Market Browser · 48 stories

Meals and Market Finds

I write about restaurant visits and shopping stops around Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Shopping · Cafés · Bars · Hair & beauty salons · Beauty products

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hapjeong Korean BBQ, chuck flap to ribeye cap hanwoo set: Gogikkun

Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch is a charcoal Korean BBQ restaurant on the 3rd floor of a building on Hongik-ro 3-gil, between Hongik Univ. Station and Hapjeong Station in Seoul, where staff grill fresh, refrigerator-aged meat at your table. On a day she was low on energy, the writer booked a table with her husband and ordered the hanwoo set for two with kkakttukbap (rice with diced meat) and half-and-half naengmyeon (cold noodles). The staff grilled chuck flap, galbi-sal (boneless rib), sirloin and ribeye cap in that order, and every cut was tender, so Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch is worth recommending for a hanwoo set in Hapjeong or Hongdae.

Written May 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangcheon, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Body correction studio in Mokdong for frequent ankle sprains: Mobiyeon

Mobiyeon (모든비대칭관리연구소) is a body correction and asymmetry care studio in Mokdong, Seoul, a 4-minute walk from Omokgyo Station. The writer came to Mobiyeon with shoulder and neck discomfort and frequently sprained ankles, had a lower-body angle check, fascia release with a device and gua sha, and exercise coaching, and saw the knee and ankle angles change firsthand. Mobiyeon is worth recommending for anyone who wants to understand what causes their asymmetry and learn exercises to address it.

Written May 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulBars

Sadang Station pub for a wood-fired margherita dinner: Weizenhaus

Weizenhaus Bangbae Branch 1 is a pub on Dongjak-daero right outside Sadang Station in Seocho, Seoul, serving wood-fired pizza, tacos and beer. On a dinner out with her husband, the writer ordered the extra margherita pizza, a pork taco and a roast chicken taco: the margherita had a long cheese pull and both tacos were generously filled. Weizenhaus was a satisfying pizza dinner near Sadang Station even without beer, and worth a return visit with a pint.

Written May 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceAnyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Anyang clam hot pot restaurant, red scallops and sea snail: Taegine

Taegine Jogae Jeongol, Anyang Art Park Branch is a clam hot pot and haesintang (seafood stew) restaurant on Yesulgongwon-ro in Manan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi. On a chilly day the writer ordered the clam hot pot for 2 for lunch, mixed self-serve barley rice, and picked out squid, red scallops, shrimp, scallop meat, abalone and sea snail, with all that seafood making the broth clean and refreshing. For a warm seafood lunch near Anyang Art Park, Taegine Jogae Jeongol is worth a visit.

Written Oct 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Fine dining lunch near Mangwon Station: farm-milk panna cotta, Noju

Noju is an open-kitchen fine dining restaurant on the 2nd floor on Donggyo-ro 9-gil in Mapo, Seoul, a 2-minute walk from Mangwon Station. The writer booked Noju with her husband and had the 8-course lunch at a window seat, from focaccia and the signature truffle gnocchi to Iberico steak and panna cotta made with milk from Taean's The Mom Ranch. Noju is worth recommending for a course-meal date in Mangwon when you want atmosphere, flavour and good value together.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGuro, SeoulRestaurants

Thai rice noodles in Guro, Seoul: three large bowls emptied at Thai Du

Thai Du Guro Digital Complex Branch (타이두 구로디지털단지점) is a Thai and Southeast Asian restaurant in Guro, Seoul, about a 10-minute walk from Guro Digital Complex Station. For a weekend lunch, three people ordered two Master of Living (Saenghwal-ui Dalin) rice noodles and one tom yum rice noodle, all in large portions, and emptied both the sour, spicy, refreshing tom yum broth and the milky, rich Master of Living broth. Thai Du is worth a visit when you're craving rice noodles or Thai food around Guro Digital Complex.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMuan, GwangjuRestaurants

