11.195

18 (Sat) July 2020

Gwangeo Hoe

3.5

at Hae

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Hae is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in hoe.  Live fish are kept in tanks and sold by weight.  Dine-in customers pay a small additional fee for a full spread of side dishes.  The name of the restaurant is derived from the Chinese character for “sea.”

It’s one of the few serious restaurants in our predominantly residential neighborhood, which mostly has small informal family joints.

In addition to the menu, the restaurant’s biggest draw would have to be the al fresco seating, especially in the spring and autumn.

This evening, the weather was nice at 24 degrees with a touch of wind.  The suburbs are definitely a bit cooler than the city.

The food was good.  We ordered a small gwangeo, along with all the fixings.  The fish, as fresh as could be in an urban environment, was pristinely flavorless – personally, I prefer fish that have flavor, like tuna.  The texture of the flesh, which had been alive just moments ago, was amazingly taut and chewy, almost as if still resisting.  The sides were simple and clean, though otherwise unremarkable.  We also ordered a live octopus (san nakji) on the side (see video below), and a fish stew (maeun tang) to finish.  Overall, it was a fine meal.

(For more details re food, see WHAT)

(For more details re venues, see WHERE IN KOREA)