Color Drawer · 124 stories

A Little Color Jar

I write about beauty products I try in everyday routines. · Writes about: Beauty products · Restaurants · Cafés · Things to do · Shopping · Bars · Fashion · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Jokbal restaurant near Nowon Station with free makguksu: Gwihan

Gwihan Jokbal Nowon Branch (귀한족발 노원점) is a jokbal (braised pig's trotters) restaurant on Nowon Culture Street near Lotte Department Store by Nowon Station, Seoul. The plan was a large jokbal plus makguksu (buckwheat noodles), but when told the makguksu was free, the order switched to the extra-large Gwihan Jokbal, served with a free pollack hangover soup and fresh leafy greens, and the soft jokbal stayed warm to the last bite. With a spacious hall and open-window seats that feel like eating outdoors, Gwihan Jokbal Nowon Branch is a jokbal restaurant worth recommending for a year-end gathering.

Written Oct 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gyodae Station burger terrace: Hawaiian bacon and pastrami, Daily Fix

Daily Fix Seocho Gyodae Branch is a handmade burger and sandwich restaurant near Gyodae Station in Seocho, Seoul, with bar seats, a curtained room and terrace seats where the windows open wide. On a Monday visit, the Hawaiian bacon burger paired thick handmade bacon with pineapple for a sweet-and-salty bite, and the pastrami sandwich came on soft bread packed with pastrami; both were satisfying. For a terrace lunch near Gyodae Station on a nice day, Daily Fix is a great fit.

Written Jun 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho café on a rainy evening: misty Seoraksan & latte, Cafe Neorae

Cafe Neorae is a large bakery café on Wonamhaksapyeong-gil in Sokcho, Gangwon, with a view of Ulsanbawi Rock on Seoraksan. On a rainy, cloudy evening near closing time, the writer saw misty Seoraksan instead of Ulsanbawi Rock and had an iced latte, a hot Americano and Basque cheesecake. The latte at Cafe Neorae is especially good, making it worth a stop for anyone looking for great latte in Sokcho, but go early if you want the bread too.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulBars

Jamsil Saenae izakaya with parking and truffle scallop uni: Ichigo

Ichigo is an izakaya on a quiet side street near the Jamsil Saenae intersection in Songpa, Seoul, with parking and a menu built around seafood dishes. After booking last-minute, the writer sat at a corner bar seat and ordered truffle flounder ceviche, truffle scallop with uni and Sapporo Premium draft beer, naming the two dishes as Ichigo's top 2. Quiet and dimly lit, Ichigo is a neighborhood bar in Jamsil Saenae that suits friends, family, dates and even blind dates.

Written Jun 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho tofu restaurant, no-break-time grilled pollack set: Jinsol

Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu is a soft tofu (sundubu) and dried pollack restaurant on Wonamhaksapyeong-gil in Sokcho, Gangwon, at the foot of Seoraksan. Because Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu has no break time, the writer stopped by around 3 pm, ordered the grilled pollack set for two plus sanchae bibimbap (mountain herb rice bowl) and hwangtae haejangguk (dried pollack hangover soup), and was very pleased with the sweet-spicy grilled pollack, the clear pollack soup and the generous side dishes. Verdict: Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu is a good family stop when a Seoraksan hike or Sokcho trip leaves you eating at an awkward hour.

Written Jun 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho Korean restaurant, Ulsan Rock window breakfast: Daecheongmaru

Daecheongmaru is a Korean restaurant on Gwangwang-ro at the foot of Seoraksan in Sokcho, Gangwon, open for breakfast from 7:30am. At a 4-person window table looking out on Ulsan Rock, we ordered hwangtae haejangguk (dried pollack soup), sanchae bibimbap (mountain herb rice bowl) and spicy soft tofu stew. The mild pollack soup with tender pollack strips and the nutty, perilla-oil-scented herb bibimbap stood out. For two people at Daecheongmaru, pollack soup plus herb bibimbap is the winning order.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoseong, GangwonRestaurants

Rainy-day duck baeksuk restaurant in Goseong: Gajo Ori Sutbulgui

Gajo Ori Sutbulgui is a duck and baeksuk (slow-simmered whole poultry) restaurant on Yongwon-ro in Toseong-myeon, Goseong, Gangwon. On a gray, rainy day, three people booked 1 hour ahead and ate duck eomnamu baeksuk (duck simmered with castor aralia). The meaty duck, chive aroma, green tea salt, homemade acorn jelly and kimchi, and chewy rice porridge all satisfied, and the leftovers were packed to go. For a hot, restorative meal with older family members near Sokcho on a rainy day, the duck eomnamu baeksuk at Gajo Ori Sutbulgui is a good fit.

Written Jun 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho seafood shop's ray liver & noodle-cut flounder: Daeilho Bangeo

Sokcho Daeilho Bangeo (속초대일호방어) is a seafood shop inside Sokcho Central Market in Sokcho, Gangwon, that packs assorted sashimi, sushi and futomaki to go. The writer tried Sokcho-caught ray liver for the first time and found it rich enough to melt in the mouth, while the flounder sashimi, sliced long and thin like noodles, was chewy and firm. If ray has come in on the day you visit Sokcho Central Market, the ray liver at Sokcho Daeilho Bangeo is a delicacy worth trying.

Written Jun 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Seocho snack bar lunch: veggie-loaded nurungji tteokbokki, Halls

Halls Gimbap Main Branch is a gimbap and tteokbokki snack bar near Gyodae Station in Seocho, Seoul, with a terrace that feels like a brunch café. For lunch the writer had nurungji tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes topped with crispy scorched rice) packed with cabbage and scallions, plus a Jindo scallion tuna gimbap (seaweed rice roll) and dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken) set. With vegetable-heavy tteokbokki and a light, low-mayo tuna gimbap, Halls Gimbap Main Branch is worth recommending for a healthy meal.

Written Jun 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho bakery: Dolomites photo wall and chunky potato bread, Bultan

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store is a potato bread bakery on Haksapyeong-gil at the foot of Seoraksan in Sokcho, Gangwon. After sampling the squid ink potato bread, the writer bought two boxes of potato bread plus squid, red snow crab and dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken) flavored jjondeugi (chewy grilled snack strips), and was struck by the mild flavor and the bits of lightly mashed potato you can bite into. Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread is worth a stop for a not-too-sweet travel snack or a neat Sokcho souvenir.

Written Jun 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulCafés

Konkuk Univ. bakery café with an autumn terrace brunch: Stack Bakery

Stack Bakery is a pastry-focused bakery café in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin, Seoul, between Konkuk Univ. Station and Jayang Station. On an autumn visit around 12pm, the writer ordered a pain au chocolat, a salt bread with red bean butter, a kouign-amann and a latte, then had brunch on the outdoor terrace in the shade of a wall. With shatteringly flaky pastries and coffee that backs them up, Stack Bakery is just right for an autumn terrace brunch.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Songpa sashimi shop: June striped jack platter to go, Jangseong Susan

Jangseong Susan (장성수산) is a raw fish shop in the ground-floor fish market of the Garak Mall Panmae-dong building in Songpa, Seoul. Jangseong Susan sells a skidashi seasonal omakase: seasonal fish and seafood side dishes together. In early June the writer took home striped jack (shimaaji), croaker swim bladder and fatty tuna belly sashimi, with sea urchin, abalone and sea squirt on the skidashi plate, and threw a home party with a free bowl of mulhoe (cold raw fish soup). The Jangseong Susan skidashi seasonal omakase is filled only with the tastiest cuts and is just right for a home party.

Written Jun 12, 2026Sponsored