Day Pass Holder · 48 stories

A Day's Ticket

I write about small outings, walks, and things to do around Seoul. · Writes about: Things to do · Shopping · Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Food & snacks

PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Nowon Station risotto dinner for two: 3 dishes ₩30,700, Pasta Han Kki

Pasta Han Kki Nowon Main Branch is a budget Western restaurant on Sanggye-ro 5-gil in Nowon, Seoul, near Exit 9 of Nowon Station. On a Sunday evening, two people shared a weekend-priced flank steak with grilled vegetables, a bacon shrimp Toowoomba risotto, a gorgonzola pizza and a drink for ₩30,700, and found both the portions and the quality satisfying. The writer named the Toowoomba risotto as the standout dish at Pasta Han Kki Nowon Main Branch and rated it 9.1 out of 10.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Hyehwa gomtang restaurant at opening: ₩9,900 lunch yukhoe, Goeunjeong

Goeunjeong Daehangno Main Branch (고은정 대학로본점) is a gomtang (beef bone soup) Korean restaurant near Hyehwa Station Exit 4 in Jongno, Seoul. Arriving around 11:20 on a weekday, almost at opening, two people shared the special clear gomtang and special milky gomtang (₩12,000 each), a ₩9,900 lunch yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) and a ₩13,000 cheese pollack roe potato pancake. The lunch yukhoe was generous for the price and the cheese pollack roe potato pancake beat expectations, making Goeunjeong Daehangno Main Branch a Daehangno Korean lunch spot worth revisiting.

Written Jun 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulShopping

Garosu-gil vintage shop: 3 Polo Ralph Lauren buys at Balbal Vintage

Balbal Vintage Sinsa is a huge vintage shop on Garosu-gil near Sinsa Station in Gangnam, Seoul, spanning basement levels 1 to 3 in the building next to the Garosu-gil Apple Store. The writer went to Balbal Vintage for Polo vintage and picked out three Polo Ralph Lauren pieces: a gray V-neck knit in the ₩40,000 range, a green piqué short-sleeve polo and a blue check half-sleeve shirt. Happy with the quality for the price and the range of brands, the writer plans to return to Balbal Vintage Sinsa.

Written Jun 23, 2026Sponsored
ProductPreeteaFood & snacks

Aged pumpkin diet tea, cold-brewed in 3 minutes: Preetea Cutting Shot

Preetea Cutting Shot is a teabag diet tea ("burning tea") made with 80% aged pumpkin plus fermented chestnut inner skin and psyllium husk, sold in packs of twenty 1.5g bags for 15,900 won. The writer drank Preetea Cutting Shot steadily, including at the office, to tackle puffiness after late-night snacks and a habit of snacking after lunch, and its toasty, barley-tea-like taste meant drinking more water overall. Verdict: Preetea Cutting Shot suits anyone who wants a simple everyday tea rather than a heavy diet supplement.

Written Jun 21, 2026Product provided
PlaceSongpa, SeoulCafés

Jamsil cake shop: 1st-anniversary lunchbox cake, Circus Rabbit

Circus Rabbit (서커스래빗) is a custom lettering cake shop in the basement of Jangmi Complex Shopping Center B in Songpa, Seoul. For a first anniversary with his girlfriend, the writer ordered a milk cream lunchbox cake from an existing design with only the number and message changed. He collected it after 4pm from a padlocked fridge for self-pickup, added a 500-won gold candle and finished the cake on the spot in 10 minutes. Verdict: a lettering cake he had assumed was just for looks turned out moist and not greasy, earning 9.2 out of 10.

