Yeoksam Japanese restaurant date: kelp-cured salmon bowl at Chisot

What kind of restaurant is Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch?

Today's spot is right here~!! It's Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, a well-known Japanese restaurant near Yeoksam Station ♥ Can you see that 4.93 Naver review score below?? Places with that kind of satisfaction rating really do have a reason for it! Let me introduce it in detail now!!

I didn't know this, but apparently it's good to make a Naver reservation before visiting Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, and there are as many as 5 free coupons, so downloading them ahead of time is worth it :) When I went, customers kept streaming in the whole time, so just so you know, there may be some waiting :)

Where Chisot Yeoksam is and what the storefront looks like

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, located near Yeoksam Station!! It's on the 1st floor, so it was super easy to find :) You can spot Chisot's presence from far away ♥

There was about one table's worth of waiting ahead of me, so I looked around the menu slowly, and apparently the signature dishes of Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch are, without question, the eel rice bowl hitsumabushi and the salmon rice bowl sake-don! I'll explain why they're special in a bit ♥

Since the store is in the Gangnam/Yeoksam area where a lot of foreign customers visit, they have a foreign-language menu ready, so that's handy for anyone bringing foreign guests along ♥

What makes the hitsumabushi at Chisot different

Did you know that Nagoya, Japan is the true home of eel dishes? Chisot's hitsumabushi uses grade-1 domestic Japonica freshwater eel, brushed with a 72-hour aged tare sauce and grilled three times over blazing charcoal, giving it a deep, rich flavor ♥ That's probably why this place is more popular than other spots! Haha

Inside Chisot Yeoksam: seating from solo bar to group tables

Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch has everything from solo seats great for eating alone to group tables, so I could dine more comfortably :) I visited with my boyfriend and we were shown to a table for two :)

Free salmon-jang for a Naver receipt review

There were various signs on the table, and while I was looking around wondering what they were, I found out you can get salmon-jang (soy-marinated salmon) for a Naver receipt review, so I jumped right on it :) My boyfriend is a total salmon lover, and getting delicious salmon-jang on top of everything else!! It would've been a waste not to do it, haha~~~

What's on the menu at Chisot Yeoksam

You can get hitsumabushi made from grade-1 domestic Japonica freshwater eel, grilled three times over charcoal with a 72-hour tare sauce, in mini / regular / deluxe set sizes, and there's also a weekday lunch-only bento set ♥

There were also rice bowl dishes and sashimi dishes on the menu..! So many options, so keep that in mind when ordering :)

The mini hitsumabushi set, dish by dish

Ta-da~ We ordered the mini hitsumabushi set and a sake-don! The whole spread looked so delicious when it came out!!!Haha We even said while eating that we didn't need to travel to Japan~ Haha This place is Nagoya itself ^^ ♥

Sake-don: the kelp-cured salmon rice bowl

The top-grade superior salmon is cured using traditional Japanese konbujime (kelp curing) so it's even chewier haha. My boyfriend, a total salmon lover, gave it a huge thumbs up saying it was really delicious!!!! Whatever else you order, make sure you order this sake-don :)

How to eat hitsumabushi in four steps

• ① Serve just eel and rice into a bowl first to enjoy the pure flavor of hitsumabushi.
• ② Mix in nori, wasabi, and green onion for a richer taste experience.
• ③ Pour Chisot's signature ochazuke over it and enjoy the warm, lingering finish.
• ④ Enjoy it however tastes best of the three ways, and soak up Chisot's fiery energy.

Isn't the look of it amazing haha! I'd been thinking lately that I really needed something nourishing, so getting to eat a delicious, healthy eel rice bowl made me so happy!

It was light to eat without feeling heavy, and afterward it digested well and I felt comfortable, which made it even more satisfying :)

The hitsumabushi set comes with a chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) that jiggled like pudding and had such a soft, delicious taste ㅠ Eating it together with the shrimp that came alongside was pure bliss ♥ It was also nice to spoon in between bites of the main dish~!

I tried it following the tasty-eating method I introduced earlier haha. It was delicious just paired plain with the eel, and also delicious mixed with green onion, nori, wasabi, and so on!

To anyone precious to you! I think this would be nice with parents or elders, and also a delicious menu to enjoy simply with drinks alongside a beloved partner or dear friends ♥

The free rice and ochazuke refill bar

One last reason Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is special! They also run a refill bar for customers who need more rice or ochazuke, so anyone who might need it should definitely keep this in mind ♥