On a Saturday afternoon the plaza which is home to Maru Hanpan quickly transforms to a bustling epicentre of food culture. My friend and I decided something different, and came early enough to get a seat before it filled to capacity. Reading the reviews, I can report that the service was very good, quick and attentive. We were greeted promptly with a tasty kimchie beet and cabbage slaw with a slight peanut flavour. In addition, a complementary tea was also a great added touch.
We couldn't help but order the 'small' assorted Hanpan, which arrived fresh and kept warm with the tea light under the main pan. The assortment had a variety of calorie laden fried foods, and more traditional Korean fare as rice balls in seaweed. The sauces were relatively unremarkable, the red sauce tasting more along the lines of the sauce in a canned spaghetti can (how do I know this) but we're serviceable nonetheless.
Overall, a really fun and unique experience and something different. Good service, comfort food and something for all tastes. Some quick fixes would be to raise the lights a bit and to lower the hip hop a bit to set a more appropriate mood. The atmosphere needs a bit of tweeking. Perhaps hand out survey cards to get a temperature check from the customers, who seem to be from toddlers to seniors.