Ilsan Paperbag Stroller · 8 stories
She writes about shopping trips and market stalls around Gyeonggi's smaller towns. · Writes about: Shopping · Restaurants · Cafés
Roysa is a mountain-view café on high ground in Gogi-dong (Gogi-ri), Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi. The writer arrived at Roysa's weekday opening time as the first customer, took the best second-floor window seat overlooking autumn foliage, and had Meadow, a caffeine-free blend tea, with a cream streusel bun. For a quiet morning with mountain views and tea instead of coffee, an opening-time visit to Roysa in Gogi-ri is a great fit.
Eight Years Pangyo (에잇이얼스 판교점) is a brunch restaurant on the Baekhyeon-dong café street in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, where the writer and her husband go most weekends. On an autumn day they sat on the outdoor terrace and ordered their favorites, the shrimp brunch (16,500 won) and the bulgogi ciabatta sandwich (14,500 won), and enjoyed fresh ingredients, generous portions and fair prices against a backdrop of fall leaves. If you visit Eight Years Pangyo, a terrace seat is well worth aiming for.
Tobeu Nain Pangyo Main Branch (토브나인 판교 본점) is a brunch and wood-fired pizza restaurant in Sasong-dong, Seongnam, with a restaurant on the 1st floor and a café on the 2nd. On a November date with her husband, who was on vacation, the writer had the Gaji Sicilia eggplant pizza (25,000 won), where the sauce and eggplant paired well, and the spicy seafood soup pasta (25,900 won), which was packed with seafood but carried the distinct sourness of tom yum sauce. With wide tables, a 14-person private room and a parking lot right out front, Tobeu Nain Pangyo Main Branch is a safe pick for both dates and group gatherings.
Jeong Jiyoung Coffee Roasters Lotte Premium Outlet Uiwang Branch is a roastery café on floors 3–4 of the Tasty Ground building at Lotte Premium Outlet Uiwang in Uiwang, Gyeonggi. On a visit to an outlet she often shops at with family, the writer ordered two americanos (₩5,500 each) and an Oreo s'more cookie, then drank her coffee by an upstairs window overlooking fall foliage. The Oreo s'more cookie was rated 'really delicious', and if you want a quiet coffee at the outlet instead of Starbucks, Jeong Jiyoung Coffee Roasters is a good choice.
Butter & Shelter Bundang Jeongja is a butter sand dessert café in the Dongyang Paragon Complex 1 shopping arcade on Jeongja Café Street in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. The writer ordered 2 Americanos, an original butter sand, a crème brûlée butter sand and a Levain cookie, and rated the original butter sand, made with French Isigny gourmet butter and chewy caramel, the highest. With reasonably priced coffee and a wide range of gift sets, Butter & Shelter Bundang Jeongja is worth recommending to anyone looking for a good dessert café in Jeongja.
TOKYO USED Flagship Store is a vintage shop in Gogiri, Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi, behind the Gogiri Makguksu parking lot. After a weekend visit to Gogiri Starbucks with my husband, we stopped at TOKYO USED, browsed the ground-floor ties, necklaces, wallets, bags, sunglasses and perfume corners and the second-floor women's clothing, and I bought a pair of jeans. With a second-floor lounge where a companion can sit and wait, TOKYO USED is a great stop for couples.
Andover is a pasta and brunch restaurant on Baekhyeon-dong café street in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, within a five-minute walk of the public parking lot. On a weekend brunch with her husband, the writer ordered the ₩21,000 anchovy pasta, the fresh basil oil pasta and the 320g brunch lasagna, and the savory depth of the anchovy pasta stood out most. Generous portions, a self-service utensil table and house-made pickles make Andover an easy weekend booking in Pangyo.
KHODE Pangyo is a derma beauty store on basement level 1 of Hyundai Department Store Pangyo in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, bringing together about 250 premium functional beauty brands. At KHODE Pangyo the textures and scents of the organic skincare brand URANG can be tested in person, though an afternoon visit found every URANG product sold out, so only the testers were left and the cleansing oil had to be ordered for delivery. The checkout line was long, and buyers pick one gift from a box — a lip balm on this visit.
