Mirror Table Guest · 54 stories

A Mirror Table on Gwangbok-ro

Writes about cafes, restaurants, and beauty shops she visits around Busan and Gyeongnam. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Shopping · Things to do

PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Seochon trattoria: bottarga seafood pasta at Seochon Due Trattoria

Seochon Due Trattoria is a small, two-person Italian restaurant on a second floor near Gyeongbokgung Station in Seochon, Jongno, Seoul. At Seochon Due Trattoria we had the seafood oil pasta and the seafood tomato fresh pasta (27,000 won each), with deep savoury flavour from clam broth and bottarga and chewy handmade fresh noodles. Quiet and sunlit, Seochon Due Trattoria is a Seochon pasta place well worth adding to a Gyeongbokgung date.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Anguk udon restaurant revisit: ₩11,000 clay-pot karaage set, Jemyeonso

Insadong Jemyeonso is an udon and rice bowl restaurant on the 3rd floor of Annyeong Insadong in Jongno, Seoul, a short walk from Anguk Station. After a first visit with friends, the writer returned to Insadong Jemyeonso for the karaage udon set served in a clay pot (11,000 won), the karaage rice bowl with free rice refills (12,000 won), a hanger steak rice bowl, shrimp tempura and potato croquettes. Verdict: Insadong Jemyeonso is a good-value udon and rice bowl spot where you can eat a generous meal for around 10,000 won in touristy Insadong.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Garosu-gil pasta restaurant with terrace seats: Darling Kitchen

Darling Kitchen is a brunch and pasta restaurant on Apgujeong-ro 14-gil (Garosu-gil) in Gangnam, Seoul. The blogger sat on the Darling Kitchen terrace and ordered the perilla oil shrimp pasta, finished at the table with Bangyudang perilla oil, plus a side of sausage, and found it a clean oil pasta that was neither salty nor greasy. Darling Kitchen suits anyone looking for an atmospheric date spot or a place to meet friends on Garosu-gil.

Written May 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGijang, BusanRestaurants

Ilgwang drive-date restaurant: scallop aglio e olio, Riverside

Riverside is a Blue Ribbon-listed Western restaurant in Ilgwang-eup, Gijang, Busan, right in front of Sinpyeong Small Park (신평소공원). After a seaside drive date, the blogger ordered scallop aglio e olio, fresh-pasta ragu, a Cobb salad and an americano at Riverside, and the aglio e olio with its big, tender scallops was the best dish. Riverside makes a worthwhile Gijang date course, especially followed by a walk in Sinpyeong Small Park.

Written Oct 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGijang, BusanCafés

Ilgwang bakery café grocery run: salted butter, brioche, Mandali To Go

Mandali To Go Ilgwang Branch is a brunch and bakery café near Ilgwang Beach in Gijang, Busan, that bakes bread every morning and has a grocery and flower corner on the first floor. The writer bought olive oil and salted butter at the Mandali To Go grocery, missed the sold-out ciabatta, and filled a bag with focaccia, butter salt brioche and other meal breads instead. Mandali To Go Ilgwang Branch is a good stop on an Ilgwang seaside drive for both fresh bread and pantry shopping.

Written Oct 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiCafés

Goyang KINTEX bakery: freezer-friendly ciabatta, Boulangerie Tan

Boulangerie Tan, Hyundai Department Store KINTEX is a bakery café on B1 of the Hyundai Department Store at Kintekseu Station in Ilsan, Goyang, and a branch of a popular bakery from Unjeong's Chorongkkot Village. The writer stocked up on ciabatta, picked a Gongju chestnut and red bean campagne and a ₩2,200 mini baguette, tried a sample of the chocolate baguette, and found the Boulangerie Tan ciabatta still chewy and moist after freezing and thawing. Boulangerie Tan is a good Kintekseu Station bakery for buying a big bag of bread to share with the family through the next day.

