Busan Minrak-dong sashimi restaurant with 2-hour parking: Geumrang

Sashimi is basically synonymous with Busan!! I'm a Busan native so I've eaten a ton of raw fish since I was a kid. I especially remember eating fish my dad caught himself when he went fishing — so many meals at home like that.

Today I went to Geumrang Hoetjip in Minrak-dong, Gwangalli. I'm usually not a fan of places that pile on a ton of side dishes beyond the main course — because then you can't really focus on the sashimi, you know? But today at Geumrang Hoetjip, my mind completely changed!! I found out there's such a thing as a sashimi restaurant where everything is satisfying!! Let me introduce Geumrang Hoetjip.

Where is Geumrang Hoetjip Gwangalli Main Branch, and where do you park?

Geumrang Hoetjip Gwangalli Main Branch is at 17-5 Gwangan Beach-ro 344beon-gil, Suyeong-gu, Busan, on the 6th floor of the Marine Rich Building. Hours are 11:30–22:30 with a break time of 15:00–16:00, and there's 2 hours of free parking at the waterfront park public lot.

It's right in front of the waterfront park public parking lot, so it's a 1-minute walk from your car. With the 2-hour support, it almost feels like the building's own parking lot.

Inside Geumrang Hoetjip: private rooms and the Gwangan Bridge view

Take the elevator up to the 6th floor and you're right at Geumrang Hoetjip. The restaurant is spacious and has a lot of private rooms. There's plenty of group seating too, from 6 people up to several dozen.

With the great view and private rooms, it's a good place for a quiet meal — family dinners, work dinners, gatherings, you name it!!

This is the view from our seat. The windows were so clean and it looked really pretty. The weather was great that day too, so the Gwangan Bridge, sky, and sea were all gorgeous.

Geumrang Hoetjip menu and prices

• Geumrang Hansang (per person) ₩80,000 — market-price wild sashimi, whole rockfish spicy stew or clear soup, steamed abalone, Chilean sea bass steak, konowata (sea cucumber intestine), octopus tangtangi, marinated shrimp, mixed seafood, seaweed soup, seasonal dishes, buttered scallops, sushi, fried shrimp, hot-plate dishes, egg roe rice (2 small-plate sashimi refills)
• Suyeon Hansang (per person) ₩60,000 — wild mixed sashimi, steamed abalone, Chilean sea bass steak, konowata, octopus tangtangi, marinated shrimp, mixed seafood, seaweed soup, seasonal dishes, buttered scallops, sushi, fried shrimp, hot-plate dishes, egg roe rice, spicy stew or clear soup (1 small-plate sashimi refill)
• Gwangan Hansang (per person) ₩50,000 — farmed + wild mixed sashimi, octopus tangtangi, marinated shrimp, mixed seafood, seaweed soup, seasonal dishes, buttered scallops, fried shrimp, grilled saury, hot-plate dishes, egg roe rice, spicy stew or clear soup (1 small-plate sashimi refill)
• Bada Hansang (per person) ₩40,000 — farmed mixed sashimi, mixed seafood, seaweed soup, seasonal dishes, buttered scallops, sushi, fried shrimp, grilled saury, hot-plate dishes, egg roe rice, spicy stew or clear soup
• Sashimi only, no side dishes, available 1kg for ₩43,000–80,000
• Lunch special, per person ₩26,000 — 12 pieces of sashimi, sashimi bibimbap, octopus with vinegar sauce, sea squirt, steamed egg, seasoned dishes, spicy stew, assorted side dishes
• Sashimi bibimbap ₩18,000 / mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) ₩22,000, includes spicy stew

We ordered the suyeon hansang for two, the most popular set, so we could eat wild sashimi.

The suyeon hansang for two starts with abalone porridge

Abalone porridge came out first. Started things off by gently soothing the stomach!

Mixed seafood plate

Mixed seafood — first I was surprised by the visuals, then surprised again by the taste. For context... I'm not great at eating seafood. I can manage live octopus, but that's about it.

Gaebul (spoon worm), sea squirt, sea cucumber, wasabi octopus, shrimp, octopus with vinegar sauce.

When it's not fresh it gets really fishy, but this had zero fishiness and a nice chewy texture. Seafood lovers would go crazy for this.

I ate a lot of the gaebul and sea squirt too. Me eating this much is genuinely a big deal!!!

A small taste of mulhoe (cold raw fish soup)

A little taste of mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) — sweet, tangy, and refreshingly cool. Noodles came with it too, and mixing them in was delicious. Geumrang Hoetjip also serves mulhoe at lunch, apparently — I'll have to come back just for that.

Steamed abalone and butter-grilled scallops

Steamed abalone, so savory — good dipped in vinegar-chili sauce or just plain.

Buttered scallops — you have to eat these right away before the cheese sets. Savory and packed with cheese!

Corn cheese and steamed egg.

Soy-marinated shrimp, kimchi pancake and nakji tangtangi (chopped live octopus)

The shrimp in the marinated shrimp were seriously huge. The seasoning was sweet and the texture was great to chew on.

Kimchi pancake.

Octopus tangtangi — I love octopus SO much~~~ It's still moving!! So savory, I couldn't stop reaching for it, haha.

Wild-caught sashimi platter and how to eat konowata

The wild mixed sashimi platter came in a really generous portion. It was plated beautifully like the seafood dish, and each type of fish was labeled so it was fun picking and choosing what to eat.

Milchi (Japanese scad), sea bass, red seabream, olive flounder, engawa (flounder fin meat), maskkawa (flounder skin meat).

The sushi rice came out spread on a wide plate. You just scoop some with a spoon and top it with sashimi.

One thing that sets Geumrang Hoetjip apart: they serve konowata! Konowata is a Japanese fermented dish made from sea cucumber intestines. It's considered one of Japan's three great delicacies, and pairing it with sashimi adds a rich umami flavor — the kind of thing you'd find at a high-end sashimi restaurant.

It's tasty just dipped plain, but here's one of Geumrang Hoetjip's recommended ways to eat it!

Wrap it up with seaweed + sashimi dipped in konowata + rice + ginger, and it's absolutely delicious.

The sashimi slices were super thick and fresh, giving them an amazing chewy texture. It's a different kind of chewiness than aged sashimi — this is the chew you only get from wild live fish!!

You can wrap it in lettuce too, or just eat it plain wrapped in seaweed — both delicious.

How much sashimi does one free refill bring?

My mom loves sashimi so much that she asked for a refill. I wasn't expecting much since a refill is supposedly just a small plate, but look how much came out!! 16 pieces!!!! Wow, the value here is insane.

Final courses: braised fish, sea bass steak, roe rice and spicy fish stew

Just as we were nearly done eating, the braised fish, egg roe rice, fried items, and spicy stew arrived.

Looked like flounder maybe? Sweetly braised in soy sauce.

The Chilean sea bass steak had a lovely hint of buttery aroma.

Fried corn fritters.

The egg roe rice was packed with tons of roe. The popping texture and perfect seasoning made it delicious.

And then the spicy fish stew!

Bubbling away on the burner, this would be the perfect pair with soju. Unfortunately we had the car, so soju was off the table....

120,000 won for two at Geumrang Hoetjip: worth it?

We left completely full. My mom said it had been a while since she'd had such delicious sashimi and was super satisfied, haha.

I love sashimi and have eaten a lot of it, but this is the first time I've seen a place pile on this many side dishes AND this much sashimi. For ₩120,000, you leave feeling full and satisfied without getting ripped off anywhere — that seems like the way to go. I recommend Geumrang Hoetjip, a local Gwangalli favorite!