February 2000

Hangawi
12 East 32nd St. (between 5th and Madison Aves)
Tel.: 212-213-0077
Major credit cards accepted
Reservations Recommended
Not Wheelchair accessible

Before you eat at Hangawi consider choosing your dinner partners carefully. This is not a meal to be rushed. Both the traditional Korean ambiance of the restaurant and the ceremonial presentation of its all-vegan meals lend themselves to lingering conversation, reflection and even romance. This is not a place to stop in for a quick bite: not only wouldn’t you be doing it justice, but it’s seemingly just not possible.

From the moment you enter the inauspicious storefront, you feel as if you’ve discovered a treasure. And after removing your shoes and seating yourself at one of their well-spaced sunken tables, it dawns on you that this is probably a place where the experience and the food are taken seriously. Hangawi offers a wide selection of interesting beverages, their plum wine being one of my favorites. During my most recent visit my companions and I chose to sample their wide selection of teas, each served in a distinctive ceramic cup. We chose the date paste, ginger and green teas (all priced between $3 and $6). While the green tea was slightly dry and refreshing as expected, the other teas were more unusual. The date paste tea had an earthy, rooty taste, and was almost imperceptibly sweet. Its dark color and aromatic smell, with dates and pine nuts floating on top, suggested that we had come across a magic elixir. But the winner at our table (head and shoulders above all others) was the ginger tea—sweet and strong, with a bit of a kick that could help drive away any winter flu.

While it may appear that I have dwelled on the description of the teas, it is important to realize that the tea and food selection portion of the meal took us quite a long time. As we listenedto the traditional Korean music floating over the speakers, perusing the well-designed menu, and comparing notes on the teas, we were in no hurry.

For our appetizer course we shared a selection of dishes, the Korean pear salad ($8.95), which is a mesculin salad with strips of crisp Asian pear on top. For those of you who, like me, have never had an Asian pear before, its taste is a surprising mix of apple and pear. The sweet corn and spinach porridge ($3) was extremely creamy, full-bodied and velvety. We also tried the combination pancakes ($10.95): mushroom, leek and mung bean. The pancakes had a pleasing texture and each had a distinctive taste, although I found the taste of the mung bean pancake slightly flat. As we lingered over pears, tea and porridge, one of my companions remarked on the perfect size of the portions. Their artful presentation and size allowed each diner satisfaction, there was nothing left over on our plates, and no feeling of being ‘stuffed.’

As if on cue after finishing our appetizers, the attentive wait-staff, dressed in traditional Korean garb, arrived with our main dishes.
The mushroom and garlic medley ($15.95) had red and green peppers, broccoli, a festoon of parsley, flicks of carrot and orange slice and, of course, mushrooms and garlic. The vegetables had a satisfying crunchiness, neither over- nor under-cooked, and the sauce that the vegetables were bathed in complimented and added cohesion to the vegetables. The bean curd with Kimchi and vegetables in spicy sauce ($14.95) was artfully displayed, with mushrooms, scallions, leeks, onion flowers and Kimchi surrounded by a half-moon of pieces of high-quality soft tofu (lightly steamed) garnished with strands of dark seaweed. Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish—cabbage fermented in garlic and red pepper. The dish is eaten by wrapping the tofu with pieces of the warm Kimchi salad (which wasn’t too spicy—as it often can be), a complex and colorful sensation for the tastebuds.

The stuffed eggplant in mustard sauce ($14.95) was well displayed, with strips of eggplant lightly filled with vegetables. To the side was a lemon stuffed with mushrooms. Unfortunately, this dish didn’t live up to my expectations; I found it bland and forgettable. The rice served with dinner was whole grain with beans, as is the Korean custom. I had never had this style of rice before and found it to be a vast improvement over its un-spiced, bean-less brethren.

After our main course we found ourselves sated, but by no means too full for dessert. First, we ordered a round of ginger tea. Then we selected an assortment: chocolate tofu pudding, rice mocchi and a cinnamon broth with fruit (desserts are between $3 and $6). The pudding was creamy and rich, but not overwhelmingly sweet. The cinnamon broth was clean tasting and chilled, an unusual dessert that seemed more like an after dinner beverage. The rice mocchi was very sweet, its texture a combination of a smooth rice exterior with a sweet bean paste core. According to one of my companions with more experience in rice mocchis than myself, this dish compared very favorably to others served at other venues.

As we left Hangawi, two hours after our arrival and a bit lighter in the pocketbook, it occurred to me that this restaurant contrasts quite sharply with many other vegetarian and vegan restaurants, because it does not try to be casual. This more formal style of dining is something that carnivores probably take for granted, because there are so many restaurants serving meat that are fancy, but it is a rare experience for the crowd striving to be cruelty-free. The ambiance and ceremonial feeling of Hangawi do not come by accident. The restaurant strives to hold on to its Korean roots, although vegetarian and vegan foods are not the norm in Korean dining. By using traditional Korean styles and dishes, as well as introducing new recipes, Hangawi is an exciting new element in the art of vegan cuisine.

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