Written Jun 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuCafés

Oedo, Jeju bakery a local friend recommended: mango donut, Bakery Onyu

Bakery Onyu Jeju Oedo Branch is a bakery on Ujeong-ro near Oedo in Jeju City, recommended by a friend who lives in Jeju. The writer took away a handmade mango donut, Meotjaengi Tomato, Chiang Butter, Onyujjapjjari (salt bread) and Jeju basalt rice bread to share with a girlfriend in the car, and called the mango donut and Meotjaengi Tomato the best bread of a lifetime. Bakery Onyu Jeju Oedo Branch is a good stop on a trip around western Jeju and earned a rating of 9.2 out of 10.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeogwipo, JejuRestaurants

Seogwipo noodle house: Udo peanut abalone naengmyeon, Sanbang Sochan

Sanbang Sochan in Jangsu Sanghoe Jeju Sagye-ri Branch is a noodle, gukbap (rice soup) and naengmyeon (cold noodle) restaurant on Sanbang-ro in Andeok, Seogwipo, Jeju, that cooks with Jeju ingredients. Visiting as a traveler, the writer ate beef tangerine naengmyeon, abalone jang bibim naengmyeon with Udo peanut sauce and see-through meat dumplings, and received a postcard explaining the menu. Verdict: the tangerine naengmyeon, abalone bibim naengmyeon and see-through dumpling combo at Sanbang Sochan comes strongly recommended, rated 9.0/10.0.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuRestaurants

Udo, Jeju jjamppong restaurant at 3 p.m. to skip the wait: Seomsonai

Seomsonai Udo Main Branch is a restaurant near Hagosudong Beach on Udo, Jeju, serving seafood jjamppong (spicy Korean-Chinese noodle soup) with hijiki-seaweed noodles and Udo peanut pizza. To avoid the 1–2 p.m. queue, the writer arrived around 3 p.m. and ate the 33,000-won Ujjam Soseom Set at an ocean-view seat: the level-1 spicy Ujjam held 2 abalone and 3 shrimp, and the thin-crust Soseom Pizza had a nutty peanut aroma. Seomsonai earns a 9.1 rating as an Udo lunch spot where the pizza and jjamppong balance each other's richness and spice.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeogwipo, JejuCafés

Andeok tea house with book swaps and Hallasan bamboo grass tea: Egatot

Egatot Library is a bookshop and tea house on Byeongak-ro in Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo, Jeju, known in Korean as the "forest meditation library." At Egatot Library, the writer joined a reservation-only tea ceremony, brewed Hallasan wild bamboo grass tea (joritdae-cha) by hand, and read a book from the curated shelves while taking in the Jeju scenery through large windows. Egatot Library is a restful spot worth recommending to Jeju locals and travelers who want some quiet time.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeogwipo, JejuRestaurants

Seogwipo black pork BBQ with crab doenjang stew: Jeju Healing Dwaeji

Jeju Healing Dwaeji (제주힐링돼지) is an ocean-view black pork BBQ restaurant on Maljil-ro in Seogwipo, Jeju. On a summer evening the writer reserved an outdoor ocean-view table and ate 600g of black pork (₩65,000) with the house Healing doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) made with crab, watching the sunset in real time while the owner grilled the meat and explained how to eat it. The best view, a friendly owner and high-quality food came together, earning Jeju Healing Dwaeji a 9.3/10 from the writer.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuRestaurants

Jeju pork noodle shop: last meal before a Seoul flight, Myeonjumak

Myeonjumak Jeju Main Branch (면주막 제주본점) is a gogi guksu (pork noodle soup) restaurant on Beonyeong-ro in Jocheon-eup, Jeju, near Eco Land and the Saryeoni Forest Trail. Before a flight to Seoul, the writer arrived at the 9am opening and ordered pork noodles and pork bibim noodles (10,000 won each) plus a half portion of dombe-gogi (sliced boiled pork, 18,000 won). The deep broth and the dombe-gogi wrapped with jari-jeot (salted damselfish) stood out. Verdict: with its big parking lot, Myeonjumak Jeju Main Branch is an easy last meal in eastern Jeju before returning a rental car, rated 9.0.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Men's salon near Seongsu: nape cowlick & no-heat down perm, M2B Hair

M2B Hair (엠투비헤어) is a men's hair salon in Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, near Children's Grand Park Station. On a first visit, the writer had M2B Hair's Tailored Personal Consulting, a diagnosis of head shape and hair texture, followed by a cut and a down perm. The down perm skipped the heat treatment to suit a nape cowlick that gets messy as it grows out and hair damaged by monthly down perms. Verdict: M2B Hair is a men's salon with careful consultations, worth the bus ride from Seongsu.

Written Jul 12, 2026Sponsored