Night Stroller · 28 stories
I write about visits to bars in Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Bars · Cafés · Restaurants · Kids & baby · Things to do · Food & snacks · Shopping · Hair & beauty salons · Home & living
Nagoya Tuna (나고야참치) is a tuna sashimi restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building in the Sinjungdong Station food alley in Bucheon. A family of three shared the tuna sashimi Royal course for two at Nagoya Tuna: 7 cuts including belly topped with gold leaf, side dishes such as monkfish soup and grilled mero, and up to 2 refills, all satisfying. Nagoya Tuna is worth a return visit for a quiet, special family meal with a child.
Usu is a hanwoo (Korean beef) course restaurant in Gongdeok, Seoul, where every seat is a private room, located on basement level 2 of Lotte Castle President, which connects to Gongdeok Station Exit 2. On a date for two with her husband, the writer had Usu's Dinner B course with 150g of hanwoo (149,000 won), paired it corkage-free with wine from a nearby wine shop, and blew out candles on the hanwoo cake option. Thanks to its private rooms and carefully composed courses, Usu is a place she would happily return to for an anniversary dinner.
Fluffy Bake Shop is a baked-goods dessert café right by Gongdeok Station in Mapo, Seoul, selling madeleines, financiers and canelés. Because the writer was visiting late, they reserved ahead and picked up a heart-shaped raspberry madeleine; lemon, Earl Grey and yellow cheese (hwangchijeu) madeleines; Earl Grey and vanilla canelés; and an egg tart as a weekend treat, priced from 3,200 to 3,800 won each. The writer ranks Fluffy Bake Shop as the best baked-goods bakery they have tried so far.
Two Find Peter Baegot Branch is a pasta, pizza and steak restaurant on Seouldaehak-ro in Baegot, Siheung. On a visit with a 14-month-old, the family ate truffle fettuccine (16,000 won), sous vide pork neck (20,000 won) and corn pizza (21,000 won), with a high chair, baby tableware and wide table spacing making the meal easy. Two Find Peter Baegot Branch is worth recommending for a meal out with a baby, followed by a walk in Baegot Life Park.
Kitsuki Ilsan Bamridan-gil Branch is a Japanese tonkatsu restaurant on Sandu-ro in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. After a baby fair and Aquaplanet, the writer's family stopped at Kitsuki with their baby for the hirekatsu (pork fillet cutlet), rosukatsu (pork loin cutlet) and kake udon set (39,500 won) and the butter soy egg rice (4,500 won). The writer calls the hirekatsu the most tender tonkatsu they have ever eaten, and with a high chair and generous portions, Kitsuki makes a satisfying family meal out with a baby.
Cheesewave Bucheon City Hall is a pizza and pasta restaurant on Seokcheon-ro 184beon-gil, near City Hall Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi. A few months after its opening, the writer returned with her husband and baby for Wave Set 2, a half-and-half pizza (bulgogi and bacon potato) with a cheese crust added, plus tomato meat spaghetti and Red Rock draft beer. Thanks to its fresh cheese and half-and-half pizzas, Cheesewave Bucheon City Hall suits two people with different tastes and works well for meals with kids or outdoor pizza and beer.
Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) Japanese restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building near Exit 5 of Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. A couple visited Izawa with their child around 5 pm, right as the break time ended, and ordered the double gyukatsu (₩33,000) and mazesoba (₩12,000); the mazesoba, ordered without expectations, turned rich and savory once kelp vinegar was added. Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is a good Yeouido pick for brazier-seared rare gyukatsu paired with salty mazesoba.
Levia Hair Bucheon Branch is a hair salon on the 3rd floor of a building near Exit 5 of Bucheon City Hall Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, offering custom-consultation hair color and a private head spa room. A mom raising a baby went to Levia Hair Bucheon Branch to fix faded color and a growing amount of gray hair, and after a consultation she got a neat tone that was neither too dark nor too bright, enjoying a café latte and a homemade cookie while she waited. The most memorable part was that the hair dye left no smell once she got home, so she had no worries being close to her baby.
Suksung Myeongjak Cheongna (숙성명작 청라) is an aged beef restaurant in Cheongna, Seohae, Incheon, reportedly named to the Blue Ribbon guide 7 years in a row. On a rare night off from the baby, the writer and her husband had Suksung Myeongjak aged tenderloin, sea urchin roe, gochujang yukhoe (seasoned raw beef), perilla oil buckwheat noodles and spicy seafood doenjang porridge with wine and a green tangerine highball, while staff carefully grilled the beef. With its quiet atmosphere and an anniversary cake, Suksung Myeongjak Cheongna is a highly satisfying Cheongna beef restaurant for a couple's date.
2002 Witch's Arpeggio (2002 마녀의 아르페지오) is a Korean BBQ restaurant specializing in tomato-jang pork belly, right beside a valley in Wabu-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi. On a rainy day during a Gapyeong–Namyangju family trip, we sat indoors with our baby and ate half-and-half tomato-jang pork belly, potato pancake, pollock roe fried rice cooked in a cast-iron pot and homemade blueberry makgeolli (rice wine). We missed the valley view, but the tomato-jang pork belly at 2002 Witch's Arpeggio tasted as good on the last bite as on the first.
Ari Chuksan (아리축산) is a butcher shop on Gangbyeon-ro in Cheongpyeong, Gapyeong, a 2-minute drive from Cheongpyeong Station. On the way to a kids' pool villa pension in Gapyeong, the writer picked up small packs of kkodeulsal (a chewy pork cut) and pork jowl plus hanwoo (Korean beef) sirloin for the child, and trusted the meat because the hanwoo grade and packing date were printed on every pack. Ari Chuksan suits families who want to try a little of several cuts at a Gapyeong or Cheongpyeong pension BBQ.
Wonder Coffee Bar Yeokgok is an atmospheric coffee and dessert café near Yeokgok Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi. The writer and her husband came to Wonder Coffee Bar often while dating. After having a baby, she left the baby with someone for the first time and returned alone to try the signature hojicha Wunder Gato, kaymak and three financiers. Wonder Coffee Bar Yeokgok is a lovely Yeokgok café for some solo healing time, old memories and great coffee and desserts.
