Suwon course meal with mom: sweet shrimp apple tart at Hado

This time I went on a slightly special date with my mom. Eating good food together is always nice, but this day, every dish that came out was a treat for the eyes, and hearing the explanations made me feel properly taken care of. To cut to the chase: this is the place where my mom kept exclaiming "it's so pretty" and "it's so delicious" the whole time. Hahaha.

Where is Hado in Haenggung-dong, and where do you park?

Hado is a restaurant on the 1st floor of 138 Hyanggyo-ro in Haenggung-dong, Suwon. It's right next to Gyodong Public Parking Lot, so you can just search that in your navigation. The first hour is free, and after that it's a cheap ₩300 or so per 10 minutes.

Haenggung-dong has lots of pretty cafés and fun alleys to explore, so it's a popular date spot. I thought this place would suit anyone looking for a Haenggung-dong date restaurant — a good meal followed by a stroll around the neighborhood makes for a perfect date course. So even though I was with my mom, I walked in feeling a little like I was on a date myself, haha.

Inside Hado: bar seats, tables and the atmosphere

Hado's interior is on the dimmer side, with a look that suits dates and anniversaries well. Seating includes bar-style seats and standard table seating.

The lighting felt classy the moment we walked in. It gave off a private, upscale sort of treatment.

Inside, there are CDs you can listen to, along with blankets, chargers, and coat hangers.

The music was surprisingly good too. When I go to restaurants, I tend to care about the atmosphere of the space as much as the food, and Hado's food and space felt like they matched really well. It's the kind of place where you can have a quiet conversation over a meal, so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a Suwon date restaurant. Above all, sitting there with my mom made me feel good, like I'd brought her somewhere really nice.

What does Hado's 45,000-won basic course include?

Hado's basic course runs about ₩45,000 per person! The basic course goes appetizer, pasta, chicken breast steak, then dessert, in that order. Switching to the sous vide chuck flap steak adds ₩22,000.

Ordering two basic courses and a green grape ade at Hado

That day we ordered the Hado basic course for two along with a green grape ade to drink.

Part of the fun of a course meal is waiting to see what comes out next. At Hado, dishes come out one at a time, and the chef explained each dish as it arrived. Rather than just setting the food down, hearing the explanation as we ate made it feel genuinely special. Ah, this is why people eat course meals! Haha. Overall the flow from tart to pasta to steak to dessert made it feel like a proper course. If you're looking into a Suwon course-dining restaurant and curious about the range and structure of the dishes, this might be useful to know.

Appetizer: sweet pea tart and sweet shrimp apple tart

The first dish of Hado's basic course was tart. One was a sweet pea tart, the other a sweet shrimp apple tart. And honestly... they were almost too pretty to eat. The house-baked tart shells were piled high with ingredients, and you could tell how much care went into them just by looking.

The sweet pea tart had a subtle, savory, clean flavor characteristic of sweet peas. The combination of the crisp tart shell with the soft peas worked well too.

But it was the sweet shrimp apple tart that made me go "wow!!" Haha. The umami of the sweet shrimp combined with the tangy-sweet apple worked far better than I expected. Savory and tangy-sweet at once, it really woke up the palate! The first dish already did a great job as an appetizer. My mom and I each had a tart and kept saying how pretty it was, taking who knows how many photos, haha.

Pasta course: squid ink pasta and vongole pasta

Then the pasta came out, and this is where I gasped again. We ordered squid ink pasta and vongole pasta, and the moment the plates arrived, the visuals alone were stunning.

The squid ink pasta was really delicious. You could taste the deep, distinctive flavor of the squid ink, and the noodles and sauce came together beautifully. My mom kept saying how good it was, and eventually declared it the best pasta she's ever had, haha.

Seeing my mom happy and enjoying her food made me happy too. After finishing the pasta, I thought, this place is actually really good.

For the vongole pasta, they shelled the clams and placed them on top one by one, and it looked gorgeous. There were three big clams on top, and the noodles underneath were wrapped around the clam meat!!!

With the clams piled on so generously, it felt different from an ordinary vongole. The flavor was clean, and the umami of the clams came through nicely, so my chopsticks kept going back for more.

So if you're looking for a Suwon date restaurant that covers both atmosphere and food, this kind of place would fit the bill.

Is Hado's sous vide chicken breast steak dry?

Next up was the sous vide chicken breast steak. Honestly, hearing "chicken breast steak" makes you brace yourself a little — you assume it'll be dry, haha. But Hado's chicken breast steak was completely different from what I expected.

The moment I took a bite, thanks to the sous vide cooking method, there was almost no dryness even though it was chicken breast — it was soft and really delicious. Pairing it with the carrot purée-like sauce underneath worked especially well. The soft chicken breast with that subtle sweetness and savory richness made the flavor feel even fuller.

The grain-like topping on top was also nutty with a nice crunchy texture, which made it fun to eat. The soft meat paired with the crunchy, nutty texture was so~~~ good!!! Personally, out of everything I ate that day, the chicken breast steak stood out the most.

Dessert: Earl Grey ice cream

The final dessert of Hado's basic course was Earl Grey ice cream. The texture was incredibly smooth from the first bite — more like eating a soft, rich cream than ice cream.

The aroma of coffee mixed with Earl Grey in just the right balance, fragrant without being too sweet. The finish was clean too, making it a perfect way to close out the course. After the tart, pasta, and steak, a heavy dessert would have felt like too much, but the subtle aroma and clean sweetness made for a satisfying finish.

At the end, the owner even gave us mouthwash as a parting touch, haha! Thanks for that thoughtful little extra, haha.

In the end, this is a great spot for a nice atmospheric meal on a special day, or for a slightly different meal with a partner. Combine a stroll around Haenggung-dong with a delicious course meal and you've got a pretty solid day-date course, right? Especially with the pretty plating and the style of eating while hearing an explanation for each dish, it should suit anyone looking for a Haenggung-dong date restaurant too. I went with my mom, but that day, I felt like I was the one celebrating something, haha.

Is Hado worth it for a special occasion?

Starting off happily with the tart, moving into delicious pasta, then the moist sous vide chicken breast steak, and finishing with smooth Earl Grey ice cream! Every single dish was pretty and delicious, and my mom and I kept marveling the whole meal. The atmosphere was great too, so it's a place worth remembering when looking for a Suwon date restaurant, and given the course composition, I'd also recommend it as a Suwon course-dining restaurant. It worked well not just for a special occasion, but also for a day when I just wanted a nice atmospheric meal with my mom, like I had. If you want a slightly different meal in Haenggung-dong sometime, this one is worth keeping in mind.