Cheonan Bell Seat · 41 stories
I write about restaurants in Chungcheong and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Books & stationery
Dance Dance Dance Hannam is a baguette sandwich shop on Dokseodang-ro in Yongsan, Seoul. The writer took home a pollock roe baguette and a pistachio tofu cream cheese baguette to share with his wife, then reheated the leftover pollock roe baguette in an air fryer for about 5 minutes the next day. The Dance Dance Dance Hannam baguettes were satisfying both as takeout eaten at home and reheated the next day.
Premium Spa L Gangnam is a spa with private single rooms and couple rooms on the 3rd floor of HY Tower, 628 Nonhyeon-ro, between Eonju and Hakdong stations in Gangnam, Seoul. Visiting alone, I had therapist Yeoni adjust the pressure for an aroma massage focused on my neck and shoulders, picked the scent myself, and showered both before and after. Premium Spa L Gangnam is worth a visit on a day you want to rest privately in Gangnam.
Jeongseong Katsu Cheonan Buldang is a tonkatsu (pork cutlet) restaurant in Buldang-dong, Cheonan. A couple ordered one serving of roseu katsu (loin cutlet) and one of hire katsu (fillet cutlet) and traded bites, and each came as a set with rice, doenjang (soybean paste) soup and salad, making a filling meal. If you cannot decide between the two cutlets, Jeongseong Katsu is a good place to order one of each and compare.
Hyangtaek Cheonan Buldang Branch is a new Korean rice bowl restaurant in Buldang-dong, Cheonan. Two of us ordered one eggplant doenjang rice bowl and one chamnamul (Korean wild parsley) squid rice bowl at 13,000 won each and traded them halfway, adding a little kelp vinegar or wrapping bites in gopchang gim seaweed with squid jeotgal. Nothing at Hyangtaek is heavily seasoned; it is a meal built on ingredient balance, which makes ordering two bowls and sharing the best way to eat here.
Prepace Diet Food Yongsan is a diet-meal restaurant in the Prugio Summit arcade next to Yongsan Station in Seoul. Eating alone at lunch, the writer ordered the beef wasabi rice bowl combo and added a bowl of chicken steak (chicken breast); the brown rice and beef made it far more filling than a salad. Prepace Diet Food Yongsan is an easy place to eat lunch solo near Yongsan Station without feeling self-conscious.
Sottture Dakdoritang is a Korean restaurant serving dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew) on Seobu 19-gil in Seongjeong-dong, Cheonan. A couple ordered one whole chicken for 35,000 won plus a potato pancake, a bowl of rice and self-cooked fried rice, and boiled the pot hard for 3 minutes without adding more broth so the sauce reduced into a thick, glossy gravy, with pickled onions and other sides refilled at the self-serve bar. If you prefer a reduced, concentrated sauce over a soupy one, Sottture Dakdoritang is a good fit.
Ori The Chadol Cheonan City Hall branch is a duck and chadol (beef brisket) barbecue restaurant at 229 Sicheong-ro, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan, Chungnam. A couple came for lunch and ordered the jumulleok set (spicy-sweet marinated duck grilled at the table), which came with rice cakes, garlic, basic side dishes and a self-bar of wrap vegetables. For a filling meat lunch in Baekseok-dong, the duck jumulleok at Ori The Chadol was a solid choice.
Scoopy is a gelato dessert café on Seolleung-ro 72-gil, near Seolleung Station in Gangnam, Seoul. On a weekend, a married couple stopped by after their meal and shared a Triple Scoopy with three flavors — pistachio, Oreo and cream, and fig cream cheese — then rested for a while in Scoopy's indoor and outdoor seats. Scoopy is an easy stop when you want a dessert that doesn't feel heavy after dinner.
Sushi Ian N Seolleung Station is a second-floor conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul, a short walk from Seolleung Station, where every plate costs 1,990 won. A couple stopped in for Sunday lunch and worked through flounder, flounder fin, salmon and eel sushi, then beef tartare tataki, scallop, tako wasabi (octopus with wasabi), beef brisket and bossam sushi, finishing with shrimp tempura and half-chilled buckwheat noodles. Sushi Ian N is an easy pick on a day when you want to try many kinds without watching the bill.
Euljiro Yeontan Gui Cheonan Buldang Branch is a retro charcoal-grill Korean BBQ restaurant in Buldang-dong, Cheonan, where the meat cooks over briquette fire at the table. A couple ordered pork belly, marinated beef short rib meat, samsuni bibimbap (mixed rice bowl) and doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), grilling kimchi and bean sprouts on the pan alongside the meat. Alternating between the lean pork belly and the sweet marinated beef never got boring, making Euljiro Yeontan Gui a good spot for a slow dinner over conversation.
Mela Times Square is a brunch café inside the Times Square mall in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. On a weekend lunch visit alone, the order was truffle mushroom eggs benedict, a mushroom avocado poached egg salad and an iced americano, and Mela felt less like solo dining and more like a proper brunch outing. Mela Times Square is an easy stop when you want shopping and a meal in one place.
Deokjane Bangatgan is a tteokbokki and gimbap restaurant between Sinnonhyeon and Gangnam stations in Seocho, Seoul. Stopping by alone, the writer packed 1 tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and 2 tuna gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) to eat at home with his wife, and the chewy long garaetteok-style rice cakes went well with the deep, rich sauce. The portion suited two people, and eating slowly at home was better than rushing a meal in the shop.
