Late Single Serving · 5 stories
Writes about restaurant meals found around Seoul and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants
Downtown Jamsil is a premium craft burger shop on Songridan-gil (Baekjegobun-ro 45-gil) in Songpa, Seoul, open daily from 11:00 to 21:00. The avocado burger set and the double cheese truffle burger set were packed so full they would not fit in one bite, and the soft patty paired especially well with the cheese and truffle. Downtown Jamsil is a burger spot worth recommending for a date or a group meal near Seokchon Lake.
Hôtel de Couture (오뗄드꾸뜨) is a Western restaurant serving brunch, pasta, risotto and steak on Donggyo-ro 46-gil, between Hongik Univ. Station and Yeonnam-dong in Mapo, Seoul. In Hôtel de Couture's sunlit, glass-walled dining room, the house steak (35,000 won), honey thick-cut bacon rosé pasta (17,000 won) and jambon truffle cream risotto (16,000 won) arrived on tableware engraved with the restaurant's name. Hôtel de Couture's prices feel light for such elegant plating, making it a good pick for dates, anniversaries and get-togethers.
Yukmimyeongga (육미명가) is a charcoal-grill Korean BBQ restaurant on the 2nd floor of the GTX Premierville Phase 1 shopping building, a 3-minute walk from Dongtan Station Exit 2 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. On a weekend evening with friends, the writer ordered the black pork set for 2-3 people (55,000 won); staff grilled thick black pork over charcoal, and it came with kimchi pancake and three sauces: meljeot (salted anchovy sauce), curry and wasabi. With a large free car park and a wide menu, Yukmimyeongga is an easy Korean BBQ pick for group dinners in Dongtan.
Cheongnyeon Dakbal 1987 Hongdae Branch is a soup-style chicken feet bar on Donggyo-ro in Mapo, Seoul, between Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong. A group of friends shared the Cheongnyeon Dakbal set (soup chicken feet, muksabal acorn jelly soup, tuna mayo rice balls, kalguksu, fried chicken skin and perilla leaf wraps) with 12,000 won pineapple soju, then added sugar tomato and corn cheese because it was a hot day. Cheongnyeon Dakbal 1987 was enough for the whole night, with no need for a second bar.
Hongkyojip Jamsil is a premium pork Korean BBQ restaurant in the Bangi-dong food alley in Songpa, Seoul, where staff grill the meat at your table. The first order at Hongkyojip Jamsil starts at 3 servings, and the writer dipped thick pork belly, grilled with zucchini and mushrooms, in meljeot (Jeju-style salted anchovy sauce), and was pleased with the spacious, clean restaurant and pork with no gamey smell. For hosting guests or a company dinner near Jamsil Station, Hongkyojip Jamsil is a solid choice.
