Sangam, Seoul bar for Nagasaki champon and cheese oden: Hanamato

But this is my own space, so no lies here. Of course this includes items I paid for myself~ I've walked past this Sangam bar, Hanamato DMC branch, so many times, and I finally visited this time. I'd been to the Yeokchon branch of Hanamato before and it was great, so I had high expectations coming in, and sure enough, I left satisfied. Let me boil down my Hanamato menu recommendations along with the review.

🕖 Closed every Sunday / 🕠 Mon–Sat 16:30–03:00 / ❗️Last order at 02:00

Where is Hanamato Sangam DMC, and how big is it?

Hanamato Sangam DMC is a Sangam izakaya within a 5-minute walk of Exit 9 of Digital Media City Station. It sits on the street packed with bars and it's a fairly large two-floor space. Honestly, DMC Station is so massive that just getting to the exit takes forever.

Counter seats on 1F, sofas on 2F — good for groups or solo drinking?

On the 1st floor of Hanamato there are group tables like this, including two seats facing outward toward the street, and this day a group of 8 — apparently this is a popular Sangam bar for group drinking too — was seated across both floors; for the 1st floor space, staff switched the table layout from horizontal to vertical to fit them!

There are also standing bar seats great for solo drinking. A nice touch: there's an outlet at every seat~

Climb the stairs and you reach the 2nd floor, which is entirely furnished with soft sofa seating like this. The big downside is that if someone in the inner seat wants to leave, everyone on the outside has to stand up, but personally I love this seating — it's just so comfortable.

Tori, the dog on Hanamato's second floor

And above all, Hanamato's 2nd floor has a hilarious resident dog. Her name alone is funny. Her name is Tori, and her surname is Yaki. I'm losing it, hahahahahaha.

There's a funny baby dog, born in March, who just stretches by leaning her whole body against me. I was practically resentful at the owner for seating me on the 1st floor — Tori was absurdly cute... T_T. There are plenty of people who don't love having a dog in a restaurant, but rest assured: as soon as the 2nd floor fills up with people, the owner makes sure Tori goes to rest in her own space, so no need to worry.

Both the 1st and 2nd floor windows were thrown wide open, which is perfect in nice weather like this! Not too hot, not too cold, with a gentle breeze blowing through... Highly, highly recommend as a Sangam bar.

What to order at Hanamato Sangam DMC

Hanamato's menu is just huge. Skewers, all sorts of soups, fried dishes, stir-fries, oden — so many options you just pick what you like. The important thing is, if you search for Hanamato menu recommendations, nothing useful comes up!!!!! So let me properly recommend.

• ✔️Oden — done really well in the Cheolgil Busan-jip style, and the cheese oden especially is amazing
• ✔️Nagasaki champon — just amazing
• ✔️Mentaiko cheese potato — there's a reason so many people order it, it's amazing

Here's what I ordered that day and the prices.

• 📌Sapporo bisque pasta — ₩13,000
• 📌Nagasaki champon — ₩16,000
• 📌Extra udon noodles — ₩3,000(?)
• 📌Mentaiko cheese potato — ₩10,000
• 📌Mul-tteok (rice cake) skewer, 1 pc — ₩2,000
• 📌Cheese oden — ₩2,000 × 2
• 📌Sapporo draft beer — ₩6,200
• 📌Terra draft beer — ₩4,500 × a whole lot

I usually love mochi dofu and order it wherever I see it, but Hanamato's mochi dofu just wasn't quite my taste? So I skipped it this time.

My personal favorite basic side dish is shrimp chips~ I'm the kind of person who pays money to buy shrimp chip snacks, so having them show up made me so happy T_T.

Sapporo bisque pasta, 13,000 won

Hanamato's Sapporo bisque pasta is ₩13,000. The menu photo showed a big shrimp, and what actually arrived was a tiny shrimp, but the shrimp itself was fresh-tasting and had no fishy smell — it was tasty.

Besides shrimp, there was a lot to pick through — mussels, clams, blue crab, mushrooms, onion. The shrimp and crab were too tiny to really eat (?) but the mussels, clams, and mushrooms were all quite good.

The noodles were also cooked just right, and above all, the seasoning had just the right sweet-and-salty balance that clung nicely to the palate. Do I even need to say how well this kind of tomato-based pasta pairs with a draft beer?

The kind of flavor that just makes the draft beer go down easy. The bisque pasta also seems like a great option to order for kids if you're out with family. And by the way, the draft beer at Sangam bar Hanamato is ❤️Terra❤️. Anyone who loves Terra draft like I do, run over here.

Nagasaki champon, 16,000 won — the standout dish of the night

Hanamato's Nagasaki champon is ₩16,000, and it was the most impressive dish of the day — so I can't help but call Nagasaki champon the top recommended dish at this Sangam izakaya T_T. Inside there's bok choy, blue crab, wood ear mushroom, and more.

There's udon noodles in it too, but it's definitely only half a serving, not a full one T_T.

Seeing how little udon there was, I ordered extra right away. They give it to you pre-boiled, so you just drop it straight in and simmer!

I think Nagasaki champon is generally at least decent wherever you go, but some places make it too salty or too bland — this place hits exactly the classic flavor, I'd say? The seasoning is spot on, the spiciness is just right, the broth is simply insane. It's even better with soju, and good with beer too — whatever you order at Hanamato, you must try this Nagasaki champon T_T.

The Sapporo draft is reasonably priced and tasty too, but since I love Terra draft so much, I had one glass of Sapporo then switched right back to Terra.

Mentaiko cheese potato, 10,000 won

Hanamato's mentaiko cheese potato is ₩10,000. It's built from the bottom up — sliced potato, then mentaiko (pollock roe), then cheese — and baked in the oven. This simple combination is so easy to scoop up and the flavor combo is so good I actually thought about trying to make it at home.

The saltiness isn't overpowering, and the ratio of potato, mentaiko, and cheese is just right, so it's the kind of dish you keep picking at even after you're full.

Oden starts at 3 skewers — cheese oden vs. mul-tteok

Still wanting more, we ordered three skewers of oden~ At Hanamato, oden orders require a minimum of 3 skewers, and there's a good reason — it's because it arrives looking properly impressive(?), served together with its broth.

When I went to Hanamato before, even three skewers of oden for just ₩6,000 came served in a pot you could place right on the induction burner, and I remember thinking how nice that was — and sure enough, it was great again this time T_T. The oden broth is clean and excellent~ the wheat rice cake needs to sit longer than you'd expect, since it only tastes good once it's gone soft and soaked through.

As for the cheese oden, it's studded with cheddar cheese rather than mozzarella, and it's absolutely delicious... There's quite a lot of cheese packed in, and you can really taste that rich, melty cheese flavor. Honestly, I liked this more than the mul-tteok... this one won me over... T_T.

Is Hanamato worth it as a Sangam bar?

At Hanamato's DMC branch, a Sangam bar, I loved the big windows thrown wide open in this nice weather, and I think it's a solid spot whether you want soju with Nagasaki champon and oden, or beer with mentaiko cheese potato. Plus there's the adorable dog Tori, so you get double the happiness(?) — go enjoy it.