Order List · 109 stories

What I Ordered

I write about restaurants I visit in Seoul and the food I eat there. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Beauty products · Bars · Hair & beauty salons · Things to do · Shopping

PlaceSeocho, SeoulCafés

Sinnonhyeon café with takeout mango bingsu in a cooler bag: Cafe Ssum

Cafe Ssum is a bingsu (Korean shaved ice) and dessert café in an alley near Sinnonhyeon Station in Seocho, Seoul. For the first bingsu of the year, the writer took out Cafe Ssum's apple mango bingsu and Shanghai butter tteok (chewy rice cake). The bingsu came packed separately in a cooler-bag container and stayed cold all the way home, and the mango-heaped bingsu paired well with the chewy butter tteok. Cafe Ssum is a reliable pick for takeout apple mango bingsu near Sinnonhyeon Station.

Written May 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

New café by Cheongdam Station: chilled butter sand, Butter & Shelter

Butter & Shelter Cheongdam is a butter sand dessert café about a 3-minute walk from Cheongdam Station in Gangnam, Seoul. At the newly opened Butter & Shelter Cheongdam, the writer ordered a butter sand (butter cream sandwich cookie) and a butter rice cake, finding the butter sand richer in butter flavor when eaten cold and the butter rice cake chewy with a subtle butter flavor. For butter lovers, Butter & Shelter Cheongdam is a Cheongdam Station dessert café worth visiting to try the butter sand and butter rice cake together.

Written May 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Solo eel rice bowl at Yeoksam Station: wasabi to ochazuke, Yangsando

Yangsando Yeoksam (양산도 역삼점) is a hitsumabushi (Japanese-style grilled eel rice bowl) restaurant near Yeoksam Station in Gangnam, Seoul. The writer ordered the special hitsumabushi for ₩37,000 and jangsaego dumplings (eel, shrimp and meat) for ₩7,000, eating the eel plain, then with seaweed and wasabi, and finally as ochazuke with tea broth poured over, and was pleased with the thick, moist eel and the clean dining room. Yangsando Yeoksam is an eel rice bowl spot by Yeoksam Station that suits solo meals, dates and group gatherings alike.

Written May 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulCafés

Gangnam bakery café group seats & pain au chocolat, Bakerist Brown

Bakerist Brown is a large bakery café on Gangnam-daero 102-gil between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station in Seoul, spread over the basement and three floors above ground. On this visit the writer tried a black sesame latte (₩7,800), a Gangnam Sand set (₩14,000), a pain au chocolat (₩4,500) and an apple pie (₩3,700), then toured the 2nd- and 3rd-floor seating, including the 3rd-floor group tables. Verdict: with its wide bread selection, solid quality and roomy space, Bakerist Brown is a Gangnam bakery café worth returning to for a get-together with friends.

Written May 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulShopping

24-hour phone case shop in Seongsu: iPhone 17 & Galaxy S25 at Casedby

Casedby Seongsu is a 24-hour unmanned custom phone case shop on Seongsui-ro 12-gil, near Seongsu Station in Seongdong, Seoul. Casedby Seongsu has two case-making machines, phone-decorating accessories and a sample case display, and its kiosk runs in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, making cases for models up to the iPhone 17 series and Galaxy S25. Quick to support new phones and quiet inside, Casedby Seongsu is an easy pick for a hands-on date in Seongsu.

Written May 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Jonggak two-floor Chinese restaurant: noodles + guobaorou, Cheonghwa

Cheonghwa Uyuk Dosakmyeon (청화 우육도삭면) is a Chinese restaurant on the main Jongno road between Gwanghwamun Station and Jonggak Station in Seoul, with a spacious dining room split across the first and second floors. At Cheonghwa Uyuk Dosakmyeon, the beef knife-cut noodles (₩11,000) came with chewy noodles, a deep, rich broth and plenty of beef. The guobaorou (₩19,000), a crispy sweet-and-sour pork, had a thin, crisp coating, juicy meat and a sweet-and-sour sauce that wasn't overpowering. For an authentic-tasting beef noodle and guobaorou combo near Gwanghwamun and Jonggak, Cheonghwa Uyuk Dosakmyeon is a very satisfying choice.

