Mealtime Watcher · 13 stories

The Restaurant Clock

I write about meals and restaurant visits in Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés

PlaceGwangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Kid-friendly briquette BBQ in Taejeon-dong with 5 fried eggs: Sangnok

Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch is a briquette-grill restaurant for pork and seafood in Taejeon-dong, Gwangju, Gyeonggi. After a pediatrician visit, a family of three ate a 600g pork set (₩34,000), five fried eggs for ₩4,000, mulnaengmyeon (cold noodles) and an extra 100g of pork belly. They also used a high chair and toddler cutlery and got free jjondeugi (chewy grilled snack) and slush. Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch is a Taejeon-dong BBQ spot with plenty to eat even when you bring a child.

Written Jun 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYesan, ChungnamRestaurants

Yesan Market chicken stir-fry for beers at Splas Risom: Sijang

Sijang Dakbokkeum (시장닭볶음) is a shop inside Yesan Market in Yesan-eup, Yesan, Chungnam, that serves a single dish: shishito pepper chicken stir-fry (dakbokkeum). On the first day of a 2-night, 3-day Yesan trip, the writer took out boneless Sijang Dakbokkeum (25,000 won) with added Vienna sausage (2,000 won) and cheese (3,000 won). After the kids were asleep, the adults ate it with beer at Yesan Splas Risom and stir-fried rice in the leftover sauce. For a spicy late-night snack at your Yesan lodging, Sijang Dakbokkeum takeout is a great fit.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangju, GyeonggiCafés

Weekday Namhansanseong café with my sister: Jeju matcha latte, Sum

Sum (카페 숨) is a large bakery café in Dunjeon village, Namhansanseong-myeon, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, with a double-height main building with floor-to-ceiling windows, an annex music room and a rooftop. The writer visited Sum with her older sister on a weekday morning while her child was at daycare, trying a Jeju matcha latte (7,500 won), a mocha cream latte (8,500 won), basil cheese green onion bread (7,000 won) and a Somsal milk loaf (5,500 won). The smooth, non-chalky Jeju matcha latte and the basil cheese bread packed with green onion stood out at Sum, a quiet café with nature views.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Songjeong-dong galbi lunch for two, shrimp doenjang stew: Jeongwon

Jeongwon Galbi Gyeonggi Gwangju Branch is a charcoal-grill pork and beef galbi restaurant in Songjeong-dong, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, across from the Urim Pillyu apartments. On an early weekday lunch, the writer and a friend ordered two Jeongwon marinated galbi lunch special sets (270g marinated galbi plus naengmyeon, ₩15,900 per person). They then added 250g of Korean pork galbi, a ₩3,000 doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) and rice. Thick, tender galbi grilled over strong charcoal and a dried-shrimp doenjang stew made Jeongwon Galbi a new favourite for the writer's friend too.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Gwangju Korean BBQ weekday lunch: galbitang and pot rice at Sowon.1

Sowon.1 Taejeon Branch is a wagyu, beef short rib and king galbi restaurant in Taejeon-dong, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, with a weekday lunch special, a kids' playroom and a self-serve corner. On a weekday lunch, the writer and her husband ordered 500g of marinated Korean pork (29,000 won), galbitang (beef short rib soup) with pot rice (14,000 won) and bibim naengmyeon (8,000 won), then picked up coffee and puffed-rice snacks for dessert. With no wait, thick marinated pork and a galbitang holding three ribs, Sowon.1 Taejeon Branch made for a very satisfying weekday lunch.

Written Jun 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceIcheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Icheon Korean BBQ with a baby on a rainy day: pork galbi, Neul Gogi

Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch is a charcoal-grilled galbi restaurant on Gyeongchung-daero in Icheon, Gyeonggi, known for handmade galbi, run by a certified Korean cuisine master and grand master, and selected for the 2026 Blue Ribbon Survey. On a rainy day, a family of three with a baby had lunch there: marinated pork galbi for two (19,000 won per person), traditional galbitang (beef short rib soup, 18,000 won) and hwangmi sotbap (yellow rice cooked in a pot, 3,000 won). Staff grilled the meat, so the parents could look after the baby, and the sweet, tender pork galbi was a hit—the baby picked it up by hand.

Written Jul 13, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiCafés

Paju Unjeong café for 7 baked treats to go with a baby: Pound Coffee

Pound Coffee Unjeong Main Branch is a café for baked sweets and Australian-style coffee in Dongpae-dong, Unjeong, Paju. On the way to her parents' home, the writer stopped by with her baby, took a vanilla bean latte (₩5,500) to go and packed 5 financiers and 2 madeleines to share with family. The Pound Coffee vanilla bean latte was less sweet than expected, and the lemon madeleine and vanilla macadamia financier were the standouts.

Written Jul 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Namwirye shabu-shabu buffet: rainy couple lunch, wrap takeout, Dadam

Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch is a self-serve, all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and wolnamssam (Vietnamese-style rice paper wrap) restaurant on the 3rd floor of G&G Plaza at Namwirye Station in Seongnam. On a day of heavy rain, a couple had the weekday lunch (17,900 won per person) with a half-spicy, half-clear split broth, rice paper wraps they rolled themselves, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) and porridge, then americano and affogato. Dadam Wirye Branch suits anyone who wants a warm, clean meal and dessert in one sitting.

Written Jul 25, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Paju galbi house, hanwoo yukhoe for a big family meal: Jeongwon Galbi

Jeongwon Galbi Paju Main Branch is a charcoal-grilled galbi (Korean BBQ ribs) restaurant on Paju-ro in Paju, Gyeonggi, near Unjeong, Yadang and Mokdong. The writer went with five members of her own family and her baby, and they kept ordering: the ₩86,000 mixed beef platter, ₩24,000 hanwoo yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), a ₩9,000 brisket doenjang rice pot and three servings of ₩16,900 Jeongwon pork galbi. With spacious group seating, high chairs and a ₩5,000 kids' steamed egg, Jeongwon Galbi Paju Main Branch suits a big family dinner with a baby.

Written Jul 31, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Paju dumpling hot pot restaurant with aromatic soy dip: Bubyeokjeong

Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu is a Pyeongyang-style mandu (dumpling) hot pot restaurant on Jimok-ro in Paju, Gyeonggi, near Paju Lotte Outlet. With her parents and a baby, the writer ordered the mild Pyeongyang mandu hot pot for 2 (14,000 won per person), Pyeongyang mandu soup (11,000 won) and a half plate of boiled beef shank suyuk (17,000 won), dipped the mandu in the aromatic soy sauce (hyangsinjang) and finished with kalguksu noodles. Bubyeokjeong Pyeongyang Mandu is a good fit when you are taking parents out for a light, clean-tasting broth meal.

Written Aug 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Garak Market fish shop striped jack pickup with a baby: Yeongjae Susan

Yeongjae Susan is a sashimi shop at Garak Mall's sales building, 1st floor C-10, in Garak Market, Songpa, Seoul. On the way home from her parents' house, the writer, her husband and their baby stopped at Yeongjae Susan and picked up a mini jack mackerel sashimi combo (striped jack, large red sea bream and large flounder) for 60,000 won; the thick-cut striped jack melted in the mouth thanks to its layer of fat. With neat, clean packaging too, Yeongjae Susan is a shop worth becoming a regular at.

Written Aug 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Mulhoe and wild croaker platter takeout in Songpa, Seoul: Narae Susan

Narae Susan is a fish restaurant on the first floor of the sales building at Garak Mall in Songpa, Seoul, where live sashimi is packed to go on a reservation-priority basis. Four adults shared a wild live croaker platter at 40,000 won per person, a live gizzard shad platter at 60,000 won for two and mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) at 50,000 won for two, with complimentary abalone and shrimp. The clean-tasting croaker, the bone-in gizzard shad sekkoshi and the mulhoe eaten with thin somen noodles made Narae Susan a satisfying summer takeout stop.

Written Aug 13, 2026Sponsored