At Seaforest Bakeshop, owner Suerim Lee is putting her own spin on classic Korean flavors

CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- Seaforest Bakeshop feels like home, with artwork gifted by Suerim Lee's grandmother and painted by her aunt hanging on the wall.

A set of curtains is made from one of Suerim's Hanboks (a traditional Korean dress) and her grandfather's shirts.

Behind the curtain, Suerim is in her happy place, creating vegetarian treats that incorporate classic Korean flavors in new ways.

Her mom comes up from Maryland two days a week to help with the baking. She also ferments all of the kimchi in pots just outside the kitchen.

The doenjang caramel rolls are made with Suerim's buttermilk dough and her mom's fermented soybean paste, creating "a more savory, funky version of miso."

There's black sesame cake, a streusel coffee cake baked with roasted soybean flour, a scallion cheddar roll infused with fermented chili paste and hotteok mochi hearts.

Hotteok is a popular Korean street food. Suerim's baked interpretation is a bite-sized, rice cake-based treat that reminded me of every great thing that my mother would have made me.

Suerim says a lot of her Korean customers have expressed excitement and, to her surprise, gratitude for the flavor-filled memories she's baking.

Suerim opened Seaforest Bakeshop, last fall. Suerim, in Korean, means seaforest.

Seaforest Bakeshop | Instagram
625 South 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19146