Pepper Mill Local · 51 stories

The Pepper Shaker

I write about restaurants I visit and meals I try in Seoul and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Things to do · Cafés · Bars

PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiCafés

Deogyang-gu café: mango yogurt smoothie & shrimp croissant, Baedagol

Baedagol Bakery House (배다골베이커리하우스) is a three-floor garden bakery café in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. On a weekday afternoon, the writer and her husband ordered the signature fresh mango yogurt smoothie, an iced Americano, a bacon cheese shrimp croissant and basil tomato campagne bread, then explored the 2nd-floor terrace and the outdoor garden. She went with low expectations, and Baedagol Bakery House became one of the most satisfying cafés she has visited in years.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Late-lunch pot rice restaurant in Sangam: sticky abalone rice, Solsot

Solsot Sangam Branch is a sotbap (Korean pot rice) restaurant on basement level 1 of a building on Maebongsan-ro, near Digital Media City Station in Mapo, Seoul. The writer, who expected little from pot rice, went with her husband after the lunch hour and ordered abalone pot rice and sea bream and scallop pot rice as fried shrimp sets. The rice was sticky and dense enough to recall yakbap (sweet sticky rice), the toppings were large, and the nurungji (scorched rice) finished with broth was satisfying. Solsot Sangam Branch changed how the couple think about pot rice, and both want to go back.

Written Oct 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Gangnam Korean BBQ for two: 1++ No.9 hanwoo and blood soup at Uno

Uno is a hanwoo (Korean beef) restaurant on Teheran-ro 70-gil near Seolleung Station in Gangnam, Seoul. Two diners shared Uno's 600g hanwoo special of 1++ No.9 beef (brisket, neck chain, sirloin, chuck flap, short rib and unmarinated short rib), grilled by the staff. The complimentary hanwoo bone-broth seonji haejangguk (beef blood hangover soup) was so good that they ordered extra rice. Verdict: Uno is a consistently well-made Gangnam hanwoo restaurant, from the meat to the side dishes, soup, grill-edge steamed egg and patbingsu.

Written Oct 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Goyang soy crab buffet in male-crab season, no dinner wait: Deodeo

Deodeo Ganjanggejang Muhalliripil (더더간장게장무한리필) is an all-you-can-eat soy-marinated and spicy marinated crab restaurant on Wondang-ro in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. The writer, a repeat visitor who lives nearby, went at an in-between evening hour during autumn male-crab season, was seated with no wait, and found the crabs bigger and meatier than usual. The included crab stew was a little bland, but with soy crab that isn't salty and spicy crab that isn't sweet, all on unlimited refills, Deodeo is worth coming back to.

Written Oct 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Yeoksam eel restaurant: shirayaki with Maldon salt vs unadon, Unagiwa

Unagiwa is a Nagoya-style Japanese eel rice bowl restaurant on Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil in Gangnam, Seoul, near Yeoksam Station. At Unagiwa, the writer ordered the salt-grilled shirayaki set and the sauce-glazed unadon (Sang) together, comparing them with Maldon salt, tare sauce and a range of toppings, and found the matcha pudding dessert the most memorable part of the meal. Choose Unagiwa's shirayaki set for the natural chewiness of the eel and the unadon for deep savory flavor, and try Unagiwa's matcha pudding even if you don't usually like pudding.

Written Oct 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Eel restaurant at City Hall: hearty Nagoya-style hitsumabushi, Tawa

Tawa is a Japanese restaurant specializing in Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice), on basement level 1 of the Hansan Building near City Hall Station in Seoul. The writer, trying hitsumabushi for the first time, ordered two bowls with a senior friend who has eaten hitsumabushi many times in Japan, and even after portions were scooped out, the bowls stayed packed with eel. For a filling eel meal near City Hall Station or Deoksugung, Tawa's hitsumabushi is a satisfying choice.

Written Oct 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceEunpyeong, SeoulRestaurants

Open-kitchen Yeonsinnae tonkatsu: couple's hire katsu, Katsu Monster

Katsu Monster Yeonsinnae Branch is a Japanese-style tonkatsu restaurant near Yeonsinnae Station in Eunpyeong, Seoul. The blogger and her husband ordered the 2-person set (2 tonkatsu + 1 large noodle dish), switching it to hire (tenderloin) katsu, cheese katsu and cold soba. They were happy with the clean open kitchen, the truffle salt and wasabi pairing, and the large cold soba. The couple's top pick at Katsu Monster was the hire katsu: tender, with a deep pork flavor.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Hangover soup in Samsong, Goyang for an early brunch: Jeju Eunhui-ne

Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk Goyang Samsong Branch is a hangover soup (haejangguk) chain restaurant on the ground floor of the e-Pyeonhansesang City Samsong shopping arcade, across from Starfield in Samsong, Goyang. On an early-morning brunch visit, the haejangguk and naejangtang (tripe soup) came with generous toppings, including two chunks of ox blood, served in a roomy, clean hall with an open kitchen. For anyone in Samsong who used to travel to Ilsan for hangover soup, Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk Goyang Samsong Branch is enough.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Gongdeok Korean BBQ with a kind owner and jin-galbi-sal: Usijang

Usijang Hoegwan (우시장회관) is a beef barbecue restaurant on Samgae-ro near Mapo Station and Gongdeok in Seoul. The writer and her husband shared the 3-person set: a small mixed platter of jin-galbi-sal (premium rib meat), galbi-sal (rib finger meat) and marinated LA galbi, plus Korean beef yuksashimi (raw beef sashimi) and spicy gukbap (beef soup with rice). The grilled beef and gukbap were satisfying but the yuksashimi tasted too strongly of beef to finish. What makes Usijang Hoegwan memorable is the owner's warmth toward customers and new part-time staff alike.

Written Oct 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulCafés

Gwangjang Market dessert shop: bear tumbler mugwort milk tea, Ssuk's

Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul is a takeout-only handmade choco pie shop from Gwangju, on Jongno 32-gil near Gwangjang Market in Jongno, Seoul. The writer, a Mont Shell fan, tried Ssuk's Choco Pie's cream-filled pies (no marshmallow) and the sea-breeze mugwort injeolmi (roasted soybean rice cake) pie. The writer also covers the mugwort milk tea in a bear-shaped tumbler and the free gift sticker service. Even people who know Jeonju choco pies well will find a different charm at Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul.

Written Oct 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiCafés

Gongneung Stream bakery café, coffee run with my husband: Pine Terrace

Pine Terrace is a two-story bakery café near Gongneung Stream in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. On a coffee run with her husband, the writer had salt bread, truffle salt bread, olive ciabatta, cheesecake and 2 iced americanos, and watched real trains pass from the 2nd floor. Pine Terrace's truffle salt bread, packed with truffle all the way through, was good enough to come back for.

Written Jun 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Pork BBQ for 3-4 in Samsong, Goyang: fat-draining grill, Neopttakjip

Neopttakjip Samsong Branch (넙딱집 삼송점) is a pork BBQ restaurant on the first floor of Jun Plaza near Samsong Station in Goyang, Gyeonggi. The 800g special mixed grill for 3-4 people brings five cuts: pork neck, pork belly, hayansal, kkodeulsal and galmaegisal. It came with spicy hangover soft tofu stew and Neopttak spicy ramen, and the fat-draining grill and grilled aged kimchi stood out. Neopttakjip Samsong Branch has no mussam (pickled radish wraps), but it is a generous spot for trying many pork cuts at once.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored