Hanshin Pocha Rowland Heights — Restaurant in Walnut

Hanshin Pocha is the place I desired to visit because it reminds me of old good days when I and my wife were young. Make no mistake: Hanshin Pocha is NOT what the owner of this franchise purportedly claims to set up, but, originally, it was a kind of colony of unlicensed temporary street food pubs nearby Hanshin Apt. Complex at Gangnam in Seoul during 80's, which were demolished around the end of the 80's; hence, called Hanshin Pocha (snack cart).

At that time, South Korea was not a developed country yet; and thus, not many people could afford to have a drink with a proper meal due to tight budget. Hanshin Pocha targeted a niche market, offering drinks and meals in affordable price primarily because, since it was illegal, its business was not taxable.

Eventually, they made too much money, and thus, National Tax Service (equivalent to IRS) got very interested in their business, which meant that they're doomed. And the rest is a history.

Now, the owner of this franchise, obviously, knows the successful business model of the original Hanshin Pocha: it should be affordable and at the same time good enough to satisfy customers' appetite and hunger. I'm not sure whether in the States it's been as successful as the original Hanshin Pocha were in 80's in South Korea.

I ordered five dishes: Whole Squid, Pork BBQ and Cheese, Tomato Egg, Seafood Stir-Fry, and DIY Rice Ball. Basically, all of them were sweet and salty: suiting to the majority of customers' palate. I suppose most of people, who do not have sophisticated palate would love their food. But those who fortunately have developed their palate to distinguish five tastes would not be happy about having basically the same taste from all of their dishes.

I'm not so much satisfied with quantity of the food, either. At the first glance, their pricing seems to be reasonable. But when you have 'real' dish as opposed to 'pictorial' dish, immediately you'd feel like to order more dishes. Furthermore, considering that K-Food always comes with a various kinds of Banchan, served as appetites and side-dishes, for free, but, regrettably, Hanshin Pocha offers none at all, I'm not inclined to visit this place again.

Food: 6/10 Service:...

🧀 Cheese Rolled Omelet Super fluffy and topped with a sweet-savory sauce. Even the little one at our table loved it and ate several pieces!

🥚 Korean Steamed Egg That jiggly egg soup that’s warm and cozy—goes so well with spicy dishes. Total comfort food!

🍙 DIY Rice Balls This was so fun to make! You mix everything yourself—seaweed, sesame seeds, egg mayo, pickled radish, scallions… it all comes together perfectly. Must-order!

🔥 Grilled Chicken Gizzards on a Hot Plate I wasn’t expecting much from this but WOW—so flavorful and chewy with a kick of garlic. Comes with two dipping sauces and honestly, such a good bar snack!

🥘 Kimchi Stew Packed with goodies—kimchi, pork, sausage—all bubbling together in a spicy, tangy broth. The flavor is rich and deep, not just spicy for the sake of it. We even used the soup as a dip for rice… and mixed it into our rice balls like geniuses hahaha.

🦑 Grilled Squid with Butter Soy Sauce As a certified squid fan, I approve. They have several squid options—I’m definitely coming back to try more. The soy-butter combo was ridiculously good.

🍚 Korean Fried Rice The perfect dish to end the meal! The sauce was cooked in just right, and the crispy bits at the bottom were sooo fragrant. Especially good after the spicy chicken feet!

🌶️ Signature Spicy Chicken Feet You have to get this!! Tender, flavorful, and just the right amount of heat. So satisfying and totally hit the spot!

The whole place feels like a Korean street-style izakaya, with barrel tables and vintage movie posters on the walls. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves Korean food, late-night eats, and watching a good game...

Let me humbly start by admitting that I'm fairly ingnorant to Korean cuisine. My palate used to be limited to KBBQ-AYCE (that's Korean bbq-all you can eat), kimchi and their fried chicken. But I have been adviced by a well travelled relative, that there's so much more to discover with Korean food. That said, enter Hanshin Pocha. Thanks to my wife and her binge watching K-drama, we end up here. First, love the ambiance, very relaxed, clean, and bombarded with K-pop MTV. Yeah! Next, the friendliest and knowledgeable staff on this part of town. They are great with recommendations according to your palette. I don't do spicy, or at least enjoy sweating from my head profusely while eating. Ok, some spice is good, especially if you wash it down with soju or their flavored rice wine. I will not even attempt to suggest what to eat, ask the staff. But just to give you a hint, we've eaten there 3x in the last week, just to taste whatever they have on the menu. Just ask them to bring the spice down to your level and ask for the flavored soju, sips in between to douse the heat or reset palette in between shoving food down the hatch. I was informed, the owner of this popular chain is a famous chef in SK. Also, this is as Mom and Pop you could get, fairly priced good food and drinks. Did I mention their fried chicken, twice fried, not greasy, tender on the inside, crisp to perfection ouside? Delivered to your table, cracked open for you by staff, gives you that home feel of eating at home....