If you ever visit a dessert shop, it normally comes with a side of guilt, free of charge. You either deem the day a cheat day, promise yourself you’ll go the gym at night, or shrug it off and go to another dessert shop the next day. Korea town especially is known for having a large array of sweet shops and restaurants, each one trying to dish out more shame. Korean desserts, however, are known to be healthier than those of other cuisines, and a small cafe named Cafe Bora embraces this fact by offering healthy, minimal, “too pretty to eat” desserts to share that Korean culture with Los Angeles.
Cafe Bora is a Korean dessert boutique located in Koreatown, Los Angeles, offering desserts such as bingsoo (shaved ice), ice cream, tiramisu, coffee, and more. It is well-known for its ube (purple sweet potato) offerings, also known as the Purple Series. Eunice Tak, co-founder of Square Mixx Inc., decided to bring Cafe Bora from Seoul, South Korea to the US to be a part of the Square Mixx family. She is the visionary behind the shop, managing “everything from product sourcing to coming up with new items,” in her words, during her interview with Spoon UCLA.
“We are always looking for inspiration to share our Korean culture with our new flavors,” elaborates Eunice, “When I was growing up in the States, I felt like Koreans were shy about their background. I want other Koreans and Korean-Americans to feel proud of where they are from.” With such a noble cause, Cafe Bora has culminated to become one of the most instagrammable stops in KTown; let’s see why.
Offerings
Matcha and Ube Tiramisu (Highly Recommended)
Bora’s tiramisus were my favorite menu items, by far. The fluffy cake topped with just-sweet-enough cream and powder really made them a light and delectable dessert. This changed my classic view of tiramisu being just a traditional coffee-based cake, and made me realize it can be executed in many unique ways.
Ube and Milk Ice Cream
These delicious ice creams were refreshing, with unique flavors that are hard to find at other ice cream places. I liked the ube flavor more because of its distinctive starchy taste. I apologize for the lop-sided ube ice cream; I spent too much time staring at it in awe and let it melt.
Ube, Persimmon, and Matcha Bingsoo
I tried bingsoo for the first time during our visit to Cafe Bora, and I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t too big of a fan. The ice didn’t have much substance or taste to it, although it definitely felt light and healthy. The toppings added most of the flare to it, but then I wondered: why wouldn’t I just only eat the toppings?
Verdict
Spoon UCLA’s visit to Cafe Bora was enlightening and memorable. The aesthetic and hard-to-find desserts made the trip really worth it, and I would definitely return to devour the tiramisu again. Cafe Bora does a great job in imparting the gift of Korean culture to its customers, and I definitely felt like a part of their world with the Korean architecture, uniforms, dishes, and decorations!
Cafe Bora is located in KTown, and we highly recommend checking it out to experience authentic Korean desserts!