Hapjeong seafood rice bowl restaurant, no raw fish: Makise Hapjeong

I had somewhere to be around Hongdae this weekend, so while looking for a lunch spot I found a great kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) place near Hongdae called Makise, a Japanese restaurant specializing in kaisendon. The vintage vibe of the space was great, and the quality of the salmon and soy-marinated shrimp, plus the huge ebi don, all left me satisfied. Highly recommend a visit — let's get into the review~

Where is Makise Hapjeong, and where do you park?

Makise Hapjeong, this great kaisendon spot near Hongdae, sits near the Hapjeong-dong community center. I drove over and parked at a shared public lot nearby. If you look around you'll find one~

The exterior of Makise has a modern feel. Being a Japanese food specialist, it somehow gives off the vibe of a street in Tokyo.

Weekend lunch wait time and the mood inside Makise Hapjeong

Makise is popular enough near Hongdae to have an actual waiting list for kaisendon. When we arrived we just barely managed to grab a seat by the entrance.

Makise near Hongdae is famous for its make-your-own sushi style, where you build your own sushi from the kaisendon toppings. I knew right away I had to order that.

The place isn't huge, but it's not tiny either — the size feels just right. And with an open kitchen, you can trust the cleanliness.

The interior isn't overly styled either — it's got that modern, effortlessly cool Japanese look. I think younger folks would really like it.

They also sell Japanese sake, but since we came for lunch, obviously no drinking haha.

How do you eat kaisendon the right way?

Makise Hapjeong has a guide posted on how to enjoy kaisendon properly. Like making sushi, you place fish on top of rice and finish it off with wasabi. The illustration was so cute haha. Apparently kaisendon originated in Hokkaido, Japan. Just something to note~

What to order at Makise Hapjeong if you can't eat raw fish

We ordered the ebi sake-don and the ebi katsudon. My wife isn't great with raw fish, so I was wondering what she'd have — thankfully the ebi katsudon was on the menu.

There were pickled radish-like pickles on the table that you could refill as much as you wanted. These pickles weren't overly sour and were actually really tasty — I ended up eating more than expected. We don't really have pickles like this in Korea; it's a real Japanese-style touch.

Our order arrived at Makise, the great kaisendon spot near Hongdae. A miso-style broth comes included as standard.

Ebi katsudon: just how big is the fried shrimp?

The portion on the ebi katsudon in particular was really huge. I figured the shrimp would end up small, but I had no idea it would be this big. My wife ordered it, and honestly I was a little jealous I hadn't.

The ebi katsudon has a big fried shrimp topped with egg, and the rice underneath is topped with an onion sauce.

My wife ate it happily too. This ebi katsudon nails both crispiness and portion size at once. Next time I come back, I'm definitely trying it myself :)

Building 10 salmon sushi pieces from the ebi sake-don

The ebi sake-don lets you eat salmon and soy-marinated shrimp together. Eating just one topping alone can get boring, but having both together is great.

The salmon and soy shrimp looked plump and fresh — there was no way this wasn't going to taste good.

Following the recipe, I placed salmon and wasabi on top of rice and ate it like sushi. The salmon slices were so thick they filled my mouth more than regular sushi does. The rice is seasoned like sushi rice too, which makes it even tastier~

The soy-marinated shrimp was plump and paired well with the rice too. In the end I made and ate 10 pieces of sushi, and since everything was so generously sized with plenty of rice, it was quite filling.

Final verdict: who should visit Makise Hapjeong?

We finished the meal off with a candy for a clean palate cleanser. Neat right to the end :) Makise near Hongdae has the modern, unassuming look of a typical Japanese restaurant, but the quality of the hand-built kaisendon sushi was great and the ebi katsudon is quite the portion. I think it'd make a great date spot for couples who love Japanese food. Give it a try~~