Gyeongsan sushi set for two with shrimp tempura and udon: Sonsi Sushi

How I got into sushi, and what brought me to Gyeongsan

Does everyone like sushi?!!! I honestly can't think of anyone around me who dislikes it hahahaha

Kind of embarrassing to admit, but... up through high school I really couldn't eat sushi. Wasabi was the main problem. Every time I ate it my nose would hurt and the taste was just weird, so I never reached for sushi hahahahahaha

(Of course now I can't eat katsu without wasabi!!!) On top of that I went through a phase of really hating seafood, so I never went out of my way to eat sushi.

So how did I end up liking it?!!! All my friends are Japanese-food people haha (I was the only Western-food person hahaha) and I got half-dragged to Japanese restaurants. At first I hated it so much I'd try to skip the plans, but after being dragged along enough times, I guess I started enjoying it? hahahaha

I swore I'd never pay for sushi with my own money

And yet here I am, eventually paying for Japanese food with my own money hahaha. Anyway!! I had a reason to stop by Gyeongsan again, and while looking for something to eat nearby, I went to Sonsi Sushi Yeungnam University Main Branch — the place near Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan that's famous for constant crowds and long waits!

Sonsi Sushi Yeungnam University Main Branch, minutes from Yeungnam University Station

It's located in Joyeong-dong, Gyeongsan-si, super close to Yeungnam University Station, so accessibility is top-notch! A perfect spot for students' lunch or dinner, or a date-course stop hahaha. Also great for solo dining near Yeungnam University or anywhere in Gyeongsan haha.

Sure enough, when I got there the waiting line was huge and the whole place had that hot-spot energy... Bottom line up front: I immediately understood why people wait for this. Here's my honest, no-filter review!!

There are partitioned seats like this, so you can eat pretty privately!! For reference, Sonsi Sushi is especially serious about its raw fish — they hand-select flounder over 3kg and use a special submersion-aging technique to boost umami, while the salmon is Norwegian superior-grade wrapped using the konbujime (kelp-aging) method for a chewier texture! Quality sounds insane just from the description ㅠㅠ

Hours run from 11:30 to 21:00 with no break time, open every day of the year — but Naver reservations are only available for the 11:30 first seating, so keep that in mind!!

What comes in Sonsi Sushi's 30,500-won set for two

Here's the menu board!!!

Our order arrived!!!

The "Sonsi's No.1 Picks" value set (₩30,500). No need to agonize over the menu — this signature two-person set lets you clean out the No.1, No.2, and No.3 bestsellers all at once, so that's what we ordered!

The sashimi rice bowl, piled with raw fish

Generous portions of raw fish! Here's the sashimi rice bowl. The first thing that caught my eye was the insane portion!! Cubed salmon and flounder sashimi piled high over lettuce, perilla leaves, egg strips, and seaweed flakes.

Mix it all up with the housemade chojang (spicy vinegar sauce) — there's so much raw fish that every spoonful is packed with it haha. The salmon is soft, the flounder is chewy, and the combination with the vegetables is perfect!

What's on the signature sushi platter

A quality-exploding signature sushi platter

And then the main event — the sushi platter! Salmon nigiri lightly torched (aburi), umami-packed conger eel (anago) nigiri, vividly red tuna, spicy tako wasabi gunkan, popping ankimo (monkfish liver) gunkan, raw salmon-and-onion nigiri, and even egg nigiri!!

From aged salmon nigiri to tako wasabi gunkan

Torched salmon and raw salmon nigiri. Maybe thanks to the konbujime aging, the salmon had zero fishiness and just melted in my mouth ㅠㅠ Pure softness!!

Eel nigiri: a whole, generous piece of conger eel over sweet-salty teriyaki sauce, with incredible texture. Tako wasabi gunkan: chewy with every bite, and the wasabi's sharp kick cleans the palate right up hahaha. Tuna nigiri: thick-cut red flesh that melts perfectly with just a light dip of soy sauce!

Man, every single kind was so good haha

Crispy shrimp tempura and mini udon to finish

Insanely crispy shrimp tempura & udon. The shrimp tempura came out fresh-fried and still steaming, with batter so crunchy it was crispy outside and juicy inside ㅠㅠ Dip it into the special creamy sauce served alongside and the nuttiness just explodes hahahaha

Adding the warm, chewy-noodled mini udon on top of everything made me wonder if it was really okay to eat this much for ₩30,500 — the value here is off the charts hahaha. There's a reason this place is packed as a Yeungnam University favorite! From the quality of the aged fish to the side dishes to the sheer portion size, nothing was lacking at Sonsi Sushi Yeungnam University Main Branch!!! If you want proper aged sushi and a great-value set near Yeungnam University, I highly recommend checking it out!!