Drawer Dweller · 68 stories

Vanity Drawer

I write about my first-hand beauty experiences in Seoul. · Writes about: Hair & beauty salons · Restaurants · Cafés · Shopping · Bars

PlaceSeongdong, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Sinseoldong hair salon Tricyscore clinic for brittle hair: Salon de L

Salon de L is a hair salon on the 2nd floor of Tenzhill Mall on Majang-ro in Seongdong, Seoul, near Exit 10 of Sinseoldong Station. The writer booked the Tricyscore clinic (100,000 won) for dry, damaged hair that snagged on the brush. After the senior designer's hair diagnosis and a step-by-step treatment, hair that fingers could barely get through turned soft and glossy. For careful damaged-hair care, the Tricyscore clinic at Salon de L is worth getting regularly.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Gimbap shop in Euljiro 3-ga for a ₩40,000 family meal out: 29 Tamago

29 Tamago Euljiro Branch is a premium keto and fusion gimbap (seaweed rice roll) shop on the 2nd floor of a building near Exit 12 of Euljiro 3-ga Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. For a family meal out, the writer ordered four dishes for 40,000 won: apple-carrot soup tteokbokki (rice cakes in broth), tuna-packed gimbap, rice paper rolls with extra cheese and keto veggie gimbap with extra cheese, all made to order, fresh and easy on the stomach. 29 Tamago Euljiro Branch is a wholesome gimbap spot worth recommending to anyone tired of heavy, spicy meals out and to people on a diet.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Italian near Yeouido Station: apricot burrata and vongole, Cuisine R

Cuisine R (퀴진 알) is an Italian restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Baeksang Building near Yeouido Station Exit 5 in Seoul, open for over 15 years. At Cuisine R we had a burrata cheese salad topped with homemade apricot dressing and a vongole pasta generous with clams; both were rich in flavor, yet our stomachs felt comfortable afterward. For a reliable date or blind-date restaurant in Yeouido, Cuisine R is our recommendation.

Written Jun 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Cheongchoho restaurant in Sokcho: kids' seaweed soup at Geu Badaro

Sokcho Geu Badaro (속초그바다로) is a Korean restaurant serving seafood jang (soy-marinated seafood) and pot rice on Ekseupo-ro in Sokcho, near the Cheongchoho Lake park. A family with a young child, looking for something other than raw fish or mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), ordered the seafood jang potato pot rice set for 2 (70,000 won). They found the seven kinds of jang neither salty nor fishy, and the staff even brought seaweed soup for the child. For a gentle seafood jang meal near Cheongchoho, Sokcho Geu Badaro is worth a stop.

Written Oct 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Kid-friendly Sokcho noodle shop: high chairs, jang kalguksu, Topgol

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is a makguksu (buckwheat noodle) and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant on Haeoreum-ro in Sokcho, Gangwon, known for deulmemak (perilla oil buckwheat noodles) and old-style jang kalguksu (soybean paste noodle soup). On a family trip, we ordered deulmemak, old-style jang kalguksu and a large suyuk (boiled pork); our child ate the mild deulmemak straight from the bowl, and my husband called the jang kalguksu broth rich and deeply savory. With high chairs and 2 hours of free parking, Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is an easy meal stop for a Sokcho trip with kids.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho tofu restaurant revisited by a family of three: Yetgoeul

Yetgoeul Sundubu (옛고을순두부) is a soft tofu restaurant in Haksapyeong Sundubu Village in Sokcho, Gangwon, that makes its tofu every morning from Korean-grown beans. After falling for Yetgoeul Sundubu on a visit with her child last year, the writer returned this autumn with her husband on a Seoraksan fall foliage trip and ordered abalone jjamppong sundubu, chodang sundubu and squid sundae. Opening at 7am, with kid-friendly dishes and baby chairs, Yetgoeul Sundubu is worth coming back to for the first meal of a family trip.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho café before Seoraksan fall foliage: decaf latte, Cafe Neorae

