Sokcho night-view restaurant with snow crab D course: Hanggu Hwareo

My husband and I went to Sokcho's Daepo Harbor for snow crab~ Among the sashimi restaurants there, Hanggu Hwareo is known for having the best ocean view, so we decided to check it out~ The side dishes were so generous too — shall we go eat crab together at Hanggu Hwareo?

Hanggu Hwareo location, hours and parking at Daepo Harbor

Location: 59 Daepohang-huimang-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea (대포항수산시장 S동 9호) / Hours: Daily 11:30–04:00, closed every other Wednesday / Parking: Free (parking voucher provided if parked at Daepo Harbor Lot No. 2)

The prime ocean-view window seat, as the first dinner guests

The view at Hanggu Hwareo was truly fantastic~ The wide-open ocean view felt so refreshing, and since we were the first customers of the evening, they showed us to the best seat in the house — my husband was so happy about it~ He kept saying the view was so pretty, admiring it and unable to look away from the ocean haha

There was an oddly cute dog photo on the wall that had nothing to do with a sashimi restaurant, and it made me smile~ The flashy lighting was right up my alley too!!!

Hanggu Hwareo has a separate space out back for selling seafood and crab, plus a separate kitchen, so the dining hall itself felt especially spacious and clean~

Seeing how well-kept the fish tank was put me at ease~ There was a happy-looking stingray inside the clean tank~ Its grumpy little eyes and mouth were so cute!!!

Snow crab D course at ₩200,000 vs the E course: what's different?

The Hanggu Hwareo menu fit neatly onto just two pages, which I liked~ The D course and E course were both for two people with identical contents, but there was a price gap of ₩200,000 versus ₩170,000, so we asked what the difference was — turns out it's just the size of the crab. Since we wanted the bigger crab, we went with the ₩200,000 D course~

After ordering, I checked out the self-serve bar~ There were basic side dishes and acorn jelly and such~ Now that I think about it, we never actually used the self-serve bar!!! The complimentary side dishes were so generous that we completely forgot it existed~

What side dishes come with the Hanggu Hwareo crab course?

Wow, kimchi pancake and mulhoe too, we said happily~

Then came a seafood trio set of grilled flounder, abalone, sea squirt, and live squid sashimi~ We were already thinking this was more than enough~

Sushi and corn cheese kept coming too — the side dishes really just kept on coming, which made us so happy~ With sides this good, we started getting really excited for the sashimi and crab still to come~

We watched an affectionate couple nearby feeding each other shrimp chips while we gazed out at the sea, and then the beautifully plated assorted sashimi arrived~

We got so excited at how generous the spread was~ The sashimi came in three kinds — rockfish, flounder, and red seabream — which we loved. Let's dig in properly~

Mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), sea squirt, squid sashimi and abalone

The mulhoe had kelp konjac noodles in it, so it seemed like something you could enjoy guilt-free even while dieting~ The sweet-and-sour-savory balance of the sauce paired perfectly with the plump, fresh, chewy fish~

The sea squirt had a strong ocean aroma and a fresh flavor~ I loved the crisp texture~

The squid sashimi was chewy with a sweetness that grew the more you chewed — excellent~ I hadn't had squid sashimi in ages since it's pricey, and eating it again made me wonder why I'd forgotten how good it was! I'm going to start eating it more often even if it's expensive!!!

The abalone was crunchy and mild in flavor — I liked that it had no fishy smell and tasted clean~

The octopus sushi was chewy and delicious, and the red seabream sashimi was tender with rising umami~ There were only two pieces of sushi, so we split each one in half to both try them~ I let my husband have the first bite, but I sort of quietly ate a little more than he did haha

Corn cheese, seasoned skate salad and pasta

The corn cheese was amazingly savory, with a pleasant buttery aroma and just the right sweetness~ There was even a bit of stretchy pizza cheese mixed in, which made it even better~

The skate fish salad was spicy with a savory bite from chewing through the cartilage~ Skate salad is honestly a fairly upscale drinking snack, so it was a nice surprise to see it show up as a side dish!!!

The tomato pasta, made with both fusilli and penne, had a sweet-and-sour flavor that kids would love~

The pretty purple angel hair jelly noodle salad had such a great crunchy texture, and the seaweed salad had a sweet-and-sour flavor perfect for whetting your appetite before the meal — both were great as light drinking snacks for dieters!!!

