Hapjeong sushi restaurant, bar-seat solo dinner: Makise Hapjeong

Finding Makise Hapjeong, a sushi restaurant near Hapjeong Station Exit 8

I was craving sushi in Hapjeong and went looking, which led me to Makise. It was a quick walk from Hapjeong Station Exit 8.

I visited around dinnertime, and Makise stood out with its bright lights and all-white exterior.

A sign reading "one-bowl omakase sushi you scoop with a spoon" caught my eye. When I walked in, a staff member kindly guided me!

Eating alone at Makise Hapjeong: bar seats and how to order

Makise Hapjeong has both bar seats and tables, and since I came alone, I sat at the bar. From there you can watch the kitchen, and they made each dish with real care.

Tables have tablets so you can order right away, but at the bar seat you order directly with staff. For my relaxed solo dinner tonight I ordered kaisendon, crab cream croquette, and ginger ale. After I ordered, the staff asked if I had any allergies. I don't, so I just said... haha, nope!

Makise Hapjeong's kaisendon, piled with thick-cut sashimi

First up, the kaisendon...! Can you see the sashimi?! It came piled generously on top of the rice, and just looking at it made my mouth water...ㅠㅠ

Several types of sashimi were layered on top, all cut thick, which gave a completely different feel from thinly sliced sashimi. I prefer thick-cut over thin, haha.

How to eat the kaisendon, as the staff explain it

Makise Hapjeong has instructions at every table for how to eat the kaisendon. You put rice and wasabi on your spoon, then pick whichever sashimi you want and place it on top to eat. Literally, you build a tiny piece of sushi right on the spoon.

So I followed along. I scooped up a bit of rice, added wasabi, and topped it with one piece of sashimi at a time — and I liked being able to control the rice-to-sashimi ratio myself. Because the sashimi was so thick, its texture didn't get lost even when eaten together with the rice.

The sashimi overall was fresh, with no fishy taste at all. Each type had a slightly different texture, so as I tried one after another, I naturally started thinking about which one to pick next, haha.

I didn't add much wasabi, just a little bit each time, and the sharp kick paired well with the clean flavor of the sashimi.

Building each bite of kaisendon one at a time meant I ended up tasting each sashimi slowly, rather than mixing rice and fish together from the start. It was oddly fun how the flavor changed depending on which sashimi I put on the same rice.

Crab cream croquette, the side to add at Makise Hapjeong

Next I tried the crab cream croquette.

The outside was fried golden brown, and inside was soft cream with crab meat. Splitting it open with my chopsticks, the inside was quite moist — the crunchy coating and soft filling worked really well together.

The crab's clean flavor paired with the rich, smooth cream was so good. It's a completely different kind of dish from the sashimi, so eating one in between switched up my palate nicely.

A hair tie brought to the bar seat without asking

While I was eating, a staff member brought me a hair tie without me even asking. My hair is long and it can get in the way while eating, so having them notice and take care of it on their own without any request from me was seriously touching!!

Eating the kaisendon the way they instructed was a different experience from the sushi I usually eat, and it was fun. Taking my time with each bite, I finished everything I'd ordered before I knew it, haha.

I came here looking for sushi in Hapjeong, and ended up eating in a way that was a bit different from usual. If you're wondering how to eat kaisendon, I'd recommend trying it the way they explain it.