There are a few perks of being a journalist, such as getting to interview celebrities (I'm only considering the "fun" perks, not the serious I-get-to-be-the-voice-for-the-voiceless). On the other hand, there are numerous perks for a food reporter, especially if you are a big foodie like I am.
My mentor at Chosun Ilbo is the food reporter for the newspaper. As a result, he knows lots of people in the food business and visits lots of restaurants, bakeries, cafes, etc. Today he invited me and one other intern to a newly opened bakery called "The Barn Bake Studio & Cafe."
Upon entering the bakery, I could see the bakers decorating cakes and baking bread at an open kitchen. The bakery, which opened today (July 18), features studio style open kitchen. Now, I am just going to translate whatever I wrote in Korean for the bakery review into English for this blog.
The Barn Bake Studio & Cafe, a bakery where you can watch the bread and cookies being baked, opened its doors on July 18. With its wooden walls, studio-style open kitchen, and peaceful atmosphere, the bakery arouses the visitors' taste buds.
The visitors can observe the bakers decorating cakes and baking bread in its open kitchen, taking into consideration the careful preparation and effort that goes into making this high-quality bread. On top of a wooden table are brown sugar cubes and two types of jam in bowls. You feel like you are at a romantic French cafe because of the serene, foreign music in the background. The cafe also has a quiet side room where visitors can read.
Inside the glass case are three types of colorful macaroons, mango mousse that you want to poke with a fork, eclair that makes your mouth water, and other high-quality dessert.
The first dessert I tried is the macaroon ($1.75 a piece). The size of this macaroon is so small that it easily fits in one hand and can be eaten in one bite. At the Barn, there are rose, coffee, and vanilla flavors. I tried the vanilla macaroon. As soon as I opened the packaging, I could smell the strong vanilla flavor. When I put it in my mouth, the outside slightly shattered, but the crispy outside was contrasted with the chewy inside. The soft, sweet vanilla cream melted when it touched the tip of my tongue. Though the macaroon tasted delicious, its vanilla flavor was so strong that my stomach would hurt if I ate more than two.
The next dessert I tried was the eclair cafe ($2.50). The eclair, with its plain appearance, reminded me of the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." On top is a layer of caramel icing, with coffee cream filling inside. The eclair wasn't damp, but crispy. The coffee filling was too rich that if I ate it too much, the eclair, like the macaroon, would make my stomach nauseous.
The caramel pound cake ($3.50) was in an individual package by slice. The caramel syrup on top made it sweet as well as sticky. The pound cake was moist, but also made me thirsty. Besides the caramel pound, there were pistachio and banana walnut pound cake. I don't think this menu was worth the price.
Next I tried a mango mousse with the cute name "CoCo Passion." This was one of my favorite desserts. I had to eat this circular mousse with a fork or a spoon. The top 3/5 was pastel yellow mango mousse, and the bottom 2/5 was white cream. At a first glimpse, it looked like an egg. Between the mousse and the cream was thin vanilla cake. The taste of white cream that melts in your mouth like snow and soft vanilla cake was a match made in heaven.
The baguette ($2) made with French flour tasted great with the jam on top of the wooden table. I could taste the berry bits in the berry jam made with five different berries. This jam wasn't too sweet and enhanced the plain flavor of the baguette. On the other hand, the sour grapefruit-orange jam hid the flavor of the baguette completely. The ends of the baguette was too hard that I couldn't eat it.
The next fermented bread I tried was cranberry campagne ($3). This bread, enjoyed by many Europeans, means "Country bread." The outside looks rustic and as hard as a rock, but hidden inside is chewy bread with cranberries. In addition, the cream cheese inside the circular cranberry bread added additional flavor. The soft inside was different from plain white bread or pound cake. One regrettable thing about this bread was that the crispy outside was too thick. This bread also tasted great with jam.
I only had one mouthful of the croissant and chocolate croissant. The crispy outside looked as though someone layered it with shiny oil. As soon as I ripped a piece, my finger became super greasy. The bread is definitely not good for the health. The inside was soft with a little bit of salty flavor.
The Barn features 6 to 7 types of bread at a time, in addition to cookies, pound cake, macaroon, madaleine, gift set, and jam. You can also enjoy wine with bread. The Barn is opened M~F from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 to 6 (closed on Sunday). The Barn is giving a free cup of Americano coffee to all visitors for its opening event.
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