Chuncheon sushi buffet: torched beef sushi and lemon sorbet — QooQoo

Now that cool breezes have started to blow morning and evening, even deciding what to eat for dinner feels like a bit of a chore. At times like this, a buffet where you can pick whatever you're craving is so convenient. One weekday evening not long ago, I finally went back to QooQoo Chuncheon Branch (쿠우쿠우 춘천점) after a long while.

In the past, at sushi buffets there were times I was disappointed: lots of kinds of sushi, but too much rice, or the fish felt a little dry. This time the sushi turned over faster than I expected, and with everything from hot dishes to desserts, it was nice to wander around slowly and eat. Here's a rundown, one by one, of what was good at this weekday QooQoo dinner after so long.

QooQoo Chuncheon weekday dinner: atmosphere and parking

The hall at QooQoo Chuncheon Branch is spacious and clean, and if you register your car when paying, you get up to 3 hours of free parking. At the time of my visit, a ₩2,000 autumn discount event was also running (planned through November). Prices and operating terms can differ by QooQoo branch, so check the details for the branch before you go.

I walked in and the place was bigger and cleaner than I expected. The first thing I noticed was the wide, comfortable hall. Even on a weekday evening there were quite a few diners, but staff were tidying up quickly all around, so it felt well maintained overall. Plates were cleared right away too, so it never felt chaotic even at busy hours.

If you're driving, parking is easy as well. There's plenty of space, and the parking lot connects straight to the restaurant, so getting in was convenient. Being able to register your car when you pay and get up to 3 hours free meant I could enjoy the meal without watching the clock.

QooQoo Chuncheon sushi section: which sushi was good?

My favorite sushi at QooQoo Chuncheon was the fresh salmon sushi, and the flounder, cuttlefish and conch sushi plus the octopus-wasabi gunkan (seaweed-wrapped sushi boat) were good too. Sushi is, of course, the first thing you look for when you come to QooQoo.

There was quite a variety of sushi, but what I liked most was how fast the food turned over. People kept taking it, and the kitchen kept refilling the sushi right away, so it rarely felt like anything had been sitting out for long.

My favorite was, as expected, the fresh salmon sushi. The salmon's soft texture came through nicely, and the salmon roll was rich and nutty, so the two went well together. When I wanted a slightly different flavor in between, the smoked salmon and soy-marinated salmon were good too. The flounder sushi had thick slices with a nice chew, and the cuttlefish had a subtle sweetness. The conch sushi had a pleasantly chewy texture and was clean, with no fishy taste.

If you like a sharp kick, try the octopus-wasabi gunkan too. Having one now and then between other sushi was a good way to reset my palate.

How was the sharI (rice) portion?

Another thing I liked was that the shari (sushi rice) wasn't too much. With buffet sushi, if there's a lot of rice you fill up after just a few pieces, right? But at QooQoo Chuncheon the rice was relatively small, so it was easy to taste lots of different kinds a little at a time.

Torched beef sushi and bacon sushi

While browsing the sushi section, the thing that caught my eye was the torched beef sushi station. The chef torches the beef right in front of you to give it a smoky char, and watching the flames go whoosh was fun. I grabbed one while it was warm, and I could taste both the beefy flavor and the fire-grilled aroma. Pretty tasty!

If you're visiting with kids, I think they'd like the bacon sushi too. It's salty with a slight sweetness, the kind of thing kids tend to like.

Hot dishes and instant noodle corner at QooQoo Chuncheon

Among the hot dishes at QooQoo Chuncheon, the scorched-rice guobaorou (Chinese-style sweet and sour pork) and mala xiang guo (spicy Sichuan stir-fry) stood out, and at the instant noodle corner your noodles come out about 3 minutes after ordering. After eating a fair amount of sushi, the hot dishes started catching my eye. The food was kept warm under heat lamps, and empty trays were refilled fairly quickly.

The one that stuck with me was the scorched-rice guobaorou. It's crispy outside and chewy inside, a different feel from ordinary tangsuyuk (Korean sweet and sour pork). The mala xiang guo was slightly spicy, nice to have once or twice while eating greasy food.

It has a numbing, spicy kick, so having it between other dishes revived my appetite. There were also plenty of other items that go well with sushi, like smoked salmon and kebab meat.

When you're craving broth or noodles, head to the instant noodle corner.

There are rice noodles, udon, jjamppong (spicy seafood noodles), jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles), soba and more, and after you order, you wait about 3 minutes for a freshly made, warm noodle dish.

QooQoo Chuncheon desserts: gelato and bead ice cream

The dessert corner at QooQoo Chuncheon had 8 premium gelato flavors, 4 bead ice creams, a chocolate fountain, cake slices, cream puffs and fruit. Honestly, at buffets I usually can't properly eat dessert, but this day I couldn't just walk past the dessert corner. From cake slices and cream puffs to fruit and the chocolate fountain, there was a lot of variety.

The chocolate fountain especially looked like something kids would love.

You can skewer marshmallows and dip them in the chocolate, so it was fun to have one each after finishing the meal.

Best of the 8 gelatos: vanilla and lemon sorbet

What I liked most this time was the ice cream. There were 8 premium gelato flavors, and my picks were the Woorihamkke vanilla and the lemon sorbet. The vanilla was smooth and familiar, easy to enjoy, and the lemon sorbet was refreshing and cleaned up my mouth after the meal.

On top of that, there were 4 kinds of bead ice cream. It was nice to see them again after so long, and my favorite was the sweet, fragrant banana split flavor.

What order should you eat at QooQoo Chuncheon?

At QooQoo Chuncheon, I think the best order is to enjoy plenty of sushi first, add a few hot dishes, and finish with gelato. With so many choices at a buffet, you end up piling up a bit of everything from the start, right? Here's the order I'd go in.

• Fresh salmon sushi
• Flounder and seafood sushi
• Torched beef sushi
• Hot dishes
• Gelato

If you especially love sushi, I'd avoid loading up on hot dishes at the start. With so much variety, trying one of each fills you up faster than you'd think. And if you want to properly enjoy dessert too, leave a little room at the end for gelato or bead ice cream, right?

QooQoo Chuncheon weekday dinner: final verdict

QooQoo Chuncheon, which I visited after a long time, was more satisfying than I expected. The sushi turned over quickly, and there were memorable items like the fresh salmon, flounder and torched beef sushi. The hot dishes had good variety too, and above all, being able to finish with gelato and bead ice cream meant I enjoyed wandering around slowly right to the end.

On a weekday evening when you want to relax and eat everything from sushi to a range of dishes to dessert in one place, QooQoo seems like a good choice.