Hanam Misa Korean restaurant, crispy seafood pancake lunch: Appa Jjim

Parking and seating at Appa Jjim in Misa, Hanam

There was a staff member guiding parking at Appa Jjim Hanam, so parking was easy from the start. There are quite a lot of seats too, but they filled up fast once lunchtime hit.

The restroom had a fan so it wouldn't feel stuffy, and since the food comes with chili seasoning, they even had mouthwash ready — nice touch!

Appa Jjim's side dishes and what four of us ordered

Starting with the basic side dishes: the nuts and stir-fried mushroom-onion were nutty and savory, plus a sweet-and-sour cabbage salad and cold cucumber soup. Since the main dish, the braised pollock, is spicy, the sides seemed chosen to help balance out the heat a bit.

Here's what we ordered.

• Siraegi kodari jjim (small, for 2) ₩35,000
• Added cuttlefish ₩9,000
• Fragrant pot rice ₩2,500
• Crispy seafood pancake ₩16,000
• Flying fish roe fried rice ₩5,000 (fried rice comes in plain/cheese/roe, three kinds)

So many dishes looked tasty that we ended up ordering a wide variety. The staff mentioned the small braised pollock comes with two fish, which might not be enough for four people. But in our family, only my mom and I really like kodari (dried pollock), and the rest wanted to try other menu items too — so ordering a bunch of different things worked out great, actually 😉 And the portions were so generous that even with four of us eating, there was plenty.

Braised pollock or the cuttlefish add-on: which tasted better?

First, the main dish: siraegi kodari jjim. With healthy siraegi (dried radish greens) piled on top of the braised pollock, it was an unfamiliar dish for me! Can you see the plump pollock? Plenty of other ingredients were packed in too —

The soft tofu and radish in particular had soaked up the seasoning nicely, and the rice cake was chewy and delicious too. But the tastiest thing here was actually something else —

the cuttlefish 👍🏻 I already love cuttlefish so I added it on a whim, and it went really well with the pollock sauce.

With the chewy cuttlefish soaking up the spicy seasoning so well, honestly the cuttlefish was tastier than the pollock for me haha. Made me think their seafood jjim must be amazing too.

My dad's review of Appa Jjim was

It's tasty, but I wish it were a little less salty

is what he said.

How spicy and how salty is the braised pollock?

My husband and I thought the seasoning was just right, but I guess my dad usually eats fairly bland food, so that explains it haha. For reference, if you're weak with spice, even the basic level might feel a bit hot. Still, eating it alongside the side dishes, pot rice, scorched rice, and crispy seafood pancake, we all enjoyed it a lot.

Also, when the braised pollock came out, the staff trimmed it right in front of us to make it easier to eat, which was convenient. I did have to pick out the bones near the dorsal fin myself, though — I think they leave that part alone because the meat there is soft and some people like eating it bones and all haha.

Crispy seafood pancake, 16,000 won: still crunchy on a humid day

The crispy seafood pancake — this was flat-out amazing!! Even though it was really humid the day we visited, they fried it so well that it stayed crispy all the way to the last bite.

Honestly, it was one of the tastiest things we ate that day. If you're looking for a lunch spot in Misa, I'd recommend ordering this alongside the braised pollock!

Fragrant pot rice, 2,500 won, with scorched rice crust

The fragrant pot rice. I don't usually love eating rice alongside a main dish, but I really enjoyed this pot rice.

After finishing the rice, you get to eat the scorched rice too, which paired well with the spicy braised dish. My mom tried it and said

There's a nutty flavor — I think they put glutinous rice in it

and she enjoyed it a lot haha.

When does the flying fish roe fried rice arrive?

Last up, the flying fish roe fried rice. I'd heard it's stir-fried with the pollock's braising sauce, so I assumed they'd fry it up after we finished eating — but since we ordered it along with the braised pollock, they made it with a fresh batch of seasoning! It's on the spicier side, so watch out for the heat 🌶️ haha.

My husband, who can handle spice well, added a bit more of the pollock sauce on top and wrapped it in seaweed. He said it was delicious eaten spicy and salty like that.

Dessert ice cream at 1,000 won: cash or bank transfer only

There was ice cream for dessert too. ₩1,000 each, and payment is cash or bank transfer only, apparently. We picked one of each flavor to try, and it wasn't a bad light finish to the meal haha.

With Appa Jjim Hanam Misa and all the other good restaurants in this neighborhood, there were a lot of cars and people around. Plenty of people visit during lunchtime, so keep that in mind when you go.