After it opened six months ago, the place has earned its reputation and popularity by word-of -mouth publicity. Café Hessed is a welcome change from the usual fast-food restaurants as it specializes in delivering fine bakery goods. [break]
The restaurant has its own enchanting history. Tae Jun Jin, who came from South Korea in 2007 as a tourist, met his soulmate Sujin Shim in the country and then went back to Korea. But having completely fallen in love with Nepal, he decided to come back with his wife and mother. He then opened the café. Tae, with his wife and mother, has been living in Kathmandu for the past one year and a half and devotes all his time to the bakery.
Tae had initially opened the place targeting tourists and expatriates but lately more local customers have been thronging in. “Hessed” means love and compassion in Hebrew and like the namesake, the love for Nepal is what made the couple venture into this business. “I wanted to cater bakery goods of finest quality at reasonable prices, so I opened up the place”, he added.
Explaining further the reason for opting for a bakery he says, “My friends who used to travel to Nepal used to carry doughnuts as they used to say that international quality and standard doughnuts were not available here. After knowing that there is a demand for good bakery goods, the idea of opening a bakery clicked my mind”.
The café has a welcoming space with a laid-back setting, touches of precision, neatness and elegance. The wall is covered with striking sketches and the light comfortable furniture has lent a soothing feel to the ambience. The colorful textures and neat plants placed by the window sill are the vivid touches that add to the warmth and serenity of the place. Another noteworthy attribute is the outstanding service that the owners provide who give special attention to catering to the customers´ needs.At Café Hessed you get to choose a variety of baked goods and if you have a sweet tooth then making a single choice will be pretty hard. With the alluring display of baked delicacies like the pink vanilla cake, coconut ring, tiramisu cake, and the white choco rainbow ring, it is very difficult to resist your temptation to taste it all. You can also take a cue from the owner himself, who can tell you without any hesitation how exactly each cupcakes taste.
Tae says the favorite among customers is the special doughnut called blueberry filled which sells like hot cakes. Even then, one cannot miss the peanut powder ring,
choco-cookie ring, caramel macchiato and the chocoholic cake that just melts in your mouth. No wonder the place has been a newfound heaven for bakery lovers.Hessed also offers a variety of fresh drinks like iced tea and lattes like yellow pumpkin latte, purple sweet-potato latte, ice green-tea latte, as well as hot chocolate and smoothies. For coffee connoisseurs there are a choice of coffee drinks like caffe lattes, café mochas, cappuccino, espresso and americanos.
Pulchowk is becoming exceedingly more vibrant with the increase in number of chic restaurants and Café Hessed has further contributed to its radiance. If you have a weakness for baked delicacies, then this is the place you don´t want to miss.
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