Shaved ice after shabu/korean bbq? Sure! This is located in the same plaza as one of my favorite shabu restaurants (Miss Shabu) and gopchang restaurants (King Chang). So it's a no brainer to stop here for dessert after. Bora is purple in korean so they offer purple yam chips with each order (a small amount comes with your order but they also sell bags of the purple yam chips you can buy). We've tried a few different things here each time, but the one thing I also go back for is the watermelon bingsoo (shaved ice). It's the perfect amount of sweetness without being overly sweet. Some places really drench it in condensed milk, but there's a good balance here. I feel like you can still just enjoy the fresh fruit on top without it being covered in syrup. We've come here a little before closing since we had just finished dinner and they were nice enough to let us still dine-in (never felt rushed-although we made it a point to finish up quickly so we weren't keeping them there too late). My only thing I do wish is that it was opened a little later but understandably during the pandemic, most stores/restaurants have reduced their hours.
Annie P.
Super aesthetic dessert shop, with delicious desserts!
Chris S.
Photos of the desserts seem to be well plated in the past but now it's all served in to-go paper bowls. No flower or ceramic bowl, so definitely lacks the Instagrammable appeal. Milk ice cream presentation didn't have the larger, rounded spiral, but rather just looked like the typical fast-food soft serve without the cone. Overall everything tried was on the sweeter side including the sweet potato tiramisu so couldn't even finish it off.
Alena Christina Amy W.
Cute little cafe serving korean and korean inspired desserts. The milk and purple sweet potato ice cream was yum and the purple sweet potato tiramisu was not bad, although I wished the cake layer in it was soaked with something instead of left dry. I would try their bingsoo the next time I go!
Valencia W.
I've had their soft serves since they first opened in Koreatown, I love love love their purple yam soft serve! Both the purple yam and milk soft serves are super milky which I really like, and there's not a lot of place that have purple yam ice cream. Another thing that I always get whenever I visit is their purple yam tiramisu, it's so so so goood and definitely a must try!!
Jason F.
Environment - nice indoor and outdoor seating Items - good place for deserts. bing soo, beverages, lattes, soft serve, buns, pies, this cafe has a good amount of selections. We came for the bing soo. While on the pricey side, 10-$15 an item depending what you get, they are fairly unique if you get the fruit variety. We got the persimmon and melon variety. The persimmon bing soo was light and sweet. You got a little hint of persimmon but it didn't over take your taste buds. The melon bing soo how ever was a punch in your face all about melon. It was tasty and refreshing, very large! I'd recommend this place for Korean influenced desserts. I think they do a great job with presentation and flavor, and it's a chill location with other eating spots around the area.
Vy N.
Oh, Cafe Bora, I remember meeting your first store in LA and falling in love with the ice cream, aesthetics, and all the wonderful treats you had to offer in your place, so when I found out there was a location close to me in Buena Park, how could I not go?! It is located within the Korean business area within Buena park where the Zion Market is located. Therefore, parking may be a bit tricky at times since there are different restaurants around. Still, parking was not too much of an issue when I went although finding the place was a bit of a challenge. With the building made in a way it recessed into the plaza, you may pass by it without realizing it until you see the little logo and signs with different options to choose from. The interior of Cafe Bora is really cute and makes a great place for a date or just a nice casual hangout with friends. Similar to LA they had their usual fare of different ice creams and bingsoo. The waffles were a pleasant surprise and I knew it was a calling for me to get it. So in the end we got the Milk Ice Cream, Persimmon Bingsoo, and 3PC Waffle. All were perfect! The milk ice cream was super soft and creamy with the perfect hint of sweetness yet not too overbearing. The persimmon bingsoo was the perfect blend of fruity sweetness with the refreshing hint of shaved ice. I was surprised at how large it came too! The waffles came out hot and made a good contrast with the other two cold desert items we got as well. Due to COVID they had most of their food in disposable contains except for the waffles but it still managed to look aesthetically pleasing to the eye! Cafe Bora has yet to fail me and I'm excited to go back more often when I can now that it is closer to me!
Bonnie S.
I just looked it up. What does Bora mean in Korean? It means purple!!! My friend from out of town was visiting the OC and suggested we try Cafe Bora. Cafe Bora is tucked in between a really delicious Korean Tofu Place and Korean Seafood Sashimi Place. That night I tried the Purple Potato Tiramisu and it was LOVE at first bite!!!! I really loved the flavor of that tiramisu and enjoyed the real purple potato mash in between the layers of cream and soft sponge cake. It doesn't taste artificial like a Taro Milk Tea. It tastes like you are eating a purple potato in between deliciousness. So what did I do next? I dragged my friends who live an hour away for lunch at that Korean Tofu Place the following week and for dessert, we went to Cafe Bora next door. The more friends we have, the more stuff we can order. Oh yeah! So I ordered 3 different types of tiramisu: Purple Potato, Matcha and Injoelmi aka roasted soy bean powder. All of these tiramisu was visually stunning. You can pick between getting a tiny order or a medium sized cup. Always opt for the larger size because you wanna eat every single bite and I am always craving for more afterwards. Which of these 3 are my new favorite? The Injoelmi tiramisu. It has an uncommon flavor that I am very drawn too. I just love it. Hard to describe it but it is very subtle in sweetness and almost savory. I enjoyed it a lot. My friends also ordered the melon bingsu and that was very refreshing as you are eating the milky snow and balls of sweet melon. We loved it too.
