Small Flask Sipper · 13 stories
Writes about cafes, restaurants, bars, and beauty spots across Daejeon-Chungcheong, Seoul, and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Bars · Hair & beauty salons
HUSK is a cozy brunch café on Bomun-ro in Seonhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon. Three friends visited HUSK on a public-holiday afternoon and ordered the Husk Latte topped with Maldon salt, an Ube Coco, an iced Americano and a cheesecake; the nutty signature Husk Latte and the taro-and-coconut Ube Coco stood out. For brunch in Daejeon or a café with atmosphere in Seonhwa-dong, HUSK is worth a return visit.
Athlonga (아스론가) is a third-floor rooftop wine bar and pasta restaurant near Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, with views of DDP. The writer visited Athlonga around 6 p.m. on a Monday and ordered the polpo risotto, topped with a whole octopus leg, and the prosciutto pasta, made with linguine coated in egg yolk. Thanks to the stone interior, the DDP view and one of the best risottos the writer has had lately, the verdict is a 100% chance of a return visit to Athlonga.
Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Tapnip (한마음정육식당 탑립점) is a glamping-style tent BBQ restaurant in Tapnip-dong, Yuseong, Daejeon. After keeping Hanmaeum bookmarked for three years, two of us finally took bus 705 there, shared the 500g pork platter, refilled the 4,000-won unlimited beer five times and ended the night gazing into a campfire. Hanmaeum Jeongyuk Sikdang Tapnip is a perfect fit for anyone who wants a camping mood without grilling the meat themselves.
Seoreojeong Munji Branch (설어정 문지점) is a steak and pasta restaurant in Munji-dong, Yuseong, Daejeon. After booking by phone for a Saturday lunch, the writer ordered the limited-quantity top blade (salchi) steak set, 180g with a mini udon set and served with an axe-shaped knife, plus the cod roe perilla oil pasta. Both the juicy top blade steak and the nutty, salty pasta were satisfying. Verdict: Seoreojeong Munji Branch is worth recommending to anyone looking for a date-friendly steak restaurant in Munji-dong.
Reelbakers is an Australian-style bakery café on Munjeong-ro in Tanbang-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon. On a return visit to Reelbakers, the writer had the pure milk cream croissant and the raspberry chocolat pastry with an iced americano and the coffee of the day, and noted the 3 coffee bean choices, the self-serve Balmuda oven and tips for parking in the nearby alleys. Thanks to its flaky, distinctly layered pastries, Reelbakers is a Tanbang-dong bakery café worth going back to.
Choi Dining Daejeon Gwanpyeong is a Japanese fusion restaurant on Gwandeul 4-gil in Gwanpyeong-dong, Yuseong, Daejeon. At lunch we ordered salmon futomaki (5 pieces), pork jowl pasta with myeongi (wild garlic) oil and katsu sando (4 pieces). The generous salmon in the futomaki and the thick pork cutlet in the katsu sando were the standouts. Choi Dining is 10 minutes from Hyundai Outlet and has parking out front, making it a solid pick for a Japanese lunch or a date in Gwanpyeong-dong.
Yeokjeon Pojangmacha Yeongdeungpo is a pojangmacha (Korean street-tent) style bar on the 2nd floor of a building at the big intersection in the Yeongdeungpo Station nightlife area of Seoul, with baseball games shown on a big screen. With soju at ₩3,900, the writer had spicy fish cake udon, a 'ugly' cheese potato pancake (₩19,900) and two pineapple sherbets, and strongly recommends the spicy fish cake udon broth as a soju side dish. Yeokjeon Pojangmacha Yeongdeungpo is a good Yeongdeungpo Station bar for a cheap drink while watching baseball.
Chamchiya is a tuna sashimi restaurant on the 2nd floor of Samil Plaza, a 3-minute walk from Exit 2 of Pyeongchon Station in Anyang. Two diners shared the Ilpum Hanpan, a platter of bluefin tuna arranged by cut (59,000 won). The owner added sea bream tangsuyuk (sweet and sour fried fish) and tuna tataki sushi on the house, and the pair also ordered jjamppong soup (spicy seafood soup) with soju. Chamchiya is a good place in Pyeongchon to compare tuna cuts over a slow drink.
Yakiniku Doryong is a 15-seat, bar-style hanwoo (Korean beef) yakiniku restaurant on the ground floor of the House D Lafayette building, across from Smart City in Doryong-dong, Yuseong, Daejeon. At Yakiniku Doryong, the 280g set for two (60,000 won) brought yuksashimi (raw beef slices), beef tongue, a hanwoo platter of striploin, flap meat, brisket and skirt, and marinated special tripe, all grilled by staff on a tabletop charcoal grill, and the writer found the beef tongue better than what they had eaten in Japan. For trying beef tongue and special tripe in one sitting in Daejeon, the Yakiniku Doryong set menu is a good choice.
Raymond's Hongdae is a beer pub near Exit 8 of Hongik Univ. Station in Mapo, Seoul, serving American-style pizza by the slice and world-champion craft beers. The writer and a friend ordered the Raymond Set with 2 glasses of Vienna lager and 1 Belgian-style wheat beer, and especially enjoyed the Hawaiian and mac and cheese slices and the truffle fries. Raymond's Hongdae is worth recommending when a hot summer day calls for pizza and beer.
Namhae Mulgogi (남해물고기) is an aged sashimi restaurant and izakaya on the 4th floor of a building at the fountain intersection by Exit 2 of Beomgye Station in Anyang, Gyeonggi. The blogger booked an 8 pm table on the evening before a public holiday and had the 39,000 won per person sashimi omakase for two: abalone porridge cooked with the innards, mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), assorted aged sashimi with ankimo (monkfish liver), yuringi (fried chicken in soy-vinegar sauce), clam pasta, grilled Spanish mackerel and maeuntang (spicy fish stew). The Namhae Mulgogi sashimi omakase is a good-value aged sashimi spread worth recommending for dates and group dinners near Beomgye Station.
Banana Brow (바나나브로우) is a lash extension and lash perm salon in Goejeong-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, within walking distance of Yongmun Station. The writer, who has straight lashes, showed Banana Brow a photo from a makeup shoot and got C-curl LED extensions (₩20,000 extra), and the length and shape came out just like the photo. After always getting lash perms, this first set of extensions made bare-faced eyes look made up, and the writer plans to go back to Banana Brow for extensions.
