A sip of poetic cocktail, coffee

Near Mangwon Station, among small buildings, restaurants, and shops, a secret bar lies tucked away in the basement.

Dada Lab transforms from a coffee shop by day to a cocktail bar by night, offering a full range of typical bar menu items. What sets this bar apart are the unique “Text Blending” drinks.

“Text Blending” allows customers to write down any phrase or text, from which the bartender draws inspiration to create a personalized drink. Customers can choose between coffee, tea or cocktails, and can specify personal preferences such as favorite or disliked ingredients, decaffeinated coffee beans, or non-alcoholic options.

If one orders the “Text and Response” menu, the customer will receive a drink inspired by their text along with a response to their text, and a second drink inspired by the response text.

For those unsure what to write, a book filled with previous visitors' texts is available for inspiration. Anything from poetry, song lyrics and novel excerpts, to freely written words can be submitted. Additionally, the menu features snacks like marshmallow s'mores cookies and cheese platters.

Each drink comes with a small note card with a list of ingredients used.

Dada Lab is closed on Mondays. It is open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends, with last orders taken at 1 a.m.

Tea time in traditional architecture

Chadam by Gallery The Square is a tea cafe that recently opened inside Museum Myungwon at Kookmin University in Seoul.

This tea cafe offers a peaceful view of a green garden and a pond with a grand traditional summer house at its center.

Here, you can enjoy various kinds of teas including Jeju matcha, black tea and Jaekseol tea, which is a fermented black tea from Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province.

Every cup of tea is served with a tea confectionery such as a one-bite-sized rice cake.

If you pay 5,500 won more to order a tea confectionery combo with your drink, you get a plate with more choices of tea confectionery that vary.

For this summer, the tea confectionery combo consists of mugwort rice cake filled with bean paste and watermelon.

Chadam by Gallery The Square also has some sweet desserts such as caramelized toast with vanilla bean cream. Only 20 of them are sold daily, but they are worth a try as the combination of crispy toast with soft cream is delicious.

All the seats overlook the garden with the pond, making the cafe feel spacious.

The terrace seats are perfect for sitting when the weather is great.

Chadam by Gallery The Square is open from Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Beat the heat with old-style bingsu

Spending time in a local cafe with “bingsu,” Korea’s iconic ice dessert made with shaved ice, milk and condensed milk, is one of the popular ways to beat the summer heat for many Koreans.

Some bingsu lovers make lists of cafes to treat themselves to quality bingsu instead of heading to a coffee (or bingsu) franchise.

This summer delicacy can be enjoyed with different ingredients when people top their shaved ice either with Oreo chocolate, mango, watermelons or strawberries.

But, if you want to enjoy the traditional, old-style Korean bingsu -- shaved ice topped with sweetened red beans -- head to a Seodaemun-gu-based bingsu cafe Homilbat.

The reddish brown-colored brick-covered building near the Sinchon Station signals the cafe's location.

While the cafe offers a wide range of bingsu choices, the popular menu is the milk bingsu.

Unlike other bingsu options, the shaved ice and sweetened red beans are offered in two separate bowls, allowing the guests to control the level of sweetness according to their taste. Two small-sized rice cakes compliment the sweetened red beans, adding chewiness to the dessert.

People can get refills for the sweetened red beans, according to the cafe owner.

For those who are familiar with the original bingsu, try the newest Homilbat menu, the black sesame seeds bingsu.