PLANT - Itaewon

If you're Vegan or Vegetarian in Seoul and you haven't been or heard of PLANT where have you been hiding? This is definitely one of my favorite places to eat in Korea by far. I've been following Alien's Day Out, the blog written by the owner of PLANT, for quite a few years now. I have made several of her recipes back at home and now that I've come to Korea I've been utilizing her blog to the fullest. If you follow her blog you have probably noticed that quite a few of the restaurants I've been to her have been already reviewed by her.

Although Itaewon is typically a bit pricey, it has a bounty of great restaurants from African to Bulgarian cuisine. Being veggie friendly also seems to be a norm of the area!

PLANT is a cozy spot tucked away in the back streets of the south eastern section of Itaewon. Its quite a popular bakery/cafe, but all food and drink is available for takeaway and they have recently added a waiting bench out the front.

The shop actually used to be a tattoo parlor, but now the concrete floor contrasts with the timber furniture and quirky pics posted around the place forming a unique space. Being a foreigner and a vegan can certainly make you feel alien at times in Korea, but PLANT feels like a welcoming and homey place, a solace for foreigner vegans. And of course, the food - PLANT not only serves scrumptious baked goods but also delectable meals and drinks that are all 100% vegan. You aren't going to have to double check if there is cheese sprinkled on your pasta or dead crab in your banchans.

Although my friend and I originally came here for lunch we got here a bit early and hadn't had any breakfast so we opted to order some cakes. Whats a better way to start your day than with cake for breakfast?

First up is a slice of Pumpkin Pie. Pumpkin pie, especially dessert pumpkin pie is not a common thing in my home country Australia so I haven't actually had a dessert pumpkin pie before. When I saw it posted on instagram I knew I had to come in and try it. It was sooo yummy and full of a number of spices! 

Next up is the Gluten Free Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Cake. Again, yum probably best describes this dessert too. I find gluten free cakes sometimes have a weird after taste or are just sub-standard but even a gluten lover like me could tell no difference between this and a normal cake. Wow I sound like an omni trying a vegan cake for the first time lol. It had a soft and slightly airy butter cream in the middle, topped with a luscious hazelnut frosting. I don't know how they do it, but the frosting isalways made to perfection at PLANT. Although I honestly think you can never have too much cake, even I was struggling to finish the second cake despite the deliciousness. Next time I might leave the 2nd cake for takeaway.

My friend ordered the red velvet cake and the hibiscus tea. Doesn't the cake look pretty? She said other times in Korea she has found hibiscus tea to be too sweet, but she found the tea to have proper, tasty hibiscus flavour.

If you're in Seoul you have to try out PLANT bakery and cafe. It doesn't matter whether you're vegan or not, the food here is simply yummy and you gotta try it.

PLANT
Vegan
63-15, Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu
070-4115-8388
Open 11:00 - 20:00
Closed on Sundays and Mondays
facebook.com/STUDIOPLANT

Afterwards I headed to Changdeokgung Palace to visit the Secret Garden before all the leaves had fallen. Unfortunately you have to visit it through a tour, and unfortunately I had missed the last English tour. I had already used my ticket to get into the main palace and didn't want to waste my money so I went in with the Japanese tour. Yes, I don't know Japanese.

Here the non-Japanese are reading a sign whilst the Japanese are listening to the tour guide on the right. How awkward. I was glad to not be the only Japanese there, but the fact there were so many of us made the situation feel even more silly.

I'm not really a big fan of tours anyway, I get a bit bored and I prefer to explore at my own pace. I managed to escape the Japanese tour and followed on the trail end of the Korean tour.

It was the perfect time to go, there was still such a variety of autumn colours left of the trees a top the ground blanketed in leaves.

Autumn is the best time to be in Korea.