Hapjeong Thai family meal: Set A plus basil pork rice, Saeng Augustine

This is a story about Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch (생어거스틴 합정점), a Hapjeong Station favorite with exotic flavors and a stylish vibe that never lets you down. I love Thai food and eat it regularly, and this time I went to a place that's easy to reach, has convenient parking, and is popular as both an office-worker lunch hotspot and a company dinner venue.

Where is Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch, and how is parking?

Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch is at 45 Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Mecenatpolis B1, Unit B1118, 232m from Exit 9 of Hapjeong Station (Lines 2 and 6). It is open daily 11:30-22:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00 and last order at 21:20.

Inside Mecenatpolis, it connects directly to the subway station, so it was really easy to get to by public transport. If you drive, you can use the large car park in the building, so you can eat at leisure without parking stress.

Exterior and interior atmosphere

The exterior feels modern. A beer event and best-selling menu items are posted outside, so I checked them before going in.

The interior is cozy and felt friendly. The tables are wide, so the meal is comfortable. It seemed fine for a nearby office lunch or a company dinner too.

What did we order at Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch?

I added just the basil pork rice bowl (₩16,000) to Set A (₩59,000) and ordered one cold Stella beer (₩8,000), for ₩83,000 in total. Set menus seem to be what most people order, so I made the set my base.

• Set A ₩59,000: 2 pieces tod man kung (fried shrimp cakes) + poo pad pong curry (crab curry, rice included) + king prawn pad thai
• Basil pork rice bowl ₩16,000
• Stella beer ₩8,000
• Total ₩83,000

Tod man kung (2 pieces): a crispy starter that goes with beer

Tod man kung is a great starter before the main meal. It's a Thai-style croquette packed with minced shrimp and deep-fried until crisp, and I loved the springy bursts of shrimp the moment I bit in. The outside is very crunchy, so it pairs great with Stella beer! It was a good combo for whetting the appetite with a light sip before the mains arrived.

King prawn pad thai: customize with lemon, chili flakes and ground peanuts

The noodle dish in Set A was king prawn pad thai, Thai stir-fried noodles. Crunchy bean sprouts and chewy rice noodles are stir-fried in a sweet, sour and salty signature sauce, so the textures were great. Squeeze the lemon on the side and mix in chili flakes and ground peanuts to taste for even more savory depth. I recommend it.

There are not only big king prawns but also plenty of small cocktail shrimp, so wrapping noodles around the shrimp and eating them together fills your mouth with happiness.

Basil pork rice bowl: the dish my sibling fell for in Thailand

I ordered the basil pork rice bowl as an extra because my younger sibling said it was so good when they ate it in Thailand. Minced pork is stir-fried salty with spicy Thai chilies and fragrant basil and eaten with rice. It tastes similar to bulgogi (marinated grilled beef), so I think almost nobody would dislike it.

The seasoning is fairly strong, so it was better with rice, and it also cut the richness of the fried crab in the poo pad pong curry.

Poo pad pong curry: the signature, mixed into white rice

The last main was the signature poo pad pong curry, which can't be left out of any Saeng Augustine recommendation. Crispy fried soft-shell crab comes topped with plenty of rich, smooth yellow curry. Even eaten shell and all, it felt soft and nutty with no unpleasant texture, and my mom was satisfied too.

You really must mix it with white rice. The curry sauce comes in generous amounts, so scooping it over hot rice is basically a rice thief (a dish so good you finish all your rice).

Is it okay if you're sensitive to spices?

The Thai food at Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch isn't too heavily spiced overall and has been reinterpreted for Korean tastes, so people who are sensitive to spices, like me, can enjoy it without worry. I hope you have a happy Thai food tour at Saeng Augustine near Hapjeong Station, which delivers on both flavor and convenience!