Weekend Notebook Keeper · 16 stories

Loose Notebook, Gyeonggi and Seoul Days Out

She covers cafes, restaurants, beauty spots, and things to do around Gyeonggi and Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Things to do · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Bars

PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Jongno Jeolla-style restaurant: skate salad and gulbi set, Gu Table

Gu Table Korean Restaurant (구테이블 한정식) is a Jeolla-style hanjeongsik (Korean set-course) restaurant in an alley across from Gwangjang Market, near Jongno 5-ga Station in Jongno, Seoul. The writer and her husband had the lunch barley gulbi (dried yellow corvina) set at 40,000 won per person, a full table with three-color namul (seasoned vegetables), sweet and sour skate salad, mussel and shrimp seaweed soup, steamed abalone and whelk, braised sea bream head, and aged flounder sashimi salad. The most memorable taste at Gu Table was millet rice in green tea water topped with barley gulbi.

Written Oct 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Jongno burger spot at 1pm: black pepper Cajun fries at Reel Burger

Reel Burger Gwanghwamun is a handmade burger restaurant on the ground floor of Shilla Stay on Sambong-ro in Jongno, Seoul, reportedly consulted on by chef Lee Won-il for a YouTube show. The writer and her husband arrived around 1pm to avoid the office lunch rush and ordered the Egg Benedict Burger, an El Taco Burger set, crispy onion rings, black pepper Cajun fries and an original Coke. Both the burgers and the sides at Reel Burger Gwanghwamun were good enough that the couple plans to return.

Written Aug 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNamyangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Korean BBQ family dinner near Dasan Station, cod roe sauce: Udontan

Udontan Dasan Main Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Exit 1 of Dasan Station in Namyangju, Gyeonggi, specializing in charcoal-seared pork belly and beef short ribs. On a summer vacation return visit, the writer, her husband and their son ordered the pork neck set, pork belly set, beef rib doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and mul naengmyeon (cold noodle soup), and staff grilled the meat at the table. Dipped in the cod roe sesame oil sauce, the crispy-outside, juicy-inside meat was a hit again, making Udontan Dasan Main Branch a repeat pick for family dinners.

Written Aug 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Myeongdong pizza restaurant dinner: chorizo shrimp pasta, Seventy Four

Seventy Four Myeongdong Cathedral Main Branch is a wood-fired pizza and pasta restaurant on the first floor of Familia Chapel at Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung-gu, Seoul. Over dinner with her daughter, the writer ordered quattro formaggi pizza, chorizo shrimp oil pasta and ragu pasta, and the crisp, nutty wood-fired dough and the peppery kick of kkwari chili in the oil pasta stood out most. With a terrace in the middle of Myeongdong, Seventy Four works just as well for a date as for a family dinner.

Written Aug 16, 2026Sponsored
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