MJ C.
I have ordered the Croffle、 and Injelimi shaved ice、and Mango shaved ice. The Mango was slightly unripe、but everything was delicious. I recommend the Croffle :)
Joyce C.
Cute spot with cute desserts! They have the best Korean styled bingsoo! The bingsoo was not too sweet, and it tasted pretty much the same as milk loll. The red bean was very soft. I love the sweet potato chips that they put on the top, it was very crispy! Highly recommended;))
Milkiest Milk Ice Cream!!! I crave it all the way from LA. So good. Flavorful, creamy and light. The Bora (purple sweet potato) icecream is good but the sweet potato flavor is more mild. Go milk on this one. Tiramisu! Fluffy sponge cake, really gooey cream. Absolutely delicious. Ive tried Matcha, Bora, and Injeolmi (roasted grains) flavor -- all of them are true to flavor, equally good. It's petite but honestly the small size is perfect for share for two (and try a different dessert to share too!) Bingsoo (shaved ice) They're petit again but packs flavor and just absolutely perfect. I've had in matcha and sweet potato -- both were really good! This place nails it. Best bingsoo and tiramisu I've had in the USA. Milk Ice cream is among the best too.
Daniel S.
Great little dessert drink spot for a date or place to relax and talk with friends. The girls working were very nice and professional, and let us come in early before they even officially opened (thank you and sorry!) The watermelon bingsu was fantastic, and fed 3 of us. We also got the strawberry black ice tea, but it was a little too sweet for us.
Jeanette Motley
They open at 5 pm!
Ivy W.
Both purple sweet potato soft serve and latte were delicious. However, I still ended up with a little more than half cup of ice for the latte even though I've requested less ice already. I would definitely ask for no ice next time and add in my own ice so the drink won't be as diluted. Ample of parking spaces. Indoor and outdoor dining both available.
Kim's Kitchen Affair
The watermelon dessert and mochi waffle were delicious
Shaved ice after shabu/korean bbq? Sure! This is located in the same plaza as one of my favorite shabu restaurants (Miss Shabu) and gopchang restaurants (King Chang). So it's a no brainer to stop here for dessert after. Bora is purple in korean so they offer purple yam chips with each order (a small amount comes with your order but they also sell bags of the purple yam chips you can buy). We've tried a few different things here each time, but the one thing I also go back for is the watermelon bingsoo (shaved ice). It's the perfect amount of sweetness without being overly sweet. Some places really drench it in condensed milk, but there's a good balance here. I feel like you can still just enjoy the fresh fruit on top without it being covered in syrup. We've come here a little before closing since we had just finished dinner and they were nice enough to let us still dine-in (never felt rushed-although we made it a point to finish up quickly so we weren't keeping them there too late). My only thing I do wish is that it was opened a little later but understandably during the pandemic, most stores/restaurants have reduced their hours.
Super aesthetic dessert shop, with delicious desserts!
Photos of the desserts seem to be well plated in the past but now it's all served in to-go paper bowls. No flower or ceramic bowl, so definitely lacks the Instagrammable appeal. Milk ice cream presentation didn't have the larger, rounded spiral, but rather just looked like the typical fast-food soft serve without the cone. Overall everything tried was on the sweeter side including the sweet potato tiramisu so couldn't even finish it off.
Cute little cafe serving korean and korean inspired desserts. The milk and purple sweet potato ice cream was yum and the purple sweet potato tiramisu was not bad, although I wished the cake layer in it was soaked with something instead of left dry. I would try their bingsoo the next time I go!
I've had their soft serves since they first opened in Koreatown, I love love love their purple yam soft serve! Both the purple yam and milk soft serves are super milky which I really like, and there's not a lot of place that have purple yam ice cream. Another thing that I always get whenever I visit is their purple yam tiramisu, it's so so so goood and definitely a must try!!
Environment - nice indoor and outdoor seating Items - good place for deserts. bing soo, beverages, lattes, soft serve, buns, pies, this cafe has a good amount of selections. We came for the bing soo. While on the pricey side, 10-$15 an item depending what you get, they are fairly unique if you get the fruit variety. We got the persimmon and melon variety. The persimmon bing soo was light and sweet. You got a little hint of persimmon but it didn't over take your taste buds. The melon bing soo how ever was a punch in your face all about melon. It was tasty and refreshing, very large! I'd recommend this place for Korean influenced desserts. I think they do a great job with presentation and flavor, and it's a chill location with other eating spots around the area.
