Display Case Gazer · 27 stories
I write about cafés I visit around Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Things to do · Bars
Low & Sweet Roastery is a roastery café at the start of Haeridan-gil, near Exit 4 of Haeundae Station in Busan. After a weekday lunch, the writer ordered a hot decaf americano (5,700 won), an iced latte (6,300 won), an egg tart (3,800 won) and a plain financier (3,200 won), and liked the egg tart and latte pairing best. Low & Sweet Roastery is a Haeundae café that reliably does both coffee and desserts well.
Jangchunhyang (장춘향) is a Chinese restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building near Busan Station in Dong-gu, Busan. For the first meal of a Busan trip, the writer ordered jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) at a reopening-event price of ₩4,900 and Cantonese-style sirloin tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) with ketchup sauce for ₩26,000. The tangsuyuk stayed crispy to the last piece, and the jjajangmyeon was neither too sweet nor too salty. For a good-value tangsuyuk lunch near Busan Station, Jangchunhyang beats expectations.
Ibaba Coffee is a coffee-focused black-and-white café on a side alley of Jeonpo Café Street in Busanjin, Busan. After a weekday lunch, the writer ordered an iced americano (4,500 won), an iced café latte (5,000 won) and nunettine BASIC pastries (2,800 won each); the nutty, low-acidity coffee and the latte's rich milk stood out most. Ibaba Coffee doesn't try to stand out, but it is a quiet Jeonpo café that gets the basics right.
Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a three-floor bakery café on Mugyo-ro in Jung-gu, Seoul, between Cheonggyecheon and City Hall. On a weekday afternoon after a stroll along Cheonggyecheon, the writer had the iced coffee of the day (Blanc Blend, ₩5,200), an iced milk tea made with rooibos vanilla loose-leaf tea, a pain au chocolat and an egg tart. With bright, spacious seating on the 2nd and 3rd floors and satisfying drinks and desserts, Lemangdoré Gwanghwamun is a café worth recommending for a break near Cheonggyecheon.
Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is a Japanese gyukatsu (beef cutlet) and steki (Japanese-style steak) restaurant on basement level 1 of the LG Seoul Station Building in Jung-gu, Seoul. Before a weekday date at Namdaemun Market, the writer ordered one Ichigyu gyukatsu set and one striploin steki set (19,500 won each), grilled the beef in melted Isigny butter on a personal grill and shared both. Of the two, the tender, buttery striploin steki set at Ichigyu is the one the writer would order again.
Downtowner Gwanggyojungang Station is a handmade-burger franchise branch right outside Exit 3 of Gwanggyojungang Station in Suwon, Gyeonggi. Before a weekday-lunch movie date, the writer ordered the Classic Cheese (8,900 won), the Cheeseburger (7,800 won) and Garlic Butter Fries (6,800 won), and enjoyed the juicy thick patties, the restrained sauce, the clean dining room and the self-serve bar with spicy pickles. Though it is a chain, Downtowner Gwanggyojungang Station delivers a genuine handmade-burger feel, making it a solid pick for an office lunch, a solo meal or a bite before a date.
Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch is a spacious dessert café on the 4th floor of a building near Mangpo Station in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon. After a clinic visit near Mangpo Station and lunch, the writer stopped by on a weekday afternoon for a bear einspänner (₩6,500), a decaf Crimson Punch tea (₩6,000) and a Basque cheesecake (₩7,500), and especially liked the sofa seats and the quiet atmosphere. For a relaxed break with dessert in a roomy space, Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch is a satisfying choice.
Boriook Main Branch (보리옥 본점) is an all-you-can-eat barley rice Korean restaurant near Mangpo Station in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon. Returning after 6 months for a weekday lunch, the writer ordered two ₩13,000 barley rice sets and filled up at the namul (seasoned vegetable) self-bar with cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), then fried two kimchi pancakes at Boriook's new self-service kimchi pancake corner. Verdict: Boriook Main Branch is a good-value lunch for anyone who loves namul and home-style Korean food, or for a meal with parents.
Downtowner Yeouido is a handmade burger shop on the ground floor of One Sentinel near Yeouido Station in Seoul. The writer took a cheeseburger, a classic cheeseburger and garlic butter fries to go for a picnic at Yanghwa Hangang Park; the burgers were solid on the basics, and the fries stayed fairly crisp even after packing. Downtowner Yeouido is an easy, satisfying takeout stop before a Han River picnic.
Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon (봉평메밀미가연) is a buckwheat restaurant in downtown Bongpyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, Gangwon, that makes its noodles from 100% buckwheat. On a weekend day trip to Pyeongchang, four of us had an early lunch of buckwheat sprout suyuk (boiled pork), yukhoe bibimbap, bibim noodles, miga noodles and handmade buckwheat jeon, then ordered a second bowl of bibim noodles because it was so good. Bongpyeong Memil Migayeon suits travelers and family groups who want to share a spread of buckwheat dishes.
Kueodeukkutteu (쿠어드꾸뜨) is a Western restaurant with a terrace and outdoor seating on Haengridan-gil in Haenggung-dong, Suwon. On a weekday lunch, the writer stopped by just for coffee but stayed for a brunch-style lunch of basil cream jambon (ham) pasta (₩19,000), French toast (₩11,000) and homemade grapefruit ade (₩6,000). The meal was eaten indoors because of a rain forecast, with no wait. Kueodeukkutteu is a solid Haenggung-dong pick for a date or brunch where both the food and the atmosphere matter.
Mellang (카페멜랑) is a brunch café in an apartment shopping arcade in Ichon-dong, Yongsan, Seoul, within walking distance of the National Museum of Korea. On a museum date the writer had truffle bacon eggs Benedict (₩19,000), kimchi fried rice (₩17,000), an Americano (₩4,500) and a lemon pineapple ade (₩6,000), and the kimchi fried rice, ordered with low expectations, was the most memorable dish. Mellang is an easy Ichon Station brunch pick when brunch fans and rice lovers eat together.
