Tucked along the peaceful Yangjae Stream in Dogok-dong (도곡), you’ll find a charming lineup of cafés, bakeries, and restaurants perfect for a relaxing stroll or a quiet bite. One standout is Sim Jae (心斋), a specialty dessert café known for its creative fusion-style cakes sold by the slice. While this location focuses on cakes, Sim Jae’s other branches also serve up tarts, bagels, brownies, and a variety of other handcrafted treats—each one as thoughtfully made as its serene name suggests.
유자쌍화 (Yuja Ssanghwa) is a Korean herbal tea that blends yuja (yuzu citrus) with ssanghwa, a traditional tonic made from multiple medicinal herbs.
The drink is known for its immune-boosting, energizing, and warming properties—excellent for fatigue or on cold days. 쌍화 provides a gentler long-term energy boost, a bit different than a caffeinated energy drink.
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Spicy stir-fried chicken rice bowl (닭갈비 덮밥). A comforting meal during the current heavy rain. Boneless skinless chicken thigh marinated in a gochujang-type sauce (Korean red chili paste) with garlic, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and sometimes ginger.
According to an article in the Korea Herald today, “buffet chains are making a comeback as dining costs continue to rise in Korea.” The articles continues with interviews of several people describes waiting in long lines to get into buffets.
As COVID nearly ended the rein of buffet restaurants, Koreans are now returning to find value and endless choices at them. The “price gap between single-dish meals and buffet admission has narrowed significantly compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Here’s an earlier post we did about a buffet restaurant in Seoul. And a more recent post on the topic.
Looking for related vocabulary to help you learn Korean? Heres our post on the expression, my mouth is bored (I’m hungry). And our post on eating too much.
One of our favorites dishes. Raw beef mixed with various sprouts (micro greens) and rice. Rice is served in a separate bowl and is poured into the main bowl and mixed with sesame oil and gochujang paste. Bibim means to mix.
Bibimbap is alternately served with minced beef or bulgogi beef.
육회 비빔밥 – (yukhoe bibimbap) raw beef mixed with vegetables and rice
공기밥 – (gongi-bap) single serving bowl of cooked rice
Here’s a few related posts: here, here, and here.
It’s no wonder that Melting Soul is a championship burger maker. Look at how fun this is.
Located in MyeongDong’s Lotte Department Store food court (B1 level), this is a fun an inexpensive burger to try. They offer both a yellow melting cheese and white-ragu melting cheese among other more standard type burgers. Here’s a walk through their full menu.
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As food and drink prices soar, Koreans are cutting back on alcoholic drinks at restaurants. Drinking establishment sales declined 1.7% in Q4 2024, according to the Chosun Daily According to the same article, some restaurants are turning to all-you/can eat/drink options in order to drive business.
Nomihodai (飲み放題) has been a popular option for the all-you-can-drink add-on at Japanese bars, restaurants, and karaoke shops for many years. This allows patrons to consume an unlimited number of drinks, from a special menu, for a fixed priced, and for a fixed amount of time. It’s a cost effective way for consumers to enjoy an evening out.
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