Last week, I met up with Sanne aka Mitzie Mee for a blogger lunch date at Hangawi. We met up once a little over a year ago, and I had been looking forward to lunching with her again as she’s so much fun to chat with. This time she’s in town for a little longer, and we already have other delicious meet ups planned. Love how blogging brings people together!
I came here for dinner once 4 years ago before I even had a food blog, and it was a good time to go back as Hangawi was recently named the Best Vegetarian Restaurant in NYC by the 2015 Zagat Restaurant Guide. Even though Hangawi positions itself as a vegetarian Korean restaurant, I suspect it might actually be completely vegan like its sister restaurant Franchia as I didn’t spot anything that was obviously non-vegan when I browsed the menu.
We started with an order of the Spicy Kimchi Mushroom Pancakes ($13). This was not on the lunch specials list, but how can you pass on kimchi pancakes? I really enjoyed all three of the dipping sauces, and the pancakes had great flavor and texture.
Because there’s no such thing as too much spicy food, we both ordered spicy hot pot entrees off the lunch specials menu. Who cares if it’s summertime and hot hot hot, right? Sanne ordered the Tofu Kimchi Hot Pot ($13), which looked like it had plenty of tofu and veggies. It looked very spicy to me, and Sanne described it as Korean spicy.
I’m glad that my Monoglian Hot Pot ($13) had a milder spiciness, which allowed me to sip on it like a soup. It was really comforting and warms the soul. My hot pot was loaded with tofu, wild bracken shoots, mushrooms, and many other tasty veggies. We also received kimchi, sauteed greens, and pickled veggies on the side. All very good.
Love the authentic atmosphere and wooden at Hangawi. It’s very refreshing to step inside the peaceful space and enjoy a good vegetarian Korean meal, which is not something you come across every day. One thing I have mixed feelings about is the shoes off situation here. I appreciate that it marks a transition from outside to inside, but I worry it might smell a bit funky.
P.S. Click here for Sanne’s blog post about our blogger lunch date. She was using a real camera and got some nice food photos, as well as a non-blurry two-in-one selfie of us!
10 Comments
Mitzie Mee
atIt was so delicious! I didn’t miss meat for a second. Your food looked really good, but for some reason, all the pictures I took of your bowl came out blurry. Looking forward to see you again soon:)
wazwu
atAww, still getting the hang of that new camera! Let’s hang out again soon and eat more delicious things. :P
New York: A vegetarian blogger-date at Hangawi - Mitzie Mee Blog
at[…] was great seeing Waz again (read her blog post about our lunch here), and even though we’ve only met once before (read about it here), it was like catching up with an […]
annie lee
atawww sounds like fun times :) and you’re right vegetarian Korean restaurant… i’ve never even heard of it! hopping over to sanne’s to see your selfies now :P
wazwu
atIf you ever come here, I’ll take you there! :D
Anshulika
atGreat cuisine.
wazwu
atIt was delicious! :)
~ Carmen ~
atI’ve never had kimchi pancakes, so that’s something I’d really enjoy trying. :]
// ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
wazwu
atThey’re really tasty! I wonder how hard they are to make. You could trying making them at home! :)
Best Vegan & Vegan Restaurants, NYC – Let's Nom Nom!
at[…] Hangawi / Franchia Sister restaurants, Hangawi and Franchia, serve up vegan versions of Korean favorites like sizzling bibimbap and kimchi pancakes. If you’re in need of a zen-like escape from the hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan, you’ve come to the right place. Midtown East, hangawirestaurant.com Midtown East, franchia.com […]