I heard that Payard, the famous dessert shop from New York’s Upper East Side, had opened on the 6th floor of the Shinsegae department store’s flagship in Myeongdong, so I went to check it out. (Apparently it was originally a bistro, but when I got there I could hardly sense anything like that..) They say it got famous from appearing in Sex and the City, but honestly that kind of thing isn’t worth much. The taste of the food comes from the kitchen staff, not from fame, after all.
By the way, payard is French, so pronouncing it “pa-yar” seems to be correct, but since nobody at the shop makes any point of it, I guess saying it the American way, “pay-yard”, is fine too.
I’d heard it was a cafe, so I didn’t expect much, but when I went in it took up an entire floor and even had terrace seating. The weather wasn’t great, so we couldn’t eat outside, but it should be lovely in warm spring weather. Prices aren’t cheap, yet the place was packed. However bad the recession gets, good places survive, I suppose.
We ordered the afternoon tea set (for two), which is about 40,000 won. It comes with two coffees or teas plus sandwiches, cookies and other sweets.
The tea I ordered..
Refills are included. It’s pleasant, quiet and the chairs are comfortable, so it seemed like a place where you could sit for a long time in the late afternoon. Seen that way, 40,000 won isn’t expensive..
The sandwiches, cookies, macarons and so on from the afternoon tea set..
I was a little surprised: there’s quite a lot of it, enough to double as a light meal rather than just a simple tea. The taste is also above the level of most specialty shops. If this is what you get, you can consider yourself all set for a leisurely afternoon. The interior, the location and the service are all good too, so there’s nothing lacking. No wonder it’s popular.
The Apple Tartin I ordered separately
I saw it in the display case and ordered it separately. It looked delicious, and it really was delicious. ^_^ The sweet apple is nicely backed up by the fresh cream and the crisp pastry. The rich chocolate accent was tasty with the whipped cream too.
I was moved, thinking, “To think Korea now has a place this good..” In Japan there are shops inside the Seibu department stores in Shibuya and Ikebukuro, but being inside a department store, they don’t have this kind of luxurious atmosphere..
A condiment shaker, maybe.. or was it sugar..
I just took this because it was pretty. A satisfying dessert.