Vanity Cart Rider · 36 stories

A Vanity Cart Around Seoul

Notes on restaurants, cafes, bars, and beauty spots visited around Seoul and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Bars

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Gongdeok salad desk lunch: salmon & curry-scented chicken, Why Starve

Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch is a protein box salad shop on basement level 1 of the building connected to Gongdeok Station Exit 2 in Mapo, Seoul. The writer took a Chicken Light Protein Box (7,900 won) and a Salmon Light Protein Box (11,900 won) to go with the recommended sauces and ate them at an office desk, enjoying the fresh vegetables, the salmon with wasabi mayo and the lightly curry-scented chicken. For a solo meal or a light diet lunch in Gongdeok, Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch is a good fit.

Written Apr 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Apgujeong salon curly bangs straightening pre-wedding: Choijin Hair

Choijin Hair Apgujeongnodeo flagship is a hair salon in Gangnam, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Exit 6 of Apgujeongnodeo Station. With less than a week until her wedding shoot, a blogger with naturally curly hair had her bangs and baby hairs straightened by designer Gahui. After hearing about the wedding shoot, Gahui added a face-framing side-lock cut and perm, a bangs cut suited to her face shape and a blow-dry for the back. Verdict: Choijin Hair is strongly recommended for anyone who wants to keep their volume and smooth out only curly bangs.

Written Apr 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Shabu kalguksu across from MBC in Sangam, partner's pick: Deungchon

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Sangam Branch is a shabu kalguksu (shabu-shabu with noodles) restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Woori Technology building, across from the new MBC building in Sangam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. On a weekend visit with a partner just back from an overseas business trip, the writer ordered spicy kalguksu for 2 with 180g of extra beef (₩11,000). They added another round of mushrooms and minari (water parsley) for ₩5,000, then finished with noodles and pot fried rice. With a clean dining room, friendly staff and fried rice crisped in the pot, Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Sangam Branch is worth recommending for a DMC lunch or a weekend meal.

Written Apr 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Gangnam barbershop: first gray hair dye before a wedding shoot, Divers

Divers Barbershop Gangnam-gu Office Station Branch is a men-only barbershop in Gangnam, Seoul, connected directly to the Exit 2 passage of Gangnam-gu Office Station. A week before a wedding photo shoot, the writer's boyfriend, who had never dyed his hair, got a gray coverage dye at Divers Barbershop for 45,000 won, plus a trim of the bangs that were poking his eyes, all in under an hour. For a man's first gray coverage dye, Divers Barbershop Gangnam-gu Office Station Branch is a satisfying, thorough choice.

Written Apr 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangseo, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Magok nail salon: pink syrup oval wedding shoot nails, Today Nail

Today Nail (오늘, 네일) is a one-person nail salon on the 4th floor of a building a 1-minute walk from Exit 5 of Magok Station in Gangseo, Seoul. One week before a wedding photo shoot, the writer had gel removal, drill cuticle care, an oval shape and a pink syrup one-color gel manicure at Today Nail in about 1 hour, and was very happy with the clean, bubble-free finish. Today Nail is a solid pick for Magok locals who want careful nail care or wedding nails.

Written Apr 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Squid restaurant on Mapo Food Culture Street for round two: Hwakkeunne

Hwakkeunne Ojingyang (화끈네오징양) is a pocha-style (Korean tent-bar style) squid restaurant on Mapo Food Culture Street near Mapo Station in Seoul. The writer and a partner ordered the bossam combo set (45,000 won) of spicy squid salad, stir-fried squid and boiled pork, adding somyeon (thin wheat noodles) and chungmu gimbap (plain seaweed rice rolls); even the partner, who isn't a big squid fan, kept going back for the sauce. The default heat at Hwakkeunne Ojingyang sits between Shin Ramyun and Buldak, making it a recommended second-round spot when you want to sweat out some stress with spicy food.

Written Apr 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Gwanghwamun Station salad shop: pre-wedding duck pasta dinner, Wystab

Wystab Diet Gwanghwamun (와이스타브 다이어트 광화문점) is a salad and protein box shop on B1 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town, by Exit 4 of Gwanghwamun Station in Jongno, Seoul. Before their wedding photo shoot, the writer and their partner were on a one-salad-meal-a-day challenge. One weekday after work, they ate a Smoked Duck Pasta Protein Box (10,900 won) and a sized-up Chicken Pasta Protein Box at Wystab Diet Gwanghwamun; the food arrived in under 5 minutes and the pasta portions were generous. Verdict: if you pick just one, get the Smoked Duck Pasta Protein Box with honey mustard.

Written Apr 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Gongdeok bakery café for apple brie sandwich and solo reading: Dasoni

Dasoni is a bakery café near Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a short walk from Gongdeok Station Exit 1 in Mapo, Seoul. A regular who stops by three or four times a month or more shares Dasoni's salt bread, apple brie sandwich and pumpkin cream cheese campagne, both eaten in and taken out, along with the small, cozy seating area that suits reading alone. For salt bread and meal breads in Gongdeok, Dasoni is the bakery locals recommend.

Written May 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Ramen shop at City Hall amid wedding prep: shoyu & motsu, Mentsuru

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a ramen shop right in front of Exit 10 of City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. Busy with wedding preparations, the writer and their partner waited 5-10 minutes on a weekday evening, then shared Mentsuru's signature shoyu ramen (₩11,000), motsu ramen with beef intestine (₩15,000) and fried gyoza. Thanks to the clean, light shoyu ramen and the generously topped motsu ramen, Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a ramen shop worth revisiting on every trip to City Hall.

Written May 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeouido tteokbokki bar: Shin Ramyun-level heat, cheese, Hyeonseonine

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch is an instant tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and Korean snack bar in the Yeouido Station underground mall, on the way to IFC Mall and The Hyundai Seoul. Before shopping at The Hyundai Seoul, two of us shared the 2-person instant tteokbokki at the spicy level (about as hot as Shin Ramyun), adding cheese and 2 curly fish cake skewers. Packed with jjolmyeon (chewy noodles), fried dumplings and 2 boiled eggs, Hyeonseonine's pot showed why people call it one of Seoul's top 3 tteokbokki spots.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Samsong hangover soup minus ox blood + 7 dombe slices: Jeju Eunhui-ne

Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk Goyang Samsong Branch is a Jeju-style hangover soup (haejangguk) restaurant in the e-Pyeonhan Sesang shopping arcade across from Starfield Goyang, near Samsong Station in Goyang. A couple who can't eat ox blood drove from Seoul and ordered the haejangguk without ox blood plus the hangover soup and dombe pork (Jeju-style boiled pork) set for 20,000 won, and the dombe pork came as 7 slices per serving, plenty for a taste. Even if ox blood puts you off, Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk's hangover soup is easy to enjoy.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Weekend Korean BBQ near Mapo Station: beef ribs & wasabi, Mapo Mokjang

Mapo Mokjang is a charcoal-grill beef restaurant near Mapo Station in Seoul, behind Hotel Naru and across from Mapo Elementary School, serving a single dish: hwangje galbisal (thick-cut beef rib meat). On a weekend evening the writer ordered 600g of hwangje galbisal, which felt like a generous 4 servings, and it came with free kimchi stew plus as much wasabi as requested. Mapo Mokjang is a good Mapo Station Korean BBQ spot for days when you want to eat your fill of beef.

Written Jun 6, 2026Sponsored