After watching all the K dramas, my cravings for Korean food has grown to the next level. Hangawi has been one of my favorite Asian restaurant in NYC for over a decade. I first found out about the restaurant when I lived in NYC. I passed by the place and looked up the menu. To my surprise it was vegan. Although we have so many vegan restaurants in the city, this place has been around for a long time and its truly a gem. I had never tasted Korean food before I came across this restaurant and I fell in love with this place and the food. 

The ambiance of this restaurant is outstanding, the seating is traditional and you take off your shoes and sit down to eat. Every little thing from the decor of the restaurant to the utensils they use will give you all the Korean feel. 

The menu has so many choices and everything on the menu looked so tempting. You can decide to go with chef’s menu or a la carte. They also have gluten free option available. I prefer to go with more people so we can try more dishes. For the drinks we got their Sake, mindfulness cocktail and lychee soda. You can tell that they used fresh juices and the sake was served in an Asian pear. The drinks tasted so refreshing.  

For the appetizers we got Sesame Leaf Tofu, I loved the spice in this dish. The Tofu was soft and it was wrapped in a leaf that added a crunch. The flavors of this one was outstanding. We also ordered Fritters Galore and we loved how crunchy these were and you could tell that they were fried just before serving. My favorite was their Dumpling soup, yes something so simple tasted absolutely delicious and comforting. It was served in little brass bowls and every bite just made me want to eat more. They soup had lots of veggies cooked to perfection and the dumplings were flavorful. 

For the main course we ordered Combination Kimbap that is same thing as sushi but this is a Korean version. We liked kimchi and mushroom flavors but we were not a fan of mountain root. We also got which has been our favorite at this restaurant, Kimchi Bibimbap and it was outstanding. We have tried many versions of Bibimbap at this restaurant and we also love how it tastes. The rice is cooked to perfection and I absolutely love the crunchy rice from the bottom. This dish gives me a satisfying feeling.  I prefer to skip their dessert and order the Dates tea. If you haven’t tried this before, you must try it as it is the best thing to have after a delicious meal. 

I highly recommend visiting Hangawi, its an amazing place to bring a date or celebrate special occasions. 

Ambiance at Hangawi

Sesame Leaf Tofu Patties 

Dumpling Soup

Kimchi Bibimbap

Fritters Galore 

Awakening & Dates Tea 

My Review 

Hangawi

COST: $$$$
CUISINE: Vegan Korean
FAVORITES: Bibimbap, Dumpling Soup, Sesame Leaf Tofu Patties, Dates Tea 
Taste: 4.5
Service: 5
Ambience: 5
Overall rating: 5

Rating scale 1-5 (5 being the best)