First Spoon Log · 28 stories

First Bites, Seoul

I write about meals I have had at restaurants in Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Kids & baby · Books & stationery · Cafés

PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Seokchon Korean BBQ date, tenderloin & skirt steak: Sutbul Seonghwa

Sutbul Seonghwa (숯불성화) is a charcoal-grilled beef restaurant near Seokchon Station and Seokchon Lake in Songpa, Seoul. The writer drove there on a date and ordered the Seonghwa platter (Seonghwa sirloin and wine-marinated rib fingers), plus tenderloin, skirt steak, doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) and rice. Staff grilled everything at the table and explained which sauce goes with each cut. With quality beef, good side dishes and ice cream to finish, Sutbul Seonghwa is a Jamsil-area date spot the writer is keen to revisit.

Written Nov 15, 2026Sponsored
ProductChildlifeKids & baby

Liquid vitamin for daycare colds: Childlife Multi Vitamin & Mineral

Childlife Multi Vitamin & Mineral is a liquid multivitamin for children, described as supplying 17 essential nutrients in one spoonful a day. A working mom gave Childlife Multi Vitamin & Mineral to her 15-month-old, who kept catching colds and bronchitis after starting daycare. Despite being a very picky eater, the baby took the mango/orange flavor without any fuss. Verdict: with steady use, the constant-sickness pattern seems to have eased a little, and she is happy to keep giving it.

Written May 23, 2026Product provided
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Seolleung eel restaurant on a rainy day: two whole eel bowls, Manmok

Manmok is a Japanese eel bowl and grilled eel restaurant on Seolleung-ro 82-gil in Gangnam, Seoul, in a side street between Seolleung Station and Daechi. On a rainy day the writer ordered two whole-eel bowls (₩39,000 each) and an Ebisu draft beer. The Gochang freshwater eel was rich with a subtle charcoal aroma, and the set, with matsutake mushroom soup, shrimp chawanmushi and ice cream for dessert, was neatly put together. Manmok is an easy recommendation near Seolleung Station for team dinners, gatherings and dates.

Written May 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Omakase in Pangyo: Spring and Jang dinner with kombucha at Kkweda

Kkweda Pangyo Avenue France Branch is a set-seating omakase course restaurant on the first floor of Avenue France, right in front of Pangyo Station Exit 1 in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. The blogger had Kkweda's "Spring and Jang" seasonal course at the first dinner seating with a non-alcoholic kombucha and mojito, moving from cold potato soup through hanwoo striploin roast beef and anago katsudon (fried eel rice bowl) to rare cheesecake. With tender abalone, excellent beef and a delicious dessert, Kkweda is worth recommending for dates, formal family meetings before a wedding and group dinners.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Seoul beef offal BBQ at Garak Market for a Saturday date: Midang

Midang Hanwoo Gopchang (미당한우곱창) is a Korean beef offal BBQ restaurant serving hanwoo gopchang, daechang and makchang in the Garak Market gopchang alley in Songpa, Seoul. On a Saturday early-evening date, the couple ordered the Special Hanwoo Gopchang Set (₩68,000). Staff grilled everything from the honeycomb tripe to the gopchang and daechang, and the set came with omasum and homemade seasoned crab. Two people left too full for fried rice, making Midang Hanwoo Gopchang an easy, relaxed date-night pick where staff do all the grilling.

Written May 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Seokchon beef BBQ my smell-sensitive mom loved: Sutbul Seonghwa

Sutbul Seonghwa is a charcoal-grilled beef restaurant on Songnidan-gil, between Seokchon Station and Seokchon Lake in Songpa, Seoul. The writer brought a mom who is sensitive to meat smells and ordered the Seonghwa platter (88,900 won) with Hanwoo doenjang stew (Korean beef and soybean paste stew) and Joseon Hyangmi rice. Staff grilled the first round of 1% snowflake beef and cubed rib meat, which, with the fresh, tangy sauces, impressed them both. Sutbul Seonghwa won Mom over so completely that she wants to come back often, making it a satisfying pick for family meals.

