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Come Visit This Tokyo Brewery In An Old Train Station
Hitachino Brewing Lab
If you’re looking for a break from the bright lights and bustling nature of Akihabara, Hitachino Brewing Lab is a great place to relax with beer and relax for a bit.
About a 15 minute walk from Akihabara, it’s located in the old Manseibashi train station, across the river. Hitachino is a great place to sample fresh beers and grab a quick snack with an enjoyable river view.
The river next to Hitachino Brewing Lab I came here around 7-8pm on a Saturday night prior to heading over to Akihabara. It did take me a little bit of time to find. This seemed to be one of those places that Google Maps had a tough time providing proper directions to so it was a little confusing.
I ended up walking through the old station which is pretty cool in itself, and I’d recommend walking around a bit if you visit Hitachino.
It’s a very tiny spot with a handful of tables and countertop seating inside the restaurant and some additional tables outside as well.
The front of Hitachino Brewing Lab The Experience
They have a nice selection of beers on draft that are brewed in house. There’s also a good selection of snacks to enjoy and a couple of sandwiches to choose from if you’re hungrier. It’s a cozy, quiet little spot for sure. I went on a Saturday night and it was very chill.
I ended up getting the pale ale along with a mackeral sandwich (1880 yen, $12.81 USD) and later got an IPA (980 yen, $6.80).
I’d never heard of a mackeral sandwich before but reviews on it were solid and I was hungry, so figured I’d give it a try! It was a very simple sandwich. There were pieces of grilled mackeral, sauerkraut, carrot, whole seed mustard, on toasted wheat bread.
You wouldn’t necessarily think that those ingredients thrown into a sandwich would very good. It does afterall sound pretty unusual. But it’s actually quite tasty. The flavor of the salty grilled mackeral and sourness of the sauerkraut really contrast and it works out. Who would have thought?
It looks like and tastes like a sandwich one would make at home, which fits in perfectly with the overall vibe of Hitachino Brewing Lab. It also goes great with a beer!
Is It Worth A Visit?
If you’re a beer fan and looking to take a break from all the sightseeing and have some good beers and snacks than Hitachino is certainly worth it if you’re visiting Akihabara.
You can see a part of town that visitors don’t necessarily wander over to.
The renovated train station is worth a look around as well. It has some shops and other restaurants located there but most seemed to be closed by the time I arrived.
N1 1-25-4, Kandasudacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
TEL.03-3254-3434[BUSINESS HOURS]
From Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 22:00
Sunday and Holidays from 11:00～21:00 -
Chillhops Brewing Co, Seoul, South Korea: Inviting Micro Brewery With Great Beer And Food
First Impressions
Located in the very popular Itaewon district sits a small, non-descript micro brewery called Chillhops Brewing Co. I’m a big beer guy, so finding different breweries in countries and sampling the local beer is always something I look forward to while traveling.
I did some research on Chillhops prior to heading over and read it was an Australian, New Zealand, Korean influenced brewery. Sounded interesting!
Chillhops logo 
Entrance to Chillhops in Itaewon Upon entering the brewery, you instantly feel a chill, cool vibe. The lights are dimmed, and black painted walls are adorned with brightly colored art painted directly on it. It’s not a large place at all and feels more like a lounge than a brewery, which is my kind of place.
The Experience
There’s a great selection of beers to choose from on tap. I didn’t come here with the intent to blog about it so the pictures are a little lacking and I didn’t get one of the beer menu BUT trust me theres’ a nice variety of brews to choose from.
There were two people working on the night I went and they were both awesome. Super friendly and knowledgeable about all the beers they had on tap, offering up suggestions on ones I should try. They were also handling all the cooking for the night!
I didn’t intend on staying at Chillhops too long but found myself hanging out long enough to where I decided to grab some food here as well. The cheeseburger was the most popular item on the menu so I decided to give it a try.
I gotta say the burger was exceptional. Consisting of two, well seasoned, juicy patties, with lettuce, tomato, melted-gooey cheese, and if memory serves, a thousand island sauce lathered on it. It really reminded me of an In-N-Out burger for those of you who know that burger!
The Verdict
Chillhops Brewing Co. offers an impressive number of diverse drafts on tap to choose from, while providing quality, friendly service. The food, at least the burger, is quite tasty as well. The brewery has a real neighborhood bar kinda vibe to it which adds to its charm. I’d defintely recommend stopping by for a pint or two if you find yourself in the area!
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KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN @ Gorilla Brewing Co in Busan, South Korea
I wanted to check out some local brewed beers in Busan and found Gorilla Brewing which sounded like it had a great of variety of beers on tap, which it did. I sampled a couple of the IPA’s, which were great and also put me in the mood for some fried chicken. Fortunately, fried chicken was on the menu with a couple of seasoning choices.
Gorilla Brewing Co Menu I went with the original since I just wanted plain fried chicken without any kind of sauce.
I have to say the orginal was the perfect choice. It was fried to perfection. Not oily at all. Every bite brought a very satisfying crunch. Lightly salted but very tasty. The meat was unbelievably moist.
I’m so used to fried chicken that is dripping oil and parts of the chicken being overly tough. That definitely wasn’t the case here. Probably the most moist fried chicken I’ve ever had. Served with a dipping sauce that is slightly sweet but not overly so, with a good spicy kick to it. It complemented the chicken well. The portions were amazing as well. This was a lot of chicken to work through.
If visiting Busan and craving some local brewed beers and tasty fried chicken, Gorilla Brewing is certainly worthy of a stop!
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Noonaholdak Hongdae – Oven Baked Chicken and Beer (Seoul, South Korea)
You see plenty of fried chicken spots in South Korea. It’s a country wide staple. I didn’t see too many oven baked chicken restuarants however.
While walking around Hongdae I stumbled upon this restaruant located near Hongik University and it was too hard to pass by, what with the bright lights and interesting building layout. Also, let’s be honest: you can never go wrong with (Oven) Chicken and Beer.
The restaurant definitely had a Buffalo Wild Wings type atmosphere with multiple TVs on the walls and loud music blaring. The menu offered a vast array of food options besides the chicken and a had nice selection of beers to choose from with some local craft beers as well.
Going back to the chicken, there’s a good number of seasonings / glazes to choose from but I had to go with the spicy. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that spicy but still packed a decent kick and was slighlty sweet but not overly so.
The chicken had a nice oven baked outer crunch to it and the meat was fall off the bone kind of tender. Really a nice, delicious combination of the spicy glaze, oven baked crunchy skin and super tender meat. There was also a TON of chicken and fries (which were also very good).
Literally a massive pile of chicken which the pictures do not do justice.
Chicken, fries, and beer. What more could you want? I did my best but I just couldn’t eat this entire plate. It’s most likely better to share with someone else unless you have a big appetite!
There’s a ton of food options in Hongdae to choose from but if you’re in the mood for some chicken and beer this makes for a very good option!
Related Links
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Eating Your Way Through Gwangjang Market Is A MUST For Any Visit to Seoul, South Korea!
