Anyang Commuter Diner · 49 stories

Receipts from Seoul

I write about restaurant meals I try around Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Bars

PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gyodae Station gimbap shop: group lunch boxes to go, Halls Gimbap

Halls Gimbap Main Branch (홀스김밥본점) is a Korean snack bar near Gyodae Station Exit 1 in Seocho, Seoul, serving homestyle gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) loaded with toppings and handmade dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken). On the day of the visit, group lunch boxes were being packed in dedicated containers, and the double cheese egg gimbap (7,000 won) and the Jindo scallion tuna gimbap and dakgangjeong set (12,000 won) were tried. For event group lunch boxes, a Han River picnic or a lunch near Gyodae, the gimbap and dakgangjeong sets at Halls Gimbap Main Branch are a good fit.

Written May 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Couple's gyukatsu lunch in Gwanghwamun: review-event meat fry, Ichigyu

Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant on B1 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town in Jongno, Seoul, between Gwanghwamun Station and Jonggak Station. The blogger and her husband visited around 2 pm on a weekday, ordered one striploin gyukatsu and one tenderloin gyukatsu to share half and half, and added mini Kirin draft beers plus a free meat fry from the review event. With good meat quality and a neat all-in-one tray, Ichigyu Gwanghwamun Branch is worth recommending for a Gwanghwamun lunch or date.

Written May 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Jonggak seafood pub, date-night beer & cuttlefish: Parang Haenyeojip

Parang Haenyeojip Jongno Branch is a Korean seafood pub near Exit 4 of Jonggak Station in Jongno, Seoul, serving aged sashimi and a wide range of seafood dishes to go with drinks. After a Friday-evening date, the writer and her husband drank beer with a mulhoe makguksu (chilled raw fish soup with buckwheat noodles) so loaded that the seafood seemed endless, and a whole steamed Yeonggwang cuttlefish whose innards were nutty rather than fishy. For seafood to go with beer near Jonggak Station, the whole steamed cuttlefish at Parang Haenyeojip is a must-order.

Written May 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Late-night jokbal in Myeongdong with a mala sauce refill: Miss Jokbal

Miss Jokbal Seoul Myeongdong Branch is a jokbal (braised pig's trotters) restaurant near Euljiro 1-ga Station in Myeongdong, Seoul, open from 11 AM to 3 AM the next day. At 11 PM on a Saturday, the writer and her husband shared the Emperor Jokbal with complimentary kimchi kalguksu (knife-cut noodles in kimchi broth), salted shrimp, ssamjang and mala sauce, plus a spread of side dishes. The mala sauce paired so well with the jokbal that they asked for a refill. Miss Jokbal is a satisfying choice for a late-night meal in Myeongdong or for Korean food with foreign friends.

Written Nov 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gyodae Station Korean BBQ: tartare and naengmyeon wraps, Gyodaepae

Gyodaepae is a Korean BBQ restaurant in Seocho, Seoul, between Gyodae Station and Seocho Station, serving chilled thin-sliced pork belly and pork neck. The writer, who never used to enjoy thin-sliced pork, came back with her husband on a weekday evening and paired the pork with a 10,000-won old-style beef tartare and bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold buckwheat noodles). Thanks to Gyodaepae's special sauce and the tartare-and-naengmyeon wraps, even people who dislike thin-sliced pork keep returning.

Written May 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceUijeongbu, GyeonggiRestaurants

Uijeongbu burger shop: two-patty Double Smash Burger, Mom's Touch

Mom's Touch Uijeongbu Haengbok-ro branch is a burger, chicken and pizza shop on the 2nd floor of the Olive Young building on Uijeongbu Rodeo Street. A longtime Cy Burger regular tried the Double Smash Burger set, with two beef patties, for the first time and swapped the drink for Zero Cider. The patties were savory, and the generous cheese never felt greasy. The verdict: Mom's Touch Haengbok-ro is now worth a visit even on days you don't feel like chicken.

