Hapjeong Thai restaurant, post-Chuseok family lunch: Saeng Augustine

After eating nothing but greasy food all through the Chuseok holiday, I suddenly craved Thai food so badly. So we went to Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch (생어거스틴 합정점) in Mesa Napolis by Hapjeong Station!

We ordered three dishes for lunch, and honestly we were happy with all three!

Where is Saeng Augustine Hapjeong, and how is the parking?

Saeng Augustine Hapjeong Branch is at B1118, B1F Mesa Napolis, 45 Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and you get 3 hours 30 minutes of free parking in the Mesa Napolis car park. It's just 2 minutes from the Mesa Napolis Mall (Seah Tower) entrance between Hapjeong Station Exits 9 and 10! Super easy to find by public transport!

Parking is always a headache when I drive to Hapjeong, but this place lets you use the Mesa Napolis car park, so you get 3 hours 30 minutes free!

That's enough time to browse Mesa Napolis and even have a coffee after your meal! Finding a restaurant with easy parking in Hapjeong is really not easy! So that alone is a huge plus!

Saeng Augustine Hapjeong menu and prices

That day we ordered just three things at Saeng Augustine Hapjeong: tom yum goong (spicy-sour shrimp soup) ₩25,000, extra noodles ₩4,000, king prawn pad thai ₩19,000 and pineapple fried rice ₩16,000. The menu is really varied, and we picked from it!

Going by the best-seller list, there are also these dishes.

• Phad phong curry (crab curry) ₩36,000
• Chili sea bass ₩36,000
• Nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) ₩16,000
• Vietnamese beef noodle soup (Pho Bo) ₩13,000
• Somtam (papaya salad) ₩19,000
• Pak boong fai daeng (stir-fried morning glory) ₩19,000

Drinks are Stella draft beer at ₩8,000 a glass and fruit ade (5 kinds) at ₩7,000 a glass. There are also Kaoliang (Chinese sorghum liquor) sets, and Kaoliang Set A (sweet and sour chicken + 250ml Yantai Kaoliang) at ₩49,000 is the recommended one!

With around 60 dishes, deciding what to eat was half the fun. You can reserve by calling the restaurant, or online up to 2 hours before your booking time.

How were the tom yum goong and the extra noodles?

The tom yum goong (₩25,000) at Saeng Augustine Hapjeong sits on a tabletop burner so it stays hot to the end, and with the extra noodles (₩4,000) you can dip thin noodles into the broth. Tom yum goong is honestly my favorite dish ever, because of that sour, sweet and salty, weirdly addictive flavor. The ingredients are a bit different from authentic Thai versions, but the taste was absolutely the best!

It comes fully cooked, and they light the burner at the table, so it stayed piping hot the whole meal! It's a shame when a soup goes cold, so being able to drink it warm down to the last sip was something I really liked.

My husband skipped the tom yum noodle soup and added noodles separately to the tom yum goong, and it was a stroke of genius!! The noodles are thin, so you dip them into the broth bit by bit. Since he controlled it himself, they never got soggy and stayed springy from start to finish. And the soup had plenty of shrimp too!

How many shrimp are in the king prawn pad thai?

The king prawn pad thai (₩19,000) at Saeng Augustine Hapjeong had not only the king prawn on top but 5 more peeled shrimp inside. I was genuinely shocked by the amount of shrimp!

You can literally see one king prawn, and then there were 5 more prepped shrimp hiding inside the pad thai. I wondered, is this the standard portion? haha

They also serve spicy chili flakes piled on one side, so you can adjust the heat to taste. I started with just a little, then ended up dumping in all of it.

Pineapple fried rice that our child finished alone

The pineapple fried rice (₩16,000) at Saeng Augustine Hapjeong has sweet-and-sour pineapple, nuts and even cocktail shrimp, and our child polished off a whole bowl alone!

It's fried rice, so it's fairly easy on the stomach, which makes it perfect when you bring a child.

Is Saeng Augustine Hapjeong comfortable with kids?

Saeng Augustine Hapjeong has 80 seats with tables for 4, 6 and 12, so the place felt quite spacious, and you can ask for a high chair. The tables aren't crammed together either, so we sat comfortably with our child.

It would be great for a date for two, and I think it suits family meals and group gatherings really well too.

They have menus in English, Chinese and Japanese, so I thought it would be good to come with foreign friends.. and there were quite a few foreign guests there too.

High chairs are available, so just ask the staff. The number is limited, though, so I recommend asking ahead before you book. There's also an event where you get vegetable spring rolls if you write a Naver receipt photo review, so don't forget it!

Why I recommend Saeng Augustine for Thai food near Hapjeong Station

Saeng Augustine is a brand that started in Seorae Village in 2009, an Asian food restaurant where you can try around 60 dishes, not only Thai but Vietnamese and Indonesian too! Many Thai or Vietnamese restaurants are mainly about noodle soup, but I really like that here you can choose from many dishes like phad phong curry, tom yum goong, pad thai, somtam and nasi goreng.

It also suits people looking for a spot for a company dinner or gathering around Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong. It's close, and parking is relaxed too! If you're looking for a good restaurant at Mesa Napolis by Hapjeong Station, especially a great tom yum goong, I recommend it!