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Cafés, restaurants and places in Gyeonggi, written by bloggers who went there.
Nillai is a garden café in Wolgot-myeon, Gimpo, Gyeonggi, with a wide lawn and views over the surrounding rice fields. Visiting with a 25-month-old toddler, the writer bought a ₩2,000 bubble toy for running around the garden, then had dessert indoors with a Nillai latte (₩7,000) and a croffle (₩11,900). Nillai keeps kids' snacks and toys on hand, so families can arrive empty-handed.
Seoul Myeonok is a naengmyeon (cold noodle) restaurant next to the police substation by Exit 1 of Pyeongtaek Station, run by the same family for three generations since 1973. On this visit the order was bibim naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles), served with its cold broth on the side to pour in, nokdu bindaetteok (mung bean pancake) and galbitang (beef short rib soup), with the child mixing rice into the galbitang twice. Because Seoul Myeonok puts cold noodles and a warm soup on the same table, it is an easy choice for a family meal with children.
Mat Chandeul Wang Sogeum Gui Moran Branch is an aged-pork Korean BBQ restaurant on the food street by Moran Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. On a weekday visit at 6:30 pm booked through Naver Reservations, the order was one serving each of pork belly and pork jowl, then an extra serving of pork belly plus a Korean beef doenjang stew, with staff checking the grill temperature and cooking every piece. Side dishes at Mat Chandeul run generous, from mukbap (chilled acorn jelly soup) to pickles and baek-kimchi, and the room is filled with groups of 6 to 8 on company dinners.
Eochongye 1beonji is a sashimi and seafood restaurant on Bandal Island in Danwon-gu, Ansan. On a visit with her mom, who had come over for the first time in a while, the writer ordered live octopus (sannakji) and a medium seasonal mixed sashimi platter, alternating between the chewy wriggling octopus and several kinds of sashimi including conger eel. Even her picky-eating mom was happy with it, making this a combination worth ordering again at Eochongye 1beonji whenever a sashimi craving hits.
Dongbaek Hanokjip Charcoal Grill Butcher Restaurant is a pick-your-own-meat charcoal BBQ house on Eondong-ro in Giheung-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi. A couple came for lunch and ordered LA kkotgalbisal (flap-cut short rib meat) for 60,880 won, hanok doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) for 7,000 won and a self-serve beer for 4,000 won, with all the ssam vegetables they wanted from the self-serve corner. The kkotgalbisal was good, but the real star of the meal at Dongbaek Hanokjip was the 7,000-won doenjang stew.
Ari Chuksan is a butcher shop on Gangbyeon-ro in Cheongpyeong, Gapyeong, where barbecue meat, wrap vegetables and sauces for a pension stay can all be bought in one stop. On this Gapyeong trip we parked at Ari Chuksan and picked Korean beef skirt (chimasal), pork neck (mokssal) and yukhoe (raw beef tartare), then grabbed drinks and snacks at the Hanaro Mart right next door. For anyone driving through, Ari Chuksan finishes the whole barbecue grocery run in a single stop.
Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk Goyang Samsong Branch is a haejangguk (hangover soup) and tripe soup restaurant a 5-minute walk from Samsong Station Exit 3, near Starfield Goyang. On a Friday around noon after a work dinner the night before, the visit covered haejangguk at 12,000 won, naejangtang (tripe soup) at 13,000 won and the half-and-half set of dombe pork and yangmuchim (seasoned tripe salad) at 20,000 won, plus a staff tip to stir minced garlic into the broth. The dadegi chili paste makes the soup slightly hot for anyone sensitive to spice, so ask for it on the side, and rice is free with one dish per person.
Yeongpo Hwa-ro Ingye Branch is a hanwoo (Korean beef) charcoal-grill restaurant in Ingye-dong, Suwon. The order was the hanwoo assorted platter for three (150g per serving, covering sirloin, chuck flap tail, short rib finger and skirt steak) plus yukhoe tangtang-i (seasoned raw beef with octopus), followed by water and bibim naengmyeon cold noodles from the receipt review and complimentary doenjang sulbap and patbingsu. With a large lot out front and room-style seating, Yeongpo Hwa-ro Ingye Branch suits family meals and group dinners where everyone wants to compare cuts.
Sugyeokok Bundang Migeum is a Korean samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) restaurant on a residential dining street about five minutes' walk from Migeum Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. After a check-up at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, the writer brought her parents here for the 3-person neungi mushroom samgyetang set, which runs as a course from pre-meal porridge to rich neungi broth and hand-cut noodles. Sugyeokok is quiet and unhurried, making it an easy choice for a nourishing meal with elderly parents.
Doonjeong is a Korean beef gomtang (clear beef bone soup) restaurant on the first floor of a house behind the Daiso in Hyangdong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang, and it has been picked for the Blue Ribbon Survey two years running. With a 5:30pm reservation, the writer and her parents ordered clear beef gomtang in regular and special, plus a meat kimchi pancake, and the standouts were the toreom-style rice soaked in hot broth and the cool, crisp kimchi. For a clean, comforting bowl of gomtang in Hyangdong, Doonjeong is worth booking ahead.
Tteum Café by Oneplay Suwon Station is a 200-pyeong hand-drip and blend coffee café inside the Lady Furniture Suwon showroom on Sehwa-ro 154beon-gil in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon. At Tteum Café you can smell specialty beans such as Kopi Luwak and Geisha before ordering; this visit meant a Milano Blend Americano for 5,500 won and a Lotus ice cream croffle for 12,900 won. Nutty coffee, a chewy croffle and a quiet room make Tteum Café a satisfying dessert café near Suwon Station.
Mibundang Dongtan Station Branch is a Vietnamese pho chain restaurant on the 1st floor of the Dongtan Station Richian shopping arcade in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, right next to the Lotte Department Store at Dongtan Station. Driving over and parking in the building's basement lot, I waited 15 minutes on a weekday evening and ordered the brisket, flank and tendon pho with three sides: scallop cha gio, wedding siu mai and buffalo wings. The meat was generous enough that one bowl of Mibundang's pho left me quite full.
