Izakaya a 10-minute walk from Yongsan Station: shomaek, Hatpiendo

My day trip to Seoul with Newha still wasn't over. Woke up at 6:30am, took the train up, and didn't get back to Gwangju until after midnight — but honestly, it couldn't have been more packed and worth it!

I've got one more Seoul trip coming up, and I'm already happily agonizing over how to make the most of it. My final stop of the day was Hatpiendo, an izakaya on Yongridan-gil, conveniently close to Yongsan Station.

Where is Hatpiendo? Yongridan-gil, up the stairs above a convenience store

Hatpiendo is an izakaya on Yongridan-gil in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, located on the second floor above a convenience store at 12 Hangang-daero 54-gil. It's a 10-minute walk from Yongsan Station, which made it perfect for my Seoul day trip route.

Honestly the location — second floor of a convenience store — didn't scream 'great izakaya' at first, and I wondered if this was really the place. But who cares about the entrance? Just take the side stairs from the convenience store's first floor and...

...you'll find a charming little izakaya that feels like you've stepped into Japan, packed to the brim and clearly a hot spot on Yongridan-gil. Every table was full, the bar seats too — buzzing!

Since the weather had finally warmed up, we grabbed a park-view(?) table by the window >_< Drink here, order here, all good.

Hatpiendo's menu and the one-drink-per-person rule

Hatpiendo's menu is available via the QR code printed on each table. The aged sashimi and sake set is discounted from ₩14,000 up to ₩29,000, and there's even a well-rounded distilled spirits set >_<

Main menu items include aged sashimi, old kimchi sashimi salt kimbap, Korean beef yukhoe (raw beef), monkfish liver bomb salt kimbap, dongpo pork belly, and more. They recommended the beef yukhoe that day, but as a die-hard sashimi fan, I made an instant U-turn.

With risotto, pasta, and hearty sides too, Hatpiendo absorbs both Japanese and Western food into its menu. Just a heads up — if you're ordering sides only, you'll need to pick at least two.

No soju or bottled beer here, so don't even worry about that. Instead, there's a strict one-drink-per-person rule, with highball, Kirin draft beer, and their crowd favorite, shomaek. Shomaek is a Japanese-style beer-soju combo made with Daiyame Japanese soju mixed with Kirin draft, giving it a rich aroma and a satisfying kick.

So right after ordering, the shomaek arrived! Guys, one sip and my eyes shot wide open +_+ The flavor punch is incredible, and mixed with Kirin draft it's seriously electric. I even started wanting to buy a bottle of Daiyame Japanese soju for myself ♥

Aged-kimchi sashimi salt gimbap, 33,000 won

A new menu item at this Yongridan-gil izakaya, topped with an array of textures from seasonal sashimi — old kimchi salt kimbap. On top were salmon, flounder, and sweet shrimp, making it a two-birds-one-stone dish that fills you up with both carbs and protein.

First thing I grabbed was the sweet shrimp. It was almost like it had been dusted with sugar — sweet, with that signature bouncy texture. Wow, instant sashimi respect!

The kimbap (seaweed rice roll) was packed tightly with old kimchi and seasoned just right — the combo with the sweet shrimp was really interesting too.

Next, the shockingly delicious flounder. Because it's aged, it was super chewy with the fat drained out, leaving this clean, refined flavor that was genuinely moving. I'd been debating whether to also order sashimi, but the new menu item alone was more than enough. Wow...

This place really nails their sashimi ♥ I'm more of an aged-fish person than a live-fish person, and the slices here are cut really thick, which brings out the texture beautifully — so, so good. Can you tell how thick the salmon is too? It just melts in your mouth >_<

The sashimi was so good I just kept eating it on its own, then had the kimbap separately — and the kimbap by itself was absolutely delicious too ♥ Between the monkfish liver and the salt kimbap, you really can't go wrong.

Abalone innards pasta, 23,000 won: more spicy than briny

Still feeling a little unsatisfied, we ordered the abalone innards pasta. It's built on a geou (abalone gonad/innards) sauce base with chewy abalone pieces mixed in — spicier than expected.

The abalone geou sauce flavor was a bit underwhelming, but the spiciness that hit right after made me involuntarily suck in air. It also cuts through the oiliness — and honestly, it's a bit spicier than Shin Ramyun?!

The chewy abalone chemistry works well overall, but if you're expecting a full-on geou flavor, you might be a little disappointed. Still, it's not bad — keep eating it and it grows on you.

Feeling a little unsatisfied mid-meal, I ordered one more shomaek! Maybe because the pasta was spicy, I found myself irresistibly drawn (?) to sip it down before catching my train. That shomaek was seriously refreshing and delicious!

And that's how my Seoul day trip route wrapped up — a super packed and satisfying itinerary.