Powder Day Tripper · 11 stories

Pale Compact, Gyeonggi-Gangwon-Seoul Cafes, Restaurants and Beauty

Writes about cafes, restaurants, and beauty spots across Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Seoul. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho croquette gift, roe cream a grease-hater loved: Samsam Goroke

Samsam Goroke is a newly opened premium handmade croquette shop at stall 42 on the main alley of Sokcho Central Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a Sokcho trip, the writer took a Samsam Goroke croquette set home and shared red crab, gochu japchae (Chinese-style pepper and pork stir-fry), pollock roe cream, jjamppong and seeded red bean croquettes with family. Her husband, who dislikes greasy food, finished the roe cream croquette in no time. Single croquettes cost 3,000–3,700 won, and the pick-your-own 6-piece and 3-piece sets are 17,000 and 9,000 won. For a Sokcho snack gift you can mix and match, Samsam Goroke is a sensible choice.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yangju Korean BBQ weekday lunch special with dinner-level sides: Manpo

Manpo Galbi Yangju Main Branch (만포갈비 양주본점) is a standalone handmade marinated galbi restaurant on Songnang-ro in Mansong-dong, Yangju, Gyeonggi. On a fourth visit, the writer ordered the weekday lunch special for the first time: 3 servings of the handmade galbi set at ₩19,000 per person (250g pork galbi, cold noodles and doenjang sulbap, rice simmered in soybean paste stew), and the side dishes, including yukhoe (beef tartare) and yukjeon (pan-fried beef), were exactly the same as at dinner. With galbi, rice, cold noodles and a puffed-rice ice cream dessert all covered, Manpo Galbi's lunch special is a great-value galbi lunch in Yangju.

Written Jun 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Daepo Port crab restaurant, Sokcho: sea bream & rockfish, Sinhaeburi

Sinhaeburi Hoejip (신해불이횟집) is a live raw fish and snow crab restaurant at Daepo Port in Sokcho, Gangwon. After visiting the Sokcho Eye, the writer ordered the 2-person A set (150,000 won), with one small snow crab, assorted sashimi, side dishes and spicy fish stew. It came with sea bream, flounder and rockfish sashimi, a snow crab full of innards and complimentary scallops, more than two people could finish. Sinhaeburi Hoejip suits two people who want a generous snow crab and sashimi meal in one sitting at Daepo Port.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho market honey chili dakgangjeong at a rest stop: Seomin Gapbu

Seomin Gapbu Sijang Dakjip (서민갑부 시장닭집) is a dakgangjeong (sweet, sticky Korean fried chicken), fried snack and jeon (savory pancake) shop on the first floor of Sokcho Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a weekend trip to Sokcho, the writer and her husband took out the boneless honey chili garlic dakgangjeong (24,000 won) and opened it at a highway rest stop on the way home: chewy outside, tender meat, soft garlic, and a sudden kick of heat after the sweetness. The portion is generous, and the verdict is that Seomin Gapbu Sijang Dakjip beats franchise fried chicken.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangju, GyeonggiCafés

Baby-friendly café in Yangju: nursing room, olive ciabatta at Doasis

Doasis is a large bakery café on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a converted bathhouse in Deokjeong-dong, Yangju, Gyeonggi. After seeing the flowers at Nari Park, the writer visited Doasis with a baby on a weekday afternoon. The writer used the nursing room's changing table, a Bumbo seat, the floor tables and a microwave for warming baby food, and tried the olive ciabatta, cream cheese bread and bam manju (chestnut bun). Verdict: Doasis is a large Yangju café where families with babies can relax comfortably on a weekday.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yangju fire-grilled octopus restaurant with perilla leaf wraps: Jjusan

Jjusan Yangju Main Branch is a fire-grilled webfoot octopus (jjukkumi) restaurant in Samseung-dong, Yangju, Gyeonggi, with a large kids' play room you can see into through a glass wall. The writer and her husband ordered the fire-grilled octopus set for two, which comes with muk-sabal (chilled acorn jelly soup) and teolle sujebi (hand-torn dough soup), added fried shrimp, chose medium spice, and finished with soy-pickled perilla leaf wraps and octopus bibimbap with namul. With plump octopus, a gentle smoky flavor and a play room for kids, Jjusan Yangju Main Branch is a good pick for a family meal out.

Written Oct 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNowon, SeoulRestaurants

Nowon sushi buffet weekday dinner with unlimited draft beer: Kuu Kuu

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is a sushi buffet on the 6th floor of the Seoul Oncheon Building at 247 Nowon-ro, Nowon, Seoul, the same building whose wedding hall hosted the writer's wedding years ago. On a weekday dinner visit, the writer walked into Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch around 5:10pm with no wait and tried raw salmon sushi, gamjatang fried rice (rice fried in pork-bone stew), Uljin red snow crab pasta and bead ice cream. Verdict: with satisfying variety and quality, Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is a good-value Nowon sushi buffet worth recommending for family gatherings.

Written Oct 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Garak Market fish shop, steamed crab & red scallops: Yeongjae Susan

Yeongjae Susan (영재수산) is a fish market sashimi shop on the 1st floor of Garak Mall's Panmae-dong building in Songpa, Seoul, selling live-fish sashimi to go alongside seasonal seafood such as blue crab and red scallops. For a weekend family gathering, the writer took home a mixed sashimi platter with shad, about 2kg of blue crab steamed on the spot and 2kg of red scallops, then purged and steamed the scallops at home. For picking up shad sashimi and steamed blue crab in one stop at Garak Market for a family table, Yeongjae Susan was a good choice.

Written Oct 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yangju dakgalbi restaurant with free mandu for pregnant guests: Seorak

Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi Yangju Branch is a charcoal dakgalbi (grilled marinated chicken) and makguksu (buckwheat noodle) restaurant right next to Lakewood CC in Samseong-dong (삼숭동), Yangju, Gyeonggi. The writer and her husband had charcoal dakgalbi for two, bibim makguksu and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), and received buckwheat pheasant mandu and buckwheat kimchi mandu (dumplings) with a pregnancy coupon. Seorak Makguksu Chuncheon Dakgalbi is a Yangju dakgalbi spot where staff grill each piece so nothing burns, with coupon perks on top.

Written Jul 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yangju galbi restaurant for a brother-in-law's birthday: Manpo Garden

Manpo Garden (만포가든) is a Korean pork galbi restaurant specializing in handmade Handon (Korean pork) galbi on Godeok-ro in Yangju, Gyeonggi. For a brother-in-law's birthday, the writer's family came at 6pm on a weekend evening and grilled 3 servings of Handon handmade galbi (19,000 won per serving) over charcoal. The meal came with complimentary yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) and yukjeon (pan-fried beef) as banchan, free Hamheung mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles in broth), and ppeongseukrim (ice cream on puffed-rice crackers) for dessert. With wide tables and private rooms, Manpo Garden is a satisfying galbi restaurant for a birthday or family dinner in Yangju.

Written Jul 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Bangi-dong sundaeguk restaurant with a 'sundae omakase' set: Boseung

Boseung Hoegwan Bangi Branch (보승회관 방이점) is a 24-hour sundaeguk (Korean blood sausage soup) and gukbap restaurant at 101 Ogeum-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul. On a chilly weekend outing to Lotte World Mall, the writer ordered the sundae and pork jowl suyuk set (16,000 won per person), paid extra to swap the basic gukbap for pork jowl gukbap and spicy intestine gukbap, and tasted glass-noodle sundae and native-style sundae. Tender pork jowl and three kinds of sundae that felt like a 'sundae omakase' made Boseung Hoegwan Bangi Branch a satisfying weekend stop paired with a Seokchon Lake walk.

Written Oct 7, 2026Sponsored
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