Songdo sushi by Technopark Station, ₩51,800 set for two: Sushi Doku

It's been a while since I had sushi, so today I visited Sushi Doku The Songdo, a well-known sushi spot on the 2nd floor of Onesta Mall, right next to the Songdo Hyundai Outlet. Even though it's attached to a shopping mall, the sushi quality was surprisingly good and the service was great too, so I'd recommend it as a date spot when you're at the outlet. Since you can join the Catchtable waitlist in advance, it's also nice to put your name down and go shopping while you wait.

Parking and getting there: 2 hours underground, connected to Technopark Station

Sushi Doku The Songdo offers up to 2 hours of free parking at the building's underground lot, which is great, and since it's connected to Technopark Station, access on foot or by public transit is excellent too.

Inside Sushi Doku The Songdo and how the waitlist works

There's a Catchtable waiting kiosk near the entrance, and waits tend to form during peak lunch hours, so I'd recommend putting your name down before you arrive.

Inside, the atmosphere is clean and upscale, with semi-transparent partitions dividing the space, giving it a private feel. We sat at a table in the center.

The menu: premium sushi set for two at 51,800 won

There's a menu board near the entrance you can glance over before going in, and you order using the tablet PC at each table. After going back and forth on what to get, we ordered the mid-tier premium sushi set.

• Premium sushi set for two, ₩51,800

The food: soy sauce brush, truffle chawanmushi and the fried plates

I figured there'd be chopsticks in there, but since it's a sushi place, there was actually a brush for applying soy sauce. I've been to a lot of sushi restaurants, but this is the first time I've seen one give you a brush.

The main premium sushi set comes generously loaded — 10 pieces of sushi plus Japanese-style steamed egg custard (chawanmushi), a bowl of udon, salad, karaage, and shrimp tempura.

First, the udon — it's called a mini udon but the portion is far bigger than that name suggests, with sweet fried tofu and fish cake in it.

The noodles were chewy and delicious, and the broth had just the right amount of spice, which paired well with the sushi.

The Japanese-style chawanmushi had a light drizzle of truffle oil on it, which gave it great flavor.

There were 2 pieces of karaage and one big piece of shrimp tempura, so the portion was really generous. The karaage was moist and delicious.

The shrimp tempura had a big, plump shrimp inside, which made it delicious.

How were the 10 pieces of sushi?

Next up, the main 10-piece sushi.

Before eating, I brushed on some soy sauce first, and on my first bite, the way the sushi rice (shari) fell apart was really excellent. The balance between the rice and the neta melting away together in your mouth was a work of art — if you're looking for a sushi place near the Songdo Hyundai Outlet, I think you'll be satisfied here.

The salmon piece was so enormous it was basically like getting 2 pieces. The sweet, rich sweet shrimp was also great, and after cleansing my palate with some pickled ginger (rakkyo)...

I happily ate the otoro (fatty tuna belly) sushi I received as a review-event perk. The rich, fatty melt-in-your-mouth quality of the otoro spread wonderfully through my mouth — really delicious.

I also enjoyed the sweet red shrimp, which filled my mouth with texture, and the gunkan roll.

I finished it all off with the closing eel sushi. The sides were so generous that by the time I finished everything, I was really full.

For dessert there was warm plum tea, which I drank, and it turned out to be delicious warm too. I thought plum tea was only meant to be drunk cold, but I actually preferred it warm.

Seeing that they even give out mouthwash and floss at checkout, it made sense why this place does such good business.

Verdict: who Sushi Doku The Songdo suits, and who it doesn't

A sushi restaurant I'd recommend as a date spot near the Songdo Hyundai Outlet.

• 🔵 Friendly staff
• 🔵 Good service
• 🔵 High sushi quality
• 🔵 Good atmosphere for a date
• 🔴 Nothing in particular to dislike