Haha's Hongdae Restaurant 401

Haha's restaurant has undergone a facelift, no longer is it named Pal Ja Mak Chang (팔자막창) and gone are the affiliations with reggae (graffiti) and Running Man (Korean variety show). Now, it is called 401 and in place of the (loud) reggae inspired graffiti (that used to adorned the place), it has more of a Jamaican pirate-y theme to it (with earthy shades of brown and matching fonts to match).

Haha's Hongdae Restaurant 401
The exterior of 401
Haha's Hongdae Restaurant 401
The interior

For Running Man fans, worry not, though there are no more memorabilia or connections to the variety show (i.e. no more nametags), you can still see Haha posters. And if you are lucky enough, you might just bump into Haha (p.s. he apparently still grills the customer’s meat himself when he is there).

Anyways, 401, like its previous reincarnation Pal Ja Mak Chang (팔자막창), serves Korean BBQ food and the waiters will help you with the grilling. Other than the facade change, the menu also has changed with lesser variety for the BBQ selections (i.e. no more intestines and more of the expensive parts of black pork).

After meeting up at Hongik University Station Exit 9, the 4 of us made our way to the restaurant, which was an adventure in itself as we kinda got lost. But we still managed to find our way in the end. So by the time we reached 401, we were cold and hungry.

Unfortunately, the waiter who served us that night wasn't too friendly insisting that we had to take a minimum of 2 persons portion in a pretty rude way. However, other than the service hiccup, the food was alright: the black pork pieces, which went nicely with the vegetables and sauces, were nice and juicy, and the cold kimchi noodles was refreshing.

Haha's Hongdae Restaurant 401
BBQ pork!
Haha's Hongdae Restaurant 401
Refreshing cold kimchi noodles!

And of course, how can we leave out the banchan? [^-^]

Haha's Hongdae Restaurant 401
Banchan


The pricing was relatively reasonable, about 27,000 won per person (which included a bottle of soju). All in all it was a relatively good dinner, but not one I would exclusively recommend unless you love Haha or happen to be in the area. After all, there are tons of Koran BBQ restaurants in the Hongdae area, let alone Seoul.



Directions
From Hongik University Station Exit 9. The restaurant is just opposite the Sang Sang Ma Dang, an art exhibition hall.

Address: Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, 395-17




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