Hanjan

36 West 26th Street

(between Broadway and Sixth Avenue)

It was Winter Restaurant Week and in spite of the bad weather, I wanted to try at least one restaurant’s special Lunch Menu ($25 for appetizer, entrée, and dessert).

 

Went to a somewhat-difficult-to-find Korean restaurant, Hanjan. For some reason, on many places online it’s listed as being located between Broadway and Madison? If I weren’t meeting someone at the restaurant, I would have probably just called it a day and went elsewhere! After wandering around a bit perplexed I went west and finally found it between Broadway and Sixth.

Upon entering, I found my dining companion waiting for me at a nicely stocked bar.

 

The restaurant itself is of a calming minimalist décor with a communal table in the center of the room.

Luckily, we arrived when the restaurant had just opened as it soon quickly filled up with other diners taking advantage of the Restaurant Week Lunch Menu.

 

As part of the Lunch Menu special they provided namul (their version of banchan), which they typically would charge for. It came with: Korean sweet black beans, muchae (chopped radish with dried chili pepper), and soybean sprouts. Very tasty and light!

 

For our starters, we ordered the fried handmade pork and chive dumplings (decent, but not the best).

And sweet and sour chicken nuggets (lightly fried chicken breast in “tangsoo” sauce). Would not order again as it did not taste like chicken nuggets.

My main reason for returning would be for the entrée I ordered: the ramen noodles in spicy seafood broth (jjam ppong ramyun). Delicious! Unbelievably spicy and perfect to warm up a cold day. The noodles were of perfect consistency and the seafood was plentiful. Drank to the last drop!

My friend ordered what she always orders in a Korean restaurant: the bulgogi beef bibimbap. She thought it was good, but not the best she has tasted. And as I mentioned, she is a bibimbap lover..

 

And we finished off our meal with the black sesame ice cream and sweet potato ice cream. Decent, but again nothing noteworthy to mention.

For drinks, my friend ordered the popular Makgeoli (unfiltered rice beer). She loved it, but I found it a bit too bitter. I guess because of its milky coloring, I was assuming that it would have a more sweet and creamy taste.

 

So instead I ordered the Hite (draft Korean lager made with mineral water). Very light and refreshing—so perfect accompaniment with my spicy ramen seafood soup!

Pros:

Ramen noodles with spicy seafood broth.

Cons:

Aside from the ramen noodle soup, the food is rather average considering the pricing.

More banchan offerings needed.

Final Thoughts

If I’m in the area and need a quick ramen noodle fix I’ll definitely consider returning.