The acorn jelly came in a spicy, salty sauce topped generously with sesame seeds, which is exactly my style~ I liked that it kept the acorn jelly's characteristic slight bitterness~

The kimchi pancake was crispy and savory~ It was made with well-fermented kimchi, so it had a tangy flavor that was so good one piece wasn't enough — my husband and I promised each other we'd fry up a big batch of kimchi pancakes once we got home haha

Kiwi-sauce takoyaki and pickled bracken fern

The takoyaki came with kiwi mixed into the sauce, which I thought was odd, but I tried it anyway and was surprised at how well the tangy sweetness actually went with it~

I thought the bracken fern was a seasoned salad, but it turned out to be a pickle~ It had a tangy flavor with a soft, tender texture — it was my first time trying it pickled, and it was such a fun surprise!!!

Wrapping the kimchi pancake with the pickled bracken fern let the fern cut right through the pancake's oiliness, cleaning up the palate perfectly — you really have to try this combo!!!

How was the rockfish, flounder and seabream sashimi platter?

At first I thought it was regular seabream, but the texture was much softer, so I asked and found out it was red seabream (tteokdom)~ The soft texture gave way to rising umami at the end, almost like aged sashimi — perfect for anyone who loves that aged-fish flavor~

The always-familiar-but-always-the-best flounder and rockfish sashimi~ The rockfish was crisp and chewy with a clean, savory finish, while the flounder was plump and chewy with umami that built the more you chewed~

Vinegar-chili sauce is great with sashimi, but try it with doenjang (soybean paste) and garlic too — the savory, salty, sharp flavor is really something, give it a try!!!

The main event: was the snow crab packed with meat?

Finally, today's main dish — the snow crab — arrived~ From the legs to the body, the meat was packed full and hearty, which made me so happy~

Lifting the claw, I could feel how heavy it was, and it felt so good~ We'd already eaten so well with the side dishes and sashimi, and now the crab was satisfying too — pure happiness!!!

We first tried the leg meat, already prepped for easy eating, gently scraping it out with a crab-meat fork~ Just scraping gently with the fork let the meat separate easily, which made it easy to eat~ Once you get a taste of the chewy, flaky texture of the leg meat, the sweetness and umami rush up with a savory finish — so delicious~

Scraping the meat out with the crab fork was so fun that I quickly scraped out another bite and fed it to my husband~ Do you know what he said? The answer was "It's delicious." When I said, "That's it? Describe the taste properly~" he said, "It's really delicious." Well~ Fair enough~ The crab really was that delicious, so haha

See how cleanly it separates? It was surprising how easily the meat came apart even though it was so densely packed~

The claw meat also had cuts pre-made for easy eating, which was so convenient~ The claw meat popped right out, and it felt great~ You know the claw meat is twice as delicious as the leg meat, with double the chewiness and sweetness, right? I wish every crab leg came with a claw haha

I gently scraped the body meat with the crab fork too, piled it high on a spoon, and took a bite — the crab meat melted in my mouth with an explosion of umami, so good~ I couldn't keep this deliciousness to myself, so I immediately scraped out more body meat and fed my husband a full spoonful~ I'm such a kind wife who shares the good stuff instead of hogging it all, right? haha

Sunset harbor night views and the crab-shell fried rice finish

As we kept eating, the sun started to set and the bridge lights turned on beautifully~ Before we knew it, the restaurant had filled up with customers, and the night view got even prettier, making the atmosphere really wonderful~ My husband said the vibe was so nice and that he was happy, which made me happy too~

We saved the crab guts and asked the staff to make crab roe fried rice with them, then ordered the spicy fish stew included in the set~ The stew was spicy, refreshing, and rich — the kind of flavor that calls for soju~

They brought out the crab roe fried rice along with a nice touch of napa cabbage kimchi on the side~ The crab roe fried rice had the crab paste soaked in deeply, giving it a rich, savory, slightly sticky flavor that was excellent~ The napa cabbage kimchi was well-fermented too, exactly to my taste!!!

Picking the flounder meat off the bone and putting it on top of the crab roe fried rice gave it a savory, soft flavor that was amazing~ It tasted so luxurious I somehow felt rich haha

Do you all know this? Even just a small dab of wasabi on raw fish makes it taste so clean and savory, with incredible umami~ If you want to experience clean umami like that, I definitely recommend trying it!!!

What stood out about Hanggu Hwareo on the way out

If you like vending machine coffee, it's worth grabbing a cup on your way out~ There's a sink set up behind the restaurant, so it was great to wash your hands before leaving~ Even with plastic gloves on, the crab smell seeps through after eating so enthusiastically, so being able to wash it off cleanly made for a nice finish~ If you're looking for a place for a family gathering or a special date, I recommend Hanggu Hwareo, where you can enjoy a wide variety of side dishes, sashimi, and even snow crab at a reasonable price~!!!