Written May 31, 2026Sponsored
ProductGimjeongnam jeoBooks & stationery

Beginner geopolitics book that connects the news: The End of Order

The End of Order (『질서의 종말』) is a geopolitics and world affairs book in which Robert D. Kaplan warns that today's world is heading toward vast disorder. The reviewer, who used to treat international news as someone else's problem, read The End of Order after rising prices and raw material shortages hit home, and came to feel how war, dictatorship and US-China conflict connect to everyday life. The End of Order is not a light read, but it gives readers who never cared about world affairs a framework for understanding the world.

Written Jun 17, 2026Product provided
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Gyukatsu restaurant in Pangyo: Kirin draft beer after work, Ichigyu

Ichigyu Avenuefrance Pangyo (이치규 아브뉴프랑 판교점) is a Japanese-style gyukatsu (beef cutlet) restaurant on the 2nd floor of Avenuefrance in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi. Around 8 p.m. on a Friday, the wait at Ichigyu was about 5 minutes via Catchtable, and the order was gyukatsu tenderloin (23,000 won), steki striploin (Japanese-style steak, 19,000 won) and a Kirin draft beer (8,000 won), all grilled at the table over a small brazier. Comparing the tender gyukatsu tenderloin with the chewy, juicy steki striploin makes Ichigyu a great after-work beer stop in Pangyo.

Written Jun 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Gangnam Station restaurant: octopus special & meat dumplings, Obongjip

Obongjip Gangnam Station branch is a Korean restaurant specializing in octopus, bossam (boiled pork) and makguksu (buckwheat noodle) sets, on the 2nd floor of a building in the Gangnam Station food alley in Seoul. The writer ordered the (Special) Nakji Obongjip Special and the meat king dumplings (4 pieces), tasting makguksu, bossam, stir-fried octopus and dumplings in turn, and liked the roomy, partitioned seating and the restroom amenities. Obongjip Gangnam Station branch is a solid choice for both lunch and a group dinner near Gangnam Station.

Written Jun 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gangnam Station kaisendon spot: rainy day off with a highball, Ilpum

Ilpum Gangnam Branch is a kaisendon (raw seafood rice bowl) restaurant in Seocho, Seoul, about a 5-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 6, known as TV personality Lee Young-ja's favorite kaisendon. On a rainy weekday off, the writer ate alone at the counter and spent 1 hour on the premium kaisendon (37,000 won) and a Suntory highball (10,000 won), with chawanmushi, karaage cold udon and mango panna cotta as part of the set. The verdict: 37,000 won is a fair price for everything at Ilpum Gangnam Branch.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

Sinnonhyeon bakery café, fresh mango cake: Something About Coffee

Something About Coffee is a three-floor bakery café occupying an entire building on Gangnam-daero 102-gil in Gangnam, Seoul, between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station. On a weekday afternoon the writer ordered the mango cream cake (₩9,800), a cheese cookie, a café latte and a matcha cream choco latte, and named the Something About Coffee mango cream cake, packed with fresh mango, the best mango cake of their life. If you visit Something About Coffee, the mango cream cake is a must-try.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
ProductMuni insaiteu(jeoja)Books & stationery

Beginner chip stock book on HBM: 2024-2032 Supercycle Investment Map

The Best Semiconductor Investor's Guide: 2024-2032 Supercycle Investment Map (『최고의 반도체 투자자가 안내하는 2024-2032 슈퍼사이클 투자 지도』) is a Korean investing book that explains the semiconductor industry through three lenses: technology, profit and expectation. The reviewer felt impatient during the chip-stock rally and says 2024-2032 Supercycle Investment Map made terms like HBM, EUV and CoWoS click and showed why Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Nvidia hold different positions. Verdict: 2024-2032 Supercycle Investment Map is a solid first book for new investors who want a clear framework for reading the chip market.

Written Jun 25, 2026Product provided