Dongdaemun izakaya with smoky yakisoba and motsunabe: Hamaru Hoegi

Why Hamaru Hoegi is the izakaya to pick near Hoegi Station

I was looking for a place in Hoegi that really does small plates right, and ended up at Hamaru Hoegi. It's an izakaya where you can enjoy both yakitori and teppan (griddle) dishes together — a solid bar near Hoegi Station!

Out front there's a big photo display of the signature menu items!! Everything from skewers to teppan dishes to hot pots — so many options. It was nice to browse from outside first when I couldn't decide what to order, haha.

Next to the entrance there's a bar-style outdoor seating area with real yajang (street tent) vibes! Looks perfect for a casual drink outside on a cool evening. The mood is totally different from inside, so it's fun to pick your seat depending on what you're in the mood for.

Hamaru Hoegi is located at 11 Gyeonghuidae-ro 1-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor! It's an easy walk from Hoegi Station toward Kyung Hee University. Open Monday through Thursday and Sunday from 17:00 to 02:00, and Friday–Saturday until 03:00, haha.

Inside Hamaru Hoegi: bar seats, tables and a Japanese mood

Walking in, the wood tones and Japanese-style atmosphere really came through! There are both bar seats and tables, so it works whether you're coming as a pair or a group, haha. It's not overly formal — a comfortable place for a casual drink!

From yakitori to teppanyaki to specialty dishes, there are so many options for small plates. If it's your first visit, the signature menu is the yakitori 5-piece omakase, grilled over binchotan charcoal with a 16-year-aged tare sauce. Okonomiyaki and motsunabe are also popular picks, so there's plenty to choose from at this Hoegi izakaya!

The complimentary starter is a crisp cabbage salad lightly drizzled with sauce, haha. It's a light bite before the main dishes arrive and wakes up your appetite!! Picking at it between bites kept my palate refreshed — surprisingly easy to keep eating.

This is the soy sauce that comes with the motsunabe! It's served with wasabi and chili peppers too. Great for dipping as-is, or mix in a little wasabi for extra kick. Went especially well with the richer, fattier dishes!

There's also a review event where you can pick one item — either half cream cheese crackers or bingsu (shaved ice), haha. A sweet finish after salty small plates sounded pretty good.

Teppan fried rice with a smoky, charred edge

The teppan fried rice is stir-fried with seafood and vegetables to bring out that smoky charred flavor!! The rice grains stayed separate and bouncy rather than mushy — great texture. Nutty with a bit of spice, perfect as a drinking snack or a meal on its own, haha.

Every spoonful brings up seafood and vegetables mixed through the rice! The smoky char flavor came through more the more I chewed, and I kept going back for more, haha. A good dish to share when small plates alone feel like too little.

Hanwoo daechang motsunabe that deepens the longer it simmers

The motsunabe is Hamaru's signature hot pot, simmered with Hanwoo (Korean beef) daechang (beef intestine) from Majang-dong. The broth starts out clean but deepens as it simmers, soaking up the richness of the daechang!! If you love a hot, brothy snack, this is the dish I'd recommend at this Hoegi izakaya.

Once it started bubbling, the aroma of the broth really came through! The daechang, cooked through properly, has that signature chewy texture and nutty flavor. Nice to pair with a drink alongside the warm broth!

After simmering longer, the broth got even richer — a different flavor than at the start!! The nutty flavor from the daechang had naturally spread through the broth. Being able to keep eating it hot the whole time is part of the charm of a nabe (hot pot).

Seafood yakisoba: the smoky counterpart to the motsunabe

The seafood yakisoba is stir-fried on the teppan with that smoky char flavor, haha. The savory sauce plus seafood umami made it a great drinking snack! Alternating with the brothy motsunabe made for a good combination.

The sauce coated the noodles evenly, so every bite hit with a nice salty flavor! Bits of seafood throughout kept the texture interesting, haha. True to a Hoegi izakaya that's good at teppan dishes, the smoky char flavor came through subtly too!

Scooping some broth and daechang into a small plate together made it much easier to eat! The now-rich broth warmed me up nicely while drinking. Taking a sip of broth between salty dishes like the yakisoba was perfect!

Mixing the yakisoba so the sauce coats everything evenly made the flavor even more consistent!! Chewy noodles with seafood and vegetables together made each bite pretty satisfying, haha. If you like salty, smoky noodle dishes, this would be right up your alley.

Ended the meal with a bite of the perfectly cooked, chewy Hanwoo daechang together with the broth! Chewing it released that nutty flavor, backed up nicely by the rich broth. A satisfying, filling night at this Hoegi izakaya, from teppan dishes all the way to nabe!!

From teppan dishes to hot pot: a drink at Hamaru Hoegi

From the street-tent vibe outside to the Japanese-style interior, the atmosphere won me over from the start. The teppan fried rice and seafood yakisoba had that appealing smoky char, and the motsunabe was hot and rich — the combination worked really well, haha. With so many menu options, it's a great Hoegi izakaya for picking several small plates and having a drink! Next time I'd like to try the signature yakitori omakase too.