Daegu tuna sashimi restaurant with swordfish belly refill: Hangil Tuna

I went looking for a good sashimi restaurant in Janggidong to take my mom out for dinner, and ended up at Hangil Tuna. The building sits tucked inside the Janggidong food alley, so I walked along the roadside lane toward the entrance. A tuna specialty sign for Hangil Tuna hung on the wooden exterior, making the place easy to spot even from deep in the alley.

• Address: 31 Yongsan-ro, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, South Korea
• Hours: 17:00 - 01:00, closed every Sunday
• Parking: public parking lot

Inside Hangil Tuna Janggidong Food Alley Branch: seating and layout

Hangil Tuna Janggidong Food Alley Branch is split between bar seats in front of the kitchen and square standing tables in the hall. Walking across the wooden floor and through the glass door, I could see the bar seats and dining tables right away. A long, lit-up bar sat right in front of the kitchen, looking like a good spot for a quiet meal.

Further inside the hall, square standing tables were arranged for facing each other comfortably. The bright interior lighting kept a calm mood, and I took a relaxed look around the space.

My mom and I were guided to a square table further inside, hung up our coats, and settled into our chairs. Small plates, a utensil holder, and wet wipes were already on the table, so we were ready to eat as soon as we sat down.

What the 58,000-won Manager Special course costs and starts with: abalone porridge and clam soup

The menu we chose at Hangil Tuna Janggidong Food Alley Branch was the Manager Special course at ₩58,000 per person. After looking over the menu board, I placed the order with the kitchen staff, and this course came with up to two extra refills of tuna sashimi during the meal.

Once we ordered, savory abalone porridge to warm up empty stomachs and a clear-broth clam soup landed on the table. A fresh vegetable salad and a golden fried egg came alongside, and we sampled those lightly before the meal proper.

Next came grilled sablefish, cooked just right on the outside, and a plate of braised tuna simmered savory with radish. We picked at the tender sablefish with our chopsticks and chatted while waiting for the main tuna sashimi.

Tuna sashimi on the Manager Special course: which sauce should a first-timer choose?

The Manager Special tuna sashimi arrived on a large round plate, thickly sliced and served with cellophane noodles and radish sprouts. It was a bit of a shame we weren't told which cuts they were, but the thickness of the red flesh looked incredibly appetizing.

This was my very first time trying tuna sashimi, and dipping the red flesh in sesame oil sauce worked really well for me. The default soy sauce also went down smoothly, so I kept topping pieces with radish sprouts and wasabi before dipping them in soy sauce.

Remembering something I'd seen before, I tried wrapping a piece with aged kimchi and crispy seaweed, but that combination was too fishy for my taste. Rather than wrapping it up, simply dipping the plain tuna in soy sauce or sesame oil sauce was much cleaner.

Swordfish belly refill, then tuna sushi, udon and fried shrimp to finish

After cleaning off the first plate, I asked the staff and got a tuna sashimi refill. The newly filled plate came topped with thick, pale, savory slices of swordfish belly.

Once we finished the refill, tuna sushi with thick slices of tuna on rice came to the table. Freshly fried, crispy shrimp and warm udon piled with fried tofu and fish cake followed.

Sipping the warm udon broth, lightly spiked with red pepper flakes, washed away any leftover oiliness in the mouth. We finished off every last bit of the crispy batter and chewy noodles to close out a very filling meal.

Why Hangil Tuna is worth the trip in Dalseo, Daegu

• Savory pre-meal abalone porridge that soothes an empty stomach
• Grilled sablefish cooked just right, thick and tender on the inside
• Fresh tuna sashimi that pairs well with sesame oil sauce and dark soy sauce
• Thick-sliced swordfish belly served as a mid-meal refill
• A refreshing finishing udon loaded with fish cake and fried tofu

My mom and I finished the meal working steadily through the tuna sashimi and warm soup dishes that came with the course, one after another, until we were completely full.