Full Moon Restaurant gives a taste of pocha

Full Moon Restaurant is introducing an emerging trend in Korea to Saipan—a unique spot to get soju, hang out with friends, and have a wide variety of good quality Korean food and snacks.

Literally covered wagon in Korean, pocha—short for the word pojangmacha—is a late-night drink and food experience and a hybrid between a pub, a restaurant, and street food vendor, according to restaurant manager and part-owner Jihong Digiacomo.

Full Moon opened in February of this year and is situated right in the heart of Garapan, directly across the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan and just before the entrance to the former Paseo de Marianas.

Serving the classic snacks like kimbap, tteokbokki, ramen, corn cheese, sesame tofu, rice balls, etc. at $10 and under and bulgogi, chueotang, and more at $13 and under, the hub is perfect for night out or a get-together with friends.

And if you’re craving for a little more than a snack, restaurant-style comfort food like gambas, chapaguri, grilled eel range are available and ranges from $15 to $40 and one of their current top sellers is the beef shank soup.

Digiacomo shared that they have also started selling some popular local snack and comfort food like chicken kelaguen, chicken and pork adobo, and sizzling plates of pork belly or squid, and with drinking as a focal component to the pocha theme, Full Moon keeps its variety of beers from local favorites to the Korean sojus.

Digiacomo said although the food is great and in line with the pocha theme, the restaurant is all about the vibe and creating that getaway space with good food, good drinks, and a good time with friends in a non-traditional Korean restaurant setting.

“I would say on island there are a lot of traditional Korean restaurants, but this is a little different because it’s not really the traditional Korean food. But then, I don’t want to say it’s completely street food vibes either.”

In essence, it’s restaurant-style food and street bar feel in a sit-down indoor venue rolled into one.

“I’m trying to follow the pocha trend. A pub is limited with food and they mostly serve finger foods. But we would like to be known as a place to go out to drink, have fun, but have really good food as well.”

Digiacomo is passionate about cooking, but never thought about opening a restaurant until after she and her husband relocated to Saipan from South Korea.

“It happened so quickly. He got presented with the job opportunity and everything happened so quickly after that.”

In just a few months, the restaurant has already garnered several positive feedback from both Korean residents and visitors and has brought up its rating to a 5.0 on Google.

Full Moon in Garapan is open from 5pm to 12am, Monday-Saturday. For more information, call (670) 233-1588.