Written Nov 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulBars

Hapjeong izakaya for sake-steamed clams and aged sashimi: Ppaeret

Ppaeret (빼레) is an izakaya on Dongmak-ro 5-gil, between Hapjeong Station and Sangsu Station in Seoul, where the chef brings in seafood from the fish market every day at dawn and serves aged sashimi and seafood dishes. A couple sat at the counter facing Ppaeret's open kitchen on a Sunday evening and ordered three yakitori skewers, aged flounder and salmon sashimi, sake-steamed clams and black sesame mochi tofu, and the writer calls the aged sashimi the best they have ever had. If you want a first stop for drinks with great food in Hapjeong, Ppaeret's aged sashimi and sake-steamed clams are must-orders.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeongdeungpo restaurant: boneless aged kimchi chicken stew, Doriyeon

Doriyeon Dakdoritang Yeongdeungpo-gu Office branch is a Korean restaurant specialising in dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew) made with fresh domestic chicken, in an alley opposite Yeongdeungpo-gu Office in Seoul. After trying the regular dakdoritang, the writer returned on a weekday evening with her husband for the boneless cold-aged kimchi chicken stew and a plain rice ball. The whole leaves of aged kimchi, the tangy, deep broth and the tender boneless chicken all hit the spot. Verdict: if you love aged kimchi, Doriyeon's aged kimchi chicken stew with a rice ball is well worth ordering.

Written May 31, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Shabu-shabu spot in Dongdaemun for group dinners: Cheongdo Minari

Cheongdo Minari Sikdang Dongdaemun (청도미나리식당 동대문점) is a minari (Korean water parsley) shabu-shabu and duck restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul, in the alley behind Goodmorning City shopping mall near Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. The writer and her husband shared two servings of minari shabu-shabu (₩14,000 per person) in the regular broth, with kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) and porridge included, and the minari-and-mushroom spread tasted clean and mild. With a roomy dining space and friendly staff, Cheongdo Minari Sikdang Dongdaemun is a shabu-shabu spot worth recommending for group dinners.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeodaemun, SeoulRestaurants

Hongdae poke shop takeout for two: lime ponzu octopus poke, Slow Cali

Slow Cali Hongdae Entrance Station Branch is a diet salad restaurant serving poke, bowls and grill dishes near Donggyo-dong intersection in Seodaemun, Seoul. The writer, who usually orders salmon poke at Slow Cali, took home a lime ponzu octopus poke and a black pepper chicken bowl with an added boiled egg to share with her husband. Both dishes were tasty, but the classic salmon poke remains her top pick at Slow Cali.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangmyeong, GyeonggiRestaurants

Gwangmyeong Station baby octopus with a nakji-like chew: Jeongipum

Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch is a griddle baby octopus (jjukkumi) and pork belly restaurant on the 1st floor of AK Plaza at Gwangmyeong Station in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi. The writer and her husband, regulars who return whenever they crave jjukkumi, booked a 12:30 weekend table, ordered 2 servings of griddle baby octopus with plenty of add-ins and black pork belly at the mild spice level, and finished with snow cheese fried rice wrapped in seaweed. Thanks to baby octopus as chewy and plump as nakji (long-arm octopus), Jeongipum Jjukkumi is the writer's all-time favorite baby octopus restaurant.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGeumcheon, SeoulRestaurants

Doksan-dong, Seoul Korean BBQ with radish wraps and cheese: Daepan

Daepan Sotttukkeong Kimchi Samgyeopsal is a pot-lid kimchi pork belly restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Lotte Castle Gold Park 3 shopping arcade in Doksan-dong, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. On a weekday evening, the writer and her husband ordered the couple set (2 people) and grilled kimchi, bean sprouts, potato and scallion kimchi on the pot lid with the pork. The pork belly had no gamey smell and was nutty and tender, and the spicy doenjang stew and cheese were just as satisfying. For a pot-lid pork belly spot with plenty of sides and quality meat, Daepan Sotttukkeong Kimchi Samgyeopsal is a good fit.

Written Jun 14, 2026Sponsored