Restaurant Porn is a regular column of daydreams presented as a means to introduce Vancouver diners and designers to concepts, looks, and fully-formed ideas that they might draw an inkling of inspiration from. We do our best to pair the foreign rooms with local addresses so as to let everyone in on the fantasy.
(via) It’s a far cry from The Prancing Pony or Beorn’s house, but this altogether different cafe still made me feel just a little bit Hobbity when I first saw it…
WHAT IT IS: Simsim Cafe — a gorgeous and earthy little (850 sqft) cafe designed by Choi Kwangho of Korean fim Starsis earlier this year. It was meant to reflect and represent the look, feel and even smell of its island location. Logs have been split and arranged is such a away as to be used as double-sided seats that surround a communal, rock-founded table on a slightly sunken floor that is filled with soil. There are planted grasses, raw logs, wild flowers, branches and other tokens of what the island used to look like carefully positioned throughout.
“The project started with the intention to fill the space not with ordinary objects but with ones that have the scent and vibe of Jeju Island. It wasn’t long ago that I first visited Jeju Island. Feeling good under the sunny sky, we were taken away by the colors of the sea and once again by the breezy scenery. It did not take long until we started praising it, mesmerized by everything about Jeju. As we looked around with the strong scent of dirt and reeds shaking in the wind, the look of Jeju itself became admirable.”
WHERE IT IS: 1472 Nohyeong-dong, Cheju, Jeju-do | On South Korea’s large Jeju Island, the still developing holiday destination in the Korean Strait (pop. 621k).
WHERE WE WISH IT WAS: In one of the two old food concessions located at Spanish Banks on the West Side, where the beach and tidal flats meet the rainforest of Pacific Spirit Regional Park.
- – Photos by Hong Seokgyu –