it's hard to recall the taste of summer

Jinah and I have been trying to go to Empire State South since last December, but our schedules didn't really coincide until last Thursday where we met for a late dinner. We sat outside where we were allowed to freely use the extra bright flash that came with her SO ADORABLE Alice in Wonderland Holga and gab about literally everything. Useless fact: she and I went to summer camp together when we were children, and the single sartorial memory I have of her as a kid has her wearing printed bicycle shorts and T-shirt with craft paint - both items I LOVED as a wayward and ill-advised 8-year-old. Thank God I burned those photos years ago.

As for Empire State South, I was a little underwhelmed, but I think 80% of it is due to me ordering the wrong dish. I had the trout while Jinah wisely chose the duck confit (with a little prodding from me - "Ohmygod, you HAVE to get it," also my catchphrase to egging friends into buying things they don't need). I'm trying to follow the diet advised in "Feed Your Face" by Jessica Wu, which I'm slowly discovering is impossible because I have to give up desserts. (If you see my Seoul posts, you will see that I've been to nearly all the cafes in Garosugil. I've been spoiled.) In a moment of experimental delusion, I ordered the cake puree (I don't even remember the dish's real name), which made me think of cake that's been vomited and repacked into a dessert. (Or something that came from Bridget Jones's dinner party.)

One thing I will attest to is their coffee. I sampled a bit of Jinah's macchiato, and I was briefly transported to Italy as my 14-year-old self where I tried my first espresso. And in true Alicia-like fashion, I spent the rest of the night playing Cooking Dash.





top. Christopher Kane for Topshop
skirt. Korean market
blazer. Zara
shoes. Balenciaga
clutch. Celine

first and last photos by jinah