Suwon Korean bar for matcha makgeolli: Hwial Ajou University

A fusion Korean bar near Ajou University

The lively Ajou University area is always filled with youthful energy, and it never fails to put me in a good mood. It is great to have a boisterous time with friends, but sometimes you want to sit somewhere quiet and atmospheric with your partner or someone special, chat, and enjoy quality food. So I finally visited Hwial Ajou University Branch (휘얼 아주대점), a much-talked-about Ajou University date spot and fusion Korean restaurant!

The name Hwial combines “hwi,” a native Korean word meaning a vessel for holding grain, with “eol,” a native Korean word used similarly to the Sino-Korean word for spirit. Together, it means putting our spirit into the food we make.

Hwial Ajou University Branch, where you can enjoy next-level fusion Korean bar food in a calm, upscale atmosphere near Ajou University, gives off a very luxurious impression from the entrance onward.

With its stylish black-and-orange interior, moody music, and beautiful lighting, it is a place loved by couples looking for a date bar in Gwanggyo or an atmospheric Ajou University spot for a blind date, haha.

There is also a room for group dinners, making this a wonderfully atmospheric Ajou University bar for everyone to enjoy!

Menu and unusual drinks

There is a broad selection of dishes—soups, hot pots, fried dishes, jeon (savory pancakes), suyuk (boiled sliced meat), seasoned dishes, udon, and grilled dishes—plus highballs, soju, makgeolli, beer, and distilled spirits. It is the sort of place that works for a first, second, or even third round!

Even the prices were so reasonable that it really felt like a place where you could order to your heart’s content!! So, what did we get?

Matcha makgeolli and ube draft beer

First up: matcha makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and ube draft beer, haha. You really have to try this place’s original drinks. The matcha makgeolli seemed to use Tiger Makgeolli; its smooth makgeolli base carried a subtle, pleasantly bitter and toasty matcha aroma, making it light and clean to drink. It paired even better with the fusion Korean dishes than I expected! The ube draft beer catches your eye straight away with its luminous purple color, though it was sweeter than I expected, haha.

Beef shank hot pot and kimchi cheese tangsuyuk

Next was the arongsatae suyuk jeongol, a beef shank boiled-meat hot pot. We ordered it as a discounted menu item, and it came with such a satisfying spread, haha. The arongsatae beef was tender, while the ox-bone-broth-based soup tasted so refreshing, clean, and light with mung bean sprouts and minari (water celery)!

Our number-one pick was the new kimchi cheese tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork)! The tangsuyuk was fried incredibly crisp, but the batter was not overly thick, and there was a satisfying bite of lean meat too. Eating it while warm gave it that wonderful crisp-outside, tender-inside texture, haha.

The sauce had the sweet, tangy flavor of Chinese-style tangsuyuk sauce, which harmonized with the kimchi for a delicious flavor that was not too heavy. It came with both cheddar and mozzarella, and you can add extra cheese for an additional charge; it was a perfect match with the sauce! Finally, a little bit of the owner’s cleverness showed through in the plating: perhaps for fans of dipping sauce versus pouring it over, the middle was coated in sauce while the outside pieces were left plain for dipping.

I enjoyed it all so, so much, haha.

An Ajou University date with both atmosphere and bar food

Hwial Ajou University Branch was more than just a bar: it was a place to enjoy carefully made fusion Korean dishes and inventive drinks in a neat, elegant setting. The addictive kimchi cheese tangsuyuk and the deep flavor of the beef shank hot pot keep coming back to me even nowㅠㅠ If you are looking near Ajou University for a date-worthy restaurant with a great atmosphere and seriously good bar food, head over to Hwial!