Cafe HwaSan — Restaurant in Plano

I've only been here twice, but I can tell already that this has become one of my favorite cafes in DFW! Perfect place for great drinks, food, desserts, and hangout/study sessions.

Here are my thoughts on everything I've ordered so far:

Tiramisu Latte: best tiramisu latte I've tried!! Everything about the iconic dessert was captured perfectly into this latte. You can still taste the boldness of the coffee alongside the creaminess of the dairy and cream cheese topping. (5/5)

Cloud Matcha Latte: again, one of the best in its class. Cafe Hwasan uses ceremonial grade matcha, and you can really tell by the color and taste. Perfect balance of matcha, milk, cream, and sweetness. (5/5)

Strawberry Snow Latte: this one was very milk forward, whereas I'd prefer more strawberry to come through. I felt like it could've had a bit more sweetness as well. Not a bad option if you're not in the mood for a caffeinated drink. (3.5/5)

Tokyo Tower Burger: might seem weird to order a burger at a Korean cafe, but the burgers and fries are actually really good. The bun (I think it's brioche?) was so good and toasted perfectly. There's a piece of tempura shrimp on top, which was coated in light yet crispy Panko bread crumbs. The patty was thinner and cooked a tad longer than I would've liked (well-done), although it boils down to individual preference (also not sure if you can request doneness at this place). The fries are also super delicious as well. Crispy but soft in the inside, and the herb seasoning they dust on top is superb. (4.5/5)

K-spicy Chicken Burger: also a really good burger (or chicken sandwich lol). The sauce is really flavorful and delicious, chicken was crispy, tender, and juicy, and coleslaw and pickles complimented the protein perfectly. Comes with the same delicious fries. (5/5)

Seoul Egg Ham Toast: ordered this for its "trendiness" factor (ahem.. for the insta picture lol). Korean cuisine likes to pair sweetness with otherwise savory foods, which I usually tend to like, but I didn't like whatever sauce they drizzled on top (sweetened condensed milk would be my guess?). Anyways, it was only on the top, and the rest of the sandwich is very decadent (has brown, ham, and egg). Almost a bit too rich for my liking, although I'd love to see them offer different varieties for the Korean street toast. (3.5/5)

Takoyaki: great flavor and they nailed the toppings. Batter was undercooked though, but to be fair, the cafe was almost closing when I ordered.. It was probably a fluke, but it was still yummy lol. (4/5 had it been cooked a bit longer).

Strawberry Croffle: another "trendy" item. Very insta-worthy presentation. While I still prefer a traditional waffle, I enjoyed trying the unique experience. (4/5)

The inside is also really nice and cozy. Bathrooms are clean, Wi-Fi is reliable, and customer service was great. The place does get pretty busy though, and you might not be able to get a table. But it is definitely...

My experiences with this place has only been through a delivery app. I recently ordered two iced matcha drinks (Cloud matcha, lavender matcha) with special instructions (i.e. little to no ice) and both were quite good. But given they are using ceremonial grade matcha I think they can afford to make the drinks more matcha-forward as I got a lot more creme and lavender than I would've liked.

I appreciate the fact that, despite having basically no ice in the drinks, they filled the cups all the way instead of leaving ~20% room at the top which some places do and is a huge pet peeve of mine. Don't get me started.

Also ordered shrimp soy yaki udon. Flavors were good and I think it would have been much better in the restaurant- udon was a little mushy for my taste which was probably because of the delivery time (driver also had a stop along the way). Not going to ding them for this since I ordered it knowing noodles don't travel too well.

Tried chicken katsu curry and the curry was on the sweet side (it also had huge chunks of mushrooms in it). Katsu was very crispy with thick cuts of chicken. The to go utensils were too flimsy and it was not easy trying to cut the chicken katsu into bite sized pieces. The curry is also definitely spicier than I expected so spice wimps beware.

Looking forward to trying more...

quiet, cute cafe with lots of delicious coffee and food options!

The service is very friendly and helps you with anything you need. The ambiance is chill, quiet music in the background, and cozy vibes all around. Nice place to study or bring some friends. There are lots of food options as well for quick eats, or coffee choices for long study sessions or early risers (as the place doesn't stay open late).

I would consider the food here more comfy than quality. This place has a lot of things you would usually crave on a random night and I enjoyed it a lot. I came by on a Wednesday evening and it was very quiet and relaxed. I got the Chicken Spicy Yaki-Udon & Kimchi Bacon Creamy Udon and both were great. The udon noodles were just frozen udon, but the flavors of both made the dish different and added so much. The Spicy Chicken Yaki-Udon had a good spice and lots of chicken. The Kimchi Bacon Creamy Udon was very creamy and very cheesy. Finished our meal with a croffle which was excellent. Cold Ice cream with a nice warm, soft croffle was perfect to end the night.

comfortable cafe, cozy vibes, friendly service and...