Magok hitsumabushi restaurant for a wedding anniversary: Una Magok

Fattening season, fall, is back.. these days it's my wallet that's on a diet instead of me, but for our wedding anniversary my husband and I finally went out for a proper meal together 💍

📍 Una Magok / 1st floor, K-Square Magok Tower 2, 105-7 Magok-jungang-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea / Break time 15:00-17:00 / Parking available, 90 minutes supported (register at the counter)

Hadn't been to Magok in a while — still just as sparkly as ever ✨🌿

Is the hitsumabushi at Una Magok fishy at all?

The hitsumabushi (eel rice bowl) at Una Magok wasn't fishy at all — clean and mild from start to finish. Do you guys like eel too? I'm a huge fan myself! The thing is, I'm not great with fishy seafood, and a lot of hitsumabushi places do have that fishy edge.. especially once you pour the tea broth over it, the tea smell layers on top and honestly people end up leaving a perfectly good eel bowl unfinished.

But Una Magok was completely different. Honestly the best rice bowl I've had this year so far..

How to get to Una Magok in Magok, and how to book

Una Magok is easy to find once you get to the 1st floor of K-Square Magok Tower 2! The building is huge but the signage is good enough that we got there quickly. You can also reserve through Catch Table, which was convenient.

I actually love eel rice bowls but they're not something I eat often, so since it was our anniversary, my husband and I decided to try something a little special that day.

Is Una Magok a good setting for an anniversary?

The vibe at Una Magok was so clean and nice.. once you open the big door and step in, outside noise is completely cut off, so it felt private, almost like being pampered! It's an easy, unhurried atmosphere for talking over a meal, which made it a great fit for an anniversary visit like ours.

There are also private rooms and group seating, so it looked like a good spot for family meals or gatherings too.

Three ways to eat hitsumabushi at Una Magok

Unlike a regular eel rice bowl, hitsumabushi is meant to be eaten from a single bowl in a few different ways.

• 1️⃣ First, eat the eel and rice as they are
• 2️⃣ Next, add garnishes like wasabi or scallion
• 3️⃣ Finally, pour warm broth over it and enjoy it like ochazuke (rice steeped in tea/broth)

It's one menu item, but the way it changes depending on how you eat it is the charm! They kindly show you the recommended way to eat it too, so even first-timers should be able to enjoy it without any pressure.

Ginseng wine from the review event, served with hinoki scent

I also got ginseng wine as part of a review event! Sipping it alongside the eel, before or during the meal, that sharp-sweet ginseng aroma was so good... Apparently in Japan there's a tradition of pouring the drink until it overflows into a hinoki cypress saucer, so you can enjoy the scent the spilled liquor takes on too! I tried it myself, holding a sip in my mouth before swallowing, and the faint hinoki scent that spread suited it better than I expected 🍶

Plump grilled eel, then the ochazuke course

Ah, it's finally here..

Just the sight of that plump, glistening eel was insane.. it paired perfectly with the classic side dishes you often see in Japanese home cooking, and the glossy eel with its sweet-savory sauce was great with rice. Adding a touch of wasabi here and there really cut through the richness right when it started to feel a bit heavy 👏🏻👏🏻

Best eel I've ever had, hands down.. there was even a faint smoky char to it, and the more I chewed the sweeter and more insane it got. Personally, eating it plain with rice was already delicious, but the final ochazuke step turned out to be surprisingly appealing. Pour in the warm broth and the eel's rich flavor softens a bit, giving it a totally different feel from before. So I'd recommend pouring the broth in gradually rather than dumping it all in at once!

Ending with complimentary matcha ice cream

And finally, complimentary matcha ice cream! You can order dessert via the tablet too — don't forget to get one before you leave. It had a light icy texture, perfect as a palate cleanser!

Since you can enjoy one bowl in several different ways, I think even first-timers to hitsumabushi would find it fun. A special day doesn't have to mean something extravagant, but eating slightly better food than usual and talking slowly like this was more than enough to feel like an anniversary. 🤍 We wrapped up our wedding anniversary meal on a very happy note :)