Hanshin Pocha Rowland Heights

We ordered Dakttongjip 닭똥집, Spicy chicken feet 닭발, Soju and beer, fried chicken, DIY Rice Ball. This is the best Korean chicken feet restaurant. I live far from Rowland Heights, but I always go here for these chicken feet. As the main menu, chicken feet and rice balls are a must order. Other menu items are also very tasty. This is the place that comes to mind when I miss Korean food in the US. The staff is always friendly and the store atmosphere is fun and happy. Good to visit with a group of people.

Wow, we got the pork with cheese and the DIY rice ball. Both very delicious. And the DIY rice balls got that charming hands-on element. The pork with cheese was love at first bite. the two dishes actually complimented each other very well Although the portion of the pork and cheese actually overwhelmed us (we were two girls). I would say this place would be funner with more people, cuz then you can try more dishes. Would also be fun for those who drink because it's Korean drunk food for sure.

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: 8/10
Interior: 7/10

It’s not best tasting Korean restaurant or the best deal, but it’s definitely one of the most fun place to eat. Be sure to go with at least four people to sample a variety of dishes they have!

We found this place by pure luck. We were in town and needed somewhere to go and eat and everything on the menu looked super good and so we decided to stop by and were super impressed. We had some pretty good service and really good food. We especially liked the pork belly in Gochujang and mozzarella cheese, though the chicken gizzards and boneless fried chicken with fries were pretty good too.

For four dishes though, we paid almost $60, so it's a little bit pricey here. Though it's a bar, we didn't order any alcohol, which I guess saved us a little bit of money.

We don't have this in the area where we live, despite there being a decent amount of Koreans. I'd love to come again, but it's so far (almost an hour drive) I'd need an excuse to come.