Written Jun 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Solo teppanyaki at Lotte Seomyeon: peeled shrimp, cuttlefish at Karen

Karen Seomyeon (Karen Lotte Department Store Busan Main Branch) is a Taiwanese teppanyaki restaurant on the basement 1 food floor of Lotte Department Store Busan Main Branch in Seomyeon, Busan. The writer, who visits Karen on every Taiwan trip, ordered the 1-person premium set and a cuttlefish side and watched the chef grill top blade steak, scallops, shrimp and teppan egg, served with bean sprout stir-fry. For a filling solo teppanyaki meal in Seomyeon, the verdict is Karen Seomyeon's premium set plus the cuttlefish side.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Bukchon pizza wait spent at a traditional liquor gallery: Low Five

Low Five Anguk is a pizza and pasta restaurant on Bukchon-ro in Jongno, Seoul, near Exit 2 of Anguk Station, and the Anguk branch of the original Low Five in Haenggung-dong, Suwon. On a third visit, the writer joined the Catch Table remote waitlist at 5:10pm, waited at a nearby traditional liquor gallery, then ordered the classic Caesar salad, the limited-quantity classic lasagna and the Low Five corn pizza topped with Chodang sweet corn. Verdict: Low Five Anguk delivers on atmosphere, food and service, making it a Bukchon date spot well worth the wait.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Haeundae Chinese restaurant, bubble lamps & picky eaters: Bueokgan

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch (부엌간 차이니즈 해운대점) is an upscale Chinese restaurant on the ground floor of a standalone building near Dalmaji-gil in Haeundae, Busan. For a family dinner, the writer ordered poached-egg pork belly ganjjajang (dry-fried black bean noodles) and black vinegar pork loin tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) in a dining room furnished with George Nelson bubble lamps and European-style furniture. Jjajangmyeon starts at ₩8,000 and parking is free. Thanks to mild seasoning and dishes fried to order, Bueokgan Chinese pleased even the pickiest eater in the family and is worth recommending for a family meal in Haeundae.

Written Oct 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanCafés

Songjeong sea-view café with parents: jujube tea at Suwolgyeonghwa

Suwolgyeonghwa is a traditional tea café on the 4th floor on Songjeongjungang-ro 6beon-gil in Haeundae-gu, Busan, overlooking Songjeong beach and the Beach Train. The writer visited Suwolgyeonghwa with their parents and ordered jujube tea, Hyeonwol Hoji, an americano and the Dalbodeure Box, a signature set of traditional desserts; the parents loved the rich jujube tea, while the writer enjoyed the Hyeonwol Hoji and the gamtae (seaweed) financier. Suwolgyeonghwa is an ocean-view café well suited to a tea-and-dessert break on a Songjeong outing.

Written Oct 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Dalmaji-gil pasta restaurant: a 2nd bowl of pumpkin soup, Bueokgan

Bueokgan Haeundae Branch (부엌간 해운대점) is a spacious European-style Western restaurant of 100-plus pyeong (over 330 m²) on Dalmaji-gil in Haeundae, Busan. The writer booked a dinner table in advance and ordered pumpkin soup, shrimp anchovy oil pasta and shrimp rosé pasta, and the pumpkin soup was so good they ordered a second bowl. If you want a pasta restaurant with great atmosphere in Haeundae, add Bueokgan's pumpkin soup to your order.

Written Oct 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Insa-dong pork gomtang restaurant: suyuk in garlic soy, Wolhadong

Wolhadong (월하동) is a pork gomtang (pork bone soup) restaurant in a modernized hanok tucked inside the Sudo Pharmacy alley in Insa-dong, Jongno, Seoul. The writer and a friend ordered Wolha Gomtang (12,000 won) and cold jeyuk (chilled sliced boiled pork), dipping the meat in Wolhadong's house-made cheonggeunjang (fermented radish soybean paste) and garlic soy sauce, and found the broth clear and rich with no gamy smell, with kimchi and seokbakji made from Korean-grown ingredients. For a hearty bowl of soup or a meal with guests near Anguk Station and Insa-dong, Wolhadong is a good fit.

Written Jul 13, 2026Sponsored