Open Counter Guest · 18 stories

Open Kitchen Hours

I write about restaurants I visit around Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceHwaseong, GyeonggiHair & beauty salons

Back care massage in Dongtan after long drives: Mommaeum Therapy

Mommaeum Therapy (몸마음테라피) is a private, one-person body alignment and pain care studio on the 9th floor of Building 102, Hillstate Dongtan Station Multiplier, near Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. The writer, whose neck, shoulders and lower back had stiffened from long drives and field work, had a posture check and then a back care course using heat energy and fingertip microcurrent low-frequency therapy. Afterwards the writer's rounded shoulders opened up and a heavy, uneasy stomach settled. For anyone knotted up from driving and field work, the back care course at Mommaeum Therapy is worth a try.

Written Nov 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Seafood izakaya near Gwanggyo Lake Park for family dinner: Susanjang

Susanjang Gwanggyo (수산장 광교점) is a Japanese izakaya-style seafood restaurant on the ground floor of the Hillstate Gwanggyojungang Station shopping arcade in Suwon, Gyeonggi. A regular of another Susanjang branch visited with her family and had the complimentary grilled flatfish, large yellowtail samhap with napa cabbage and eorigul-jeot (spicy salted oysters), and sweet shrimp with uni plus crispy fried shrimp heads; her husband liked it enough to ask to come back. Susanjang Gwanggyo is a good pick for a yellowtail and sweet shrimp family dinner before or after a walk around Gwanggyo Lake Park.

Written Nov 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yongin BBQ couple set for 3 and rabbit feeding: Rustic Smoke House

Rustic Smoke House Yongin Yangji Branch is a Texas BBQ restaurant with an American Western lodge theme in Yangji-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi. Two adults and one child shared the ₩67,000 BBQ Couple Set (BBQ platter, Toowoomba pasta, house salad and 2 drinks), then fed the rabbits in the outdoor yard after the meal. Even a writer who has made ribs at home many times was impressed by the fall-off-the-bone ribs, making Rustic Smoke House a great family meal spot near Everland.

Written Nov 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Suwon pork belly BBQ in retro coal-town decor: Jipbul Taebaek

Jipbul Taebaek Suwon Ingye Branch (짚불태백 수원인계점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant specialising in straw-seared pork belly on Na Hye-seok Street in Ingye-dong, Suwon. In a retro dining room styled after a Taebaek coal-mining town, staff grilled 3 servings of straw-fired pork belly (170g for ₩17,000 each), and the table added rice-cake wraps (tteoksam), triple cheese steamed egg and shiitake pot rice. Jipbul Taebaek's pork belly was less greasy with a gentle straw-smoke aroma, and the neungi mushroom and angelica pesto sauces with rice-cake wraps made it an especially satisfying dinner.

Written Nov 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Gyeongpodae sashimi restaurant, solo meal on a work trip: Samsami-ne

Samsami-ne Gyeongpodae Main Branch is an ocean-view sashimi restaurant right in front of the central plaza of Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon. Stopping in alone on a business trip to Yangyang, the writer built a solo course in the 50,000-won range: hoedeopbap (raw fish rice bowl) for 19,000 won, an extra sea bream yubiki (skin-scalded sashimi) for 30,000 won and a fish-bone spicy stew for 7,000 won. The sea bream yubiki, netted from the tank and sliced the moment it was ordered, and the rich fish-bone stew stood out. Samsami-ne is a Gyeongpodae sashimi restaurant where even a solo diner can enjoy proper sashimi and stew without ordering a set.

Written Nov 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Kalguksu spot in Dongbaek, Yongin: fresh baby octopus and mussels

Baekcheongu Kalguksu Yongin Dongbaek Branch (백청우칼국수 동백점) is a seafood kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) and handmade mandu (dumpling) restaurant near Dongbaek Elementary School in Giheung-gu, Yongin. On a neighbor's recommendation, the writer had lunch there: 2 servings of seafood kalguksu (12,000 won each) and half-and-half mandu (11,000 won). The clam broth with fresh baby octopus and fresh mussels tasted clean, with no fishy taste, and the free barley rice and big handmade dumplings made it good value. Baekcheongu Kalguksu Dongbaek is a solid kalguksu stop in Dongbaek, Yongin, and Dongbaek Lake Park is close enough for a walk after the meal.

