Ido Gomtang • 이도곰탕 계동 직영점

Ido Gomtang (이도곰탕 계동 직영점) is a Korean restaurant that specializes in Korean beef soup (한우곰탕). If you’re not familiar with this particular Korean dish, gomtang (곰탕)—or beef bone soup—is a Korean hearty soup made by slowly simmering various beef parts on a low flame. The result is clear beef broth with a rich and hearty taste and served with thinly sliced beef and rice. Gomtang is commonly eaten with kimchi and kkakdugi (깍두기 or cubed radish kimchi).

The secret recipe that Ido Gomtang uses is supposedly made by a Doctor of Oriental Medicine who was the 18th grandchild of King Sejong and has been passed on through three generations (at least that’s what’s written on the ‘About Page’ of the restaurant on Naver). As a result, the soup of their signature Hanwoo Gomtang (한우 곰탕) is a clean and rich broth with deep flavors.

Located 175 meters away from the famous Cafe Onion Anguk, Ido Gomtang’s entrance is quite hidden from the main Gye-dong street. But after you turn left on the alleyway where it’s located, you’ll immediately see the entrance to the restaurant in front of you (see the last photo of this post).

The interior of the restaurant is pretty simple and modern. The kind of place that office workers frequent for a quick, no frills, healthy lunch where they can just come, get their food quickly and go back to their busy day. And I’ve actually encountered many people from this certain group during the multiple times I was there. 

Their menu is pretty straight forward too. There are only 3 items on the board:

1. Gomtang (곰탕) :  Thinly sliced beef served in clear beef broth with chopped onions.
   Regular Gomtang with Rice (곰탕) ₩13,000
   Large Gomtang with Rice (특곰탕) ₩16,000
   Regular Gomtang with Rice Noodles (쌀면곰탕) ₩13,000
   Large Gomtang with Rice Noodles (특쌀면곰탕) ₩16,000
   

2. Beef Suyuk (수육) ₩49,000 — Thin boiled beef slices served with mushrooms, chives, and Napa cabbage in a pot of broth. Served with a side of the Spicy Raw Pollack Salad (명태회무침).

3. Spicy Raw Pollack Salad (명태회무침) ₩9,000

*There has been a ₩1,000 increase in price for each menu since I took the photo below.

Gomtang (곰탕) ₩13,000 | 9/10

The menu that I always order is the regular gomtang. The regular portion is pretty generous and enough to fill my stomach for one meal. The broth of the gomtang is light yet savory with that deep beef flavor you get from boiling beef for a long period of time. It’s very comforting with subtle hints of the chopped onions mixed in the soup. 

Unlike seolleongtang (설렁탕 Korean Ox Bone Soup) which you have to seasoned the soup yourself before eating it, gomtang’s soup is already seasoned when served. It’s more like galbitang (갈비탕 Beef Short Ribs Soup) but without the hassle of taking the meat off of the bones. And Ido Gomtang’s soup is always nicely seasoned and served pipping hot with soft and tender sliced meat and well-cooked rice. They also provide you with dipping sauce and wasabi on the side for you to dip your meat into (and yes, you should dip it if you want to add another layer of flavor into the dish).

Also, a little bit of disclaimer, if you came from Southeast Asian countries, the flavor of gomtang might not be as strong or bold as soups in your country since Southeast Asian food tend to have bolder seasoning and flavor profile in my opinion.

Their kimchi and kkakdugi are also really good. They are on the spicier side for my personal taste, but the flavors are wonderful and they give a nice acidity to the bite when eaten with the gomtang.

Ido Gomtang Gyedong is probably one of the restaurant I visit quite often every time I’m in Seoul. Due to its location, I usually ended up frequenting this place when I have to meet up with family or friends who are visiting Seoul for the first time since it’s close to Anguk Station (안국역) and Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을, a popular tourist spot for first-time visitors in Seoul). This restaurant has also become one of my go to place every time anybody ask me for a restaurant recommendation around Bukchon Hanok Village. And pretty much everybody—both adults and kids—who I’ve taken or recommended this place to said they like the gomtang. If you go with a big group, I would also recommend the suyuk since it’s also delicious.

If you’re looking for a simple, hearty and comforting meal around Anguk Station, Cafe Onion Anguk or Bukchon Hanok Village, I would definitely recommend you to check this place out. 

 

Ido Gomtang (이도곰탕 계동 직영점)

Address: 서울 종로구 계동길 33-8
Telephone: 02-762-0524
Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-22:00 | Sat & Sun 10:00-21:00

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Tam Tam • 북촌 탐탐

Tam Tam (탐탐) is small dessert shop near Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) neighborhood that specializes in handmade Korean desserts that are made daily using fresh ingredients. Their menu ranges from their best-selling rice cake, ice cream, cream pancake and lattes with traditional Korean flavors.

I visited this cafe during my last Seoul trip in May, four months after its opening. I was browsing for new places to try around Bukchon Hanok Village area and stumbled across this cafe’s listing and their interesting menu. If you don’t know already, I am a big fan of all things black sesame. And so when I saw that they have Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball Latte on the menu, that became the sole reason for me to go visit this cafe.

Other than two other patrons in the cafe occupying one of the table on the first floor, me and my friend were the only ones there when we visited the place around 5:30 pm on a Monday. The weather was nice that day and they had the glass windows opened. So we opted to seat at one of the table on the first floor that’s perfect for people watching (or for people watching us too I guess since we’re right by the side of the street). 

Despite occupying a two-story building, the cafe is actually pretty small. There are three tables on the first floor and four tables on the second floor that accommodate seven people and twelve people respectively. The space is definitely pretty tight in-between tables, but I guess on the upside, if you come here during colder days, it’ll be warm and cozy.

Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball Latte (흑임자 경단 라떼) ₩6,000 | 9/10

Black sesame latte served with rice cake ball with red bean paste filling.

Of course the first thing I ordered was the one thing I wanted to try since I first saw their menu online, the Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball Latte. This drink was really good. The ground black sesame flavor was light and not too overwhelming, making the drink a little bit on the milkier side. On top of the black sesame latte was sweet and salty cream which paired really well with the latte. 

The rice cake balls on the skewers were soft and chewy. They were covered in ground black sesame seed and there’s actually red bean paste filling inside the rice cake balls. The filling wasn’t too sweet either and the amount was just right to compliment the rice cake. Overall, I really enjoyed both the latte and the rice cake balls. 

We also ordered the top three best sellers of their rice cake ball to try—the Black Sesame, Yakwa, and Dried Persimmon. Overall their rice cake balls were really good. The texture was nice and chewy (also, a little bit of a disclaimer if you never had rice cake before, the texture is not as soft as and different from mochi’s texture). It’s not too soft, but not too tough either. They had just the right amount of chewiness making eating these enjoyable. And everything we had was not too sweet with a hint of saltiness to the flavors.

Black Sesame Rice Cake Ball (흑임자) ₩3,500 | 9/10

Black Sesame Mousse & Fried Sesame Seeds
흑임자무스, 볶은통깨

The black sesame rice cake ball has black sesame filling and it had a nice earthy, nutty flavors. Since I’m a sucker for black sesame, I enjoyed this one the most.

Yakwa Rice Cake Ball (약과) ₩3,500 | 8/10

Sweet Rice Honey Yakgwa & Ricotta
찹쌀꿀약과, 리코타

The yakwa (a traditional Korean sweet pastry that is made with ginger and honey) was pretty good as well. The filling kind of reminded me of sweet potato for some reason. 

Dried Persimmon Rice Cake Ball (곶감) ₩3,500 | 5/10

Dried Persimmon, Mascarpone, Natural Honey
곶, 마스카포네, 천연꿀

This one was just okay for me. The rice cake ball was good but I didn’t really enjoy the filling (might also be because I’m just not too into dried persimmon in general). But it was definitely interesting and reminded me of Korean flavors.  

Other than the ones that we ordered, they also have other interesting menus such as Truffle Rice Cake Ball, Basil Rice Cake Ball, Citron Red Bean Paste Rice Cake Ball, Mugwort Rice Cake Ball Latte (쑥 경단라떼), Sikhye Bingsu (식혜빙수), and Egg Cream Espresso (에그 크림프레소). If you’re visiting or exploring Bukchon Hanok Village and want to have some great Korean traditional rice cakes (or Black Sesame Latte) instead of regular bread and pastries, would definitely recommend this place to try. 

 

Tam Tam (카페 탐탐)

Address: 서울 종로구 계동길 82 흰색건물
Telephone: 0507-1304-9165
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00-20:00 | Sat & Sun 11:00-21:30

Instagram: @tamtam_seoul

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KT Pre-Paid Sim & Wifi Rental at Incheon Airport T2

There are a couple of places that sell pre-paid SIM card and Wifi rental at Seoul Incheon International Airport. All of them offers similar products and packages but I’ve been using KT since the time I was living in Korea, never had a problem with it and works well every time so it just stuck with me until now. 

There are three locations at Incheon International Airport, 2 locations at Terminal 1 arrival hall and 1 location at Terminal 2 arrival hall. (See map below for the exact locations and operational hours) 

Source: KT Website

Most of my flights usually arrived at Terminal 2 so the following pictures are from the KT counter at Incheon Airport Terminal 2 arrival hall (1F), between exit 4 and 5. 

First thing you want to do is get a waiting ticket from the machine. Select the red ‘SIM • WIFI’ button on top and the machine will print out a ticket with your queue number on it. If there’s no line, usually the staff will call you right away. But if there’s a line, you can track the queue number on the screen behind the counter. Sometimes the staff call out the numbers in Korean which can be confusing if you don’t speak Korean, so the screen does help with that too. The staff do speak English so communication shouldn’t be an issue. Things that they’ll need from you for making a purchase are your passport and your credit card/cash for payment. 

For the Data Packages, there are 8 options available to choose from, depending on the validity of the Sim Card. 

For the Wifi Router rental, there are only 2 options available at the counter (although there are 4 options available via online reservation). Wifi Router rental might be a better option if you are traveling in a group and the group for sure will stay together all the time. But if you’re not going to stay together all the time, then the sim card option might be a better option for flexibility, just in case people in your group need to split to go to different places. Plus with Sim Card, you can top up the call/text plan which comes pretty handy for ordering Kakao Taxi through the app or for restaurant/cafe reservations (most places in Seoul now have the queue machine where you can put your phone number and it’ll give you a text notification when your table is ready so you don’t have to wait around at the restaurant). 

I usually just buy the sim card because it’s more convenient, I don’t have to bring around yet another extra gadget in my bag and I don’t have to return it before I fly out. Since I usually stay for a month during my trip, I usually get the 30 Days Data Plan (₩71,500) with the additional ₩5,500 Call/SMS top up (see the pink boxes on the picture below). If you ran out of balance and want to top up or extend your plan, you can conveniently do it online on their website, sparing you the hassle to have to come back to the airport.

If you want to save some money, there’s a 10% discount if you reserve your Sim Card (and Wifi Router) online. They have more options for the packages too that’s not available at the counter as well as eSim option if you choose to get one.

After you make your purchase, they’ll give you the Sim Card in a small plastic pouch with a Sim eject tool included. You just have to switch the sim card with the one that you have on your phone, restart your phone and everything should works (but just in case it doesn’t, I would recommend you to test the sim card before you leave the airport just to be safe). And with that you’re set to go. 

Seoul Angmusae Yongsan • 서울앵무새 용산점

Seoul Angmusae Yongsan (서울앵무새 용산점) is a bakery cafe that’s well-known for their wide selections of colorful sweet and savory baked goods and desserts. They had their grand opening in May 26, 2023 two years after their first Seongsu flagship location that was opened in March 21, 2021. The Yongsan location is definitely bigger than their flagship location, seeing how it occupies the first three floors of a five-story building in the middle of Yongnidangil (용리단길), one of the more recent up and coming areas in Seoul that is filled with new cafes and restaurants. The orange facade with colorful illustrations of their parrot mascot (Angmusae means parrots in Korean) definitely attract attention and make passerby’s heads turn. One of the reason contributing to their popularity (I believe) is because their visually pleasing desserts Instagram Reels went viral and were shared over and over on social media (as I’m writing this post one of their Reels has an impressive 91.5 million views).

The first floor of the cafe is where the bakery is. You walk in, get a tray and a tongs and start walking towards the display area to pick your choice. It’s hard to make one I tell you since the choices are pretty overwhelming. From savory buns to sweet desserts, you have plenty of things to choose from. This is also where you place your drinks order where you can pick it up on the second floor. 

The second and third floor are where all the seatings are. The place is pretty big with plenty of tables and chairs available. The interior is filled with eclectic modern furnitures and colorful, vibrant decorations, giving a trendy contemporary energy to the space. One side of the room is covered with folding windows that were fully opened since it was a cloudy summer day and the weather wasn’t too hot when I was visiting. The tables next to the opened windows are a perfect for people watching since you got the view of the street below. 

Black Sesame Latte 흑임자 라떼 ₩7,000 | 6.5/10

I ordered this not knowing they put coffee with the latte. Since I’m not a coffee drinker and the coffee in this drink was pretty strong, it tasted just okay to me. The black sesame was (I believe) in the cream/froth part on top which was served with cacao powder sprinkled in shape of Seoul Angmusae’s mascot. I asked if they could make the Black Sesame Latte without coffee and they said they can’t. Too bad. 

Chicken Basil Soft Bun 치킨바질소프트번 ₩8,500 | 8/10

Chicken, Cranberries, Basil Pesto, and Sweet Sun-Dried Tomatoes.
치킨과 크랜베리, 바질페스토와 쫄깃하고 달콤한 썬드라이 토마토의 상큼함이 조화를 이루는 맛.

The Chicken Basil Soft Bun was pretty good. There’s a good balance between the savoriness from the basil pesto and the sweetness form the cranberries and sun-dried tomatoes. It was a pretty satisfying flavorful bite. 

Smoke Duck White Bun 훈제오리화이트번 ₩7,500 | 7/10

Smoked Duck, Pickled Onions, Lettuce and Honey Mustard.
훈제 오리와 절인 양파의 상큼함과, 허니 머스타드의 달달함이 조화를 이루는 맛.

The Smoke Duck White Bun was more on the savory side. They nailed the smokiness of the duck meat, the texture is not tough but it’s a bit dry for my personal preference. So did the bun for that matter. It was a bit dry on the outside but fortunately the inside is pretty soft. The honey mustard sauce was pretty good and it paired well with the duck. It was an okay dish for me.

Also, I do wish all the buns were warmer (since they put everything out on display, everything was lukewarm).

Angmusae Egg Madeleine Vanilla & Lemon ₩4,800 each | 7/10

Bought the Vanilla and Lemon Angmusae Egg Madeleine to go and the packaging is pretty cute. Taste wise, they’re a little bit on the dry side for me, but flavors were pretty good and not too sweet.

I went to the third floor to see what the place looks like and it’s pretty much giving similar vibes to the second floor. The difference is probably there’s only one sofa (instead of three) on this floor but there are more chairs and tables available.

The music playing in this cafe when I was there was the Top 100 Pop Hits playlist and almost all the English pop songs that were playing I actually recognized or familiar with. Noise level was medium to high I’d say, depending on how busy the place is. With how big the cafe is and the wide variety of menu that they have, I think this is a good place to hang out at.

 

Seoul Angmusae Yongsan • 서울앵무새 용산점

Address: 서울 용산구 한강대로62길 55 1, 2, 3층
Telephone: 0507-1350-4710
Hours: Everyday 08:00-23:00

Instagram: @seoul_angmusae

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Teddy Beurre House • 테디뵈르하우스 용산점

Teddy Beurre House (테디뵈르하우스) is a European-style bakery that offers a wide variety of delicious baked goods from the classic French pastries to more unique ones like their pistachio kouign-amann and krungji (a croissant nurungji—Korean scorched rice).

The cafe is located at Yongnidan-gil (용리단길), an up-and-coming neighborhood near Yongsan Station and was one of the first cafe that opened around that area before it gotten more crowded with newer cafes these days. 

The interior of the cafe is based on the cafe’s name itself, Teddy Beurre—or Teddy Bear—where you can find a number of teddy bear stuffed animals, paintings and other teddy bear related decorations inside the cafe. There are about 30 to 35 seatings inside and the place was pretty packed when I went to visit during midday on a Tuesday with my friend. But luckily, there was no line (there usually is, especially during the weekends) and we got a table right away.

After browsing their extensive pastry selections, I ended up picking up their number 1 best seller, the Beurre Croissant (₩5,000), the Corn & Egg (₩5,800) and another one of their best seller, the Pistachio Kouign-Amann (₩6,300). For the drink I ordered their Ice Pistachio Cream Milk (₩7,500).

Also, this cafe has the one drink per person rule, so even if you’re buying pastries, you’d still have to order one drink per person if you’re dining in.

Beurre Croissant (₩5,000) | 8.5/10

Crispy, flaky, buttery croissant. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. They did the basic right. 

Corn & Egg (₩5,800) | 8.5/10

Crispy, flaky, buttery croissant and then add over hard egg and corn in the middle. This is the perfect breakfast option for me. I liked it. 

Pistachio Kouign-Amann (₩6,300) | 8/10

First off, the shape is pretty interesting for a kouign-amann. Definitely not the shape that I’m used to. The pistachio tasted wonderful. It’s nutty and not too sweet. The texture of the kouign-amann was not as crunchy as I thought it’d be (especially after eating the croissant). Probably because I didn’t heat it up before eating it (they do provide small ovens to heat up the pastries). But overall, I still think this was pretty good.

Ice Pistachio Cream Milk (₩7,500) | 9.5/10

This is one of their signature menu (at least the latte is) and the drink is basically consisted of milk topped with thick pistachio cream and crushed pistachio. The cream is nutty, sweet with a hint of saltiness to it. And the texture is just right, making it easy to sip the cream along with the milk. It’s also good to have it with their croissant. I really enjoyed this drink and would definitely order this again when I go back.

Also, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see this under the non-coffee menu because if you’re not a coffee drinker like me, you know how challenging it is to find a good non-coffee option other than the basic tea, milk tea and hot chocolate (although Seoul cafes definitely has more good non-coffee option alternative than other countries in my opinion).

If you’re looking for a good pastries or a unique good non-coffee option, Teddy Beurre House is definitely worth checking out. From the time I spent there during my visit, seeing the amount of people that came to dine-in and did take-away, it’s obvious that the place is pretty popular amongst the locals. The bakery has also gained popularity amongst the tourists too lately so expect the place to be busy when you want to come to visit.

 

Teddy Beurre House • 테디뵈르하우스 용산점

Address: 서울 용산구 한강대로40가길 42 1층
Telephone: 0507-1379-8667
Hours: Monday - Friday 11:00-22:00 | Saturday & Sunday 10:00-22:00

Instagram: @teddy.beurre.house

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