**** Han Bat has closed
A while back, knowing how much the Missus enjoys Korean Black Goat Casserole, Calvin told me about Han Bat. Calvin said he noticed signage in the front of the restaurant mentioning Black Goat Soup. So we made a trip to Plaza Del Sol, and Han Bat.
Han Bat is a fairly small, Mom and Pop type operation, with a brightly colored and well lit interior. In what was a ominous sign, Han Bat was also totally empty, on a Friday evening!
The limited menu had about 20 items, all of them some type of soup or casserole. We saw several Black Goat soups and casseroles, and attempted to order, but was told that they were out of goat. When I asked when they’d have goat again, I got a shrug of the shoulders. So no goat. In one instant, twenty percent of the items on the menu weren’t available. We did find something interesting, and placed our order.
The Lady dropped of our panchan, which consisted of only 4 little plates of very routine panchan. Nothing earth-shattering, and a little on the chintzy side.
Since they were out of Goat, we ordered the Duck Casserole for two ($26.50):
A portable stove was placed on the table and a smallish sized cast iron pot of broth and vegetables was heated. 
First off the broth had a very high oil content, as you can clearly see by the distinct yellow color. Strangely enough, as rich as the broth was, it was lacking in flavor, and spice. The Missus kept adding sea salt from the little jar on the table to Her broth. The duck meat resembled tough slices of beef with gristly, tough, fat. The Missus couldn’t bring Herself to eat it, but it was fine to me, though really lacking in flavor. I ended up using all the dipping sauce for the duck and vegetables.
Though we got charged $2.00 for tea, served in a small beer glasses, we never got refills. Even when we asked….
It really did seem that Han Bat was in full cost-cutting mode. Maybe someone else can tell me how good their Black Goat is, I don’t think we’ll be back. We’ll stick with Ko Hayang Jip.
I actually went home and made tacos.
Han Bat Restaurant
4690 Convoy St Ste 108
San Diego, CA 92111
kirk,
small portions + bad service + bad food – one escaped black goat = Nobody on a Friday Night
boooo !!!
Hey DCCF – I shoulda just used your formula as the text for this post!
Too bad about your goat-less trip to Ban Hat. I’ve seen the Goat Soup sign for years and it always reminds me of that Rolling Stones album Goat’s Head Soup.
I managed to make it to Island Spice recently and had the goat curry there. It’s surprising how goat-y it is. It has that goat cheese feeling to it.
Looks like I’ll have to give Ko Hayang Jip a try…
Hi Kirk,
Sorry you were disappointed. I guess better luck next time shouldn’t be said huh?
Brave of you to forge on! I might have skipped the joint after finding out the thing I wanted to try wasn’t there, and that half the menu was wiped out … guess it got your goat π Eeew to that oily thing disguised as soup ! Poor kirk and missus *comfort*
That’s the only Korean place I knew about when I lived in SD that I didn’t try. Back then, nothing was in English. The windows had signage only in Korean, and I was afraid I would end up having to point at some unknown Korean characters on a menu and end up with black bat stew.
I guess your experience was a no goat. You should have just goat away. Sorry, first puns of the morning.
After all that amazing food and sefive you have been having lately I am not supirsed at how jacked off you were at the service and food π (ie huge rasberry) to them
BTW I am back
THANKS so much for your kind email π Cheered me up heaps!
Hi Howie – We do enjoy “goat-y”, after all, if you’re having goat, it should taste like it, right?
Hi Reid – Probably no next time for us….
Hi Rachel – While we were there a couple came in – took one look at the menu and left. we probably should have followed their example.
Hi ed – I think grading all those papers is getting to you! We just had an interesting encounter with a non-English menu, I’ll post in the near future.
Hi Clare – Glad to have you back! We missed you.
Aww…that sucks. I doubt the place will last for much longer.
Hi Elmo – Interesting thing is; this restaurant has been around as long as I can remember, and will probably outlive me!
Hey Kirk,
Han Bat is really bad. I’m a big fan of “gom-tang” which is a Korean beef soup where beef bones are boiled for a long time, creating a milky broth. When I first came to SD, it was the only restaurant that “specialized” in gomtang. Bad experience after another, I kept going back because it was the only place. Now there is a place called Bong-hee, next to Tapioca express. They serve sushi too, but I wouldn’t try sushi there.
If you like black goat soup, try the “boo-dae-jun-gol” at Korean Folk Village, next to Korea House. It’s a spicy cassarole with noodles, spam, veggies, sausage, etc., for two. It’s named after the Korean word for “military base,” and originated during the Korean war when refugees would gather what was available from the U.S. military base and cook a stew (hence the spam). Korean Folk Village also serves a variety of Korean bar food, including cod roe soup, fried chicken, etc, although lately, the quality of the food has dropped a bit.
Hi JKP – Thanks for the tip. The only place I really know of around Korea House was Min Sok Cho – I did notice all of the tables and chairs sitting in the parking lot a few weeks ago when dining at Balboa Tofu House, but it had looked like the restaurant had been flooded, I didn’t notice new signage – I need to pay better attention.