Shinsa Garden: Ulsan’s Secret Garden
Words and Photos by Melissa Lang Hip and refreshing. Those are sentiments that come over you when you step inside the Sinsa Garden restaurant. It feels like a little dining oasis tucked within a quiet side street. Since it has opened 3 months ago. The fresh interior of Sinsa Garden has a modern but natural aesthetic. The organic look and feel is unlike any restaurant that I’ve come across in Ulsan during the 2 and half years been here....
Read More
A Purrfect Cafe in Ulsan
By Melissa Lang They say dogs are a man’s best friends, but this hidden gem of a cafe argues otherwise. Last weekend a teacher from my school took me to her favourite cafe with complimentary sea front view, and a dozen beautiful cats rescued from the streets by compassionate owner, Heung Ho Yeong. Called Cafe “Haemil”, it means the clear sky that has emerged after a rainstorm, the beauty following the chaos. The name was a poignant metaphor reflecting the...
Read More
**CLOSED** Flapjack Pantry
ALL LOCATIONS ACROSS ULSAN ARE NOW CLOSED. Ulsan has been getting a lot of great restaurants over the past few years but one area that seems to be lacking is the brunch-style restaurants. While these restaurants have been popular for years in Seoul, they have yet to trickle down this way. While there are “brunch cafes” most have no idea what a good brunch is besides including an egg and some premixed salads from Costco covered with balsamic dressing....
Read More
Bombay Brau
Recently there was a lot of discussion on our Facebook page about Bombay Bau, an upscale Indian bistro and brewpub in Samsandong. Located across the street from the Up Square Mall and right above the Starbucks, Bombay Brau certainly has a great location. I decided to check out the place to see what all the talk was about and to find out for myself if the rumours were true. The main reason to come here would be if you are...
Read More**CLOSED** Tool Box Revisited
We don’t often go back to the same restaurant to review it again (old review here) but when I heard that a great restaurant was about to close it’s doors for good, I had to jump into action. Good restaurants like Toolbox don’t come around that often and when they do, we have to do our best to make sure they stick around. We have a great thing going in Ulsan and I certainly don’t want to see a...
Read MoreBongchu Jjimdak
We tend to review a lot of foreign restaurants here, as Korean food is pretty easy to find, and the majority of restaurants sell pretty decent nosh. Every once in a while, however, we review a Korean place that stands out from the crowd, or serves something just a little different than every other bar-be-que place. Just across the side street from the Lotte Hotel is one of these little jems. Bongchu Jjimdak is a small restaurant with clean,...
Read MoreCafe Melrose
Su Eun Go’s bakery made waves in Ulsan for having the best pie in Ulsan. Now she has moved to Ok-dong and has rebranded her bakery as “Cafe Melrose” Located near the East gate of Ulsan Grand Park, Cafe Melrose is perfect place to start a picnic in the park. If you are like me, then you don’t care how pretty a cafe or pie looks, just as long as to tastes great. Cafe Melrose serves up some great...
Read MoreMicrobrewery – Jango
By Robert Landon, May 18th, 2014 Who’da thunk it? All of a sudden there’s real beer in Ulsan! The latest addition to the list of watering holes is in Seongnam-Dong. Jango Micro-brewery – just across the street (Jungang Gil, 중앙길) from Sarojin or Tool Box – depending on your point of reference – and up the stairs on the 2nd level. It’s a bright, airy place, with exposed brick and wood décor, and a relaxed, modern,...
Read MoreActual Chinese – Gugugu
As far as I know, this is the only authentic Chinese restaurant in Ulsan. No jjajangmyeon or kimchi, it’s the real thing. There are some other lamb skewer places around and small restaurants, but here you have a big selection and no apparent attempt to Koreanify the food. If you know Chinese food at all, you know that there is huge regional variety and the very term ‘Chinese food’ is kind of useless. This restaurant offers dishes from all...
Read More北京(북경)양꼬치: Beijing Lamb Skewers
Lamb Skewers and Authentic Chinese food in Seongnamdong. “If you want jjajangmyeon, get out.” So it turns out there’s a restaurant that serves traditional northern Chinese food in Ulsan. It’s apparently been around for years. On my way back home, I was taking a side road when I saw this place and decided that I just had to stop by. I only know of a few authentically Chinese restaurants in Ulsan – most are more typically Korean-ized Chinese...
Read More