Copper Tongs Late Queuer · 32 stories

Second Round, Four Coasts and Cities

Writes about bars, restaurants and cafes visited around Busan, Gyeongnam, Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon. · Writes about: Bars · Restaurants · Cafés

PlaceSeocho, SeoulBars

Sadang Station bar for ricotta caprese and crispy chicken: Weizenhaus

Weizenhaus Bangbae Branch 1 is a craft draft beer bar on basement level 1 of the building right outside Exit 11 of Sadang Station in Seocho, Seoul. The writer stopped by early, around 5 p.m., with a friend they hadn't seen in a while, and shared ricotta caprese salad and crispy chicken with draft beer and cider at the table furthest inside. Weizenhaus Bangbae Branch 1 can be reached without getting wet on rainy days, and its freshly fried crispy chicken with craft beer made a satisfying pairing.

Written Jun 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeongdeungpo date restaurant: seafood pasta & steak set, Square 21

Square 21 Pasta & Steak is a Western restaurant on the ground floor of Kolon Digital Tower in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, near Seonyudo Station Exit 2. The writer and her husband ordered the 2-person date set at Square 21, which came with bread, salad, seafood tomato pasta and the signature tower burger steak. With its wood-toned interior and generous signature dish, Square 21 is a good place to eat after a date at Seonyudo Park.

Written Jun 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, BusanRestaurants

Busan wagyu yakiniku, couple's first-night dinner: Yakiniku Gaek

Yakiniku Gaek Nampo-dong Main Branch (야키니쿠 객 남포동 본점) is a wagyu yakiniku restaurant on Gwangbok-ro inside Kkangtong Market (깡통시장) in Jung-gu, Busan. On the first evening of their Busan trip, a couple who don't drink booked ahead, ordered the Gaek set for two, and grilled rib finger meat (galbi-sal), kkotsal, skirt (anchangsal), tri-tip (samgaksal) and flat iron (buchaesal) over charcoal in that order. Yakiniku Gaek's café-like Japanese-style room makes it a good place to taste wagyu cut by cut before a walk through Kkangtong, Jagalchi and Gukje markets.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Marine City Chinese late lunch: last window seat & eggplant, Bueokgan

Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch is a casual Chinese restaurant with panoramic floor-to-ceiling ocean views, on the 2nd floor of the Adelis building in Marine City, Haeundae, Busan. During a Haeundae trip, the writer arrived for a late lunch at 1:30 PM, took the very last window seat, and ordered eoyang gaji (eggplant in yuxiang-style sauce), seafood jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) and poached-egg pork belly ganjajang (dry-fried black bean noodles). Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch delivers both the view and the food, but a relaxed meal by the sea means competing for a window seat.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Summer eel pot rice lunch date in Sangdong: Gochang Pungcheon Eel

Gochang Pungcheon Eel (고창풍천장어) is a grilled eel restaurant near Sangdong Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, that has served domestic Japonica freshwater eel since 2003. On a booked summer lunch date for a stamina-boosting meal, the eel pot rice (jangeo sotbap) came with thick eel in a sauce that isn't salty, rice soaked with the sauce and a free serving of crispy fried eel bones. With 2 hours of basement parking and an upscale interior, Gochang Pungcheon Eel is an easy, satisfying eel restaurant to drop by in Sangdong.

Written Jun 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGijang, BusanRestaurants

Snow crab restaurant in Gijang Market, Busan: crab-leg doenjang stew

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae (기장명품대게) is a snow crab and king crab restaurant inside Gijang Market in Busan. On the first stop of a Busan trip with her husband, the writer booked a Sunday lunch through Naver and had crab weighed without the basket, a salad bar, staff-cut snow crab, fried rice with flying fish roe and a crab-leg doenjang (soybean paste) stew. With easy parking and spacious group seating, Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is worth recommending for family gatherings or a date during a trip.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Bucheon Korean set meal with my husband and borigulbi: Gim Myeongju

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch (김명주뜰안채밥상 부천본점) is a Korean set-meal (hanjeongsik) restaurant in a standalone building in Kkachiul, Jakdong, Bucheon, with a large private parking lot and private group seating. The writer and her husband ordered one Tteuranchae Bapsang and one borigulbi (barley-dried yellow croaker) set and got two full trays of side dishes, tofu-packed cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) and yellow-rice stone pot rice, with the borigulbi eaten over rice in Boseong green tea water. Verdict: Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang is a great choice for taking your parents, family meals or group dinners.

Written Oct 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Bucheon Korean restaurant, brass-bowl lunch for a couple: Gim Myeongju

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Sinjung-dong Branch is a large Korean set-meal (hanjeongsik) restaurant in the eatery alley behind Lotte Department Store near Sinjungdong Station in Bucheon. At lunch, the writer and her husband ordered the Tteuranchae Bapsang set for two plus ganjang gejang (soy-marinated crab), and tasted 12 side dishes served in brass bowls, freshly cooked yellow-rice pot rice with sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) and cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew). With a spacious hall, private rooms, a self-serve side-dish bar and a café downstairs, Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang is a great fit for get-togethers.

Written Jun 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanBars

Suyeong Station bar: paper-thin octopus and highball, Dari Yeodeolgae

Dari Yeodeolgae (다리여덟개) is an octopus restaurant-bar on the second floor of a building on Muhak-ro 21beon-gil, near Suyeong Station in Busan. The writer and spouse booked ahead, arrived around 6 p.m., and had Cass beer and a Dewar's highball with clam soup and complimentary side dishes, followed by the main octopus sukhoe (boiled octopus) and hangover ramyeon. Dari Yeodeolgae's octopus is taken straight from the tank, boiled and shaved paper-thin, and the couple found it on a different level from any boiled octopus they had eaten before.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanRestaurants

Terrace restaurant in Millak, Busan: fresh mango bingsu at Marento

Marento is a Gwangalli brunch restaurant right in front of Millak Waterside Park in Suyeong, Busan, with terrace seating, pets allowed and a sunset menu after 5 p.m. On an evening during a trip with her husband, the writer had ricotta cheese and fruit salad, pistachio cream gnocchi and sweet fresh mango bingsu (shaved ice), and named the mango bingsu the dessert to order. Marento is a good Millak-dong spot for a light dinner and dessert on a breezy seaside terrace.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanCafés

Haeundae brunch café with fruit soufflé and croissant sandwich: Oira

Oira is a dog-friendly brunch café in a standalone building in Jwa-dong, Haeundae, Busan, with a gallery on the 2nd floor. On a Haeundae trip with her husband, the writer booked ahead, took a window seat and ordered Oira's seasonal fruit soufflé and croissant sandwich, and was happy with the thick, fluffy soufflé and the generous sandwich. Verdict: for a brunch date or get-together in Haeundae, Oira is worth going back to.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanRestaurants

Gwangalli sashimi restaurant, mulhoe with buckwheat noodles: Geumrang

Geumrang Hoetjip Gwangalli Main Branch is a sashimi restaurant on the 6th floor of Marine Rich in Gwangalli, Busan, with an ocean view of Gwangan Bridge. The writer booked a window seat on Catch Table and shared the Subyeon Hansang (waterside set) lunch with her husband: abalone porridge, seafood, mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) with buckwheat noodles, premium sashimi on a jade stone, spicy fish stew, merou steak and flying fish roe rice. Geumrang Hoetjip's Subyeon Hansang, with its Gwangan Bridge view and generous spread, was a lunch that pleased both the eyes and the palate.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored