The Pie Hole
In Sinchon at the outskirts of the bar and nightlife area is a small café with the, for most westerners, the rather eye catching, name “The Pie Hole”. Whether the name is meant as a joke is unclear. Joke or not I’ve found it to be a great source of entertainment, but then I could easily take the prize for worst humor in the universe, and so I’ll spare you all and refrain from making stupid jokes on the name.
The Pie Hole has a cosy, even homely feel to it. On the shelves hanging here and there in the café are souvenirs from all around the world, books, figurines and postcards. The furniture is mismatched in the stylish yet kitsch way that indicates that it’s completely on purpose. The lighting is soft, and the mix of 50’ies music and jazz flowing from the speakers is even softer. And then there’s scent of cakes and biscuits baking that fills every little nook and cranny encompassing everyone in warmth and comfort. It’s a small place with only seven tables, but this only adds to the homely atmosphere, however, it also means that there’s a chance that you wont able to get a seat, which even though they do take-out too, is a shame as sitting at the café is without a doubt part of the experience.
The main attraction of “The Pie Hole” are, you guessed it, pies. While the selection isn’t exactly massive there should be something for every taste. Now the selection changes daily, but to give you an idea of what they serve, the day I visited to write this post, they could offer a strawberry cream cheese pie (it was sold out when I came at 5pm, I guess it’s pretty good, if nothing else it’s popular), a maple pecan pie, an earl grey ganache pie, a sweet pumpkin cream cheese pie, as well as a carrot cake and brownies. There’s a wide selection of drinks from all the standard coffee choices, over different coffee-free lattes, as well as tea, smoothies, lemonade and frappuccinos. If you can’t read Hangeul you may have a problem, as the beverage menu is completely in Korea, but you can always ask the friendly staff to help you out.
I got the pumpkin cream cheese pie, and it was absolutely delicious! The crumbly, buttery shortbread crust served as the perfect vessel for the light, fluffy cream cheese layer, which served as a tangy backdrop for the star of the pie the slightly sweet and fragrant pumpkin mousse. While every bite was light as a cloud, the pie was most definitely not “light”, which in a world that tends to be excessively focused on weight and having “the perfect body” felt delightfully indulgent, if a bit naughty in the “I know you disapprove and I couldn’t care less” kind of way. The coffee, though a bit weak for my tastes, was good, and came with two complementary butter-almond biscuits, which with their slightly uneven cut and colour couldn’t conceal that they were both home- and handmade.
Upon finishing my food I felt full in the way that only cakes and pies made with love and good ingredients can make me feel. I’ve always been a bit of a foodie, so for me, having a cup of coffee and a slice pie at The Pie Hole was like getting an extended, warm, motherly hug, and even long after leaving I felt infinitely safe and content, it was happiness (all those of you who say you can’t buy happiness haven’t been to The Pie Hole, for there you can get it for the fair prize of approximately 9,500w).
I overheard a girl praising the earl grey ganache pie, so I suppose that’ll be what I get next time, for there will most definitely be a next time. Heck, once I leave Korea I’ll want to go back just to, once again, enjoy everything about The Pie Hole.
To quote Nelly Furtado why do all good things come to an end?
For directions and more check out The Pie Hole’s facebook page by clicking here.