Tote Bag Wanderer · 28 stories

Spare Tote, Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon

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

PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Gwanghwamun Chinese with parents: zhajiangmian & shrimp, Bobo Sikdang

Bobo Sikdang Gwanghwamun (보보식당) is a Chinese restaurant on Sejong-daero in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, run by Chef Jang Bo-won of Culinary Class Wars, with hall seating and private rooms. After work, the writer brought their parents and used the table order to get steamed live shrimp with glass noodles in garlic sauce, kkanpung monkfish (in a sweet, spicy and tangy glaze) and Bobo-style zhajiangmian (Chinese fried-sauce noodles), with warm tea before the meal and a fire show from the chefs. Bobo Sikdang suits anyone who wants hard-to-find zhajiangmian and upscale Chinese dishes in a private room in Gwanghwamun.

Written Nov 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Weight-loss salad takeout at Jonggak: Chicken & Salmon Light, Wystab

Wystab Diet Gwanghwamun is a protein box, salad and poke shop on the B1 floor of Le Meilleur Jongno Town, near Jonggak Station Exit 1 in Jongno, Seoul. To help with weight loss, the writer skipped the tofu noodle base and took home a Chicken Light and a Salmon Light on a salad base, finding the packaging neat and the toppings generous enough to stay full for a long time. Wystab Diet Gwanghwamun is a solid pick for Gwanghwamun and Jonggak office workers who want a light but filling lunch.

Written Nov 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Euljiro burger spot for two: split a set and a single at Daily Fix

Daily Fix Euljiro is an American-style handmade burger restaurant near Exit 1-1 of Euljiro 1-ga Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. Visiting on a weekday outside the lunch rush, the writer ordered a Truffle Mushroom Burger set, a Hawaiian Bacon BBQ Burger on its own and a corn salad, then split both burgers in half. The 100% Hanwoo (Korean beef) patties, soft buns and 18mm-thick 18 Fries were all satisfying. Daily Fix Euljiro is a good Euljiro burger spot for sharing one hearty burger and one tangy burger between two.

Written Nov 13, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Paju Unjeong Korean BBQ: spicy chicken feet & naengmyeon broth, Tannae

Tannae Paju Main Branch (탄내 파주본점) is a briquette-grilled Korean BBQ restaurant in Garam-maeul, Unjeong, Paju. It specializes in selected white pork and large marinated pork wang-gui, and the staff grill the meat for you. On a first visit on a weekend evening, the writer ordered 2 portions of selected pork neck, pork skin, the new spicy chicken feet, and mul naengmyeon (cold noodle soup) from the receipt-review event. The writer named spicy chicken feet with mul naengmyeon and its broth as the best combination. Tannae Paju Main Branch earned five stars and a planned return visit as a spot for company dinners and family gatherings in Unjeong.

Written Nov 13, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiCafés

Paju Heyri handmade donut café: coconut & pistachio, Heuksadang

Heuksadang (흑사당) is a two-story donut café in Heyri Art Village, Paju, that makes its donuts and baked goods in-house, from dough to cream, and allows dogs. On a weekend visit, the writer ordered a coconut donut, a pistachio donut and a strawberry latte at Heuksadang's 2nd-floor window seats and loved the chewy, fluffy dough, generous cream and rich pistachio flavor. Heuksadang suits anyone wanting a sweet donut break in Heyri Art Village or a café to visit with their dog.

Written Nov 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGimpo, GyeonggiCafés

Gimpo castella bakery: DIY fruit cake for a slice's price, Jinsim

Jinsim Castella Gimpo Gurae Main Branch is a takeout castella (Korean-style sponge cake) bakery in Gurae-dong, Gimpo, near Gurae Station, selling castella and fresh cream either sandwiched together or separately. The writer, a regular who has lost count of visits, buys Jinsim castella and cream separately to top with strawberries or Shine Muscat grapes at home, or pairs mugwort castella with injeolmi cream and roasted soybean powder. Jinsim Castella is a good pick when you want a whole-cake feel for the price of one slice, or an easy group snack or gift.

Written Apr 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGimpo, GyeonggiRestaurants

Shabu kalguksu restaurant in Gimpo: weekday lunch with Mom, Homilwon

Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch is a sanghwang mushroom shabu kalguksu restaurant in Geolpo-dong, Gimpo. The writer took Mom there for a weekday lunch and ordered the 19,900 won per person Full-Table Special Sanghwang Mushroom Kalguksu, a course-like spread running from shabu-shabu to suyuk (boiled pork), jjukkumi (webfoot octopus), kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) and sesame seed fried rice, plus radish rice from the self-bar. Verdict: Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu delivers both generous portions and good flavor for under 20,000 won, making it a solid spot for a family meal in Gimpo.

Written Nov 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Ramen shop at City Hall Exit 10: two-sauce karaage & gyudon, Mentsuru

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a Japanese ramen shop near Exit 10 of City Hall Station in Seoul. The writer ordered tori paitan (creamy chicken broth ramen, 12,000 won), beef brisket gyudon (11,000 won) and handmade karaage (7,000 won), and the karaage, served with Korean sweet-spicy fried chicken sauce and mayo sauce, became the writer's personal number one. With no break time and open every day of the year, Mentsuru City Hall Branch is an easy pick for a solo meal or an after-work dinner near City Hall Station.

Written May 1, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Paju restaurant near Provence: perilla chicken soup at Paju Boribap

Paju Boribap is a Korean restaurant specializing in barley rice set meals near Heyri Art Village and Provence Village in Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju. The ₩16,000 per person Paju Boribap set, ordered with half a perilla seed chicken soup, came with six seasonal namul (seasoned greens), cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), seasoned apple snails and mung bean pancake, and the side dishes are made in-house. Paju Boribap is reasonably priced for a tourist area, and with group seating and private rooms it is a solid pick for a family meal with elders.

Written Nov 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulCafés

Morning café by City Hall Station: nutty latte & egg tart—Lemangdoré

Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a three-floor dessert and bakery café on Mugyo-ro, between City Hall Station and Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul. On a morning visit, the writer had a café latte, an egg tart and a pistachio cream croissant, then explored the white-and-red Christmas decor and the floor-to-ceiling window view from the 3rd-floor Fritz Hansen lounge. Verdict: the coffee and bread make Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun a City Hall Station café worth coming back to.

Written Nov 8, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Paju dumpling house takeout: hot pot vs mandu soup, Bubyeokjeong

Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu (부벽정평양만두) is a Pyeongyang-style dumpling restaurant on Jimok-ro near Lotte Premium Outlets Paju in Gyeonggi. The writer ordered the mandu hot pot for 2 and a bowl of mandu soup to go, cooked them in a hot pot at home, and was happy with the generous broth and dadaegi (spicy seasoning paste), the kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) add-in, the fresh vegetables and the thin-skinned dumplings. Takeout mandu hot pot from Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu tastes just like dining in, making it a great pick for home or camping.

Written Nov 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Restorative chicken hot pot in Dongdaemun, clear jujube broth

Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun is a Korean restaurant serving dak hanmari (whole chicken hot pot) and bindaetteok (mung bean pancake) on the chicken hot pot alley between Dongdaemun Station and Jongno 5-ga Station in Jongno, Seoul. The writer, a regular who returns whenever the seasons change and the days swing between warm and cold, had a lunch of clear-broth dak hanmari, a free mung bean pancake and Jipyeong makgeolli. The verdict: one big chicken with jujubes, potatoes and rice cakes at Sunhuine Bindaetteok makes a restorative lunch that fills up two people.

Written Nov 5, 2026Sponsored