Vanity Table Rounds · 18 stories

Third Brush, Seoul and Gyeonggi Rounds

Writes about bars, restaurants, beauty spots, and cafes across Seoul and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Cafés · Bars

PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Noodle restaurant near Deoksugung: Seongju melon bean noodles, Tanbaek

Tanbaek is a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) restaurant on Jeongdong-gil, along the Deoksugung Palace stone wall road in Jung-gu, Seoul. At Tanbaek we shared Hanu beef gom kalguksu, reinterpreted from a 1924 cookbook; on-jeyuk, warm pork jowl served with chamnamul-yuzu salad and salted herring roe; and summer-only bean bibim kalguksu made with Paju Jangdan beans and topped with Seongju Korean melon. For clean, honest flavors in a dining room filled with craft works, Tanbaek on Jeongdong-gil is well worth a visit.

Written Jun 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulRestaurants

Shank rib soup to the last drop, Gwangjin: Achasan Tong Galbitang

Achasan Tong Galbitang is a restaurant specializing in whole-rib soup (tong galbitang) near Achasan Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. The writer went outside the lunch rush and ordered the beef shank whole-rib soup (arong satae tong galbitang): whole ribs that slip right off the bone, chewy beef shank and a clear, deep broth skimmed of fat. Achasan Tong Galbitang is a hearty post-hike meal after Achasan, filling enough that the writer added rice, topped it with kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and drained the bowl.

Written Jun 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulRestaurants

Gunja Korean restaurant: galbitang, perilla noodles, Sosa Myeonok

Sosa Myeonok is a Korean noodle, soup and bossam (boiled pork) restaurant on Neungdong-ro near Gunja Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. The writer had galbitang (beef short rib soup), perilla oil Hamheung noodles and a small bossam for lunch. The highlights were the clear galbitang broth and the yuk-ssam combo of bossam piled on the perilla oil noodles. Sosa Myeonok suits anyone looking for a mild, gentle meal that sits easy on the stomach.

Written Jun 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulCafés

Café near Gunja Station, Seoul: black tea milk tea and canelé at Palco

Palco is a café on Neungdong-ro near Gunja Station in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, where customers can choose their coffee beans and the desserts are baked in-house. The writer tried Palco's milk tea, latte and canelé and was happy with all three: a milk tea with restrained sweetness, a nutty, full-bodied latte, and a canelé that is crisp outside and moist inside. The verdict: Palco is a Gunja café the writer would revisit "200000%."

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulCafés

Brunch bakery café in Myeongil-dong: rice loaf tasting at Stay Bread

Stay Bread Myeongil branch is a large bakery café in Myeongil-dong, Gangdong, Seoul, known for breads made with natural sourdough starter and good ingredients. The writer recommends Stay Bread Myeongil branch for brunch thanks to its spacious, clean 2nd-floor seating, then took home an armful of breads, including milk rice loaf, red yeast rice loaf, chestnut loaf, fig cream cheese baguette and salt bread, to compare them. Verdict: Stay Bread Myeongil branch suits anyone in Myeongil-dong looking for not-too-sweet everyday breads that are easy on the stomach.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulRestaurants

Sundaeguk family lunch at Gildong Station: suyuk & cutlet, Sinjuokmi

Sinjuokmi Gildong Direct Branch is a sundaeguk (Korean blood sausage soup) restaurant near Gildong Station in Gangdong, Seoul. At lunch the blogger ordered a sundaeguk + suyuk (boiled pork slices) set and a sundaeguk + pork cutlet set, and found the rich bone broth with seemingly endless meat, the tender suyuk and the crispy pork cutlet all satisfying. Sinjuokmi Gildong Direct Branch suits office workers' lunches as well as family meals with older parents and kids.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulRestaurants

Seoulsup fresh pasta and gnocchi in the garden: Fleurs sur la route

Fleurs sur la route (플르서라구뜨) is a fresh pasta and gnocchi restaurant in an alley between Seoulsup Station and Ttukseom Station in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Two diners ordered the cream gnocchi and the tomato meat conchiglie: the gnocchi was lightly crisp outside with a real potato texture inside, and the conchiglie paired a hearty meat sauce with ham and basil. Fleurs sur la route is not a mind-blowing meal, but solid basics and lovely garden and window seats make it a great Seoulsup date spot.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulCafés

Shopping-break café in Seongsu: bocado set with jam, Bocado Butter

Bocado Butter Seongsu Main Store is a butter dessert café on a side street off Yeonmujang-gil in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Worn out from pop-up stores and clothing shops, the writer got a seat with no wait and ordered the signature Bocado Butter set and an iced Americano. The butter flavor was rich and the sweetness never overdone, so it stayed enjoyable to the last bite. Bocado Butter is not a life-changing dessert, but it is a satisfying Seongsu café for its atmosphere and dessert lineup.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulRestaurants

Pre-concert tonkatsu lunch near KSPO Dome: fillet & fish katsu, Riae

Riae Premium Olympic Park Branch (리애 프리미엄 올림픽공원직영점) is a premium tonkatsu restaurant in Seongnae-dong, Gangdong, Seoul, a short walk from the KSPO Dome gymnastics arena in Olympic Park. Before a KSPO Dome concert, the writer had filet mignon fillet katsu, a cold soba set with Jirisan loin katsu and fish katsu at Riae Premium, and stayed full until the show ended. Back for a fourth visit, the writer recommends the half fillet, half loin katsu for anyone trying Riae Premium for the first time.

Written Jul 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulBars

Gubeundari Station izakaya with avocado yukhoe tartare: Gamdong Dining

Gildong Gamdong Dining is an izakaya bar in Gildong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, near Gubeundari Station. With Suntory draft beer, the writer tried three dishes at Gildong Gamdong Dining: avocado yukhoe (Korean raw beef) tartare, a salmon, shrimp and arugula salad, and a generously filled futomaki (thick sushi roll), and found the draft beer well kept and the ingredients fresh. Gildong Gamdong Dining is a Gubeundari Station bar where the food is more polished than you would expect from a neighborhood bar.

Written Jul 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulRestaurants

Cheonho Station Korean restaurant, gas-burner pork jowl lunch: Boseung

Boseung Hoegwan Cheonho Station Branch (보승회관 천호역점) is a Korean restaurant serving sundae gukbap (blood sausage and rice soup) and boiled pork near the Cheonho Station eating alley in Gangdong, Seoul. On a weekday lunch the writer ordered the sundae and pork jowl set, which brings a stone bowl of sundae gukbap plus a mini sinseollo (Korean hot pot) of boiled pork jowl and three kinds of sundae kept warm over a gas burner to the last bite. For the price of one bowl of gukbap, the Boseung Hoegwan set adds boiled pork and sundae, a reliable, filling lunch near Cheonho Station.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Namwirye shabu-shabu buffet: private rooms, takeout by 100g, Dadam

Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch is an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and wolnamssam (rice paper wrap) restaurant with private rooms, on the 3rd floor of G&G Plaza on Wiryegwangjang-ro near Namwirye Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. The writer had beef shabu-shabu, wolnamssam and an affogato dessert in a private room; Dadam's rooms seat from 4 people to groups of 10 or more, and the self-serve buffet bar's fresh vegetables and cleanliness stood out. For a quiet family meal or group gathering at Dadam Shabu Shabu, book a room ahead for weekend evenings.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored