Seongsu Lunch Slip · 21 stories

Lunches and Café Receipts

I write about restaurant meals and café stops around Seoul. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Bars · Shopping

PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Gongdeok bakery: salt bread & egg tart to freeze, Fluffy Bake Shop

Fluffy Bake Shop is a takeout-focused bakery café a 5-minute walk from Gongdeok Station in Mapo, Seoul, baking its sweets with AOP Lescure butter. The writer, who eats bread for all three meals a day, stopped by on the way to work for seaweed and plain financiers, a corn madeleine, a pastry egg tart and crackly salt bread, freezing some and reheating them in a toaster. Fluffy Bake Shop is famous for financiers and madeleines, but its salt bread and egg tarts make it a Gongdeok bakery worth the stop.

Written Apr 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Sushi bar in Yeouido after The Hyundai: kaisendon & sushi set, Ilpum

Ilpum Yeouido Branch (일품 여의도점) is a sushi and kaisendon (sashimi rice bowl) restaurant in the basement of the Anwon Building on Eunhaeng-ro, between National Assembly Station and Yeouido Station in Seoul. After a date at The Hyundai Seoul, two of us sat at the bar and had the Premium Kaisendon (35,000 won) and Today's Sushi Set (28,000 won), and both came course-style with chawanmushi, tempura udon and mango panna cotta, so we left full. With 2 hours of free parking in the building, Ilpum Yeouido Branch is an easy Japanese restaurant to drive to in Yeouido.

Written Apr 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Sangsu ochazuke restaurant when a cold hits: pork and eel set, Ochaya

Ochaya is an ochazuke (rice in hot broth) restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building on Wausan-ro 13-gil near Sangsu Station in Mapo, Seoul. Feeling a cold coming on from the big day-night temperature swings, the writer and a companion shared a protein-packed set of Butanokakuni ochazuke (braised pork, 14,000 won) and Unagi chazuke (eel, 16,000 won), and were pleased with the spoon-tender meat, the nutritious multigrain rice and the broth that wasn't salty. Even for someone who isn't a big rice eater, Ochaya served a healthy, filling Japanese meal near Sangsu Station worth finishing to the last spoonful.

Written Apr 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Cheonho hair salon: frizzy perm fixed with a clinic, Yume's Hair

Yume's Hair Cheonho Branch is a ground-floor hair salon with large windows, within 500m of Cheonho Station Exit 5 in Gangdong, Seoul. The writer's February perm had turned frizzy, so she booked another perm, but after a consultation with the Yume's Hair deputy director she got a cut, root straightening, a hair clinic treatment and a side-bang perm instead, taking about 2 hours including the consultation. Yume's Hair skipped the hard sell and did only what was needed, saving time and money and leaving shiny, smooth curls.

Written May 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulBars

Window-seat izakaya at Gunja Station: brisket sesame nabe at Irow

Irow (이로우) is an aged-sashimi izakaya on the restaurant street near Gunja Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. The writer booked a window seat for opening time and ordered mackerel bar sushi, sesame nabe (Japanese hot pot) with beef brisket, draft beer and oolong tea, and was impressed by the well-aged mackerel, the smooth draft beer and thoughtful touches like aprons, candy and hair ties. Irow beats expectations when you want a window seat, aged sashimi and draft beer together near Gunja Station.

Written Nov 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulBars

Korean pub at Gunja Station on a no-drink night: bone jjim, Saechamjip

Saechamjip (새참집) is a Korean pub and restaurant on the 2nd floor in the Gunja Station food alley in Gwangjin, Seoul, known for its grilled pork bones and braised pork bones (bone jjim). On a weekday evening around 7pm, at a semi-open table, the writer ordered gabrisal (pork neck cut) stone-plate tofu kimchi for 19,900 won and level-1 aged kimchi broth bone jjim for 25,900 won, paired with drinks from the non-alcoholic menu since drinking wasn't an option that night. Saechamjip's aged kimchi broth bone jjim is so tender the meat slides off the bone, a dish well worth ordering.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDong-gu, DaeguRestaurants

Daegu raw beef restaurant for a first meal off the KTX: Mihyang

Mihyang Mungtigi Dongdaegu Station branch (미향뭉티기 동대구역본점) is a mungtigi (Daegu-style raw beef) restaurant in Dong-gu, Daegu, about a 5-minute walk from Dongdaegu Station. On a sudden short summer break, the writer went to Mihyang Mungtigi straight off the KTX for a first taste of mungtigi, waited through the weekday dinner rush, and ordered the small half-and-half set of mungtigi and chadol (beef brisket). The meal came with hearty sides such as flat dumplings and beef soup, plus the full-house sikhye (sweet rice drink) and ice cream for dessert. Verdict: Mihyang Mungtigi is a good-value first meal for travelers trying mungtigi in Daegu for the first time.

Written Jul 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, DaeguRestaurants

Daegu Jongno makchang grill for offal beginners, pork neck set: Bongja

Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch (봉자막창 대구종로점) is a makchang (grilled beef intestine) restaurant in Jongno, Jung-gu, Daegu, near Dongseongno. The writer, who doesn't usually enjoy offal, ordered the makchang and pork neck set and also had unlimited ramyeon from the self-bar, a 5,000 won beef brisket doenjang stew, and the complimentary steamed egg and shaved ice. Verdict: because Bongja Makchang also serves regular meat, it is a Daegu makchang spot even offal beginners can visit without worry.

Written Jul 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Korean restaurant in Yongin: Atka mackerel & pot rice with Mom, Guigo

Guigo (구이고) is a Korean restaurant specializing in wood-fired grilled fish on Jungbu-daero in Giheung-gu, Yongin, near Gangnam University. On a weekday lunch with her mom, the writer ordered the wood-fired mackerel (16,000 won) and wood-fired Atka mackerel (17,000 won). The meal came with pot rice, side dishes from a self-serve bar and nurungji (scorched rice) tea, and the moist fish had no fishy smell, which left her mom very happy. Guigo is a good choice when you want grilled fish with your parents or at a family gathering.

Written Jul 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulBars

Gunja cocktail bar for five after-dinner drinks: Kick Ass Jazz Club

Kick Ass Jazz Club is a cocktail and jazz bar about a 5-minute walk from Gunja Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. After dinner, the writer went just for cocktails and tried five: the Kick Ass Highball, a Margarita, the Jat de Fashioned, the Damyang Sour and the Francis Albert. The Jat de Fashioned, where nutty pine nuts meet bourbon, was the best of the night. Even without a live show, Kick Ass Jazz Club's cocktails alone make it a Gunja bar worth returning to.

Written Oct 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

Sinnonhyeon bakery: Black Grain Sand gifts, egg tart, Bakerist Brown

Bakerist Brown is a large bakery café in Gangnam, Seoul, between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station, filling an entire freestanding building from the basement level to the 3rd floor. On a quiet solo weekday visit, the writer had salt cream coffee, a crispy egg tart (₩4,000) and a double vanilla bean madeleine (₩3,200), then took home 6 Gangnam Sands, including the Black Grain Sand (₩2,500), gift-wrapped at no extra charge. Bakerist Brown is a good Gangnam coffee shop for laptop work, reading or picking up an easy gift.

Written Jul 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

After-work pasta in Hongdae, Seoul: gnocchi a cream hater loved, Omil

Omil Hongdae is the Hongdae branch of Omil, the Seongsu restaurant known for its omurice, about a 5-minute walk from Hongik Univ. Station in Mapo, Seoul. Arriving around 5pm on a weekday, the blogger waited about 10 minutes via Catch Table and ordered a basil & tomato ade (₩7,900), spicy pollock roe pasta (₩17,900) and salmon steak gnocchi (₩18,900); even a companion who dislikes cream and gnocchi raved about the salmon steak gnocchi. At Omil Hongdae, the salmon steak gnocchi is a must-order.

Written Jul 16, 2026Sponsored