Daehakro's eel rice bowl spot opens in Bucheon: Haehwagaban Jungdong

Haehwagaban, the Daehakro eel bowl favorite, now in Bucheon?

Haehwagaban (해화개반), famous as an eel bowl spot in Daehakro, has opened in the basement of Lotte Department Store Jungdong in Bucheon. I'd heard a lot about it, so when I heard it had opened here, I went. It's handy for a meal in the middle of shopping, and close to Sinjungdong Station, so it's really easy to get to.

Since it's already well known for eel bowls in Daehakro, I went in with high expectations, and it was even better than I expected.

• 📍 Haehwagaban Lotte Department Store Jungdong Branch
• 🏢 Basement 1 food court, Lotte Department Store Jungdong
• 🚇 Walking distance from Sinjungdong Station

What are the atmosphere and seating like at Haehwagaban Jungdong?

The shop has wood-tone interiors and calm lighting, a clean, upscale Japanese feel. The first thing I noticed walking in was that tidy atmosphere typical of a Japanese rice bowl specialist, and it felt quite upscale even for a department store food court.

There's a bar counter that's good for eating alone, plus tables for 2–4, so it's easy to come solo and also nice with family or friends. The neat open kitchen left an impression too.

The Haehwagaban menu and what I ordered

Haehwagaban sells not just eel bowls but a variety of Japanese rice bowls. I ordered the signature eel bowl ochazuke (rice with broth poured over) and karaage (Japanese fried chicken) as a side.

• Eel bowl
• Eel ochazuke
• Salmon bowl
• Other Japanese rice bowls
• Sides and drinks

With this many options, you can pick whatever suits your taste.

How does the Haehwagaban eel bowl ochazuke taste?

The eel bowl ochazuke comes with a generous amount of soft, moist eel with no fishy taste. It looked great the moment it arrived: nicely grilled eel on glossy rice, neatly served.

The sweet sauce isn't overpowering and lets the eel's own flavor come through. I ate it as a plain eel bowl first, then poured in the broth that comes with it and ate it ochazuke-style, and it felt like a completely different dish. The warm broth brought out more of the eel's flavor and made it taste light and mellow.

The fun of eating it as ochazuke

The biggest charm of Haehwagaban is the ochazuke style, I think. The eel bowl alone is delicious, but with the broth poured in it tastes much deeper and cleaner.

Even late in the meal it never got tiring and went down easily. The broth cuts the heaviness typical of eel, so I enjoyed it down to the last spoonful.

Is it a good meal after shopping at Lotte Department Store Jungdong?

If you want a tidy meal after shopping at Lotte Department Store Jungdong, Haehwagaban in the basement looks like a very satisfying choice. The department store is one of Bucheon's main shopping spots, near Sinjungdong Station, and its basement food court is known for housing many popular restaurants.

If you like eel bowls, it's worth a visit at least once.

Overall verdict

I was glad that Haehwagaban, the famous Daehakro eel bowl spot, can now be found in Bucheon too. The clean Japanese-style interior, the neat presentation and the soft eel all left me satisfied.

Above all, eating the eel bowl and then pouring in broth to make ochazuke was really appealing. If you're shopping at Lotte Department Store Jungdong or looking for a place to eat near Sinjungdong Station, I recommend Haehwagaban's eel bowl ochazuke.