Mapo izakaya for six Japanese bar dishes: Hanamato Sangam DMC

Lately, I’ve been vaguely thinking about my Japan trips and craving a little escape from everyday life... I couldn’t exactly fly off to Japan for real, so I visited Hanamato Sangam DMC, a Sangam DMC izakaya with that distinctly Japanese atmosphere.

Even the storefront had such an extraordinary vibe that I was already in a good mood before going in. Isn’t that a look you simply can’t walk past?

Spacious, cozy seating across two floors

Once inside, the place felt spacious and cozy, with such a nice atmosphere. Both the first and second floors are in use, so there are plenty of seats. The upstairs seating is all sofa-style and partitioned off, which made it feel even cozier.

But wait—up on the second floor, there was the cutest tiny puppy in the world...! Tori-yaki was sleeping so soundly, like a stuffed animal, that I thought I might faint from how adorable it was. Maybe the pup had played hard during the day, because the sleep was seriously deep—and the name Tori-yaki? Too cute.

A varied menu, from sets to yakitori

Looking through the menu, I was amazed by just how many choices there were. From generously composed set menus and signature dishes to oden, yakitori grills, braises, fried dishes, and sides, they really had everything.

Overall, the prices were reasonable and easy on the wallet, making it great for sampling lots of things. The problem was that it made us order way too much, haha. I just couldn’t resist!

There were so many skewer options too, and every single one looked incredibly tempting.

They also had a well-stocked lineup of alcoholic drinks and beverages.

There were lots of drinks I was curious about, but since I’m a lightweight, I passed...

• Pollock roe cheese potatoes ₩10,000
• Ebi fry (5 pieces) ₩8,000
• Mackerel sashimi ₩21,000
• Chicken and scallion skewers (2) ₩5,000
• Wagyu tataki ₩15,000
• Dango ₩7,000
• Sangaria Melon Soda ₩5,000
• Total ₩71,000

Once you sit down, they serve tiny shrimp crackers as the basic snack. They’re crispy with a subtle savory depth that makes you keep reaching for more.

We really ordered a lot. But this wasn’t even all of it...

Freshly fried ebi fry and my favorite pollock roe cheese potatoes

Ebi fry, 5 pieces, ₩8,000

The first thing to arrive was piping-hot, freshly fried ebi fry. It was the textbook crisp-outside, juicy-inside kind: one bite filled my mouth with nuttiness and tenderness.

The shrimp itself was plump and substantial, so this was proper shrimp tempura! I already love fried shrimp, but this one was especially delicious... It comes with mayonnaise, and dipping it generously makes it even nuttier and creamier. Even though it’s fried, it wasn’t greasy at all, so it went down so easily.

Pollock roe cheese potatoes, ₩10,000

On a very personal note, these pollock roe cheese potatoes were my favorite dish of the visit... Thin potato slices arrived piled high like a waterfall with salty pollock roe mayo and cheese, and the look alone was perfect. The potatoes, cooked almost like they had been fried after soaking up the oil, the savory-salty umami of the roe, and the rich cheese made this combination hit every one of my preferences.

I felt like everyone needed their own serving of pollock roe potatoes. If you love rich, creamy, nutty things, I totally recommend it. It’s seriously a dopamine-burst kind of flavor.

Clean-tasting mackerel sashimi and wagyu tataki

Mackerel sashimi, ₩21,000

I usually love mackerel pressed sushi, so I ordered this mackerel sashimi (shime saba, cured mackerel) with high expectations. I’m sensitive to fishiness, but there was no fishy smell at all—just the mackerel’s deep, distinctive umami.

I also loved the soft texture that gently melted away, and it was so fresh that I was really satisfied. I hadn’t had mackerel sashimi often, but it was so appealing... It wasn’t too heavy either, so I think it makes a great light bar snack.

Wagyu tataki, ₩15,000

The wagyu tataki was chosen by my beef-loving friend! With only the outside lightly seared, it retained the beef’s natural quality: clean-tasting on the outside and moist within. It was tender, with a deeper beef aroma the more you chewed, making it a wholesome bar dish that was clean and easy to enjoy.

Chicken and scallion skewers, 2 skewers, ₩5,000

These chicken-and-scallion skewers are the yakitori dish you can’t leave out at an izakaya. Tender chicken thigh lightly perfumed with charcoal, paired with well-grilled scallions, was fragrant without being greasy. The salty seasoning and fire-kissed aroma worked beautifully together.

We cleaned every last bit off the plates, but that wasn’t the end~

Finishing with Melon Soda and dango

Sangaria Melon Soda, ₩5,000

I ordered Sangaria Melon Soda out of curiosity, and its refreshing yet unusual flavor was charming. It wasn’t overly sweet, but it had faint notes of the popular Korean Melona ice cream and real melon flesh. The bubbly yet soft carbonation seemed perfect alongside fried or grilled dishes.

Dango, ₩7,000

The dango (Japanese rice dumplings) we had for dessert felt slightly Koreanized. Rather than the dango I had eaten in Japan, it was closer to garaetteok, grilled Korean cylinder-shaped rice cakes. It was nicely browned, crisp outside and chewy and springy inside, with such a wonderful rice-cake texture. A shallow pool of sweet brown-sugar-like syrup made it the perfect sweet palate cleanser after the meal.

Chewy grilled garaetteok with a sweet sauce can never taste bad... The portion was quite generous too, and it was sweet—just right for a final palate cleanser.

Somehow, because everything was delicious, we ended up ordering far too much—but every dish was genuinely good. The prices are reasonable overall, so it seems like a great place to try a variety of things.