Seaside Night Eater · 49 stories

Late Tables by the Sea

I write about restaurant meals and small dining stops in Busan and Gyeongnam. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Bars · Hair & beauty salons · Shopping · Stays

PlaceNam-gu, BusanRestaurants

Busan shabu kalguksu lunch with Mom, radish kimchi refills: Yunujae

Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu (윤우재문현샤브칼국수) is a shabu kalguksu restaurant with house-made noodles in Daerim Munhyeon City Plaza, Munhyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Busan. On a weekday lunch with Mom, we ordered shabu kalguksu for 2 (11,000 won per person) in the medium-spicy red broth, added sirloin, minari (water dropwort) and mushrooms, then went the full course with kalguksu noodles and porridge. Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu was a great-value Munhyeon-dong lunch, right down to the delicious kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and kimchi.

Written Nov 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho café after a Seoraksan hike: biji cream salt bread, Cafe Neorae

Cafe Neorae (카페너래) is a large bakery café on the 2nd floor in the Haksapyeong soft tofu village at 114 Wonamhaksapyeong-gil, Sokcho, Gangwon, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Ulsanbawi ridge of Seoraksan. After missing Ulsanbawi on a Seoraksan hike the day before, the writer and her husband ordered only the signatures at Cafe Neorae: Neorae Tea and Neorae Latte (7,500 won each) and the biji (soybean pulp) cream signature salt bread (5,000 won). If you couldn't climb to Ulsanbawi, Cafe Neorae's window seats are a great place to take in the view instead.

Written Nov 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho bakery café gift for parents: tender squid jjondeugi, Bultan

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store (속초불탄감자빵 본점) is a potato bread bakery café on Haksapyeong-gil in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a Sokcho trip, the writer bought a 4-piece Sokcho Bultan potato bread box and a 12-piece Sokcho jjondeugi (chewy snack strip) set for ₩10,000 each as gifts for parents; the writer's husband, who doesn't like bread, enjoyed the potato bread, and the writer's mom, whose teeth have weakened, liked that the squid-flavored jjondeugi wasn't tough. For an easy Sokcho food gift, the potato bread and jjondeugi combo from Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread is a safe choice.

Written Nov 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho Sundubu Village tofu restaurant: chodubu in brine, Kongbatteul

Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch (콩밭뜰 속초점) is a sundubu (soft tofu) and tofu restaurant in Sokcho Sundubu Village, Sokcho, Gangwon, open from 8 AM. After waiting out a full house, a couple ordered chodubu (soft tofu served in its brine) and jjamppong sundubu (spicy seafood soft tofu stew), each ₩10,000 per person and served as a tofu set with tofu kimchi, tofu tteokgalbi (tofu patty) and tofu tangsu (sweet-and-sour tofu). For a light breakfast, a hangover meal or a family meal with kids, Kongbatteul Sokcho Branch is a good fit.

Written Nov 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonShopping

Sokcho snack shop: unbroken oranda gift for parents, Sokcho Yetgokgan

Sokcho Yetgokgan (속초옛곳간) is a handmade snack and jocheong (Korean grain syrup) shop near the entrance of Sokcho Jungang Market (Sokcho Tourist & Fish Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon. After tasting the ginger syrup tea the owner recommended, the writer bought 2 packs of oranda (crunchy puffed-grain clusters bound with grain syrup), picked out by Mom, for ₩10,000 and carried them all the way to Busan without breakage, and the parents finished them in one sitting. For an easy snack gift for parents from a Sokcho trip, Sokcho Yetgokgan oranda is a good choice.

Written Nov 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho mulhoe shop: dakgangjeong pairing, instant rice tip, Hwanggeum

Sokcho Hwanggeum Mulhoe Hoetjip is a mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) and sashimi restaurant at the entrance of Sokcho Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. The writer took one standard Hwanggeum Mulhoe (20,000 won) back to their accommodation, a 10-minute walk away, and ate it with dakgangjeong (crispy glazed fried chicken), enjoying the spicy, tangy, naturally sweet broth, the buckwheat noodles and the thick-cut fish. Verdict: Sokcho Hwanggeum Mulhoe Hoetjip's mulhoe takeout is the refreshing dish you want between greasy market snacks.

Written Nov 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho market deodeok fried chicken, deodeok picked out: Seomin Gapbu

Seomin Gapbu Sijang Dakjip (속초시장닭강정) is a dakgangjeong (sweet, sticky fried chicken) shop in Sokcho Tourist & Fisheries Market (Sokcho Jungang Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon. The shop sells unusual flavors such as deodeok (bellflower root), garlic and perilla leaf. At branch 2, the writer took away deodeok dakgangjeong with boneless thigh meat in the regular flavor for 27,000 won and liked the fragrant deodeok and the sauce, which was not spicy. The leftovers kept in the fridge were still tasty the next day. For dakgangjeong to share with kids at Sokcho Jungang Market, the regular-flavor deodeok chicken at Seomin Gapbu Sijang Dakjip is a safe choice.

Written Nov 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho sashimi takeout & whisky for a 2nd anniversary: Han's Kitchen

Han's Kitchen Hoepojang Sokcho Jungang Market Branch is a sashimi takeout shop across from Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a 2nd wedding anniversary trip to Sokcho, a wife who doesn't really eat raw fish ordered a small mixed platter of olive flounder, marbled flounder and yellowtail amberjack from Han's Kitchen for her sashimi-loving husband, and they paired it with whisky and craft beer at their lodging. The husband called the Han's Kitchen sashimi thick, fresh and free of any fishy smell, and the wife recommends it with five stars.

Written Nov 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho hangover noodle spot: jang kalguksu at Sokcho Mom's Kalguksu

Sokcho Mom's Kalguksu (속초엄마칼국수) is a Korean restaurant on Yeongnang-ro in Sokcho, Gangwon, specializing in kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) and potato ongsimi (potato dumpling soup). On a cold day in Sokcho, the writer had ongkal-style potato ongsimi with kalguksu noodles mixed in (12,000 won), savory jang kalguksu (9,000 won) and half-and-half handmade dumplings, mostly kimchi (6,000 won). Both soups worked well as hangover food, and the writer, visiting from Busan, calls Sokcho Mom's Kalguksu the most satisfying kalguksu restaurant they have tried.

Written Nov 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho noodle spot: chewy potato pancake, perilla kalguksu, Topgol

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch (속초탑골막국수 본점) is a Korean restaurant on Haeoreum-ro near Sokcho Beach in Sokcho, Gangwon, specializing in perilla oil buckwheat noodles (deulmemak). The writer and her husband booked on Naver and ordered perilla oil buckwheat makguksu (13,000 won), buckwheat perilla kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup, 12,000 won) and a big, chewy potato pancake (17,000 won) that changed how she thinks about potato pancakes. On a Sokcho trip, order the deulmemak and potato pancake together at Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch.

Written Nov 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonStays

Sokcho motel deluxe room for a solo day off: Winners Motel

Winners Motel is a recently renovated budget motel on Mukgeori 2-gil in Gyo-dong, Sokcho. The writer stayed in a 6th-floor deluxe room and spent a day off alone after her husband left for work, and especially liked Winners Motel's large, flat private parking lot, the CU convenience store connected to the lobby, the 12:00 checkout and the friendly owner. For a clean, well-located, good-value place to stay in Sokcho, Winners Motel is a good fit.

Written Nov 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Rainy-day Korean set meal in Gangneung, soft tofu & kimchi: Saimdang

Saimdang Bueok (사임당부엌) is a home-style Korean set meal restaurant on Jukheon-gil near Ojukheon in Gangneung, Gangwon. On a rainy weekday lunch, the writer and her husband booked through Naver and shared the Saimdang Hansang set for two (₩20,000 per person). Every dish satisfied, from the homemade Chodang soft tofu and kimchi to the rolled omelet, spicy stir-fried pork and grilled fish. For a generous, carefully made Korean set meal near Ojukheon, Saimdang Bueok's Saimdang Hansang is well worth recommending.

Written Nov 5, 2026Sponsored