Slim Vanity Hopper · 20 stories

Thin Pouch, Seoul/Jeju/Gyeonggi Cafes, Restaurants and Beauty

Writes about cafes, restaurants, beauty spots and shopping stops across Seoul, Jeju and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Shopping

PlaceSeongdong, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Seongsu hair salon: C-curl magic setting for frizzy hair, Toni&Guy

Toni&Guy Seongsu is a hair salon on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a building on Sangwon 1-gil in Seongsu, Seoul. At 19 weeks pregnant and past the first trimester, the writer had a consultation and then about 2 hours of magic setting (Korean straightening with curled ends) plus a cut and nourishing treatment to tame frizz from semi-curly hair and a grown-out perm in rainy season. The verdict: natural volume that doesn't fall flat and C-curl ends made this the most satisfying magic straightening she has ever had.

Written Jul 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGijang, BusanRestaurants

Gijang, Busan snow crab restaurant on a babymoon: 1.7kg bakdal crab

Gijang Myeongpum Daegae is a snow crab restaurant near Gijang Station and Gijang Market in Busan, where you pick live crab from the first-floor tank and eat it on the second floor. On a babymoon with his heavily pregnant wife, the writer had 1.7–1.8kg of bakdal snow crab, weighed without the basket, then finished with free abalone and crab shell fried rice with doenjang (soybean paste) stew at ₩5,000 per person. For a first-ever snow crab meal, Gijang Myeongpum Daegae lived up to every expectation.

Written Oct 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulCafés

Gwanghwamun café near closing for yuja lemon ade: Center Coffee

Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is a roastery coffee and dessert café on the first basement floor of 136 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul. On a sweltering summer evening, the writer stopped in at 8:30 pm, 30 minutes before closing, and tried a yuja lemon ade (₩6,500), a flat white (₩5,500) and a Chocolat chocolate cake (₩8,000). Center Coffee Gwanghwamun is a quiet, spacious Gwanghwamun café that's ideal for cooling off from the heat.

Written Jul 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Seoul Station gyukatsu dinner before the KTX to Busan: Furato

Furato Shokudo Seoul Square Direct Store is a Japanese-style gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant with personal grills on B1 of Seoul Square, right in front of Seoul Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. Before boarding a KTX to Busan, the blogger ordered the two-person gyukatsu set for dinner (gyukatsu alone is ₩19,500), grilled the sirloin gyukatsu in complimentary butter and ate it with salt and wasabi. Thanks to the fresh meat, the blogger's stomach stayed settled on the train, making Furato Shokudo the best pre-trip dinner.

Written Oct 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Spicy mandu hot pot from our dating days, Jongno 3-ga: Jongga Mandu

Jongga Mandu is a Korean restaurant on Supyo-ro near Jongno 3-ga Station in Jongno, Seoul, serving hot pot with handmade mandu (Korean dumplings) shaped by the owner's mother. The writer and spouse often ate at Jongga Mandu on dates before marriage, and they returned for an early dinner after the restaurant changed its name. They ordered the spicy mandu hot pot (13,000 won per person), added 4 extra dumplings and finished with kalguksu (knife-cut noodles). Jongga Mandu's spicy mandu hot pot tasted just as it used to, which made it a welcome meal.

Written Jul 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Nowon pasta place after a maternity shoot: thin pizza, Pasta Han Kki

Pasta Han Kki Nowon Main Branch (파스타한끼 노원본점) is a Western restaurant on Sanggye-ro 5-gil near Nowon Station in Seoul, where the whole menu is priced around ₩9,900. After a maternity photo shoot, the writer arrived on an empty stomach and shared a gorgonzola cheese pizza, gambas aglio olio and a beef brisket pilaf; the thin-crust pizza and the rich, clingy gambas oil pasta stood out. Pasta Han Kki Nowon Main Branch is a budget-friendly Western spot that works for solo meals, sharing for two or family dinners.

Written Oct 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

No-wait early weekday dinner at a Namwirye shabu-shabu buffet: Dadam

Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch is an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu restaurant on the 3rd floor of G&G Plaza on Wirye-gwangjang-ro, near Namwirye Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. On a return visit on an early weekday evening, the writer walked straight in with no wait, cooked 40+ kinds of vegetables and unlimited beef belly and chuck in a half-and-half broth, then finished course-style with kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), egg porridge and affogato. Thanks to the special sauce, plate after plate of meat never got boring, which makes Dadam Shabu Shabu a place worth going back to.

Written Aug 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Ramen shop at Gongneung Station: rice in niboshi broth, Torikokoro

Torikokoro Gongneung Direct Store is a Japanese tsukemen (dipping noodle) specialist on the basement floor near Gongneung Station in Nowon, Seoul. Trying tsukemen for the first time, two diners ordered the Karai Miso Tsukemen (L) for 13,500 won and the new Niboshi Shoyu Ramen for 11,000 won, tasting the noodles plain first, dipping about half into the soup, then finishing the leftover ramen broth with a bowl of rice. For Japanese ramen that breaks from the usual, the tsukemen at Torikokoro Gongneung Direct Store is the answer.

Written Aug 8, 2026Sponsored
You've reached the end · 20 stories