Sokcho sashimi takeout with extra fin cuts and spicy bone soup: Hoega

After a long, long summer, cool breezes finally started blowing, so instead of a summer vacation I took a fall trip 🍂🍁 to Gangwon-do, Sokcho!!!! Sokcho really has clear water and great food everywhere, and every spot is so pretty — if I ever make a lot of money, I'm building a pretty house right by the sea and living there!!!!

Check out that clear East Sea view! This is the Starbucks with the Yeongnangho Resort view in Sokcho 😎 The combo of Yeongnangho Lake and the sea from the 20th floor is so pretty. Sipping coffee while zoning out at the view — the best.

And here's the majestic Seoraksan!! We took the cable car up (it doesn't matter on weekdays, but on weekends the cable car can sell out, so I'd recommend going early. I went on a weekday and it was nice and empty!). It's tiring, sure (?) haha, but tiring in a satisfying way — nature really gives you that awe 👍

Why Hoega for sashimi takeout in Sokcho

I was trying to figure out dinner — I came all the way to Sokcho and wanted sashimi, but if I went to the fish market I wouldn't recognize any of the fish, so that seemed risky. After picking around, I landed on the budget-friendly Sokcho sashimi restaurant "Hoega" — let me introduce it!

Hoega is on a back alley, so you can just park on the street in front of the shop! If you call ahead before visiting, your takeout comes out faster! Plenty of people were eating in the restaurant too. (The mulhoe, cold raw fish soup, is apparently famous here too, so I'd recommend trying it — my companion just isn't a big mulhoe fan 🥲)

Medium mixed sashimi platter and spicy bone soup, ready in 10 minutes

Looking at the menu, we ordered the medium mixed sashimi platter plus the bone-in spicy fish soup for takeout! Wait about 10 minutes and they pack it up carefully for you. While waiting for the takeout, the mart across from Hoega sells soju and beer, so getting your soju-maekju combo there is a smart move haha haha haha. Gotta have a drink when you're eating sashimi.

Behold my glorious sashimi ✨🌟 Ah… I forgot to ask exactly what fish it was, which is a bit of a shame, but I figure the true sashimi experts will know just by looking (I don't, lol) — pretty shameless of me. But the moment I saw it I thought, "I picked the right sashimi place today" ✨ One piece of sashimi → wrap it in a leaf → another piece of sashimi… repeat infinitely haha.

What comes with the platter: side dishes and fin cuts

The table color is a bit dark since it's resort-style, but the side dishes come really well put together! Sushi rice, aged kimchi (mukeunji), lettuce wraps, and more. Wrapping sashimi in aged kimchi is so good 〰️ And Hoega gave us so much fin meat, which I loved so much 🥹

If you know me, you know I eat a fair bit of sashimi, and fins are the best part! Chewy, nutty, and rich when you bite into them 🩷🫰 At other places I've had to compete for the fin pieces, but Hoega gave us plenty of fin meat and sliced the sashimi thick, so the texture was super chewy.

You can see the fins and the thickness of the sashimi right there!! Writing this post is making my mouth water like crazy 🤤🤤 The sashimi was firm yet chewy, so the more you chewed, the better it got, and the thickness was just right for a satisfying bite. It's great dipped in chojang (spicy vinegar sauce), or with a bit of wasabi in soy sauce too 👍

How was the spicy bone fish soup broth?

After eating our fill of sashimi, the finale is of course the spicy fish soup 🍲 The moment I opened this soup, the seasoning smell alone made me think, "wow, this is going to be so good," and it really was amazing 👍 The broth wasn't overly harsh — it had real savory depth, so my spoon kept going back in haha.

The broth wasn't heavy or murky, it was clean, which made it perfect after eating sashimi, and there was a decent amount of fish meat still on the bones, so it was fun fishing pieces out too!! It was spicy yet savory, so I ended up mixing in a whole bowl of rice haha haha haha.

And the owner even gave us sujebi (hand-torn dough flakes) noodles for the soup, so as a carb lover 🩷 I was thrilled haha. The broth is clean and not heavy, making it perfect after sashimi, so definitely try the soup too!!!!!! Ending with hot soup after sashimi is basically the rule, right 😎🤤 haha.

Is Hoega worth another sashimi takeout order in Sokcho?

Lastly, the gorgeous Sokcho night sky. The color of the night sky was so mysterious and pretty that everyone was out on the street taking photos. Sokcho really has that romantic charm 🌚🌝 A meal that was satisfying both for the fresh sashimi and the generous portions! If you like sashimi, I think this is worth stopping by at least once :) It's been a while since I felt like I truly had a proper sashimi meal, so I already want to go back 🐟 Overall a satisfying sashimi restaurant, both in taste and portion size! Next time I want to try other menu items too (mulhoe 🤤🤤). If you're looking for a great sashimi spot in Sokcho, I recommend "Hoega"!