Hanjan

Despite an affinity for all things Asian and an office near Koreatown for 5 years, the Pants rarely made it into a proper Korean restaurant, which after dinner at Hanjan, is really a tragedy. Hanjan is a new, tapas style Korean restaurant from the chef of ultra-successful and Michelin starred Danji in Hells Kitchen. Hate to say this, but the Pants have yet to visit  Danji, but given it’s location and how hard it is to plan to be in Hells Kitchen without a reservation (unless you have a Sushi of Gari backup), it has (unfortunately) fallen off of our radar. Until now!

Walking into Hanjan is like walking into a casual and hip neighborhood spot, where you’d like everybody to know your name. The restaurant is completely packed from the beginning of dinner service until late into the night, and there’s a large bar in front that’s perfectly nice to sit at should you be dining solo. Given the Chelsea address, it is also a great spot to keep in mind should you be coming from MSG or or the Theater District because it’s open late and very friendly to walk-ins. In fact, they only accept reservations for about a quarter of the tables, and there aren’t too many!

The entire staff, including the Gatekeeper Ali, is incredibly friendly, and also extremely helpful when trying to decide what to get – a trust me, after seeing you menu, you will realize you have some tough decisions to make! Now, one thing you should also know about Hanjan ahead of time is that at 10PM, they begin to serve their 12-hour Korean Ramyun. I know, this sounds late to first start slurping noodles, but trust me – it’s worth it; and if you plan accordingly, this bowl of amazingness could also serve as dessert.

After putting our name down at 7:50, we were seated around 8:25, which made the ramen plan a little dicey… therefore, we ordered a full meal figuring it was just a little too early to hang around for the prize. We started out with the wild salmon sashimi salad, served with greens, which totally exceeded our expectations. At first we weren’t sold on sashimi on such a cold night, but this isn’t your ordinary sashimi – it packed enough heat to put this raw fish on a totally new level.

Next came the Pork Fat ‘Ddukbokki,’ and I have to say these spicy and petite (ahem) rice cakes gave our favorite rice cakes at Momofuku Noodle Bar a run for the money. Following this came the Radish Kimchi and Brisket Fried Rice, a dish with the perfect balance of spice, protein, and creaminess from a fried egg on top. The BBQ Galbi Skewers landed next, which came with a lettuce wrap and some accouchements, but honestly unmemorable. On the other hand, the Gwangju Market Fried Chicken, served with picked jalapeños and another crispy vegetable, picked things back up with a spicy/salty seasoning that could only compliment an already yummy dish.

The food came out at a good pace, but the environment at Hanjan makes you want to stay and hang out a little longer, get another carafe of sake (OK, maybe just me), and perhaps digest a bit to make room for the unthinkable… totally stuffed, we glanced at our watches and saw that it was 9:40…12-hour ramyun! We were going for the gold, and at 10:05, the Eagle landed in front of us, and I don’t think I spoke a word for another 6 minutes when the spicy contents of the bowl had totally vanished. While it’s not Ippudo (nor is it trying to be), I don’t think there are many other bowls of ramen in NYC that can compete with Hanjan’s hot (in temp and taste) ramyun, but since people are so freaking picky these days, I’m sure someone will tell me otherwise!

Get to Hanjan before it’s utterly impossible – and better yet, get there on the later side so you can leave as happy as we did!