Skip to content
Quida 日本語

SeoulVisited November 2021 Views –

Hoehyeon Cafe, Seoul: One Set Plate of Shrimp Fry, Fried Cutlet and Napolitan Spaghetti

A white plate with a brown rim piled with fried shrimp standing upright in the middle, a round breaded piece under orange-brown sauce, what looks like potato salad, curly parsley, a lemon wedge and tomato spaghetti, with a plate of rice beside it.
The set plate in November 2021, with fried shrimp standing upright.
How to order Address & map

Hoehyeon Cafe (회현카페) is a Western-style diner in the Hoehyeon neighborhood of Jung-gu, Seoul, that serves one set plate, Dugeundugeun Seutemina Jeongsik (두근두근 스테미나 정식), a set meal whose name means heart-pounding stamina set. Polle files it under gyeongyangsik (경양식), the Korean name for Western-style diner food such as fried cutlets, and reviewers describe shrimp fry, fried chicken, a cutlet or hamburger steak and napolitan spaghetti on one plate. Reviewers place it on the second floor above Hoehyeon Sikdang (회현식당), a Japanese set-meal restaurant.

The stamina set plate

In my November 2021 photos the plate is piled high. Two fried shrimp tails stand upright in the middle, a round breaded piece sits under an orange-brown sauce, and a white sauce with dried parsley covers what looks like another fried piece. There is also what looks like potato salad, shredded cabbage topped with a flat piece under a dark brown sauce, a lemon wedge and curly parsley, with tomato-sauced spaghetti dusted with grated cheese at the edge, and a separate plate of rice.

Close-up of two fried shrimp tails standing upright, coated in rough golden breadcrumbs, with curly parsley and a lemon wedge below.
Two fried shrimp tails standing upright.
A round breaded piece covered in an orange-brown sauce with dried parsley flakes, with what looks like potato salad and a lemon wedge beside it.
A round breaded piece under orange-brown sauce.

A September 2021 Polle review, written when the café was new, lists the set as a minced-meat cutlet (멘치카츠) with demi-glace, chicken karaage (가라아게) under tartar sauce, shrimp fry (에비후라이), napolitan (나폴리탄), sea bream consommé and rice. The shrimp, breaded pieces and napolitan in my photos match that list. The reviewer warns that the rich consommé may not suit everyone and suggests squeezing in extra lemon.

Tomato-sauced spaghetti coiled under grated cheese with red sausage-like slices and green pepper, next to a lemon wedge, what looks like potato salad and shredded cabbage.
Napolitan spaghetti under grated cheese, with a lemon wedge.

The stamina set, then and now

A laminated menu card on a green gingham tablecloth, with a small illustration of the plate above the words 회현카페, 두근두근 스테미나 정식 and 22,000.
The menu card in November 2021: ₩22,000.

My photo of the menu card is from November 2021, when the stamina set cost ₩22,000. A Polle review shown as about a year old lists it at ₩21,000. Several Polle reviewers say Hoehyeon Cafe closed for a while and then reopened, and one adds that it sells no coffee despite its name.

Polle reviewers describe Hoehyeon Cafe as open for lunch only, with last orders at 1:30 pm according to a review shown as about a year old. A September 2021 review said it took walk-ins only. Polle now lists the café as bookable through CatchTable, and a reviewer shown as about nine months old says booking makes the meal easier.

How to order

Show this to the staff

스테미나 정식 하나 주세요.

Seutemina jeongsik hana juseyo.

One stamina set, please.

예약했어요.

Yeyak haesseoyo.

I have a reservation.

레몬 하나 더 주세요.

Remon hana deo juseyo.

One more lemon, please.

With one set on the menu, reviewers say cooking starts as soon as you sit down and there is no need to order.

日本語で読む

Sources checked