Hongdae sushi: eat the aged-kimchi long-tail piece first, Yu Iksang

What kind of sushi restaurant is Yu Iksang Sushi in Hongdae?

Yu Iksang Sushi (유익상스시) is a sushi specialty restaurant very close to Hongik University, and it's said to be famous for its long-tail sushi. I'd stopped by a dentist in Hongdae, and since Hongdae is basically a wasteland for sushi, I dropped in at Yu Iksang Sushi, which I'd heard has big portions and good quality!! It's super close to Hongik University so it's easy to get to, and with that long-tail sushi reputation I was even more excited!!

Is there a wait at weekend lunch?

Yu Iksang Sushi has counter seats too. We went on a weekend lunch, and after we came in the place filled up and later there was even a wait. Before I'd even had a bite of sushi, I had a vague feeling that of course this place does well~

Cold soba and fried shrimp come as standard

Once we sat down at Yu Iksang Sushi, we were served cold soba (buckwheat noodles) and a clear broth, perfect for this hot weather.

Then came something to get the appetite going: freshly fried, tender fried shrimp!! Some fried shrimp is a bit stiff and chewy, but the shrimp at Yu Iksang Sushi melted in my mouth~

What couple sets does Yu Iksang Sushi have?

I had the Couple A Plus set, a combination of raw fish sushi and torched sushi that comes with 10 different pieces.

There are also Couple A and B sets, so there were lots of good combinations to choose from when coming as a pair!!

How do you eat the long-tail sushi?

Here's how Yu Iksang Sushi says to eat it for the best taste.

• Since the sushi has a long tail, dip a brush in soy sauce and brush it on
• Put the wasabi on top
• Eat the salmon and torched sushi on a spoon
• The portions are big, so finish everything first and then order more

I was a little curious just how big the portions must be if they tell you to finish and then order more!! The reason for the spoon seems to be that the sushi is piled so high with fish that it's hard to pick up with chopsticks +_+

What's in the Couple A Plus set

The owner brought out the Couple A Plus set on one full platter!!! And the owner... what a pro.... Worried that so much raw fish on top of the sushi might feel heavy, he laid aged kimchi (mugeunji) on the sushi and then drizzled sesame oil over it with a swish swish.

And the garlic shrimp aburi (seared) and egg aburi came topped with a sweet cream sauce and sprinkled with crunchy tempura bits for texture~

This one is the torched roll. Sauce is drizzled over the roll and then it's seared, so it looked really appetizing~

Flatfish sushi, with soy sauce brushed on

This is 4 pieces of flatfish (jeomseongeo). Pretty colors and fresh-looking fish, right~??

Just as the owner told us, I dipped the brush in soy sauce and brushed it onto the sushi!!

Like this!! The soy sauce goes on so smoothly it looked even tastier, and the sushi had a good amount of rice paired with the fish, which I liked!! Yep, this place is going to do well...

Long-tail salmon sushi, eaten on a spoon

The salmon sushi you're supposed to eat on a spoon came out with a tail this long, hahahahahaha. There's no way you can pick this up with chopsticks.

I piled it onto the spoon and ate it in one full bite, and the happiness of soft, rich salmon filling my whole mouth!!

Shrimp aburi, beef and raw shrimp sushi

This is the shrimp aburi sushi, topped unusually with sauce and tempura bits, so the texture felt new.

Beef sushi, need I say more! It was warm and delicious.

This is raw shrimp sushi, with a slightly charred sauce that gave it amazing flavor~~ There's such a variety that picking what to try next was a fun, exciting moment!

What's inside the torched roll

And this is the torched roll!! The roll was so-so, honestly.

The filling was about this much.

Why should you eat the aged-kimchi long-tail sushi first?

The best thing at Yu Iksang Sushi is probably the long-tail sushi topped with aged kimchi, right.............. It was seriously crazy good. Getting this in Hongdae, where rent is expensive(?), made me feel the owner is just giving too much.

There was so much fish that I could barely hold it with chopsticks, and I figured I'd put this one on a spoon too. It was such a signature sushi that I think other people probably come just for this!!!!

It barely fit on the spoon and I even had to bite off part of it, that's how huge this sushi was hahahahahaha. And I think everyone should start with the long-tail sushi. The aged-kimchi long-tail sushi alone is so big that it was a shame to eat it while already full.

No matter how many times I look at it, it's a gorgeous long-tail sushi.. This is why people wait in line even in competitive Hongdae.

Complimentary grilled eggplant sushi, and the downsides

Partway through we got grilled eggplant sushi as a complimentary treat, which was great for cleanly soothing a stomach getting a little heavy from sushi. Just like the owner said, the portions are really, really big, so we left without clearing everything, but looking at the photos I want to go back and eat it again..!

The sushi at Yu Iksang Sushi was truly delicious, though the pieces topped with sauce and tempura bits got a little heavy toward the end, hehe.