Bucheon Pocket Mirror · 46 stories
I write about beauty products that fit into everyday routines. · Writes about: Beauty products · Restaurants · Cafés · Bars · Things to do
New Chapter Studio (뉴챕터스튜디오) is a newly opened rental studio and party room near Dongam Station in Bupyeong, Incheon. The writer, who is about to get married, held a bridal shower at New Chapter Studio with middle school friends, taking photos at a photo zone the owner decorated and sharing delivery food and a cake. If you want a bridal shower venue in Bupyeong where photos turn out well, New Chapter Studio is worth considering.
Menya Seoul Lotte Department Store Incheon Branch is a dongpo pork (braised pork belly) ramen shop in the basement 1 food hall of Lotte Department Store in Michuhol, Incheon. Two diners shared a mild-broth jambon (French-style ham) ramen set and a spicy-broth dongpo pork ramen set for lunch. Jambon on ramen was a first for them and paired well with the broth, while the set's chicken rice bowl and gyoza came in generous portions. Verdict: order the dongpo pork ramen alone, or the jambon and dongpo pork sets as a pair.
Jazz 257 Songdo Central Park Branch is a jazz bar and restaurant on the 2nd floor of Artfore, facing the Central Park lake in Songdo, Yeonsu, Incheon, where guests eat steak and drink wine while watching live jazz. The writer booked Jazz 257 for a 700-day anniversary with her boyfriend, sat in a reserved second-row seat with a clear view of the stage, ordered the steak and wine set, and enjoyed a vocal-and-piano performance plus a tableside fire show. Verdict: Jazz 257 Songdo Central Park Branch comes strongly recommended for an anniversary or an unusual date night.
Sushi Doku The Songdo is a good-value sushi restaurant on the 2nd floor of Honesta Mall in Songdo, Yeonsu, Incheon. Two of us went at 11am on a weekday and ordered two Premium Sushi Sets at 25,900 won each: 10 pieces of sushi with half udon, tempura, salad and truffle chawanmushi, enough to fill the whole table. Even my omakase-loving companion gave Sushi Doku The Songdo a thumbs-up for price, taste, quality and service, and I would 100% go back.
Yozeum (요즘) is a wine bar on Donggyo-ro 32-gil in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul, known for a wine lineup that its sommelier tasted and selected personally. After dinner and a café on the day of a wedding invitation meetup, the writer stopped by Yozeum, ordered one inexpensive, low-alcohol bottle of rosé and chatted for hours under dim lights and jazz. Yozeum is a calm, cozy Yeonnam-dong wine bar that suits light drinkers and wine bar beginners.
Sip Sam Dae (십삼대) is a Korean BBQ restaurant serving ugalbi (thick-cut beef short ribs), beef and pork belly in Guwol-dong, Namdong, Incheon, near Gil Hospital. On an early-evening date, the writer and her boyfriend ordered Sip Sam Dae's Premium Ugalbi A Set (2 ugalbi ribs, 500g special pork belly and doenjang sulbap, a soybean-paste rice dish). The owner trimmed and grilled everything at the table, and both left full. Thanks to the meat quality and the owner's cheerful service, Sip Sam Dae is a Guwol-dong BBQ spot she would revisit '120%'.
Dodanga Guwol Main Branch (도단가 구월본점) is a wagyu and aged beef restaurant in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, in an alley near the Gil Hospital emergency room entrance, and it has been open for more than 10 years after changing only its name from Daedoga. On a weekday evening for two, the writer ate the Wagyu Daedo Banpan platter (gukhwasal, salchisal and fresh sirloin), naengmyeon (cold noodles), kkakdugi (radish kimchi) fried rice and free dessert. The wagyu grilled by the owner melted in the mouth, the naengmyeon at Dodanga is a must-order, and the writer is 100% planning to return.
Maison Akai Hyehwa is a Japanese tonkatsu restaurant on the 2nd floor of 34 Daemyeong-gil in Jongno, Seoul, known for a Ghibli-style wooden interior decorated with flowers. After a Daehak-ro play, two of us shared the Akai Set (Akai teishoku, kimchi nabe udon and melon soda) and a karaage don (Japanese fried chicken rice bowl): the katsu was crispy outside and juicy inside, the karaage was moist, and the portions were so generous we nearly burst. Maison Akai Hyehwa is a Daehak-ro date restaurant that delivers on atmosphere, flavour and value.
Cenacolo Artfore is an Italian restaurant on the 2nd floor of Artfore Building C in Songdo, Yeonsu, Incheon. For brunch the blogger ordered the shrimp mushroom salad, the signature gnocchi and the basil pesto pasta, and also tried a homemade mushroom soup with truffle oil through the restaurant's review event. Cenacolo Artfore's cooking is mild and lets the ingredients speak for themselves, earning a 100% chance of a return visit.
Jam Jam is a plant-filled brunch and dessert café with an exotic interior, located on basement level 1 of 24 Seongmisan-ro 29-gil in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. After a wedding invitation meetup, the writer returned to Jam Jam around 7 PM, found brunch already closed, and ordered two decaf cold brews and a fresh fig and banana fruit pancake: fresh fruit, a moist pancake and a clean cold brew with no medicinal aftertaste. For evening dessert, coffee and a long chat in Yeonnam-dong, Jam Jam is a café the writer would '120%' return to.
Boksakkot Pineun Jip Incheon Branch (복사꽃피는집 인천점) is a Korean restaurant specializing in fire-grilled jjukkumi (baby octopus) and octopus, on a quiet stretch of Hogupo-ro in Guwol-dong, Namdong, Incheon. A jjukkumi-loving couple booked a weekday lunch, sat at a window seat overlooking hills and rice paddies, and ordered the fire-grilled jjukkumi set for 2 plus fried shrimp; the set also came with gorgonzola pizza, muksabal (chilled acorn jelly soup), salad and coffee afterward. With free parking and a generous spread, Boksakkot Pineun Jip Incheon Branch is a great pick for a family meal with parents.
Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2 is an Indian curry restaurant on the first basement floor of Triple Street in Songdo, Yeonsu, Incheon. The writer, who had eaten Indian curry only once before, came on a date and ordered Set B (chicken masala, plain naan, tandoori chicken and rice), adding a strawberry lassi and a mango lassi; the spice was not overpowering and the naan was chewy. Verdict: Manokamana Triple Street Branch 2 is an easy, crowd-pleasing pick even for Indian curry newcomers, and the writer would 100% go back.