Written May 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Daechi-dong Japanese restaurant: new Hanwoo hot pot, wasabi, Manmok

Manmok is an upscale Japanese restaurant on Seolleung-ro 82-gil in Gangnam, Seoul, between Seolleung Station and Daechi-dong, known for eel rice bowls and grilled eel. A longtime regular who usually came for the eel tried Manmok's new Hanwoo nabe (Korean beef hot pot, 63,000 won) with an udon noodle add-on (8,000 won) and was delighted by the tender beef, the deep broth packed with mushrooms and vegetables, and the neat, varied side dishes. Verdict: Manmok is a safe bet not only for eel but also for the new Hanwoo nabe.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeouido Station gyukatsu restaurant, business-trip solo double: Izawa

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is a Japanese restaurant specializing in gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) on the 2nd floor of the Yeouido Comprehensive Shopping Center, right in front of Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. After finishing a business-trip schedule, the writer followed the smell of grilling meat into Izawa alone and grilled a Gyukatsu Double (₩33,000) on a personal brazier, and when the heat faded, staff swapped the grill right away. Izawa Yeouido Direct Store delivered on both portion and service for a solo meal, and the writer plans to return on the next visit to Yeouido.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulThings to do

Mechanical escape room in Hongdae, 1 minute to spare: Cube Escape

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is an escape room café on the 4th floor above Harmony Mart in Hongdae, Mapo, Seoul, offering 8 themes with a strong focus on mechanical devices. The writer and a friend chose the less scary Hansel and Gretel theme, used just 1 hint and escaped with 1 minute left, earning a 20% discount coupon. For anyone who prefers hands-on mechanisms to padlocks, Cube Escape Hongdae Branch was a satisfying pick.

Written Apr 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Makchang grill in Euljiro 3-ga: after-work Daegu makchang at Baegyeom

Baegyeom Makchang Euljiro Main Branch is a grilled makchang (pork large intestine) restaurant on Supyo-ro, near Euljiro 3-ga Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. After spotting a queue on the way home from work, the writer ordered 2 portions of Daegu makchang (17,000 won) and stone-pot fried rice (9,000 won): the makchang was crispy outside and chewy inside, and the dipping sauce, perilla leaves and pickled sides paired well with it. Busy and lively even on a weekday evening, Baegyeom Makchang is an Euljiro makchang spot worth returning to for a team dinner or a night out with friends.

Written Jun 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulRestaurants

Sangwangsimni Korean pub: adjustable-spice chicken feet, egg toast

Hanyang Saram Moeuneungot (한양 사람 모이는 곳) is a new Korean pub with an open-air, street-stall feel in Sangwangsimni (Muhakbong 28-gil, Seongdong-gu), near Wangsimni Station in Seoul. Craving spicy chicken feet, the writer ordered the Hanyang Set of chicken feet (35,000 won), sweet egg toast (11,000 won) and sikhye, a sweet rice drink (4,000 won), with a free opening-event makgeolli on the side. The adjustable spice, the set's make-your-own rice ball and nurungji (scorched rice) steamed egg, and egg toast that stays crispy surprisingly long left the writer keen to return to Hanyang Saram Moeuneungot.

Written Jun 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gyodae Station kalguksu house: meat & kimchi dumpling combo, Daseon

Daseon Kalguksu (다선칼국수) Gyodae branch is a kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant and Korean pub on two floors near Gyodae Station in Seocho, Seoul. The writer ordered the bossam kalguksu set (15,000 won), spicy octopus stir-fry (32,000 won) and half-and-half meat and kimchi dumplings (8,000 won), eating the boiled pork, spicy salad and octopus with udon and kalguksu noodles and barley rice mixed in. With refreshing kalguksu broth, kimchi worth refilling and two dumpling flavors, Daseon Kalguksu is a Gyodae Station Korean spot that covers both a meal and drinks.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored