Haijima is the place where I was born and raised. I was first brought here by my Korean-Japanese half-brother. Since then, it has been a tradition for me to come here and drink with my half-brother. I have been to various Korean restaurants before and after that, but my taste buds always lead me back to this place. I now live in Ibaraki, so when I felt like eating here the other day, I took a bus and a train, about 3 hours in total. They have tatami seating, so I think they took over a Japanese izakaya and turned it into a Korean diner. But for some reason, with the food and the conversations with the owner, it magically transforms into a small Korean eatery. When I go with my half-brother, we order 3-4 dishes and go through beer, makgeolli, and soju, but when I go alone, kimchi and samgyeopsal are enough. I enjoy samgyeopsal with draft beer and a bottle of Japanese soju (I wish they had small Korean bottles). The owner will teach you the delicious way to cook samgyeopsal. The green onions and miso as side dishes are also delicious and make a great snack. In the midst of the increasing trend of sweet Korean dishes, the owner does not compromise on her flavors. There's plenty of garlic and chili peppers. And most importantly, there's plenty of love from the owner. Oh, and the owner's son, who she proudly talks about, is super handsome! When he comes to Japan, he often helps out at the restaurant. It's a difficult time for international travel now due to the current situation, but hopefully, there will come a day when we can meet the son again.

#Korean home cooking restaurant #Kakinoki. Popular dishes include #Yangnyeom Chicken, Tofu Stew, Japchae, Bulgogi, and Tteokbokki. Located near Haijima Station, serving authentic Korean cuisine. Check out their delicious dishes on Tabelog and Instagram. A must-visit for Korean food lovers! #Kakinoki #Haijima #KoreanFood #TokyoGourmet #HaijimaGourmet #KoreanGourmet #Foodie #Instafood #Foodstagram #Foodlover #MustVisit #DeliciousFood #FoodieCommunity #InstafoodAward2022 #FoodieDestination

Visited around 8:30 PM on Tuesday. Thank you for the delicious meal.

Stable Persimmon Tree

This is the place to go for drinks♪

The deliciousness of stability♪

Yome-san said she wanted to eat Korean food, so we went. The appearance is like a traditional yakiniku restaurant. Inside, there are tatami rooms for about 10 people, two 4-person tables, and a counter with about 4 seats. It is clean and well-maintained. There is only one lady running the place, so it seems tough for her. The prices are a bit high, but the portions are too much. We went as a group of 2 and couldn't finish the food. At least 4 people are needed to handle it. We were served 3 appetizers - menma, small fish simmered in soy sauce, and stir-fried onions and eggplant. The menma-like dish was delicious with a good texture and sesame oil flavor. The pork bone-in kalbi for 2000 yen was two pieces of meat the size of a copy paper (A5). It was very tender and tasty, and the sauce was also delicious. It had the right balance of sweetness and spiciness, with a refreshing garlic aroma. The kimchi platter for 700 yen had oi kimchi, kakuteki, and regular kimchi. It was quite abundant and had a strong spiciness without the typical garlic scent, a bit lacking in mellowness. I'm not a big fan of it. The warm noodles for 790 yen were a refreshing way to end the meal. It was a salt soup with green onions, chives, egg, onions, and enoki mushrooms with somen noodles. The black pepper was noticeable, but the soup mainly highlighted the somen noodles' flavor. It lacked a punch, and I felt like adding vinegar. The service may not be top-notch as the lady is running the place alone. It would be better if she had some help. However, she is very friendly and engages in conversation. We asked for sangchu (lettuce) even though it wasn't on the menu, and she brought it. There were other dishes like chijimi and namul that we wanted to try, but the portions were too much for us. They also had a chicken karaage dish for 2000 yen, served in a large family-style portion. Next time, we definitely want to come with at least 4 people. And if they sold the sauce, we would definitely buy it. It would elevate the yakiniku experience.

After enjoying yakitori at Oshiba, we hopped over to this neighboring restaurant. There was only one group of customers before us, a trio of women. We started off with some beer and ordered liver sashimi, which turned out to be pretty good despite being thawed. We then moved on to a pack of makgeolli, tteokbokki, and stir-fried octopus (nakchi bokkeum). It was spicy, but the alcohol helped it go down smoothly. In the end, we even ordered more beer and finished everything. After the previous customers left, we had a great conversation with the owner. We discussed the differences in behavioral characteristics between Japanese and Korean people. Korea is still a country rooted in Confucianism, a country of principles and rules, while Japan is more about adjusting and reading the mood of others, lacking clear principles. It was a fun night. By the way, it's affordable.