Little Vial Hopper · 9 stories
Writes about cafes, restaurants, and small beauty finds around Daejeon-Chungcheong, Seoul, and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Beauty products · Cafés
The Sweetree is a pink-fronted handmade waffle café in Gangseo, Seoul, near Balsan Station and Ujangsan Station. On a weekend dine-in visit, four waffles (plain, almond crunch, Shinobe brown cheese and banana choco whipped cream) and a café latte were ordered at The Sweetree's kiosk for 24,000 won in total. Made with Le Gall fermented butter, The Sweetree's waffles are crisp outside, soft inside and noticeably rich and nutty.
Sobokjip (소복집) is a hanok-style Korean restaurant on the ground floor of Central 2 Tower, near Exit 1 of Magongnaru Station in Gangseo, Seoul. The writer booked ahead and had lunch there with a friend, sharing the snail doenjang (soybean paste) barley ssam rice set for two (24,000 won), and enjoyed its mild, nutty doenjang, 300g of royal-style pork bulgogi and refillable ssam greens. Sobokjip is a good fit for anyone after a healthy Korean lunch with generous portions and good flavor for the price.
Chadol Grill Magok (차돌그릴 마곡) is an aged beef brisket Korean BBQ restaurant on the first floor of GMG Tower, near Exit 3 of Magok Station in Seoul. On a weekend family meal, the writer ordered 4 portions of aged brisket, ghee butter king scallops, a bomb steamed egg (gyeran-jjim) and brisket doenjang rice; the brisket was tender rather than chewy, and the steamed egg was pudding-soft. Chadol Grill Magok pleased everyone from kids to adults and suits family meals and group gatherings.
Jinsim Castella Gimpo Gurae Main Branch (진심카스테라 김포구래본점) is a takeout-only castella (Japanese-style sponge cake) shop in Gurae-dong, Gimpo. On a chance stop, the writer tried the original and chocolate castella with Jinsim fresh cream while delivery and pickup customers kept the shop busy, and a freshly baked tray sold out within moments. Moist and gently sweet, Jinsim Castella works well both as a snack for kids and as a gift for parents.
Jju Baksa Magok Branch (쭈박사 마곡점) is a griddle baby octopus restaurant in Gangseo, Seoul, near Exit 8 of Yangcheonhyanggyo Station. After a walk at Seoul Botanic Park, a grandmother, her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren shared the griddle octopus and pork belly set for 4 at medium spice, with complimentary crab and cheese steamed eggs, ramyeon noodles and flying fish roe fried rice, while the child who can't handle spice ate rice balls made from a ₩1,000 bowl of rice. Verdict: Jju Baksa Magok Branch is a good octopus restaurant for a family stop after Seoul Botanic Park.
Byway Bakers Balsan Station is a dessert café and bakery near Balsan Station in Gangseo, Seoul. With no free seats on a weekend visit, the writer took home Dubai chocolate salt bread, a golden egg tart and fig, Oreo and almond chocolate financiers; the egg tart filling was soft like pudding, and the financiers paired well with coffee. For a weekend visit, plan on takeout at Byway Bakers Balsan Station.
Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch is a Korean set-meal (hansik) restaurant in Gangseo, Seoul, right next to NC Department Store by Balsan Station. A grandmother and her family, grandchildren included, chose soy-marinated crab (ganjang gejang) for the ₩62,000 Korean set meal for 3, which came with beef seaweed soup, a spicy cockle dish and grilled mackerel, and they still had to order an extra bowl of rice. With 3 hours of free parking, Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch made a satisfying family meal out with elders.
Yunoa EGF Repair Cream is an EGF repair cream also sold in pharmacies, described as a dual-function product for brightening and wrinkle improvement. A blogger with dry, sensitive skin who struggles with heat, redness and inner dryness every summer received Yunoa EGF Repair Cream for review and used it morning and night, before makeup and as a sleeping pack. The verdict: the dense, bouncy texture still sinks in without feeling heavy in midsummer, and the blogger has made Yunoa EGF Repair Cream this summer's go-to repair cream.
Chamdwaejitgan Magok Branch (참돼짓간 마곡점) is a Seoul Korean BBQ restaurant in Gangseo, 80m from Exit 9 of Balsan Station, specialising in grilled black pork and Boseong nokdon (green-tea-fed pork). On a weekend evening, the writer's family ordered one portion each of black pork neck, black pork ogyeopsal (skin-on pork belly), Boseong nokdon chamsamgyeopsal (pork belly) and kkotmoksal (pork neck) at ₩16,000–19,000, added steamed egg and doenjang (soybean paste) stew, then finished with two orders of fried rice. Chamdwaejitgan Magok's staff grilled the meat from start to finish and looked after the writer's child, making it a relaxed, friendly choice for a family dinner.
