Gangneung Salt Sipper · 12 stories

Salt Lamp, Gangwon and Daegu Nights

Writes about restaurants, bars, and cafes across Gangwon, Seoul, and the Daegu/Gyeongbuk area. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars · Cafés

PlaceGoseong, GangwonRestaurants

Goseong sashimi house, white kimchi refills, fish stew: Bongpo Hoega

Bongpo Hoega is a sashimi restaurant specializing in wild-caught live fish in Toseong-myeon, Goseong, Gangwon, near the Goseong Wyndham Hotel. Three of us shared a small mixed sashimi platter (120,000 won), and the standouts were fish bought each morning at the fish market auction, fresh seafood starters, white kimchi we asked to have refilled, and a spicy fish stew packed with flesh. Bongpo Hoega is worth recommending to Goseong travelers who want a neatly prepared spread rather than pre-made side dishes.

Written Oct 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoseong, GangwonRestaurants

Beef hot pot for 3 & fiery kimchi in Ganseong: Goseong Hanwoo Suyuk

Goseong Hanwoo Suyuk (고성한우수육) is a Korean restaurant in the alley at the entrance of Ganseong Traditional Market in Ganseong-eup, Goseong, Gangwon, serving hanwoo (Korean beef) suyuk hot pot, gomtang (beef bone soup) and haejangguk (hangover soup). Three people shared a medium hanwoo suyuk hot pot (38,000 won) for lunch with extra vegetables, kalguksu noodles and DIY porridge, and the standouts were the clean, refreshing hanwoo broth and a house kimchi as fiery as Korea's famously spicy silbi kimchi. Open until 11 PM, Goseong Hanwoo Suyuk is a reliable beef hot pot spot when you need a late meal in Goseong.

Written Oct 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho hanok restaurant for Sunday spicy pork and tofu stew: Bigeumdo

Bigeumdo (비금도) is a Korean set-meal restaurant in a hanok building on Sinheung 2-gil in Sokcho, Gangwon, with a separate room and 6-person tables that suit group meals. Remembering how good the dried pollack rice soup was, the writer returned with a friend early on a Sunday evening for jeyuk bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork, ₩15,000) and dubu jjigae (tofu stew, ₩14,000). With sweet-spicy pork free of any gamey smell and a thick, fiery tofu stew, Bigeumdo is a Sokcho Korean restaurant where you can enjoy everything from mild dishes to spicy ones.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulCafés

Wheelchair-friendly Guui Station café: mugwort latte, Center Coffee

Center Coffee Guui East Pole is a café on the B1 floor of NC East Pole, connected to Guui Station Exit 3 in Gwangjin, Seoul, with an open layout that suits strollers and wheelchairs and a kiosk with a keypad for people with disabilities and an easy mode. The writer ordered the signature mugwort latte, mango cake and a decaf cold brew, and was pleased with the clean-tasting decaf cold brew and the soft mango cake piled high with mango. For a dessert café near Guui Station that works with a wheelchair or stroller, Center Coffee Guui East Pole is an easy choice.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Rainy-day Yeonnam-dong house café, butter einspänner: Butter & Shelter

Butter & Shelter Yeonnam is a dessert café in a converted European-style house in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. On a rainy-day visit to Butter & Shelter Yeonnam, the writer ordered Matilda cake, a butter einspänner, a plain butter sand and a Dubai butter sand; the butter einspänner's rich, heavy cream and the kataifi-packed Dubai butter sand stood out. For an atmospheric dessert café in Yeonnam-dong, Butter & Shelter Yeonnam is well worth recommending.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwanak, SeoulCafés

Late-night café near SNU Station: Dubai croffle at Yongma Coffee

Yongma Coffee (용마커피) is a late-night café and bar in a basement on Sharosu-gil, near Seoul National University Station in Gwanak, Seoul. On a Friday visit after 9 p.m., surrounded by mother-of-pearl cabinets, the writer had a Dubai chocolate croffle (9,000 won), a fig milk tea gâteau au chocolat (7,500 won) and a decaf cold brew (5,200 won). The Dubai chocolate croffle, with crispy kataifi and pistachio spread, was worth going back for, making Yongma Coffee a good pick for late-night dessert and coffee on Sharosu-gil.

Written Jun 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho market gangjeong shop: a summer-proof gift, Ibuja Mayak

Ibuja Mayak Gotgan (이부자마약곳간) is a grain gangjeong (crunchy puffed rice snack) shop at stall 137 on the first floor of Sokcho Central Market (Sokcho Tourism and Fish Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon, where all 5 grain gangjeong (brown rice, buckwheat, white rice, black rice and yellow rice) can be sampled and bought in sets of 8 for ₩10,000 or 12 for ₩15,000. The writer packed Ibuja Mayak Gotgan gangjeong as a summer snack that won't spoil on the go and gave it to an elder visited that same day, who opened it and ate it on the spot. In a market full of fried food, Ibuja Mayak Gotgan's rice gangjeong is a safe gift snack to carry in any weather, at any time.

Written Jul 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonCafés

Gangneung wheelchair-accessible drip café with ramp: Coffee Dripper

Coffee Dripper is a newly opened drip coffee café on Nanseolheon-ro in Chodang-dong, Gangneung. The writer visited after 4 p.m., checked the wheelchair route, and tried the Dripper house blend drip coffee, the signature cream latte, the sundubu (soft tofu) pudding and a scone; the cone choco latte was sold out. Coffee Dripper has a step-free ramp at the entrance for wheelchair users and is a Gangneung café worth recommending to drip coffee lovers.

Written Jul 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho restaurant for cheesy octopus stew, spicy pork: Deungdae Gotgan

Deungdae Gotgan is a Korean restaurant on a second floor with floor-to-ceiling ocean-view windows, facing Deungdae Beach in Yeongnang-dong, Sokcho. A group shared 2 portions of jjageul nakji (spicy braised octopus, 14,000 won per portion) with cheese (3,000 won) and udon (2,000 won) add-ons plus 1 portion of spicy stir-fried pork (13,000 won), cooled the heat with cold cucumber soup and seasoned bean sprouts, then fried rice in the leftover sauce. With a kids' pork cutlet and baby chairs, Deungdae Gotgan lets families with children enjoy spicy octopus in comfort.

Written Jul 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, DaeguRestaurants

Daegu Korean restaurant, 10-min weekday wait: oje stir-fry, Banwoldang

Banwoldang Bujasikdang (반월당부자식당) is a Korean restaurant in Banwoldang, Jung-gu, Daegu, specializing in fire-grilled squid stir-fry and spicy pork stir-fry. The writer visited with a friend around 1:30pm on a weekday, waited about 10 minutes after signing up on Tabling, and ordered 2 portions of the new fire-grilled oje-bokkeum (squid and pork stir-fried together, ₩14,000 per person). Banwoldang Bujasikdang's oje-bokkeum has a gentle smoky flavor and tender squid and pork, so a bowl of rice disappears in no time.

Written Oct 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, DaeguCafés

Banwoldang, Daegu brunch café: open sandwiches cut to share at Dento

Dento is a small, restaurant-style brunch café that recently opened on Bongsanmunhwa 2-gil in Bongsan-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, near Banwoldang Station. Two of us ordered Dento's 5 bite-size open sandwiches (12,000 won) with a lemonade and a drip coffee, then cut each piece with a knife and shared them in the order the staff recommended. Dento's bite-size open sandwiches are not a run-of-the-mill dessert but something to savor like a plate from a course meal.

Written Oct 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonCafés

Gangneung hanok café with a hydrangea garden at sunset: Cafe Giwa

Cafe Giwa (카페기와) is a garden café set in a 130-year-old hanok in Chodang-dong, Gangneung. On a late-evening visit with a friend, we ordered the Flower Pink Latte, the Mung Bean Flower Latte and a tiramisu roll cake, and drank them looking out over Cafe Giwa's garden of blooming hydrangeas. With soft lighting at dusk and a well-tended garden, Cafe Giwa is a calm place to take in the hanok atmosphere.

Written Aug 10, 2026Sponsored
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