Hongdae Pocha is located where one of my favourite Korean restaurants used to be (Apgujung). I’ve been meaning to check this place out for ages, and I finally had the chance to with R after a nice long walk on the seawall.
Hongdae Pocha has a really interesting vibe. They tried to replicate the Korean street food stall feel (hence “Pocha”) and to keep with the theme the restaurant is extremely dark. If there was no sun outside I have no idea how any one can read the menu without a flashlight.
The restaurant has a great promotion for students from Sun to Thursday where all food is 50% off until 8:30 pm. For more information on this click here!
What we ate: Banchan
The side dishes offered here is coleslaw (tastes as good as it looks…) and chips!
What we ate: Oden tang – hearty soup with fish cakes, daikon and a boiled egg ($15.99)
This was a pretty straightforward dish. If I had to pay full price I would say it’s definitely overpriced, but at 50% off it’s a good warm dish to have on a cold day. They are really generous with the fish cakes! They do put a fresh chili in here, so there is a hit of spice in this dish.
What we ate: Rice ball – steamed rice served with pickled radish, carrot, chive, seaweed, mayo and sesame oil ($3.99)
They serve this with a plastic glove so you can really get in there and make some messy rice balls. We were civilized and ate this like a bibimbap with spoons. This was SO GOOD. It’s so simple but comforting. I personally don’t even like mayo (especially Miracle Whip, and I’m pretty sure that they used Miracle Whip) and I inhaled this.
What we ate: Spicy Cold Chewy Noodle – cold chewy noodle, squid, and vegetables served with a house special spicy sauce ($12.99)
The presentation on this dish was so good. Everything was very fresh and portion was enormous. There was more than enough for the two of us, and I’m pretty sure this could feed four people comfortably. I loved the use of perilla leaves, it added a really nice freshness to the dish.
Would I come back? As long as they have this promotion, yes! The food was surprisingly delicious.