Hanjan

Danji was one of my favorite places last year so when I found out Chef Hooni Kim was opening up a new restaurant right in my neighborhood I was thrilled.  Hanjan is very similar to the cozy Danji space except its a bit larger and sexier.  I was hoping to get a seat at the wooden bar but it was already packed by 6:30 on Saturday so we took a seat at a two-seater in back.  The menu is all Korean small plates so we set about ordering a bunch to share.  To begin Pork Fat Ddukbokki.



The sauce on this rice and fish cake dish was awesome.  It had a strong spice that seemed slightly sweet at first but then started to build up and left a nice tingle on my tongue.  I've never liked rice cakes, and I still don't (it's a texture thing), but I was happy to leave those for Mr. T and eat the fish cakes alone.  We ordered two kinds of skewers the first a BBQ Galbi...



Followed by the Spicy Pork Belly.




They were both great but the Galbi stood out as the winner.  It was juicy with a nice little char perfect for topping with the scallion salad on the side....and don't get me started on lettuce cups...
I love anything I can wrap in a nice green.



Our last plate was the Gwangju Market Fried Chicken.  This came out fresh from the fryer and so incredibly hot we had to wait about 5 minutes to let the steam out.  Once we did the salty exterior of the chicken had a fabulous crunch and the dark meat was chock ton of flavor.  We needed to cool down a little from all the heat so we ordered Makegeolli, a milky, sweet rice beer.





This is a great place both for sharing drinks with friends or a casual date night.   I don't think it's quite up to par with Danji just yet but I have high hopes it will be full stride in a few months.  It's a solid addition to the neighborhood.


Hanjan

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