I do not go to izakaya in Korea very often, but somehow I ended up going to the same place twice in a row. It is a place called Kaisen near the Express Bus Terminal, and I hear it has been getting popular lately. To be honest, a lot of the Japanese restaurants around Gangnam are poor in quality and absurdly priced. So it is only natural that a place doing things properly would get popular.

The cheapest namazake in the house

This is the thing about this place: the food is not expensive, but for drinks they only stock namazake in the pricier range. Apart from Hwayo, there is hardly any cheap alcohol on the menu, which was a bit of a shame. The food is outstanding value, but if you come with people who like to drink, it really bleeds your wallet. Well, even so, it is not that expensive considering what Japanese restaurants in Gangnam usually charge.

Otoshi

Decent quality.

Buri (yellowtail)

It is buri season right now, but I am not someone who goes out of his way for sashimi, so this was my first of the year. The quality was good.

Come to think of it, winter is getting deep. I would love to do an impromptu buri night while it is still cold.

Aji tataki

Maybe because the fish was so fresh, everything on the menu was good.

Aji fry

I wish they had served the sauce on the side; you could hardly taste the fry itself, which was nicely done. This style is more Korean than Japanese, I would say.

After the first gathering went well, we had a second one, and this time I asked for the 40,000 won omakase course.

Amaebi

They grilled the heads and served them later.

The namazake of the day

Well.. I could not really pick up anything namazake-like about it.

Aji

Quite a lot of hikarimono came out. For your health, nothing beats hikarimono, rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The older you get, the more you need to eat it. And of course it tastes good too.

Wild flounder

The quality was good.

Shime saba

This was just about the best shime saba I have had in Korea. That said, it came out without any grated ginger, which really puzzled me. It is a good Japanese restaurant, but it is a bit of a shame that they occasionally miss the point of a dish.

Simmered fish

Good with drinks.

Buri

The buri comes in a variety of cuts too. For a 40,000 won course, the content was pretty substantial.

Simmered mackerel

Delicious.

Kabutoyaki

I think it was a buri head. Lots of meat to pick at.

Fried shrimp

This is a beer snack, but they do not sell beer.

Karaage

I do not remember it well, but I think it was not bad.

Kohada

It was mostly sashimi rather than cooked dishes.

For 40,000 won this is a decent level, and it made me curious what a pricier course would look like. I think I understood the secret of their popularity in Gangnam. The one problem with this place is that the alcohol is expensive (or rather, they do not sell cheap alcohol), so you cannot just knock drinks back. If you drink a lot, I would recommend Sicily instead; if you care more about the food than the drinks, you will be very satisfied here. Well, if you have plenty of money, it does not matter where or how you go.

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