Hwaseong seafood restaurant for raw shrimp: Susanjang Dongtan

Weekday-evening waiting and Catchtable registration

How to register for the waitlist at Susanjang Dongtan Branch via Catchtable

I visited on a weekday evening and got in without waiting. It tends to have a wait on weekends, but you can enter your number at the store’s Catchtable registration kiosk and join the queue.

Seafood dishes including raw shrimp sashimi and salt grilling

Susanjang, a Dongtan spot for raw shrimp sashimi and salt-grilled shrimp

Susanjang sells all sorts of seafood dishes~ Beyond the usual sashimi and grilled dishes, there are hot pots, soups, and plenty of seasonal specials.

That day, I also ordered a highball to have with the salt-grilled shrimp~ It was bright, refreshing, and really delicious.

Light, savory salt-grilled shrimp

Salt-grilled shrimp with wonderfully light, savory flavor

With a smoky aroma and a gentle seasoning of salt, they had a light yet deep flavor, haha. They came grilled in their shells, so peeling them with my hands was fun too, and the shrimp’s signature bouncy texture was still completely there~ Since I could add butter-grilled shrimp heads for ₩3,000, I set the heads aside and gave them to the staff. The raw shrimp sashimi was tasty too, but personally, I think the warm salt-grilled shrimp suited my palate better.

Flapping little shrimp. Seeing them before they were cooked was definitely a liiittle unsettling though;; haha

My first raw shrimp sashimi

Raw shrimp sashimi—the ultimate freshness

The raw shrimp sashimi came out first, with translucent shrimp flesh neatly arranged on the plate. The moment I picked up a piece and dipped it in soy sauce, the flavor filled my mouth~ The more I chewed, the more its gentle sweetness and ocean aroma came through, giving it a charm quite different from regular sashimi, haha. It was my first time trying raw shrimp sashimi, and the savory richness mixed with that sea aroma made it perfect with drinks.

When the shrimp first came out, they were really wriggling around, so I was juuust a little startled, you know?

This was the fried flatfish that came as a basic drinking snack!! Haha, it looks like a giant flatfish in the photo, but it was about palm-sized. I liked being able to try a variety of things. It was delicious grilled fish with a light, pleasantly salty taste.

Beef tendon hot pot with a rich broth

Beef tendon hot pot with a broth that had Sojjang falling in love

Do you all know what suji is? I learned exactly what it was this time too: suji means beef tendon. It’s basically a bundle of collagen, so it’s good for us ladies! Hahaha

The long-simmered broth was rich but clean, and with all the vegetables it was both refreshing and substantial. The second I took a spoonful, I knew I wouldn’t forget that savory flavor spreading through my mouth, haha. The beef tendon had been simmered until tender, yet it still had that chewy texture that made it fun to eat!! As the broth kept boiling and growing richer, it was perfect both as a drinking dish and as a meal.

The atmosphere at Susanjang Dongtan Branch itself felt great for quiet, cozy conversation, so I was very satisfied that we could enjoy good food and chat peacefully~ 🦐🍤🦐🍤🦐🍤 Writing this is making me want shrimp again.

Would you like a bite of shrimp? Everyone, please make sure you eat shrimp when they’re in season..

The butter-grilled heads are even more essential than the shrimp

Ta-da, this is the butter-grilled shrimp heads I mentioned earlier!!! This was only my second time having them, and I remember being a bit shocked the first time, like, “You eat shrimp heads?” But I really, really recommend butter-grilled shrimp heads. Honestly, you could say this is even more the star of the show than the shrimp itself!!

There’s meat inside the head like this, and this part has all the shrimp’s deep flavor. And since it’s stir-fried in such savory, buttery butter, of course it’s bound to be even more delicious.

Add a little wasabi too, and ta-da! I can’t drink much when I’m full, so I think it would be nice to come here for a simple second round of drinks and snacks too!

Adding kalguksu noodles to the beef tendon hot pot

We’d definitely had plenty of protein, but maybe because we hadn’t had carbs, I still felt a little less full? Haha. The beef tendon broth was spicy and delicious too~ and since I could add kalguksu (knife-cut wheat noodles), I ordered one extra portion. They brought the kalguksu noodles already cooked!!

Usually, when you add uncooked kalguksu noodles to broth and boil them, the starch changes the original broth flavor a bit, right? But they cooked the noodles in-house until they were wonderfully chewy and springy, so the broth flavor didn’t change at all. Such thoughtful service—100 points, haha.

My final pick: Chinese-style fried rice

And~ Dwaejjang’s final pick was!!!! Chinese-style fried rice!! Hahahaha. To be honest, I was pretty full, so I couldn’t eat much of it~ but I’m the sort of person who wants to try lots of things, and it was reliably delicious fried rice, haha. The rice was nicely separate and fluffy!!

The restaurant itself has clean, modern decor, so I think it’s a nice place to visit with family or friends~ The staff explained the menu kindly, which made the entire meal enjoyable!! The food came out at a good pace too, and it was absolutely a place I’d visit again.