Narrow Table, Seoul-Gyeonggi Restaurants — Tight Table Pilgrim

Sinchon tantanmyeon shop for spice-shy couples: sweet-spicy duo, Sammi

Sammi Tantanmyeon Sinchon is a tantanmyeon (Sichuan-style sesame noodle) and dim sum restaurant on Myeongmul-gil in Sinchon, Seoul. On a day with a Severance Hospital visit, the writer and her boyfriend shared chashu tantanmyeon, honey sauce chashu lo mein and shumai, and alternating the mala-rich tantanmyeon with the sweet chashu lo mein made a spicy-sweet combo that worked well. With free rice, Sammi Tantanmyeon Sinchon is a filling Sinchon lunch spot where portions are never a worry.

Written Jul 11, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Daeheung Station burger joint: 3rd solo shrimp burger, Bored & Hungry

Bored & Hungry Mapo (보어드앤헝그리 마포) is a handmade burger restaurant on the Gyeongui Line Forest Park trail near Daeheung Station in Mapo, Seoul. On a third visit, the writer dropped by alone on a weekend afternoon for a shrimp burger, butter garlic fries and a corn salad, and liked the table service, the clean tables and the self-serve bar stocked with Tams Zero. Verdict: the Bored & Hungry Mapo shrimp burger, packed with shrimp and generously sized, was still so satisfying on a third visit that other shrimp burgers now fall short.

Written Jul 18, 2026Sponsored

PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Samsong pork BBQ: raw black pork ribs, perilla makguksu, Neopttakjip

Neopttakjip Samsong Branch (넙딱집 삼송점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Exit 3 of Samsong Station in Goyang, Gyeonggi, that grills Jirisan chapssal-tteok pork over charcoal. A couple who loved their lunch at Neopttakjip came back for dinner and ordered the 400g Sancheong black pork raw rib set with grilled vegetables plus perilla oil makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles); the first bite, dipped in sesame oil, perilla powder and shrimp salt, impressed them most. If you want to judge the pork itself rather than a marinade, Neopttakjip Samsong Branch is worth recommending.

Written Jul 28, 2026Sponsored