Supper Stopper · 20 stories
I share firsthand restaurant visits from around Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Shopping · Cafés
Padong is a small, cozy Japanese restaurant in Mangwon-dong, Seoul, near Mangwon Market, with mostly two-person tables. At Padong the writer ordered the signature futomaki (thick Japanese rolled sushi), mazesoba (Japanese mixed noodles) and a steak bowl, adding black vinegar to the mazesoba halfway through and then extra rice to mix in at the end. Padong is a good date spot in Mangwon-dong for sharing several Japanese dishes.
Myeonjumak Jeju Main Branch (면주막 제주본점) is a pork noodle restaurant on Beonyeong-ro in Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, near Eco Land. On the last day of their Jeju trip, the writer's family stopped at Myeonjumak on the way to the airport for gogi guksu (pork noodle soup), bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles), a half portion of dombe-gogi (sliced boiled pork) and baby noodles, which are free for children up to 36 months; the tangy-sweet bibim guksu was the writer's favorite. Myeonjumak Jeju Main Branch is a good noodle shop for a filling last meal in Jeju with a young child.
Park Man-bae Arirang Bossam, Wonheung Station Branch is a bossam (boiled pork wrap) restaurant on the ground floor of a building near Wonheung Station in Goyang, Gyeonggi. On a weekend family meal with a child, the writer ordered the small signature bossam set from the table kiosk, served with half-and-half kimchi, and picked seafood clam kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) as the free service dish. The double-layered gabrisal (pork shoulder cap) bossam and the refreshing clam kalguksu made Park Man-bae Arirang Bossam a filling family meal, child included.
Jjamppong Jijeon Seooreung Branch is a Chinese restaurant on Seooreung-ro in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. On a weekend lunch visit with a child, the table shared Jijeon Jjamppong in the basic spice level, small sticky-rice tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), crab fried rice and the new jjamppong mandu (spicy seafood dumplings), then finished with self-bar drinks and free ice cream. Sofa seating and the mild crab fried rice make Jjamppong Jijeon Seooreung Branch an easy family meal near Seooreung.
Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap is a rice-set restaurant (hanjeongsik) on Sejong-ro in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, close to Yeoju Premium Outlets and the highway interchange, so it works well as a stop on a road trip. On the last day of a family trip the writer brought her mother along and ordered the bulgogi set for three, and learned that Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap serves no plain rice bowls — extra rice comes only as stone-pot rice. With starters, fried eggplant, pork stir-fry and stone-pot scorched rice to finish, it made a comfortable family meal to bring a parent to.
Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch is a Korean set-menu restaurant near Balsan Station in Gangseo, Seoul, where every set starts with seaweed soup and cockle bibim plus one side dish of your choice. The writer ordered flounder seaweed soup, vinegar-dressed cockle bibim and beef jeon, and the table filled up with grilled mackerel, japchae and namul, with banchan refilled straight from the tableside kiosk. With a dedicated parking lot next door and a private room, Mikodam worked well for a family meal out with a child.
Deojinji Sutbul Galbi, Resom Baegun Branch is a charcoal galbi restaurant in Baegun-myeon, Jecheon, near Resom Forest, where the meat is grilled over charcoal in the kitchen and brought to the table already cooked. Three adults and one child ordered Set A for two plus one extra order of charcoal pork galbi, filling up on LA-style charcoal beef galbi, Damyang-style charcoal pork galbi and hanwoo (Korean beef) tteokgalbi, while the writer's mother said the ganjang gejang (soy-marinated raw crab) and yangnyeom gejang (spicy marinated raw crab) were the best she had ever tasted. Deojinji is an easy pick for a Jecheon family trip with both kids and grandparents along.
Bongpyeong Gohyang Makguksu is a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) restaurant in a standalone building on Hoguk-ro in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. After a weekend outing, the writer came for lunch with her child and shared perilla buckwheat kalguksu, mul-makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles in chilled broth), and a buckwheat pancake; the rich, slightly thick perilla broth and the thin, soft pancake stood out most. Wide parking in front of and behind the building and roomy gaps between tables made Bongpyeong Gohyang Makguksu an easy stop for a family meal.
