Songpa Doorstep Guest · 29 stories
I write about restaurants I visit around Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Shopping · Bars
La Avenue Seongsu is a bakery and cake café in Seongsu, Seongdong, Seoul, a 2-minute walk from Exit 2 of Seongsu Station. At La Avenue Seongsu, the blogger spent 2 hours alone at a window seat with an iced café latte, chestnut cake, a financier and strawberry jam cake; most slice cakes cost ₩8,000–₩9,000. The chestnut cake at La Avenue Seongsu, with chestnut pieces you can bite into, is the one to order.
Casedby Hyehwa (케이스드바이 혜화점) is an unmanned, self-service phone case shop near Hyehwa Station in Jongno, Seoul, where you make a case from your own photo. The writer scanned a QR code to edit a couple's shadow photo taken with their dog, paid at the kiosk, and got a MagSafe case in about 2–3 minutes, then matched cases with her boyfriend. Casedby Hyehwa is a good fit for couples looking for a memorable hands-on date in Hyehwa.
Minari Naengsam (미나리 냉삼) is a frozen pork belly Korean BBQ restaurant tucked inside Munjeong Legal Town in Songpa, Seoul, where minari (Korean water dropwort) comes with unlimited refills. On a weekday evening at an indoor table, a regular of more than five visits ordered 3 servings of flower-cut frozen pork belly (kkot naengsam) plus 1 more, with doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and non-alcoholic beer. Minari Naengsam suits anyone who wants tender flower-cut pork belly with as much minari as they like.
The Hanoi Foot & Body Songpa Garak Branch is a chain massage shop on the 2nd floor of Seongwon Sangtteville in Garak-dong, Songpa, Seoul. On a day when long hours of sitting had left the writer stiff, the writer went alone for a 60-minute aroma massage in a single room, starting with a foot bath, choosing jasmine oil and getting a warm stone treatment partway through. The Hanoi Foot & Body in Garak-dong is a good pick when you want a full hour of uninterrupted rest in a clean private room.
Biorn Hair Apgujeong Rodeo (비오른헤어 압구정로데오점) is a hair salon on the 3rd floor of a building on Seolleung-ro 161-gil, near Apgujeongnodeo Station in Gangnam, Seoul. The blogger's hair had turned frizzy and lost its shape as it grew out, so after a shampoo the stylist set the shape with a cut and then smoothed it with volume magic (a Korean straightening perm), finishing with a home-care essence recommendation. Verdict: Biorn Hair Apgujeong Rodeo is a good choice when you want frizzy hair tidied in one visit with a cut and volume magic together.
Ichigyu Avenuefrance Pangyo is a gyukatsu (Japanese beef cutlet) restaurant on the 2nd floor of Avenuefrance in Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam. On a Friday evening the writer ordered tenderloin gyukatsu, striploin gyukatsu, tantanmen and ramune soda, grilled the cutlets with butter on a personal mini grill, and found that the generous pot of rice and the spicy tantanmen balanced the rich beef well. Ichigyu Avenuefrance Pangyo is a solid Japanese restaurant in Sampyeong-dong for good meat, fun tabletop grilling and a well-matched noodle soup.
Café Ohkam is a dessert café in a converted house near Konkuk Univ. Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. The writer and a younger sibling ordered Café Ohkam's signature classic French toast, an Americano and a café latte, and a light sprinkle of the salt served on the side deepened the sweetness so the French toast never got cloying, right down to the last piece. Café Ohkam's French toast takes about 15 minutes after ordering, so Café Ohkam suits anyone who wants an unhurried dessert break.
Yeongjae Susan is a sashimi and seafood shop on the 1st floor of the Panmae-dong building of Garak Mall in Songpa, Seoul. A regular who had often ordered Yeongjae Susan's mixed sashimi through a delivery app visited the shop in person for the first time. Two people shared a small Banggwang Yeonhoe (yellowtail, flounder and salmon sashimi platter) and ate it in Garak Mall Hall 4 with beef brisket doenjang stew and Cass non-alcoholic beer. The verdict on Yeongjae Susan's Banggwang Yeonhoe: the nutty yellowtail and the soft salmon were especially satisfying.
Ilpum Gangnam Branch is a kaisendon (raw fish rice bowl) restaurant in Seocho, Seoul, a one-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 5. At the bar table, the writer had one basic kaisendon (₩26,000) and one premium kaisendon (₩37,000), served with chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), udon and homemade pudding; the thick-cut sashimi, well-seasoned rice and tuna stood out. Ilpum Gangnam Branch is a strong Gangnam Station kaisendon pick for anyone who wants both easy station access and fresh seafood.
Gwanganda Jjji Gwangalli Main Branch is a sashimi restaurant with Gwangan Bridge ocean views on the 6th floor of Sanbada Hoe Town in Millak-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan. On a daytime visit with an old friend, the writer had the restaurant's only menu item, the dachi set (per person). The course ran from sides such as raw shrimp, abalone sashimi and live octopus to a platter of flatfish, red sea bream, flounder and sea bass, then spicy blue crab stew and abalone porridge. Gwanganda Jjji is a Gwangalli sashimi restaurant well suited to a special-occasion meal beside a sea glittering in the sunlight.
Upper and Under is a spacious bakery café between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. On a weekend with friends, the writer sat on the Upper and Under terrace with a matcha pistachio cream latte, an iced chamomile and an iced Americano, plus raspberry cake and a canelé; the cream latte and the raspberry cake were the standouts. Upper and Under suits a Gangnam friends' meetup that wants roomy seating, a terrace atmosphere and a wide dessert lineup.
Two Find Peter Beomgye Branch is a Western restaurant serving pasta, risotto and pizza on the 5th floor of Park Avenuel in Beomgye, Anyang. Over a Caesar salad, abalone innards cream pasta and seafood tomato risotto, the writer spent nearly two hours catching up with an old friend; the thick abalone innards cream pasta paired with a separately served white sauce was the most memorable dish. Two Find Peter Beomgye Branch is a solid pick for a date or a get-together in Beomgye where you can sit and talk for a long time.
