Vanity Log Keeper · 22 stories

Small Vanity, Seoul and Jeju Rounds

Writes about restaurants, cafes, beauty spots, and small outings around Seoul, Gangwon, and Jeju. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Cafés · Things to do

PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Post-workout poke at Samseong Station: smoked duck + egg, Ola Poke

Ola Poke Samseong Branch is a poke and salad restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Samseong Station Exit 4 and next to Daemyeong Middle School. After a workout, the writer ate alone at the bar table, ordering the smoked duck poke (11,000 won) with an extra boiled egg and a side of buldak salmon kkakdugi (cubed salmon in spicy buldak sauce, 8,000 won). Ola Poke Samseong Branch is worth recommending when you want a filling, protein-rich meal that doesn't feel heavy.

Written Jun 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulCafés

Seongsu Station bakery café with dairy-cream mango cake: La Avenue

La Avenue Seongsu is a large bakery café in Seongdong, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Seongsu Station Exit 1, with a wide range of cake slices and breads and 1 hour of parking covered when each person orders one drink. The writer stopped by La Avenue Seongsu in the evening, ate a mango cake slice with an iced Americano alone in the café, and took a financier and an Earl Grey pound cake home. Not every cake was ready in the evening, but the dairy-cream mango cake alone makes La Avenue Seongsu a Seongsu dessert café worth revisiting.

Written Jun 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Apgujeong sushi bar, non-fishy mackerel and grilled cod: Sushi Sakaba

Sushi Sakaba Apgujeong is a sushi bar in Apgujeong, Gangnam, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Apgujeong Station exits 4 and 5, where sushi is ordered by the piece. Sitting alone at the bar in the early evening, the writer ordered in two rounds: sushi such as mackerel bar sushi, toro and horse mackerel, shutomiso-grilled silver cod, and self-serve oden. The non-fishy mackerel bar sushi and the rich, nutty silver cod were the highlights of Sushi Sakaba Apgujeong.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gyodae Station poke shop: truffle steak & Buldak salmon, Olla Poke

Olla Poke Seocho Gyodae Branch is a salad and poke restaurant in the food alley near Exit 14 of Gyodae Station in Seocho, Seoul. The writer ordered the steak poke (14,000 won) with truffle sauce mixed in, plus Buldak salmon kkakdugi (spicy cubed salmon, 8,000 won) as a side. For a filling solo meal or diet-friendly poke near Gyodae Station, the Olla Poke steak poke is a safe choice that pleases almost everyone.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Korean BBQ revisit in Sinnonhyeon: 6-sauce flower ribs at Sojei

Sojei Seoul Flagship Store (소제이 서울본점) is an old-school Korean BBQ restaurant in the food alley off Exit 3 of Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. On a return visit early on a weekday evening with no wait, the writer ordered 500g Erei flower ribs (₩60,000) and a tasting-size oxtail stew (₩33,000). Staff grilled the ribs, and the writer tried them with combinations of six sauces. With tender ribs that had no gamey smell and an oxtail stew topped with chives, Sojei Seoul Flagship Store is a Sinnonhyeon Korean restaurant worth coming back to.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Hakdong Italian restaurant: bottarga pasta for two at Osteria Lucia

Osteria Lucia is an Italian restaurant near Exit 3 of Hakdong Station in Gangnam, Seoul, where the chef trained at an Italian culinary school and a Michelin three-star restaurant. Two diners shared focaccia, mushroom ripieni (stuffed mushrooms), bottarga pasta with cured fish roe and squid ink risotto, and the writer names the bottarga pasta as the must-order dish. Osteria Lucia suits a day when you want upscale Italian food in a comfortable, unhurried setting.

Written Jun 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulCafés

Weekday Gyodae Station coffee bar: milk tea flasche to go, Mini Male

Mini Male Roastery & Coffee Bar Seocho Gyodae Branch is a weekday-only coffee bar in Seocho-dong, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Gyodae Station Exit 9 or 14. The writer had a Helsinki Latte (₩5,200) and a butter babka at Mini Male, then took a milk tea flasche (₩6,500) and an original levain cookie home as a next-day snack. With both the coffee and the desserts satisfying, Mini Male Seocho Gyodae is an easy recommendation for office workers around Gyodae Station and Seocho-dong.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Sinnonhyeon food alley gyukatsu lunch for two, cabbage salad: Ichigyu

Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is a Japanese-style gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant on the 2nd floor of the food alley near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. On a weekday lunch the writer ordered two striploin gyukatsu (₩19,000 each), a mini curry (₩5,000) and a ramune soda (₩4,000), grilled the beef on a brazier topped with butter, and remembered the many sauce combinations and the cabbage salad that was hard to stop eating. For a neat gyukatsu meal on a date or with friends in Sinnonhyeon, Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is a good fit.

Written Jul 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Window-seat Korean BBQ in Yongsan: pork set and minari yukhoe, Yukmong

Yukmong Yongsan Direct Store (육몽 용산직영점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant on Yongridan-gil near Samgakji Station in Yongsan, Seoul, where staff grill the meat for you. The writer booked ahead with a friend, came on an early weekday evening, and ordered the Korean pork (Handon) assorted set and gochujang minari yukhoe (beef tartare) at a second-floor window seat; both the juicy pork and the yukhoe, mixed with egg yolk and wrapped in cucumber, were satisfying. For pork and beef in one meal at Yukmong Yongsan Direct Store, ordering these two dishes together is the recommendation.

Written Jul 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Yangjae Korean BBQ with 8-person tables for company dinners: Gamdol

Gamdol Yeontan Jip Yangjae Citizen's Forest Branch (감골연탄집 양재시민의숲점) is a briquette-grill Korean BBQ restaurant in Seocho, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Exit 3 of Yangjaesiminuisup Station. Four people visited Gamdol Yeontan Jip in the early evening and ate rock-salt pork belly, special pork neck, doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) and flat bibim noodles, and the 8-person tables and walled-off inner room looked well suited to group dinners. Gamdol Yeontan Jip is a Korean BBQ spot worth recommending to anyone looking for a team dinner or meetup venue near Yangjaesiminuisup Station.

Written Jul 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Seolleung Station solo sushi bar: beef tartare to melon, Sushi Ian N

Sushi Ian N Seolleung Station is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building in the Daechi-dong academy alley near Seolleung Station Exit 2 in Gangnam, Seoul, where every sushi plate costs 1,990 won. Dining solo at the bar seats, the writer had beef tartare sushi, salmon onion sushi, egg shrimp sushi and the order-only salmon taco roll, finished with melon from the belt, and checked the 10-piece, 12-piece and family takeout sets. Sushi Ian N Seolleung Station is a good-value sushi spot near Seolleung Station where even solo diners can eat as much as they like without worrying about the bill.

Written Jul 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulCafés

Jayang Station bakery café with homemade vanilla latte: Stack Bakery

Stack Bakery (스택베이커리) is a croissant bakery café in Gwangjin, Seoul, between Jayang Station and Konkuk Univ. Station near Norunsan Alley Market. On a Saturday lunchtime visit, the writer had a homemade vanilla latte (6,000 won) and a plain croissant at the 2nd-floor window seats, then took a kouign-amann, an apple cinnamon pastry and an almond Swiss home to share with family. Stack Bakery's flaky, buttery croissant alone is reason enough to come back.

Written Jul 11, 2026Sponsored