Neon Alley Loiterer · 12 stories

Neon Counter, Seoul and Gyeonggi Bars

Writes about restaurants and bars scattered across Seoul and Gyeonggi, usually visited after dark. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars

PlaceGangseo, SeoulRestaurants

Balsan Korean restaurant at opening: stone-pot seaweed soup, Mikodam

Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch (미꼬담 마곡발산점) is a Korean restaurant near Balsan Station in Gangseo, Seoul, serving seaweed soup, seasoned cockle bibim and grilled fish. Craving home-style Korean food after too many noodle meals, the writer arrived around 11:30 a.m. and ordered the Hansang Gadeuk set for 2: beef seaweed soup, soy-sauce cockle bibim, grilled mackerel and beef jeon (pan-fried battered beef). Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch is a good pick for a clean, mild, home-style Korean meal rather than an elaborate full-course hanjeongsik.

Written Jun 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Ilsan soy crab restaurant for fishy-taste worriers: 4 refills, Deodeo

Deodeo Ganjanggejang Muhalliripil (더더간장게장무한리필) is an all-you-can-eat soy crab (ganjang gejang), spicy crab and blue crab stew restaurant on Wondang-ro in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, near Ilsan. A diner sensitive to fishy flavors ordered the all-you-can-eat menu at Deodeo, tried soy crab, spicy crab, crab shell rice, steamed egg and blue crab stew, and went back for a fourth refill thanks to friendly staff. Deodeo breaks the assumption that all-you-can-eat means lower quality, and satisfaction only grew with each refill.

Written Jun 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulBars

Second-round pub near Nowon Station with sugar tomato: Hoejangnimdaek

Hoejangnimdaek Nowon branch (회장님댁 노원점) is a Korean food-and-drinks pub on the second floor of a building in the Nowon Station food alley in Seoul, decorated with an East-meets-West mix of chandeliers, mother-of-pearl cabinets and vintage pieces. After a meat dinner, the blogger and their partner stopped by Hoejangnimdaek for a second round of Hoejangnim beef tendon soup (sujitang) and sugar tomatoes with mayonnaise, with jjondeugi as the free starter snack and frozen Homerunball snacks on the house. Hoejangnimdaek Nowon branch is an easy second-round date bar near Nowon Station, even on a full stomach.

Written Jun 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Staff-grilled Korean BBQ at Nowon Station, Seoul: Moksam Hwaro

Moksam Hwaro (목삼화로) is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Nowon Station in Seoul where staff grill aged pork neck and pork belly for you. After booking on Naver, the blogger ordered the Moksam Hanpan for 2 and a seafood doenjang stew (soybean paste stew); the pork was pre-grilled over charcoal in a glass-walled open space and eaten with Maldon salt, truffle oil pollack roe, and tonkatsu sauce with breadcrumbs. Moksam Hwaro is a good choice on a hot day when you want Korean BBQ without doing the grilling yourself.

Written Jun 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Junggye Station shabu-shabu, sirloin Course B dinner with drinks: Hana

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch is a shabu-shabu restaurant in the Brownstone Junggye building in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. After 6 p.m., two of us sat at the bar and had Dinner Shabu-shabu Course B (sirloin) for two with drinks. The course ran from a complimentary torch-seared tataki through vegetables with five kinds of mushrooms, udon noodles, a choice of mentaiko (pollock roe) rice or gyudon, and ube pudding. With no break time and parking available, Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch is worth considering for a family dinner in Junggye-dong or a group meal in Nowon.

Written Jun 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Hwajeong Korean set meal packed at 11am on a weekday: Kim Myeongju

Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Wondang Station Branch is a Korean set-meal (hanjeongsik) restaurant in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, easy to reach from Hwajeong, Wondang and Samsong. On a weekday visit just after 11am, the writer ordered the Tteuranchae Bapsang for two (₩13,000 per person) and a single order of soy sauce marinated crab (₩18,000), then went back to the self-bar for more fried eggplant, kkoldeulppaegi (bitter greens kimchi) and cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew). Lightly seasoned side dishes and chewy stone-pot rice make Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang a homestyle meal that is well suited to dining with parents.

