Detour Sipper · 33 stories

Cupside Detours

I write about cafés and restaurants I visit in Seoul and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Bars · Food & snacks · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Tonkatsu lunch in Pangyo, Alpha Dome: two bowls of rice, Katsu Shokudo

Katsu Shokudo Pangyo Main Branch is a Blue Ribbon-certified restaurant serving handmade tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet), on basement level 1 of Alpha Dome Tower 3 near Pangyo Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. The blogger and her husband shared the set for two at lunch: loin katsu and fillet katsu with mini soba, udon and curry. Katsu Shokudo added extra rice for free, making the meal filling enough for two bowls of rice. With in-building parking and roomy seating, Katsu Shokudo is a strong pick for a tonkatsu lunch near Pangyo Station.

Written Jun 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulBars

Quiet Sinnonhyeon izakaya: chrysanthemum sake & smelt, Odeng Osaek

Odeng Osaek Gangnam Station Branch is a Japanese izakaya-style handmade oden bar in Seocho, Seoul, between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station. After dinner with a friend, the writer stopped by Odeng Osaek for a second round of the signature Busan handmade oden set, Odeng Osaek-ju (a chrysanthemum-scented traditional liquor) and smelt kushikatsu, and found that oden warmed in the table broth paired well with the floral drink. Odeng Osaek Gangnam Station Branch is a solid pick for a quiet second-round drink and conversation.

Written Jun 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiCafés

Suwon café: persimmon-tree courtyard & coconut coffee, Jeongjiyoung

Jeongjiyoung Coffee Roasters Hwahongmun Branch (정지영커피로스터즈 화홍문점) is a roastery café in Haenggung-dong, Suwon, right in front of Hwahongmun Gate on Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, with a vintage interior, a persimmon-tree courtyard, and terrace and rooftop seats looking out over the fortress. The writer stopped by on a weekday with a younger sibling during an outing to Hwaseong Haenggung Palace and ordered the signature coconut coffee and an iced Americano: the coconut coffee was sweet yet still anchored by the coffee, and the Americano was clean without strong acidity. Jeongjiyoung Coffee Roasters Hwahongmun Branch is a good stop on a Suwon Hwaseong walk for both good coffee and fortress views.

Written Jun 12, 2026Sponsored
ProductGaru SeonsaengFood & snacks

Unsweetened black soy milk powder for diet breakfasts: Garu Seonsaeng

Garu Seonsaeng (Garu Seonsaeng) Tameongneun Saengduyu Seoritae is an unsweetened black soybean milk powder made from 99.3% Korean-grown seoritae black soybeans and 0.7% sea salt. The writer drank 2 scoops of Garu Seonsaeng Seoritae mixed into 180ml of cold water as a diet breakfast replacement. She also shared it with her husband by adding milk or honey and using it in kongguksu (cold soybean noodle soup), yogurt and matcha lattes. Verdict: Garu Seonsaeng black soybean milk powder dissolves without clumps even in cold water and tastes nutty with no beany smell, making it a solid pick for busy diet mornings.

Written Jun 21, 2026Product provided
PlaceJeju, JejuRestaurants

Aewol black pork BBQ on a couple's first night in Jeju: Nopo Dwaeji

Nopo Dwaeji Aewol (노포돼지 애월) is a Korean BBQ restaurant in Gwakji, Aewol-eup, Jeju, where black pork aged 168 hours is seared over real charcoal and grilled at the table by staff. On the first night of their Jeju trip, the writer and her husband walked in late on a weekday evening without waiting and shared the black pork neck and belly combo with meljeot (fermented anchovy sauce), wasabi, spicy radish salad and geotjeori (fresh kimchi). With a cool, smoke-free dining room and staff doing all the grilling, Nopo Dwaeji Aewol left both of them very satisfied.

