Haven’t tried bingsu? Taste the traditional Korean dessert at new Johnson County cafe
Annie Han grew up watching her father run his Branson restaurants. So while she tried a corporate job after college, she was drawn to entrepreneurship.
“That was more natural to me. Seeing my dad do the entrepreneur side,” Han said. “Obviously a ton of responsibility but at the end of the day he was able to make the decisions.”
She left her corporate job and then visited family in Korea — and some of its many cafes — for six weeks with her husband. When she returned she started making plans for her own Korean cafe, just five minutes from her home.
Leafy Korean Dessert Cafe opened in late November at 7406 W. 121st St., Overland Park (just north of Costco). She put “leafy” in the name as a nod to the cafe’s green walls and vines in the decor.
It offers two types of desserts.
▪ Bingsu, sweetened shaved frozen milk, a traditional Korean dessert. Toppings include mango, strawberry, chocolate, Oreo, matcha red bean and strawberry cheesecake.
“It translates to snowflake so it is very fluffy and soft like snow,” Han said.
▪ Croffle (croissant dough cooked in a waffle) with various toppings including Nutella, cheese, s’mores, ice cream or strawberry cream.
Leafy Korean Desserts Cafe also has coffee drinks, green tea lattes, lemonade and sparkling drinks (lemonade, grapefruit, peach and yuzu).
“I knew there was a large Korean population in Overland Park and every day I see more and more people that I haven’t met before,” Han said. “They get excited to have something in Kansas that they haven’t had in years. They would have to go to L.A. or back to Korea to have it.”
Even though her father warned her about the long hours of a restaurateur, Han said it is in her blood and he has become a mentor. She hopes to open another operation, perhaps with a different concept.
