Warm Rice Dweller · 7 stories

Warm Rice Corner

I write about restaurant meals and small places to eat around Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars

Sangsu–Hapjeong ochazuke spot: salmon sakechazuke and refills, Ochaya

Ochaya is a Japanese home-style restaurant specializing in ochazuke (rice with poured broth), located between Sangsu Station and Hapjeong in Mapo, Seoul. Still missing the ochazuke bought on a trip to Japan, the writer ordered Ochaya's ₩15,000 salmon sakechazuke, ate the cubed salmon mixed with flying fish roe first, then poured broth over the rice, and praised the rice, broth and side dish refills and the taste of wrapping bites in seaweed. For familiar salmon in a different Japanese home-style form, Ochaya's sakechazuke is the answer.

Written Nov 13, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Gongdeok Station salad shop lunch: salmon, duck & mustard, Why Starve

Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch is a salad restaurant on basement level 1 of Lotte Castle President, directly connected to Gongdeok Station in Mapo, Seoul. Over lunch with a friend, the writer had a salad of smoked duck and cooked salmon with added pasta, plus pumpkin soup and a Welch's. Even a meat lover left full, and the mustard sauce and pumpkin soup were the standouts of this Why Starve lunch.

Written Nov 12, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hapjeong Station shabu-shabu: free cola, ₩4,000 porridge at Nahonsha

Nahonsha is a solo shabu-shabu restaurant on Dongmak-ro in Mapo, Seoul, between Hongdae, Sangsu and Hapjeong. At Nahonsha I ordered clear broth shabu and tomato broth shabu, got a cola as the receipt-review perk, and finished with the included kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) plus porridge for ₩4,000 extra. With soft lighting, coat hooks and a sauce caddy at every seat, Nahonsha is a comfortable shabu-shabu spot for both solo meals and dates.

Written Nov 8, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Gyukatsu set for two at Mapo Station: peach bead drink, Gyudo

Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch is a premium gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant on basement level 1 of the Obelisk apartment arcade, connected by building to Mapo Station in Mapo, Seoul. Over a gyukatsu set for two with a friend, the writer had a peach-flavored bead drink, a shrimp fry for a receipt review, Sindongjin pot rice and ochazuke (tea poured over rice), and the cutlets grilled on a personal bangjjayugi (Korean hand-forged brass) brazier came out tender and juicy. Verdict: Gyudo is a clean, attentive Mapo Station gyukatsu spot that suits solo meals, family gatherings and blind dates alike.

Written May 16, 2026Sponsored

PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulBars

Mullae teppanyaki bar with no weekday wait: okonomiyaki, Akai Teppan

Akai Teppan (아카이테판) is a Japanese teppanyaki izakaya in an alley off Dorim-ro 125-gil near Mullae Station in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. On a weekday evening the writer walked into Akai Teppan with a friend with no wait and ordered okonomiyaki and mentaiko (pollock roe) yakisoba separately instead of a set; the fully cooked, chewy mentaiko stood out most. Akai Teppan is a solid pick in Mullae whenever you're craving okonomiyaki.

Written Nov 2, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Sinchon Thai restaurant: quiet weekend crab curry, Fong Thai

Fong Thai Sinchon Main Branch is a Thai restaurant on the 2nd floor of 8 Baekbeom-ro, near Sinchon Station in Mapo, Seoul. On a quiet weekend visit with a friend, the writer ordered pad thai, crab pu pad pong curry (Thai stir-fried crab curry) and a mangosteen drink, and was most pleased with the tender crab and creamy curry. Fong Thai Sinchon Main Branch is an easy pick in Sinchon, even for people new to Thai spices.

Written Jun 1, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hanwoo steak & sweet potato pizza with pasta in Mapo: Raccoon Pizza

Raccoon Pizza Mapo Station branch is a pizza and pasta restaurant on Tojeong-ro in Mapo, Seoul, a 5–6 minute walk from Mapo Station. Two of us visited on a Friday, waited behind 2 groups, and shared the Pizza R & Pasta set: a Hanwoo steak and sweet potato half-and-half pizza with creamy pasta, plus free fries for a Naver receipt review that were just as satisfying. Raccoon Pizza Mapo Station branch suits two people who want a sweet pizza and a meat-topped pizza in one meal.

Written Jul 28, 2026Sponsored

You've reached the end · 7 stories