Haecheon Obu

Since I travel to Seoul pretty often, I tend to want to explore new places for meals, although there are always favourite restaurants I always revisit. One of the new restaurants I visited in my last trip was one specialising in seafood, and as a seafood lover, I dragged my friend along for a meal

Located in the famous Ikseondong area, the restaurant is right off the edge of the cluster of popular restaurants and cafes. I made a reservation for an early dinner to make sure that I get a table. I arrived way before my reservation timing but as my table was already set up, the owners welcomed me into the restaurant

The restaurant is small and cosy with only 4 tables in the main hall and a couple more in 2 private rooms. As a restaurant specialising in lobsters, there was decor of lobsters everywhere, as well as a bar counter right in the middle of the restaurant

There were a couple of different courses to choose from, and you can take a look at the menu here. We went for the dancing lobster course, which came with lobster sashimi, lobster soup, steamed lobster, as well as other dishes. Something which stood out to me was the use of out-of-the-ordinary ceramic cups, plates, containers and utensils throughout the course, which showed the efforts put in by the owners to make the dining an experience in its own

The first dish was salad, but served in a dramatic brass hotpot with dry ice smoke mimicking steam from the hot pot. The salad was basic greens with some shrimp and served with a light citrusy sauce, and was great to whet our appetite for the start of the course

Next dish was the deep-fried shrimp served in a little bamboo boat, complete with a fisherman decoration which held up a hand-written sign describing the dish and wishing the diner well. The shrimp was freshly fried with no greasy bite, and the batter was thin and just lightly crispy

The next item served was the lobster maki, with gamtae seaweed, known for its delicate, fine strands, deep-sea aroma, slightly bitter yet sweet taste, and unique umami. The maki is served sitting on top of 2 cute tortoise stands, on a cute ceramic plate with hand-painted ocean designs. The rice itself was lightly seasoned and at room temperature, so the seaweed gave it a strong sea flavour

The next dish was the grilled abalone, which was also beautifully plated in its shell and a earth toned plate with another tortoise and flower arrangement. The abalone was grilled nicely with a light char, and the texture was crunchy while the flavour was sweet and full of umami. The original flavour of abalone is not very strong, so the grilling adds to the flavour nicely

The main highlight of the course was served, and of course, all eyes were on the huge lobster, which was sitting on top of the serving tray. There were also other small bowls of sashimi, like sea squirts, sea urchin, live octopus, conch and other shellfish

The lobster was still alive when it got served on our table

After we took pictures of the lobster, the staff brought the lobster into the kitchen for preparation while we ate the other sashimi. The sashimi was very fresh, and the sea urchin did not have any metallic taste to it. Most of them had crunchy textures, and not everyone liked them. My friend, who was with me, did not really enjoy these sashimi as she is used to the Japanese type of sashimi. The taste was mainly strong sea umami flavours, which paired well with the spicy gochujang sauce

The next dish is definitely the highlight of my meal, as the lobster sashimi is being served on this over-the-top plating. Served in small slices, the lobster meat was as fresh as you can get since the lobster was still alive just moments ago. The texture was tender and crunchy at the same time, with natural sweetness. The taste and texture are almost like shrimp sashimi or crab sashimi, but on a much better and sweeter level. I can finally understand why people love lobster sashimi

The next dish was the baked lobster with cheese, which was naturally delicious since the lobster was fresh and sweet, and the baked cheese added a layer of savoury creamy flavour. However, after having the lobster sashimi, I still prefer eating it raw since having too much of the cheese was heavy on the stomach

Last but not least was the seafood soup from the remaining parts of the lobster and some added mussels, clams and scallops. The soup was surprisingly light and refreshing with the use of radish and green onions. Instead of an overpowering, deep-flavour soup, it has a light flavour which warms your stomach after all the cold dishes before this. There were also noodles provided to be added to the soup

Overall, the dish which stayed in my mind for months was the lobster sashimi, and I crave it on any other day. Other than the live giant lobster, the other dishes were pretty general and nothing too out of the ordinary, other than being really fresh. The service of the staff was, however, very welcoming and homely and could be a deciding factor for returning guests

Address: 11 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Opening hours: 11.30 am to 10.30 pm ( Closed on Mon and till 10 pm on Sat and Sun)