2016/08/25
We visited Hanul Poong-Kyoung 처마끝 하늘 풍경 on our first day in Korea as part of our historical/cultural sightseeing day. haha.
All of us wanted to try out a traditional Korean imperial meal (hanjeongsik), you know something you would see in a Korean period drama (picture below) something the royalties would eat.
After some researching, people recommended this place so we are here to try it out!
*our expectations* / photo credits
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Decor
Hanul Poong-Kyoung is located in the inside streets of a neighborhood. The restaurant building itself is a Korean styled house, so it was quite easy to point out.
Since a hanok is constructed from wood, the place felt very warm and homely as well with the greeneries in every corner.
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Food
They put a small rundown of the menu outside the restaurant to give customers a heads up of the choices and prices they offer.
My mom wanted to try the Gujeolpan (platter of nine delicacies)
aka. something like this:
So, instead of the Daegam (Your Excellency) set, our server recommended the Jeongseung (Prime Minister) Set.
(but oh what a disappointment it was... lol)
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Anyways, lets get started!
To start off, we were given a bowl of pumpkin porridge and soup 죽과 물김치.
샐러드 Salad
계절회무침 Seasonal Spciy Raw Fish
탕평재 Tangpyeong-chae (Mung Bean Jelly with Beef and Vegetables)
-sprinkled with shredded seaweed
냉채요리 Cold Dish
생선회 Sashimi
삼합 Fish, Kimchi, Pork (Trio)
Now all the dishes we had so far were simple and fresh. This is a trio of fish, kimchi, and pork. I think you're supposed to eat all three together dipped in the sauce provided. But we just wanted to try everything by itself so we ate them separately.
After my mom and her friend tried a bite of the fish, they kept saying how disgusting and bad it tasted. I didn't believe her because she is very sensitive to smells. Then I took a bit too myself, and oh my, probably the worst thing I have had since the durian ice cream I tried years ago. It smelled funky, tasted like fish soaked in gasoline... like I really don't know what that is, and would definitely avoid it if I ever encounter it again. D:
잡채 Japchae (Potato noodles)
칠절판 Chiljeolpan (Platter of Seven Delicacies)
The long awaited Gujeongpan has arrived!
Hmm, this doesn't quite look like what we imagined... where's the beautiful red octagonal container?
So instead of what they showed in the picture, they only prepared this dish according to the number of people they are serving. aka. JUST enough, four mini pancakes for four people. :L
Well that was disappointing. Since the only reason we decided on the more expensive set meal was this.
The dish itself though, was simple and refreshing, toppings from the top clockwise are shredded crab? meat, cucumber, raddish, pickled vegetable, egg, and carrot.
삼색전 Samsaek Jeon (Three Coloured Pancake)
From left to right : corn, leek, kimchi
새우요리 Shrimp
냉면 Naengmyeon (Cold Noodles)
Naengmyeon hidden under a handful of ice lol.
백김치 White Kimchi
계절탕 Seasonal Soup
새송이구이 Roasted Mushrooms
갈비찜 Galbijjim (short ribs)
흑미삼계탕 Heukmi Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken with Black Rice)
One of the must eat dishes for many who visit Korea. Personally I am not a big fan of ginger or ginseng, so I wasn't keen on the Samgyetang. But the ginseng taste wasn't as strong as I thought it would be, so I quite liked it. ( I don't know if that's supposed to be normal or not. lol)
The chicken is stuffed with black rice and some asian spices? it was flavourful and delicious!
된장찌개 Doenjang-jjigae (Soybean Paste Stew)
간장게장 Ganjang Gejang (Marinated Raw Crabs)
돌솥밥 Stone Pot Rice
Towards the end, we all got a bowl of hot stone rice along with seven side dishes.
The rice is cooked with a selection of beans.
일곱가지찬과 Seven Dishes
These include spinach salad, peanuts, kimchi, beans, dried fish, mushrooms etc.
오미자차 Omija Cha (Magnolia Berry Tea) / 한과 Hangwa (Traditional Korean Confection)
And last but not least, for dessert, we were served the traditional Korean tea Omija Cha. Omija means "five flavours", for the sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and pungency of this type of tea.
Paired with the tea we had the Hangwa. Which actually is just a general term for Korean traditional confections. This particular dessert is called the Yugwa 유과. It is made with glutinous rice flour, deep fried, and topped with puffed rice. The Yugwa was crispy on the outside, but melts in your mouth. Since it's not too sweet, I thought it went really well with the tea.
Verdict
Aside from the fact that the pictures on the menu was a bit misleading, eg. the overall presentation was not what we expected. Since there were so many dishes and not enough space, the food came one after another, instead of all being placed on the table like a real imperial meal one would see in a Korean period drama.
If your intention is to try out all the well known Korean dishes in the least time possible and you don't care much for the presentation, then maybe this is your pick. Otherwise, in my opinion, it was average, There are probably better options somewhere else. :L
Hanul Poong-Kyoung 처마끝 하늘 풍경
+82 2-734-3337
84-11 Gwanhun-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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