Nagasaki champon hot pot and beer at Hiku, a Sadang izakaya

Hiku was a great spot for an evening near Sadang Station — an izakaya where you can enjoy a variety of snacks and drinks, and conveniently close to the station for meeting up with people.

Rather than just drinking lightly, they had menu items hearty enough to enjoy like a proper meal alongside good snacks, so it worked well as a dinner spot too.

I especially liked that you could order a bunch of different dishes to share with drinks, and the vibe was easygoing enough to drop by comfortably for a meetup or gathering around Sadang Station.

Hiku's location and hours

Hiku is located at 49 Dongjak-daero 7-gil, 1st floor, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It's open from 5 PM to 2 AM, every day.

The complimentary snack and choosing a menu

They gave us old-fashioned crackers as a complimentary snack, and brought out our drinks before the main dish arrived.

With the menu so varied, I spent a while deciding what to eat. That day I was in the mood for something with broth, so after browsing I ordered the Nagasaki champon tang and a beer.

The menu was pretty extensive, ranging from simple bites to soups and full meal dishes, so it was easy to pick something to match whatever mood you're in.

The dimly lit izakaya atmosphere

The whole place had this softly lit, izakaya-style decor that felt really comfortable.

It wasn't too bright or loud, so it was a nice place to visit with friends or a partner and chat over drinks at a relaxed pace.

It worked well either as a first stop for a meal-plus-drinks visit, or as a second-round spot for a lighter drinking session.

How the Nagasaki champon tang arrives

After chatting over beer for a bit, our Nagasaki champon tang came out.

The staff explained how to eat it, walking us through the order and when it would be ready.

It came in a hot pot dish, and they set up a burner right at the table so we could keep it warm the whole time we ate.

What's in it

The Nagasaki champon tang was loaded with vegetables — bean sprouts, mushrooms, bok choy, chili, and alba cabbage — along with seafood like squid and shrimp, plus udon noodles.

With vegetables and seafood mixed in evenly, you got a good range of ingredients alongside the broth, and vegetables like bean sprouts, alba cabbage, and bok choy meant you could enjoy their texture too as everything simmered.

The simmering process

As the broth started boiling harder, the ingredients slowly began to cook.

While it boiled, we used the ladle to gently push down the ingredients floating on top so they'd all get submerged in the broth.

Once the vegetables and seafood were fully soaked in the broth and simmered a bit longer, everything cooked to just the right doneness and was ready to eat hot.

As the dish started bubbling and the ingredients cooked through, we had a cold beer alongside it.

Warm Nagasaki champon tang paired with cold beer worked really well as a drinking snack, and we got to chat comfortably over beer while the broth simmered.

How was the broth?

The generous amount of vegetables made the broth taste refreshing, and you could feel the texture of each ingredient — bean sprouts, alba cabbage, bok choy.

On top of that, squid and shrimp added a seafood flavor to the broth as well.

The broth was white and clean-style, not too strong, mild yet with a subtle seafood flavor coming through — overall a clean, refreshing taste.

Since it kept simmering on the burner the whole time, the broth got a little richer than at the start, so I kept it going and ate it that way until the end.

Vegetables and udon noodles

At first I picked out the vegetables one by one and tried them with the broth.

They all went well together, and since the broth had soaked into the ingredients well during simmering, it was plenty flavorful without needing any extra seasoning.

The bean sprouts and alba cabbage especially held onto the broth, so every bite had a strong champon flavor, and the udon noodles let you enjoy the broth with noodles too.

Shrimp and squid

Trying the shrimp and squid one by one, there was plenty of seafood to enjoy evenly alongside the vegetables — the shrimp had a springy texture and a clean, mild flavor.

The squid was tender to chew too, and eating it with the broth added that distinct seafood flavor, making the champon tang's overall flavor even richer.

Wrapping up

I enjoyed Nagasaki champon tang and beer together at Hiku. With all the vegetables and seafood packed in, the clean broth made it a great match as a drinking snack.

The soft lighting and izakaya atmosphere were comfortable too, making it a nice place to chat over drinks with friends or a partner, and with such a wide menu, it was easy to pick something to suit your taste.

If you're looking for a place near Sadang Station to enjoy drinks without any pressure, Hiku is worth checking out for a relaxed time with plenty of good snacks.