Cafe Neorae (카페너래) is a large bakery café on the 2nd and 3rd floors in Haksapyeong Soft Tofu Village (Kongkkot Village), Sokcho, where floor-to-ceiling windows frame Seoraksan and Ulsanbawi Rock. Before an autumn-foliage trip to Seoraksan, the writer stopped at Cafe Neorae with her husband and child for Neorae Pudding, an iced Americano, a café latte switched to decaf cold brew and a kid's juice, then enjoyed the mountain view from a 3rd-floor Ulsanbawi-view seat. With an elevator and high chairs, Cafe Neorae is an easy rest stop for families on a Seoraksan trip.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeodaemun, SeoulCafés

Yeonhui-dong bakery for pecan salted caramel financiers: Yeonhui Oven

Yeonhui Oven (연희동오븐) is a bake shop specializing in financiers and pound cakes, in a basement unit off a side street in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun, Seoul. At Yeonhui Oven we picked up classic, walnut croquant, amande caramel and pecan salted caramel financiers plus black sesame and lemon pound cakes, and they came with free gift wrapping and a storage instructions card. With rich gourmet-butter flavor and only gentle sweetness, Yeonhui Oven is worth recommending for thank-you gifts or as a treat for yourself.

Written Jun 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulRestaurants

Galbitang with daily seokbakji in Gwangjin: Achasan Tong Galbitang

Achasan Tong Galbitang (아차산통갈비탕) is a galbitang (beef short rib soup) restaurant near Exit 2 of Achasan Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. To recharge on a hot day, the writer ordered two bowls of the ₩18,000 Stamina Special Galbitang. The bowls came with a clear, rich, skimmed broth, ribs that slid off the bone and seokbakji (chunky radish kimchi) made fresh every day, and the writer finished by mixing rice into the soup. Taste, portion and care are all there, making Achasan Tong Galbitang a tonic-like galbitang the writer wants to revisit with their parents.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Gangneung Korean restaurant with spoon sterilizers for kids: Ojukheon

Ojukheon Sogalbijjim (오죽헌소갈비찜) is a Korean restaurant on Nanseolheon-ro in Gangneung, Gangwon, serving galbijjim (braised beef short ribs) and galbitang (short rib soup). A family with a child ordered the braised short rib set for 2 (medium spice), spicy Chodang soft tofu stew and Ojuk king short rib soup for the child, and found that Ojukheon Sogalbijjim's spoon sterilizers at every table, high chairs and large parking lot made a family meal easy. Verdict: Ojukheon Sogalbijjim is a satisfying Gangneung lunch for a child who can't eat spicy food and adults who can.

Written Oct 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Kid-friendly Korean restaurant near Ojukheon, Gangneung: Saimdang

Saimdang Bueok (사임당부엌) is a Korean set-meal (hanjeongsik) restaurant a 3-minute walk from Ojukheon in Gangneung, Gangwon. Two adults and one child shared 2 servings of the Saimdang Hanssang set (₩19,000 per person), choosing the homemade Chodang soft tofu as the soup, and the child happily ate the soft tofu mixed with rice. With high chairs and a private parking lot, Saimdang Bueok made a satisfying meal on a Gangneung family trip with a kid.

Written Oct 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Sindang aged sushi izakaya date for couples: Bada Yakbang

Bada Yakbang Sindang Branch is an aged sashimi and sushi izakaya in an alley near Sindang Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. A married couple ordered the special chef's choice sushi (12 pieces), Bada aged sushi (12 pieces), abalone innard cream pasta and algon ramen (ramen with fish roe and milt). They were happy with all of it: chewy aged sushi, a cream pasta that wasn't greasy and ramen loaded with roe and milt. Verdict: Bada Yakbang Sindang Branch is an aged sushi spot in Sindang-dong worth recommending for dates and anniversary dinners.

Written Jun 17, 2026Sponsored