Written May 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiHair & beauty salons

Suwon hair salon: layered perm + red-scalp water clinic, Kamiya Hair

Kamiya Hair Yeongtong is a hair salon on the 3rd floor of Yeju Plaza, near Exit 2 of Yeongtong Station in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon. For hair that had gone flat after a perm grew out, Kamiya Hair Yeongtong did a layered cut, inner-curl magic straightening and a digital layered perm, plus a Tsurutsuru special clinic and an Amber water clinic for a reddened crown scalp. The restored side volume made a puffy face and jawline look slimmer, and the refreshed scalp left the writer very satisfied.

Written Nov 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Suwon restaurant: Sunday barley risotto by a 2F window, Kueodeukkutteu

Kueodeukkutteu is a Western and brunch restaurant in a two-story brick building on Sinpung-ro in Haenggung-dong, Suwon. On a Sunday around 4:30 PM, the writer parked in front of Kueodeukkutteu, opened the window at a 2F window seat and ate shrimp rosé pasta (17,000 won) and the barley-based Manjo truffle pea risotto (19,000 won). Kueodeukkutteu has no break time, and arriving around 4 PM means a quiet meal with a view out the window.

Written Jun 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Aged sashimi izakaya in Suwon for three: ₩74,000 with uni, Susan Jang

Susan Jang Suwon Yeongtong Branch (수산장 수원영통점) is a cabin-fronted, izakaya-style aged sashimi restaurant about a 7-minute walk from Exit 1 of Yeongtong Station in Suwon. Three people arrived at Sunday opening time and ordered the Susan Jang Seasonal Mixed Special (₩62,000) plus uni (sea urchin) for ₩12,000, paying ₩74,000 in total. Free grilled flatfish and sweet potato fries came out while they waited. Verdict: the aged sashimi at Susan Jang is fresh and springy, but there is no spicy fish stew or rice, so add a grilled dish or a soup if you want a filling meal.

Written Jun 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiBars

Yeongtong Station izakaya: fried peppers, golnaksu at Dongbaek Yeonhwa

Dongbaek Yeonhwa Yeongtong Station Main Branch is a Japanese izakaya-style bar near Yeongtong Station in Suwon, Gyeonggi. The writer arrived on a weekday right at opening time as the first customer and ordered handmade fried peppers, golnaksu (sliced boiled pork with spicy whelk and octopus salad) and a lemon-lime highball, all in generous portions that are easy to share. For a team dinner or a night out with friends in Yeongtong, the fried peppers and golnaksu at Dongbaek Yeonhwa are well worth ordering.

Written Jun 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Seongbok Station noodle spot after jump rope: cheese cutlet, pan memil

Chilseong Jemyeonso Suji Main Branch is a Japanese-style restaurant serving fresh noodles, udon and tonkatsu on the ground floor of Seohui Starhills, near Exit 4 of Seongbok Station (Shinbundang Line) in Yongin, Gyeonggi. On a day the child begged to go back, the writer and child came straight from jump rope practice. They ordered spicy rose tteokbokki (rice cakes in creamy chili sauce), cheese cutlet, pan memil (chilled buckwheat noodles on a tray) and gamja jeon (potato pancake) for ₩40,500 and nearly cleared every plate. With its cheese cutlet and pan memil combo, Chilseong Jemyeonso is an easy family pick near Seongbok Station.

Written Jun 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Italian restaurant in Yangji, Yongin: 3 friends and a pilaf to go

Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia (뚝배기에 담은 이탈리아) is a wood-fired pizza and clay-pot pasta restaurant near Yangji IC in Yangji-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin. After an earlier visit with family, the writer returned with two friends and ordered the rosé calzone (25,000 won), tomato seafood pasta (20,000 won) and Mongolian seafood pilaf (19,000 won). The portions were so large that the pilaf went home for dinner. Ttukbaegi-e Dameun Italia is a solid pick for group meals in Yangji, with generous servings and easy parking.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored