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Cafés, restaurants and places in Gangwon, written by bloggers who went there.
Hoega is a sashimi restaurant in Gyodong, Sokcho, offering takeout, delivery, and dine-in. A small mixed sashimi platter (₩43,000) and mulhoe (spicy cold raw fish soup, ₩17,000) came packed with seaweed, lettuce wraps, sushi rice, wasabi, and side dishes, with thick-cut sashimi and an iced broth that made this the best mulhoe the writer has ever had.
Hwangbuja Twigim is a fried snack shop inside Sokcho Tourist & Fisheries Market (Sokcho Jungang Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon, selling nurungji squid sundae (scorched-rice squid sausage) and a wide range of tempura. On a two-day trip to Sokcho with her husband, the writer ordered the nurungji squid sundae and a nude shrimp and squid tempura set to go and ate them back at the lodging. The crisp, chewy nurungji was the part of the meal she remembers most.
Hanggu Hwareo is a snow crab and live-fish sashimi restaurant in S-dong of Daepohang Fish Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. The snow crab set brought about 1.6kg of pre-cleaned snow crab, live squid, sea squirt and abalone sashimi, and white-fleshed sashimi such as flounder fin and mullet, then finished with crab innard fried rice and bean sprout spicy stew at no extra charge. Between the fully cleaned crab and the friendly service, Hanggu Hwareo is worth going back to.
Saimdang Bueok is a Korean set-meal restaurant on Jukheon-gil near Ojukheon in Gangneung, newly opened in the space to the right of the Matdeurin building. The writer ordered the Saimdang set meal, choosing miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) and Chodang sundubu (soft tofu), and added 10 grilled butter scallops for 3,000 won after liking the ones served as a side dish. Saimdang Bueok feels less like a flashy hanjeongsik course and more like a tidy, healthy home-style meal, easy to slot into an Ojukheon sightseeing route.
Daecheongmaru is a dried pollack and tofu restaurant in Haksapyeong Sundubu Village in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a rainy Thursday lunch, an order of chodang sundubu (Chodang-style soft tofu stew) and spicy sundubu arrived in bowls as wide as naengmyeon bowls, along with banchan (side dishes) that felt like a Korean buffet — namul (seasoned greens), seaweed salad and braised kodari (half-dried pollack). Generous portions and side dishes that are not over-salted make Daecheongmaru an easy, filling lunch stop in Sokcho.
Sokcho Haemul Kkot Jangkalguksu is an indoor dog-friendly seafood jangkalguksu (spicy noodle soup) restaurant near Cheongchoho Recreation Area in Sokcho, Gangwon. After booking through Naver Reservation, the writer ordered the Special Seafood Flower Platter for 3 (75,000 won), cooking octopus, abalone, scallops, blue crab, shrimp and beef before finishing with fresh house-made kalguksu noodles. With a dog stroller to borrow and a shaded free parking lot on site, Sokcho Haemul Kkot Jangkalguksu is an easy stop for anyone traveling Sokcho with a dog.
Samsam Goroke is a croquette stall at No. 42 in the chicken alley of Sokcho Jungang Market (also called Sokcho Tourist Fisheries Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon. Six flavors fried that morning — Sokcho red crab, abai, potato, meat-packed fire jjamppong, Chinese-style gochu japchae and pollock roe cream — were bought and eaten back at the lodging, and the red crab croquette, limited to 200 a day, was packed with crab meat when split in half. The potato croquette was light on filling, but the red crab croquette at Samsam Goroke is the one not to miss at Sokcho Jungang Market.
Yeoyejeong is a charcoal-grill meat restaurant at 49 Ssangsolbaegi-gil in Seo-myeon, Yangyang, Gangwon, certified as an exemplary restaurant and packed with locals. On a Sokcho–Yangyang trip the writer waited for a table, then grilled flower galbisal (marbled chuck flap tail) over charcoal and ordered baek-kimchi guksu, noodles in tangy-sweet white kimchi broth. The Yeoyejeong flower galbisal came out tender and smoky, and the white kimchi noodles made the pairing worth the wait.
Hyeondae Memil is a buckwheat specialty restaurant on Namchun-ro 5beon-gil in Chuncheon, Gangwon. On this visit the order was three dishes at once — bibim mak guksu (cold buckwheat noodles in spicy sauce), warm buckwheat sujebi (hand-torn dough soup) and truffle potato pancake — alternating cold noodles with hot broth, and Hyeondae Memil was nearly full even on a weekday evening. A good fit for anyone who wants more than a plain bowl of mak guksu.
Ibuja Mayak Gotgan is a grain gangjeong (puffed rice cracker) shop at booth 137 on the first floor of Sokcho Tourist Fish Market, known locally as Sokcho Central Market. The black rice, white rice, yellow rice, brown rice and buckwheat gangjeong at Ibuja Mayak Gotgan are steamed, hot-air dried and aged for 6 months, yet one face-sized sheet costs just over ₩1,000. Not too hard and not aggressively sweet, it works as both a gift for older relatives and an everyday snack for kids.
Jeongseong Katsu Chuncheon Hyoja Branch is a Japanese-style katsu (breaded pork cutlet) restaurant in Hyoja-dong, Chuncheon, near Gangwon National University. Three people ordered the Triple Mixed Katsu Set at 14,900 won, the Jeongseong Mixed Katsu Set at 13,900 won and the Pork Jowl Katsu Set at 14,900 won with the spicy option, plus a Pepsi Zero, for a total of 45,700 won, and the tenderloin, pork loin, cheese, fried shrimp and thinly fried pork jowl all came out crisp outside and juicy inside. With a spotless dining room and restroom, Jeongseong Katsu works just as well for a solo meal as for a group.
Singi Arrowroot Naengmyeon & Jjukkumi is a Korean restaurant on Yeowon-ro in Munmak-eup, Wonju, near Munmak IC, specialising in arrowroot naengmyeon (cold buckwheat-arrowroot noodles) and jjukkumi (spicy baby octopus). A group of 9 including a child pushed two tables together and ordered water naengmyeon, spicy water naengmyeon, rib dumplings, grilled short rib and rice soup, with the chilli paste and green onion left out of the child's soup. The icy naengmyeon broth paired with the grilled short rib makes Singi Arrowroot Naengmyeon & Jjukkumi a solid family stop on a Wonju road trip.
