Memory Plate · 24 stories

Meals Remembered

I write about meals at restaurants I visit in Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Bars · Hair & beauty salons · Things to do

PlaceGimpo, GyeonggiCafés

Gurae Station castella shop, Gimpo: half-kiwi fruit sando, Jinsim

Jinsim Castella Gimpo Gurae Main Branch is a Taiwanese-style giant castella (sponge cake) shop near Gurae Station in Gimpo that also sells fresh fruit sandos. The writer went for the original Jinsim castella, also took home a strawberry, kiwi and mandarin fruit sando, and found the castella light and fluffy and the sando full of clean fresh cream and generous fruit. Jinsim Castella Gimpo Gurae Main Branch is worth a stop not only for castella but also for anyone looking for a fruit sando in Gimpo.

Written Oct 31, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulThings to do

Daehak-ro play with introvert-friendly audience fun: Oh! My Ghost

Oh! My Ghost is a small-theater play staged at Aruto Small Theater in Daehak-ro, near Hyehwa Station in Jongno, Seoul. The writer was struck by the male lead's expressive eye acting, the ghost actor's possessed-like switches between moods, and one actor taking on several roles, and enjoyed the audience participation without pressure despite being shy. Oh! My Ghost is a Daehak-ro date idea worth recommending even to people who rarely see plays.

Written Oct 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Samgakji burger joint after a picnic with Mom: Bass Burger Sinyongsan

Bass Burger Sinyongsan is a vintage American-style craft burger and craft beer restaurant between Samgakji Station and Sinyongsan Station in Yongsan, Seoul. After a picnic at Yongsan Children's Garden, the writer and her mom ordered a mozza chicken burger and a Hawaiian burger with added lettuce, tomato and pineapple, plus a chili mozza cheese bar, Bass Lager craft beer and unlimited fries. Bass Burger Sinyongsan is a very satisfying Samgakji burger spot for anyone who loves cheese and toppings.

Written Oct 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Samgakji shabu-shabu before the Children's Garden: Shabu in Seoul

Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch is a shabu-shabu restaurant a 5-minute walk from Samgakji Station Exit 3 in Yongsan, Seoul. On a weekend lunch, a mother and daughter shared shabu-shabu for 2 with Prime Angus chuck eye in clear mushroom broth and finished with egg porridge and omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) before walking to Yongsan Park and the Children's Garden. Shabu in Seoul's meat impressed even this vegetable-loving pair, and its big windows make it a strong lunch pick in Samgakji.

Written Oct 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Suwon Korean BBQ: new straw-fired galmaegisal samhap, Jipbul Taebaek

Jipbul Taebaek Suwon Ingye Branch (짚불태백 수원인계점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Nahyeseok-geori in Ingye-dong, Suwon, where staff grill meat first seared over rice straw and charcoal. At Jipbul Taebaek we ordered 2 servings of beef rib meat and 1 serving of the new straw-fired galmaegisal (pork skirt), eaten as a samhap of galmaegisal, grilled kimchi, a rice cake wrap and soybean powder, plus a guacamole tortilla from the review event. Jipbul Taebaek is worth a visit when you want unusual meat pairings instead of a run-of-the-mill BBQ place.

Written Oct 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiCafés

Holiday bagel café trip in Suwon: scallion cream bacon at Orange Bagel

Orange Bagel is a large red-brick bakery café on Omokcheon-ro in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon. On a holiday trip to Suwon, a self-described bread lover toured both floors of Orange Bagel and took home five bagels (scallion cream bacon, Laugen butter, olive tomato, basil and plain), reheating some right away and freezing the rest to reheat later. With moist, chewy bagels that have no floury smell and a photogenic space, Orange Bagel is worth adding to a Suwon trip or date.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiCafés

Suwon tea café after Wolhwawon: fig cake & Darjeeling milk tea, Diaz

Diaz Cake Boutique is a cake and tea café on the second floor of a building at the entrance to Nahyeseok Street in Ingye-dong, Suwon. After lunch and a walk around Wolhwawon, the writer stopped in for a fig fresh cream cake, a Fortnum & Mason Darjeeling with added milk and an iced grapefruit honey black tea. The cake's cream, described as 100% Seoul Milk dairy cream, balanced the very sweet figs without feeling heavy, making Diaz Cake Boutique worth a visit before fig season ends.

Written Oct 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Suwon wood-fired chicken after a fortress wall walk: Haenggung Jangjak

Haenggung Jangjak Hanbang Tongdak (행궁장작한방통닭) is a wood-fired whole chicken restaurant on the chicken street in Haenggung-dong, Suwon. After walking the fortress wall from Janganmun Gate, three of us shared one Suwon galbi wood-fired chicken with extra rice cakes. The galbi (sweet soy short-rib-style) sauce was neither salty nor overpowering, and the bird was big enough to fill all three. For chicken with a real Suwon travel atmosphere, Haenggung Jangjak Hanbang Tongdak comes highly recommended.

Written Oct 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Insa-dong noodle house: buckwheat gimbap still firm next day, Goshine

Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch is a buckwheat noodle restaurant in a hanok building on the alley next to Ssamziegil in Insa-dong, Seoul, and is said to be the first directly run branch of Goshine Donghae Makguksu from Gangneung. With her mom, the writer ordered the 2-person set (mul makguksu cold buckwheat noodles in broth, pollock sikhae bibim makguksu and boiled pork) plus avocado buckwheat gimbap; the portions were generous, so the gimbap went home as takeout, and the next day the noodles still hadn't gone soft. With rich buckwheat-scented noodles and a not-too-spicy bibim sauce, Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch is a good Insa-dong Korean restaurant for groups or for bringing foreign friends.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulThings to do

Perfume workshop in Bukchon after the Do Ho Suh exhibition: Muhwawon

Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop (무화원 북촌향수공방) is a one-day perfume-making studio on Yulgok-ro 6-gil in Jongno, Seoul, near Anguk Station. After seeing the Do Ho Suh exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the writer and her mom took Muhwawon's premium perfume class. They learned the basics on a personal tablet and headset, then blended a perfume with one-on-one guidance from a perfumer, smelling Korean notes such as hanji (traditional mulberry paper), mountain mugwort, cedar and herbal medicine. Easy to follow even for first-timers, Muhwawon's perfume class is a great pick for a Bukchon date or family outing.

Written Oct 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Korean BBQ lunch with mom near Gyeongbokgung Station: Gukbinkwan

Tonguidong Gukbinkwan Gyeongbokgung Station Branch (통의동 국빈관 경복궁역점) is a hanok-style Korean BBQ restaurant grilling hanwoo (Korean beef) over yeontan briquettes, in the Jeokseon food alley near Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 3 in Seochon, Jongno, Seoul. On a Gyeongbokgung outing with her mom, the writer had the premium hanwoo short rib platter for 2 and Gukbinkwan doenjang stew, and loved both the complimentary seonji haejangguk (hangover soup) served without the seonji (ox blood) and the 1++ hanwoo that staff grilled all the way through. Verdict: with its pine courtyard view and free corkage, Tonguidong Gukbinkwan is a Seochon hanwoo restaurant worth booking for a special family meal.

Written Oct 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGimpo, GyeonggiRestaurants

Gimpo Korean BBQ for 2 under ₩50,000 with octopus: Donpu The Grill

Donpu The Grill (돈푸 더 그릴) is a charcoal Korean BBQ restaurant on the Janggi-dong food street in Gimpo, Gyeonggi, where pork neck, beef short rib meat, minari pork belly, kimchi pork belly and grilled octopus can all be cooked together on one custom-made grill plate. Two diners ordered fire-seared whole beef rib meat, fire-seared aged pork neck and half a cooked octopus, ate their fill for under ₩50,000, and were especially pleased with the thick pork neck and the octopus priced in the ₩8,000 range. With a comfortable dining room and generous portions, Donpu The Grill is a good pick for family gatherings or a company dinner in Gimpo.

Written Aug 2, 2026Sponsored