While watching the latest episode of “Sweetheart Service,” I noticed one of the filming locations. It drew me in so much that before the progress bar reached the end, I had already taken screenshots and sent them to ChatGPT to help me find the shop and its location. The result... ChatGPT told me with absolute certainty four times—four times!—that it was in Osaka! I was so angry... I kept taking screenshots and arguing with it, and eventually we found the answer together (I searched the keywords on Google myself hhh). It was a small dessert shop in an alley in Yeonhui-dong, not far from where I was staying. So... the day after I finished going to the music festival, I had lunch and hurried over to see it.
When I arrived... wow! I genuinely loved it!! The owner's taste in music... matched mine completely!! Blur, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys... Later, I think he changed the record at the request of a Korean woman. Maybe it was a Japanese city pop record? Ah, I have not explored city pop very much. It just sounded a little like what I had heard while browsing record stores in Osaka... It seems the owner makes music too, and the shop may have hosted live music before? I saw it on Instagram... Ah, people who live here are so lucky! What a hidden, tiny treasure of a place!
Btw, this is not purely a coffee shop. More precisely, coffee is not the main attraction. The pies and tarts are! I tried the cherry one. It was delicious!!
I stayed there for a long time. People came in one after another to order coffee. Sometimes the owner served them, and sometimes his father did... Mm, the owner and the shop have quite a story too. If you are interested, you can look them up on Instagram～
A warm note 🔔
The shop feels cozy. Some people bring laptops and work, some have small chats while eating or drinking, and some order takeout. If you sit in, I think it can hold fewer than ten people? I do not know whether it gets crowded on weekends 🧐
A record of walking in ✍️
I ordered in English. When the owner brought over my coffee and dessert, he asked me in Chinese whether I was Chinese. My eyes widened, and I nodded:
“Are you?”
“I'm local.”
“Wow, your Chinese is so good!”
I instinctively asked whether he had studied in China. Sure enough, he had been an international student in Beijing～
(Before leaving, I asked the owner whether I could share the shop on Chinese social media. Thankfully, he did not mind～ At the time, he asked how I had found the shop. I... was too embarrassed to say I discovered it through the drama above 😂
I really am grateful to that drama for helping me find such a wonderful place 🧡