A slice of Korea

Milk cake

Mumbai's obsession with Korean restaurants reflects its youth's fascination with the Hallyu or ‘Korean wave' culture. The newest on the block, Aegyo Cafe & Bakehouse, is in a quiet lane in Santacruz West. As we enter on a weeknight, we are greeted by fairy lights and paper lanterns bearing the cafe's name strung around the small outdoor area. Aegyo is what K-pop fans call the quality of being cute and lovable. A wall of photos of famous places in Korea draws attention, as do the energetic beats of New Jeans' Hype Boy playing over the speakers. This writer, a confessed K-pop stan, has found her home.

Tteokbokki

While there are quite a few Korean eateries in the city already, this is one of the first bakehouses. It serves various popular Korean dishes, including tteokbokki, bibimbap, and mandu. We try the vegetarian tteokbokki (Rs 449), which is rice-flour dumplings served in a tangy sauce. A popular street food in its place of origin, the rice cakes are small and cylindrical-shaped and have a slightly chewy taste. The first bite is flavourful - a blend of sweet and spicy notes, in which the sweetness dominates and the spice, which comes from the Korean chilli paste gochujang, hits the taste buds later.

Cafe Aegyo's take on the dish also includes green bell peppers and carrots. An etymological-slash-historical tidbit to chew on: tteokbokki comes from two words - tteok, which means rice cake, and bokki, meaning stir-fried. Initially, it was sweeter in taste and served at the dining tables of noblesse during the Joseon dynasty. After the Korean War of the 1950s, it became a people's dish, and further acquired its modern spicy taste after the introduction of chilli paste in the mid-1900s.

What we are look forward to the most, however, are the Korean buns, another street snack that the cafe makes in-house from scratch. We chose the Philly cream cheese buns (Rs 249). Sprinkled with chopped spring onions and gochugaru (red chilli flakes), the buns are made such that the cream cheese oozes out from the centre. The bread is crusty on top and gooey inside, and the cream cheese tastes fluffy and slightly sour. It is not entirely what we expected - the taste doesn't hit you the way the flavours of the tteokbokki did.

The interiors of this cozy, minimalist cafe in Santacruz has elements that K-pop fans will relate to. Pics/Nimesh Dave

Next, we order steaming vegetable mandu, or Korean dumplings (Rs 429). Four pieces are served in a bamboo basket with a side of sesame soy sauce, which we consume with the bamboo chopsticks provided. The filling is flavourful; we only wish the portions were more. The menu also has hot and cold coffees, which, we are warned, aren't sweet. Yet, we try the caramel frappuccino (R249) and request additional sugar as a backup. Health-conscious foodies will appreciate the bitter undertones, but sugar lovers will like the lemonades and iced teas. The milk cake (R429), our dessert of choice, comes with a fresh strawberry nestled in a plate of milk. A bite instantly transports you to delicious, milky heaven. Given the relatively slow service, the restaurant's compulsory five per cent service charge fee seems unjustified. Overall, it is an excellent place to hang out with friends, and you can stay for hours.

What: Aegyo Cafe & Bakehouse
At: Gurukripa Plot, 65 F, Main Ave, Vithaldas Nagar, Santacruz West
When: 11 am to 12 am
Call: 09867009594
Rating : good
The Aegyo Cafe & Bakehouse didn't know we were there. Sunday mid-day reviews anonymously and pays for meals.