Muan octopus restaurant en route from Mokpo to Seoul: Dongsanjeong

Dongsanjeong is a 50-year-old octopus restaurant on Muan Mud Octopus Street in Muan-eup, Muan County, South Jeolla. On the way from Mokpo to Seoul, the writer ordered the Dongsanjeong Signature Set Meal and tasted galnaktang (short rib and octopus soup), grilled octopus on a stick (nakji horong-gui), live octopus, stir-fried octopus, soy-marinated crab, tteokgalbi rice balls and steamed abalone in one spread. For anyone who wants to try many octopus dishes at once, the Dongsanjeong Signature Set Meal is the right choice.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMokpo, GwangjuRestaurants

Couple's Duroc pork Korean BBQ in Mokpo with grilled kimchi: Simdon

Simdon Mokpo Pyeonghwagwangjang Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant about a 5-minute walk from Pyeonghwa Square in Mokpo that serves Duroc pork grilled for you on a single platter with vegetables. A couple spending a night at Pyeonghwa Square booked ahead, walked straight in, and ordered the Simdon mixed platter, a free doenjang sulbap (soybean paste stew with rice) and Seonyang Oak soju, finishing the pork neck, pork belly and pork skin together with several sauces and the grilled bean sprouts and kimchi. If you want Korean BBQ without grilling it yourself or getting grease on your clothes, Simdon Mokpo Pyeonghwagwangjang Branch is a good fit.

Written Oct 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMokpo, GwangjuRestaurants

Korean set meal in Mokpo with galnakjjim: Kim Geunho Hanjeongsik

Kim Geunho Hanjeongsik (1977남도정식) is a Namdo-style Korean set meal restaurant on Yeongsan-ro in Mokpo, serving galnakjjim (braised short ribs with octopus), suyuk (boiled pork), tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) and hongeo samhap (fermented skate with pork and kimchi) on one table. On a trip to Mokpo, a couple ordered the Namdo Galnakjjim Set and tried galnakjjim with a whole octopus, melt-in-the-mouth boiled pork, fermented skate samhap and a wide range of side dishes. For a generous, varied hanjeongsik meal in Mokpo, Kim Geunho Hanjeongsik is worth recommending.

Written Oct 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMokpo, GwangjuRestaurants

Mokpo hanwoo restaurant for suyuk soup and eongchi-jjim: Mujinjang

Mujinjang Sik-yuk Kkori Gomtang (무진장 한우 꼬리곰탕) is a hanwoo (Korean native beef) soup restaurant on Pyeonghwa-ro 43beon-gil in Mokpo, run by three generations of the same family since 1976. On the first meal of their Mokpo trip, a couple ordered milky hanwoo suyuk-tang (boiled beef soup) and spicy eongchi-jjim (braised beef hip served with knee cartilage), and even the husband, who can't handle spicy food, happily dug in. Mujinjang Sik-yuk Kkori Gomtang is worth a stop in Mokpo when you want warm beef soup and a spicy braise at the same table.

Written Oct 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulCafés

Ikseon-dong bakery dessert after lunch: injeolmi & garlic, Munhwa

Munhwa Bakery (문화제빵) is a bakery on Donhwamun-ro in Ikseon-dong, Jongno, Seoul, near Jongno 3-ga Station, that shares its unsold bread with people in need. After lunch with a close friend, the writer bought injeolmi bread (coated in roasted soybean powder), garlic bread and squid-ink condensed milk bread at Munhwa Bakery and ate them right away at a nearby table. Even on a full stomach all three breads were finished, making Munhwa Bakery an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a bakery in Ikseon-dong.

Written Oct 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongjak, SeoulBars

Retro Sadang pub for a couple's kettle makgeolli: Jindallae Silbi

Jindallae Silbi Sadang Branch (진달래실비 사당점) is a retro-themed Korean pub on the 2nd floor near Exits 7 and 8 of Sadang Station in Dongjak, Seoul. The writer and her husband went in the evening, ordered the Jindallae Course for two with a kettle of makgeolli, and worked through pink sausage, haemul-jjim (spicy steamed seafood), flounder and salmon sashimi and maeuntang (spicy fish stew), with a dalgona game on the side. Jindallae Silbi Sadang Branch is a good-value Sadang pub for couples who want a 15-dish course in an old-school setting.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored