Gangseo eel restaurant with crisp, juicy hitsumabushi: Kikukawa

It had been a while since I took a weekday off and went on a date with just my husband : ) We watched Odyssey early in the morning, then decided to spend the day at One Grove in Magok, where we could do shopping, visit a café, and browse a bookstore all in one go.

There are lots of delicious places at One Grove in Magok. There was one spot my husband had mentioned a few times after having an eel rice bowl there, you know? So, as someone who loves eel, I made the call: we headed to Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch for traditional Japanese eel rice bowls.

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch: location and hours

You cannot find Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch from inside One Grove Mall. Leave Building A after passing Tim Hortons, then turn left. You will see Sukseongdo, and the restaurant is right beside it.

Hours are 10:30 AM to 10 PM daily, with last orders at 8:50 PM.

What is hitsumabushi?

At Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa, a Magok favorite for eel rice bowls, hitsumabushi and unaju are the main dishes. Hitsumabushi is a signature eel dish from Japan's Nagoya region: eel is spread evenly over rice in a wooden bowl called a hitsu.

Whenever I watched Japan travel videos and saw eel rice bowls topped with a whole eel, I wanted to try one. And you can absolutely get that flavor in Korea too : )

A neat dining room and private rooms

As you would expect from a good One Grove restaurant in Magok, the space is spotless : ) There are private rooms too, making it a nice choice for group gatherings, work dinners, or family meals. The service was kind and the food was delicious, so it was a satisfying place for an eel meal.

Eel rice bowl and sashimi menu

The Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa menu has a range of eel dishes, from hitsumabushi with two-thirds of a chopped eel over rice, served in different ways (₩38,000), to mentaiko hitsumabushi topped with pollock roe (₩48,000), Yondaime Kikukawa premium hitsumabushi (₩50,000), Yondaime Kikukawa premium unaju (₩48,000), sashimi set (₩35,000), unadon (₩33,000), and a children's set (₩16,000). Course meals and lunch menus are available too.

We ordered the premium hitsumabushi, and because my husband said he wanted raw fish, we also ordered the sashimi set.

Premium hitsumabushi, ₩50,000

The premium hitsumabushi arrived in such a tidy spread. It felt like we had come to Japan-

Three ways to eat hitsumabushi

They explain three ways to eat hitsumabushi. First, enjoy the eel's natural flavor. Second, have it with the accompanying toppings such as wasabi, shredded nori (dried seaweed), and scallions. Third, serve yourself some eel and rice, add toppings, then pour in dashi broth.

Rice refills are available, and there is sauce too, so you can add more as you like : )

The side dishes were cabbage salad, gungchae (seasoned stem lettuce), and danmuji (pickled yellow radish), which made everything feel fresh alongside the meal.

Suimono is a lightly seasoned clear soup. They say it is good to have some with the eel, almost like rinsing your mouth a little after sprinkling sansho pepper over it.

Look at that shine—let's start with the beautifully grilled eel. After one bite, my eyes went wide. It was so well grilled: slightly crisp outside and moist inside-

The flavor and texture were different from Korean charcoal-grilled eel. Ah, so this is traditional Japanese grilled eel, I thought?

It was seasoned without being overdone, just enough to make the eel delicious. It was also tasty with wasabi and nori.

Hitsumabushi feels even more substantial when you eat it with the seasoned rice.

It is delicious to drizzle extra sauce over the rice too-

I love ochazuke, rice topped with ingredients and soaked in green tea, so I found the version with dashi broth poured over the rice and eel especially appealing.

It was a great combination with the sweet, savory dashi broth rather than green tea.

Sashimi set, ₩35,000

The sashimi set my husband ordered. Seasonal sashimi was served in a pretty arrangement.

The sashimi was pleasantly chewy, fresh, and delicious. The sweet shrimp was sweet and seriously good- It was an elegant plate of sashimi that made us feel properly treated.

Eel and sashimi for a weekday date

It was a place where you can enjoy traditional Japanese hitsumabushi without traveling to Japan. Above all, the eel's flavor and texture differed from Korean-style grilled eel, which made it fun to eat : )

I also liked the generous portions and being able to enjoy the hitsumabushi eel rice bowl in different ways. With kind service, a pleasant atmosphere, and a varied menu, Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa is a place I recommend for family gatherings, work dinners, or a date.