Eel and salmon ochazuke at a Bucheon department store: Haehwagaban

Where is Haehwagaban Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch?

Haehwagaban is a Japanese donburi (rice bowl) restaurant in the basement 1 food court of Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch. It sits inside Bucheon's biggest commercial district, connected along the Sinjungdong Station and Bucheon City Hall Station line, so it's crowded regardless of weekday or weekend.

Lotte Department Store marks the starting point of the main shopping strip in Bucheon's first-generation new town. From here all the way to Hyundai Department Store, restaurants line up one after another. It's already a busy area, and since the food court is the most popular spot inside the department store, once you head down to basement 1...

It's absolutely packed with people.

Going down to basement 1, there are several corners and restaurants. Haehwagaban doesn't have its own dedicated tables — you order at the food court counter, pick up your food, and eat wherever there's a seat. Walk a little away from the elevators and you'll find Haehwagaban.

Looking inside...

A clean, well-kept counter and dining area

As you'd expect from a department store, the open kitchen is kept spotless, so you can eat without worry. From the equipment to the way the food is being cooked, you could feel the hygiene management was solid.

Many customers were ordering from various corners, and the staff working inside cleared tables the moment customers got up, so the space always stayed tidy. That's another perk of eating at a department store.

Haehwagaban menu and how to order

The menu at Haehwagaban ranges from eel donburi ochazuke and salmon donburi ochazuke to shiitake abalone porridge and assorted tempura.

The main event here is the grilled eel donburi ochazuke set. You eat the grilled eel with rice, then finish it off by pouring in green tea broth to make ochazuke — since this was my first time trying ochazuke, I was curious how it was supposed to be eaten. Hui and Mom went for the signature grilled eel donburi set and the salmon donburi ochazuke!

Grilled eel donburi ochazuke set

First up, the eel donburi. Along with the main eel bowl, it comes with a light broth, cabbage, egg custard (gyoku), baek-kimchi (white kimchi), plus puffed rice, seaweed, and chopped scallions to mix into the ochazuke.

Looking at the main eel bowl, a whole grilled eel sits on top with ginger, and underneath is rice layered with flying fish roe and various vegetables. Staff walked us through how to eat it, and it goes like this.

• Eat the eel together with the rice
• Wrap the rice and eel in seaweed — tastes great that way
• Leave a little rice behind, then pour in the tea broth to finish

Since it's a whole eel, it comes out grilled nice and thick. One bite in, the outside is glossy with well-soaked sauce and the inside is softly cooked. The sauce brushed on top tastes good too, giving it a clean, refined feel. Pairing it with ginger cuts through the eel's characteristic richness and makes it even better.

Eel donburi tends to be pretty pricey at specialty Japanese restaurants like hitsumabushi places, so being able to enjoy this at a department store for this price is itself a plus. The eel alone is delicious and it's also great with rice, but wrapping it in seaweed the way they showed us was the best. The combination of the springy eel, rice, and seaweed really works.

Salmon donburi ochazuke

The salmon donburi ochazuke swaps the eel for salmon, and everything else stays the same.

Looking at the salmon donburi, a large salmon steak sits on top of the rice, along with onion, lemon, and flying fish roe.

I tried the flying fish roe, then squeezed lemon over the whole thing of salmon.

The salmon is a well-grilled steak. Seasoned with pepper and grilled just right, the mild, clean flavor that salmon steak is known for really shines. The lemon adds a touch of freshness so you can enjoy it all the way through without feeling greasy.

The way you eat it is the same as with the eel donburi. Piling flying fish roe, salmon, and onion onto seaweed makes it even cleaner to enjoy.

The miso soup served alongside is a mild Japanese-style broth that also has a bit of a Korean ugeojiguk (dried radish green soup) feel to it. It lands somewhere between miso soup and ugeojiguk — a nice thing to sip between bites of rice.

How to eat ochazuke: save some rice for the green tea

Haehwagaban's ochazuke is made by pouring green tea broth over rice. So whether it's eel donburi or salmon donburi, the key is to leave a bit of rice behind.

There's the tea broth, along with puffed rice bits, scallions, and seaweed served together. The green tea broth is given to you at the start, and since it takes time to steep, by the time you finish your rice it's brewed to just the right strength.

Top with the puffed rice, seaweed, and scallions, then pour in the tea broth. Whether it's eel or salmon donburi, the meal is finished off with ochazuke at the end, so the key is to save a little rice for it.

Tasting it, the flavor is distinctive. I wondered whether tea broth and rice would even go together, but...

The warm tea broth and seasoning match perfectly.

I used to eat rice soaked in plain water, but soaking it in tea broth like this is a real treat. It's just salty enough for the Korean palate. Especially the puffed rice bits —

the puffed rice really pulls its weight.

The nutty flavor of the puffed rice and its moist-yet-crunchy texture keeps things interesting all the way to the last bite. After filling up on donburi, finishing with warm broth settles your stomach nicely.

Hui's verdict on Haehwagaban

Thick grilled eel, lean salmon steak, and ochazuke finished with tea broth and puffed rice — being able to have a tidy meal like this while shopping inside a department store is a real plus.

Eel donburi can be pricey at specialty restaurants, but here, thanks to being a department store food court, you can enjoy it at a reasonable price. The open kitchen is kept spotless and tables get cleared constantly, so it feels reassuring hygiene-wise too.

The flavors are mild and clean, making it a great place to stop by while shopping with elderly parents or family. Nothing here is overly strong-tasting, so older family members can enjoy it without any worry. A clean, delicious, properly satisfying meal.

Hui's one-line verdict — clean and delicious flavor

Haehwagaban Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch: hours, parking, address

• Address: 300 Giljul-ro, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, B1 (경기 부천시 원미구 길주로 300 지하 1층)
• Hours: Daily 10:30–20:00 (closed on department store holidays)
• Parking tip: You can use the Lotte Department Store Jungdong parking lot — ask staff to register your car when ordering