristas were nice (they had the drama uniform too) and most everything was still quite sparkling new ^^. Here's how the menu was at that time:









Here were our choice picks that autumn day:



Compared to the original Coffee Prince, this franchise store had (1) far more food and beverage options (2) prettier menu (3) less expensive prices (4) more delicious drinks and (5) far less tourists!!! Well, perhaps all those are supposed to make up for the fact that it is not the actual drama set. And that's why the experience here is really more personal ~ just like enjoying your time on your favorite cafe.




I wonder if everything is still as nice and pretty as before. With the newer and recently more popular Hello Kitty Cafe just across the street, I wonder how this cafe franchise is faring too...



Oh, and on a side note ... Even if Google Street View for Hongdae is dated 2009, this particular street where the Coffee Prince franchise shop is located ... is out of view ㅠ-ㅠ.