Ochazuke set with friends near Sinjungdong Station: Haehwagaban

I was looking around Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch with friends for lunch near Sinjungdong, and we ended up at Haehwagaban, which has a Japanese menu. We each ordered a different ochazuke — eel, salmon, and pollock roe — and shared a little of each. Of the three, the salmon don was the one that suited my taste best.

After trying all three — eel, salmon, and pollock roe — my pick was the salmon don.

Connected to Sinjungdong Station: location and parking

Haehwagaban is on the basement floor of Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch, so we visited together after meeting up with friends near Sinjungdong and scouting places for lunch.

Sinjungdong Station (Line 7) is connected directly to the department store's basement floor, so it's an easy spot to reach by subway. If you drive, parking is free for 1 hour with ₩10,000+ spent, 2 hours with ₩30,000+, and 3 hours with ₩50,000+.

We checked the menu and prices posted at the front of Haehwagaban, and the ordering counter also had a view of the kitchen, so each of us picked what we wanted.

Ochazuke menu and prices

There were three ochazuke options — pollock roe, salmon, and eel — plus cold soba, buckwheat noodles, abalone porridge, and fried items, so there was something for every taste.

• Pollock roe don ochazuke ₩12,000
• Salmon don ochazuke ₩17,000
• Eel don ochazuke ₩19,500
• Lemon cold soba ₩12,000
• Sweet shrimp cold soba ₩17,000
• Sea urchin cold soba ₩18,500

This is what was listed on the menu board.

The grilled eel don ochazuke was separately marked as the store's BEST menu item. We ordered one each of eel, salmon, and pollock roe.

Three friends, three kinds of ochazuke

Each order came as an individual set — rice bowl, soup, side dishes, a pot of tea for pouring, plus seaweed and toppings. Since we each ordered something different, we could share bites of eel, salmon, and pollock roe and compare all three flavors.

The eel don, generously piled with eel

With plenty of eel on top of the rice, along with julienned ginger, seaweed, and sesame seeds, this was the most visually striking of the three.

Scooping up the seasoned eel with the rice and toppings together in one spoonful made for a great combined bite.

For my taste, the salmon don came first

The salmon don came topped with grilled salmon, onion, roe, and chives, so I mixed everything evenly with the rice as I ate.

I tried a little of all three, but personally, the salmon don ochazuke suited my taste the most. I liked the combination of grilled salmon, rice, and various toppings eaten together — if I had to pick just one again, I'd go with the salmon don.

The pollock roe don, mixed with several toppings

The pollock roe don came topped with pollock roe, egg garnish, seaweed, and chives, so I mixed the ingredients evenly before eating with the rice.

This was the lowest-priced of the three, and mixing the pollock roe, egg garnish, and seaweed with the rice brought several ingredients together in a single spoonful.

Eaten as a rice bowl, then finished with tea poured over

With ochazuke, instead of pouring the tea right away, you eat it as a rice bowl first, then leave a bit of rice at the end and pour tea over it to finish. You can also add the seaweed and toppings served separately, so it was a fun twist to be able to enjoy one bowl in two different ways — as a rice bowl and as ochazuke.

We also checked the origin labeling

An origin label was posted on one side of the restaurant. Rice and abalone were listed as domestic, with the abalone from Wando, while the freshwater eel was from China.

My overall take on Haehwagaban

Since the three of us each ordered something different, we got to try eel, salmon, and pollock roe all at once — and my pick was the salmon don, which suited my taste the best of the three. Eating it first as a rice bowl and then finishing with tea poured over at the end was also something memorable about Haehwagaban.

If you're looking for a place to eat with friends near Sinjungdong or want a Japanese menu option at Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch, hope this helps with your menu pick.