Written Jun 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Charcoal BBQ date in Nowon, Seoul: king oyster mushrooms at Mungchi

Mungchi (뭉치) is an old-school charcoal Korean BBQ restaurant in Sanggye-dong, Nowon, Seoul, near Suraksan Station. On a weekday visit around 6 pm, the writer grilled one serving each of Mungchi pork neck and fresh pork galbi (17,000 won each) and finished with free cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) and jeotgal bibimbap (rice with salted seafood, 3,000 won). Thanks to good charcoal, Mungchi's juicy pork neck and smoky king oyster mushrooms stood out, making it worth a return for an after-work dinner or a date.

Written Jul 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNamyangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Shabu kalguksu on a Bulam Mountain drive, porridge finish: Onjeongban

Onjeongban Shabu Kalguksu Namyangju Byeollae Main Branch is a shabu-shabu and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant in Byeollae, Namyangju, at the foot of Bulam Mountain. On a drive, the blogger ordered the Onjeongban shabu and eomnamu (castor aralia) herbal boiled pork set for 2 plus rolled dumplings (half meat, half kimchi) in clear broth, then enjoyed it like a course: gondeure rice from the self-bar, kalguksu noodles, and porridge instead of fried rice. Onjeongban Shabu Kalguksu is a solid choice for a family meal in Byeollae if you want clean, healthy-tasting shabu kalguksu.

Written Jul 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Pungsan Station Korean restaurant, eggplant fry self-serve bar: Haenon

Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch is a Korean restaurant specializing in miyeokguk (seaweed soup) set meals in Ilsan's Aenigol area, near Pungsan Station in Goyang. We ordered the beef seaweed soup set and the boneless flounder seaweed soup set. The rich soup is boiled to order, the self-serve bar has japchae (glass noodles), eggplant fries and seasoned scallops, and the set for two or more adds seasoned flounder and a tangy chicken breast salad. With a large private parking lot and an upscale atmosphere, Haenon Miyeok is a great pick for a family meal with your parents.

Written Jul 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Early-dinner conveyor sushi in Nowon: gamtae uni shrimp at Sushi Ianen

Sushi Ianen Nowon Station (스시이안앤 노원역점) is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant near Nowon Station in Seoul where every plate costs ₩1,990. The visit came at the first dinner seating, right after the break time ended, and covered flounder, salmon and raw shrimp, then gamtae (roasted seaweed) shrimp uni sushi, aburi squid, eel and tako wasabi gunkan, with udon on the side. Sushi Ianen Nowon Station doesn't have the impact of a high-end omakase, but its freshness and lineup for the price are hard to beat.

Written Aug 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Nowon sushi buffet for shrimp lovers: lemon cream shrimp, Kuu Kuu

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is a sushi buffet on the 6th floor of the Seoul Oncheon building in Nowon, Seoul. The blogger entered at the 11 a.m. first seating with a Naver reservation. The meal focused on shrimp, from raw shrimp, sweet shrimp and soy-marinated shrimp sushi to lemon cream shrimp and kkanpung chili shrimp (crispy fried shrimp in a sweet-spicy garlic sauce), then moved on to the udon and Korean food corners and finished with fruit and petit cakes. For shrimp lovers, Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is a family-gathering buffet where you keep refilling your plate.

Written Aug 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceUijeongbu, GyeonggiRestaurants

Uijeongbu Korean restaurant Ingane: handmade dumplings, free rice bar

Ingane is a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) and handmade dumpling restaurant newly opened on Songhyeon-ro 82beon-gil in the Millak 2 District of Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi. A regular bone-broth kalguksu at Ingane costs 11,000 won and a plate of handmade dumplings 9,000 won, served with big pieces of beef, thick dumpling wrappers, and a self-serve bar where rice and kimchi are free. With a private room, baby chairs and a serving robot, Ingane works just as well for family meals as for eating alone.

Written Aug 19, 2026Sponsored
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