Oh, Cafe Bora, I remember meeting your first store in LA and falling in love with the ice cream, aesthetics, and all the wonderful treats you had to offer in your place, so when I found out there was a location close to me in Buena Park, how could I not go?! It is located within the Korean business area within Buena park where the Zion Market is located. Therefore, parking may be a bit tricky at times since there are different restaurants around. Still, parking was not too much of an issue when I went although finding the place was a bit of a challenge. With the building made in a way it recessed into the plaza, you may pass by it without realizing it until you see the little logo and signs with different options to choose from. The interior of Cafe Bora is really cute and makes a great place for a date or just a nice casual hangout with friends. Similar to LA they had their usual fare of different ice creams and bingsoo. The waffles were a pleasant surprise and I knew it was a calling for me to get it. So in the end we got the Milk Ice Cream, Persimmon Bingsoo, and 3PC Waffle. All were perfect! The milk ice cream was super soft and creamy with the perfect hint of sweetness yet not too overbearing. The persimmon bingsoo was the perfect blend of fruity sweetness with the refreshing hint of shaved ice. I was surprised at how large it came too! The waffles came out hot and made a good contrast with the other two cold desert items we got as well. Due to COVID they had most of their food in disposable contains except for the waffles but it still managed to look aesthetically pleasing to the eye! Cafe Bora has yet to fail me and I'm excited to go back more often when I can now that it is closer to me!
I just looked it up. What does Bora mean in Korean? It means purple!!! My friend from out of town was visiting the OC and suggested we try Cafe Bora. Cafe Bora is tucked in between a really delicious Korean Tofu Place and Korean Seafood Sashimi Place. That night I tried the Purple Potato Tiramisu and it was LOVE at first bite!!!! I really loved the flavor of that tiramisu and enjoyed the real purple potato mash in between the layers of cream and soft sponge cake. It doesn't taste artificial like a Taro Milk Tea. It tastes like you are eating a purple potato in between deliciousness. So what did I do next? I dragged my friends who live an hour away for lunch at that Korean Tofu Place the following week and for dessert, we went to Cafe Bora next door. The more friends we have, the more stuff we can order. Oh yeah! So I ordered 3 different types of tiramisu: Purple Potato, Matcha and Injoelmi aka roasted soy bean powder. All of these tiramisu was visually stunning. You can pick between getting a tiny order or a medium sized cup. Always opt for the larger size because you wanna eat every single bite and I am always craving for more afterwards. Which of these 3 are my new favorite? The Injoelmi tiramisu. It has an uncommon flavor that I am very drawn too. I just love it. Hard to describe it but it is very subtle in sweetness and almost savory. I enjoyed it a lot. My friends also ordered the melon bingsu and that was very refreshing as you are eating the milky snow and balls of sweet melon. We loved it too.
I have ordered the Croffle、 and Injelimi shaved ice、and Mango shaved ice. The Mango was slightly unripe、but everything was delicious. I recommend the Croffle :)
Cute spot with cute desserts! They have the best Korean styled bingsoo! The bingsoo was not too sweet, and it tasted pretty much the same as milk loll. The red bean was very soft. I love the sweet potato chips that they put on the top, it was very crispy! Highly recommended;))
Restaurantji Recommends
Milkiest Milk Ice Cream!!! I crave it all the way from LA. So good. Flavorful, creamy and light. The Bora (purple sweet potato) icecream is good but the sweet potato flavor is more mild. Go milk on this one. Tiramisu! Fluffy sponge cake, really gooey cream. Absolutely delicious. Ive tried Matcha, Bora, and Injeolmi (roasted grains) flavor -- all of them are true to flavor, equally good. It's petite but honestly the small size is perfect for share for two (and try a different dessert to share too!) Bingsoo (shaved ice) They're petit again but packs flavor and just absolutely perfect. I've had in matcha and sweet potato -- both were really good! This place nails it. Best bingsoo and tiramisu I've had in the USA. Milk Ice cream is among the best too.
Great little dessert drink spot for a date or place to relax and talk with friends. The girls working were very nice and professional, and let us come in early before they even officially opened (thank you and sorry!) The watermelon bingsu was fantastic, and fed 3 of us. We also got the strawberry black ice tea, but it was a little too sweet for us.
They open at 5 pm!
Both purple sweet potato soft serve and latte were delicious. However, I still ended up with a little more than half cup of ice for the latte even though I've requested less ice already. I would definitely ask for no ice next time and add in my own ice so the drink won't be as diluted. Ample of parking spaces. Indoor and outdoor dining both available.
The watermelon dessert and mochi waffle were delicious