There was once a tempura specialist called Uma in Hongdae. It was a sister shop of Genji, a well-known Japanese restaurant in the Hongdae area, and it had a good reputation, but sadly it closed down.. The people who worked at Uma reportedly moved on to other places, which is some consolation at least. I doubt I will get to eat food like this again, but I am posting it for the record.

Tempura Uma

Clean, and fairly spacious too.

Water

Tsukemono (pickles)

Looks like a small thing, but they do it properly. Went fine with the drinks too..

Tataki

Since it is fundamentally a Japanese restaurant and we ordered the course, fish dishes come out as well.

Dassai 23

It is a fairly rare sake, but perhaps because they sell it at the airport, these days you see it all over the place. Good sake getting easier to buy is a good thing.

Shrimp

Freshly fried tempura cannot possibly taste bad. And at the start it does not feel heavy at all. It is only once you are getting full that you start thinking you should stop..

Sashimi

It is not just tempura; the course has a nice rhythm to it, which is great.

Suimono (clear soup)

The advantage being you can sober up a bit while you keep drinking..

Ayu (sweetfish) too..

Natto uni..

Hmm.. I like both natto and uni, but uni seems best eaten on its own..

Asparagus

Kisu (whiting)

White fish tempura is surprisingly good

Tsukune

I had only ever had it at yakitori places, but tsukune done this way works too

Fried rice

Kakuni (braised pork belly)

Even ice cream for dessert

For 50,000 won I thought this was a good deal, but seeing that it closed anyway, the restaurant business really is a tough one. People like me had better stick to just eating.

Abalone

After the course ended, a friend joined us and we ordered a few more dishes.

A plate of uni too

We really drank a lot that day.

And then Factory..

These days it has become almost impossible to go out eating and enjoying myself like this. Once the first round is over, I pretty much head home. Getting older is one thing, but getting insanely busy is something I just cannot do anything about. It is a shame, but I suppose that is life.

Snow crab pasta, which I ordered on my next visit.

Japanese-style pasta you eat with chopsticks, and it is really good. Living in Korea, what I miss is not so much authentic Japanese cuisine as food like this.

Tsukune

I went several more times after that and always ate really well. One of the places I am sad to see gone.

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