Believe it or not, my most favorite coffee shop moment is NOT of the coffee itself. Instead, it was the time when my husband (then boyfriend) and I were chased by a grumpy old man!
You may be wondering, how is that your favorite memory? And what does that have to do with coffee?
For context, this happened when we were in Korea in 2018. Though @thejoeprocess and I have had international travels before, this was our first trip that was just the two of us. So we had a lot of freedom with our itinerary. We packed it with lots of Koreanovela shooting locations.
One of those locations was the coffee shop in Coffee Prince. I think it’s called The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince.
Familiar? If you watched Coffee Prince, this is the view of the coffee shop from across the street.
Contrary to what we were expecting, the coffee shop was not a standout. We almost even missed it while walking from the bus stop. Good thing the hubby recognized it from watching a few episodes. I, on the other hand, never watched that drama. (Oops!)
During our trip planning stage, I have read online that the coffee in the place was expensive. So Joey and I decided that we would just take selfies and photos of the exterior of the cafe, then be on our merry way.
The price you have to pay for being touristy. But coffee is coffee.
We did just that--at first. However, just as we were about to move on, a grumpy man came out of the shop and talked to us in Korean. We didn’t understand a word he said, but judging by his expression and the way he was pointing at us, what we were doing was not okay. LOL.
He motioned towards the coffee shop, so we crossed the street and followed. We had no choice but to go in and order our coffees.
Pose for that expensive coffee, mahal. Hehe
The post I read online didn’t lie. The coffee was indeed pricey, but it was good too. As coffee lovers, we couldn’t complain.
We giggled between ourselves and enjoyed the warmth and aroma of our pricey cups. Maybe part of the expense was sharing the same space that Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye once touched.
My very own oppa <3 posing by one of the wall arts in the coffee shop.
When we went there, there was a standee for Gong Yoo and Yoon Eun-hye so I had to take an obligatory photo.
At the exterior of the coffee shop
Have you been to The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince? If so, what was your experience?
Now in this pandemic where many businesses have shut down, it makes me think of this cafe. Is it still operating? It would be nice to visit there again when we get the chance to go back to Seoul.
But one thing's for sure: at the end of the day, we were grateful. After all, how often do you get chased by a grumpy old man for coffee?