Written Jun 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuRestaurants

Yeon-dong, Jeju BBQ for a couple: soy-dipped galbisal, Dolgyeok Hanwoo

Dolgyeok Hanwoo (돌격한우) is a hanwoo (Korean beef) restaurant in Yeon-dong, Jeju City, near Jeju Airport, reportedly launched by Dogalbi. A married couple ordered 3 servings of Manong galbisal (garlic beef rib finger meat), dipped it in the special soy sauce as the staff showed them, topped it with sesame-oil garlic, and finished with complimentary hanwoo seaweed soup and Sichuan Chapagetti. Both ranked Dolgyeok Hanwoo among the three best meals of their Jeju trip.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

Early Sinnonhyeon café visit: einspänner & canelé, Upper and Under

Upper and Under is a large multi-floor dessert café in an alley between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station in Seoul. After being turned away by a full house one weekend afternoon, the writer came back a little earlier and had an einspänner, an iced chamomile tea, raspberry cake and a canelé at a sunny third-floor seat; the einspänner's cream held firm to the last sip and the canelé was crisp outside and soft inside. Upper and Under is a Sinnonhyeon café worth recommending for its space, coffee and desserts alike.

Written Jul 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

Gangnam Station study café, 3F outlets, fig financier: Selected Nicks

Selected Nicks is a large café near Gangnam Station in Seoul, about a 6-minute walk from Exit 3, with parking and floors running from B1 up to a rooftop. The writer spent a weekday morning working on a laptop with a friend at the 3F outlet seats, ordering an iced Americano (₩6,000) and fig and matcha chocolate financiers (₩4,500 each). With wide seat spacing and plenty of outlets, Selected Nicks is a study café near Gangnam Station where you can work for hours without feeling rushed.

Written Jul 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Italian restaurant in Yeonnam-dong for a post-perm lunch: Classicdang

Classicdang (클래식당) is an Italian restaurant in a Yeonnam-dong alley in Mapo, Seoul, within walking distance of Hongik Univ. Station. After getting a perm at a Yeonnam-dong hair salon, the writer met her husband, who had been out for a walk, for a slightly early lunch at Classicdang. They shared a handmade jambon arugula pizza and a crab cheese rosé pasta, and she especially loved dipping the pizza crust into the leftover rosé sauce. Classicdang is a good Yeonnam-dong spot for a pizza-and-pasta lunch date for two.

Written Jul 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Yeonnam-dong tiramisu café: Hydro Honey & Batouro drips, Central Site

Central Site Yeonnam (센트럴사이트 연남점) is a 3-floor hand-drip coffee café in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul, near Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station. On a date with her husband, the blogger ordered an Ethiopia Batouro Washed Darkroom drip, a Colombia Las Flores Cherry Velvet Hydro Honey drip and a classic tiramisu, and watched the barista present the bean aromas and brew up close. Even her husband, who doesn't enjoy acidic coffee, drank it easily, making Central Site Yeonnam a satisfying Yeonnam-dong date café for drip coffee and tiramisu.

Written Jul 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Seohyeon diet restaurant for a post-honeymoon dinner: Prefers

Prefers Diet Food Bundang Seohyeon (프레퍼스다이어트푸드 분당서현점) is a diet-meal restaurant next to Burger King in front of Rodeo Street near Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. A newlywed couple watching their post-honeymoon weight shared a chicken curry and a beef salad pasta there on a weeknight evening and enjoyed the moist chicken breast, tender beef and tangy pasta sauce. Prefers Diet Food Bundang Seohyeon is a good pick near Seohyeon Station for anyone tired of plain chicken breast and brown rice who still wants to eat well on a diet.

Written Jul 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongjak, SeoulBars

Korean pub by Sadang Station Exit 8: chili eggplant fritters, Sisibibi

Sisibibi is a wood-toned Korean pub with an izakaya feel, right outside Exit 8 of Sadang Station in Dongjak, Seoul. The writer returned to Sisibibi with a friend for a second round after dinner, ordering Chinese-style chili nurungji (scorched rice crust) eggplant fritters and a barley shrimp minari (Korean water parsley) pancake with beer, with each dish priced in the mid-10,000-won range. The writer found the food better than on earlier visits, and Sisibibi is now the writer's pick for the next catch-up in Sadang.

Written Jul 30, 2026Sponsored