Jonggak sushi by the piece: ₩1,500 ankimo gunkan, Choe Uyeong

I love sushi, so finding a great sushi place always puts me in a good mood. It's even better when the prices are reasonable. This time I visited Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch (최우영스시야 종로점), in the basement of TOWER 8 near Jonggak Station.

Choe Uyeong Sushiya runs under the Choe Uyeong Susan (seafood) name, so I went expecting fresh seafood and fair prices. From sushi to sashimi to udon, nothing on the menu is pricey, and the quality was satisfying too. After eating there, I could see why people seek it out as a good-value sushi spot.

Atmosphere and menu prices at Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch

The interior is clean, and most à la carte sushi runs ₩1,000 to ₩3,000, so the prices are easy on the wallet. You order on a tablet at the table.

The moment I walked in, I liked the tidy interior. The orderly mood made it comfortable to eat. You can order on the tablet placed on the table.

As I went through the menu one item at a time, I found the prices were really low.

Most à la carte sushi is ₩1,000 to ₩3,000, which is easy on the budget even compared with cheap conveyor-belt sushi places. The sashimi prices were good too, and the udon was cheap as well, so the menu surprised me.

Set menus are nice, but if none of them suits you, you can also pick a few pieces of your favorite sushi and build your own combination. Being able to choose exactly what you want to eat was a real plus.

How are the special soy sauce and the spicy broth?

The special soy sauce at Choe Uyeong Sushiya isn't strongly salty and has good savory depth, and the spicy broth refreshed my mouth between pieces of sushi.

The soy sauce and broth you have alongside sushi were good too. The special soy sauce isn't heavily salty; it's moderately seasoned with good umami. It suits sushi well, so I liked it.

The broth was memorable too. It has a spicy kick that goes well with sushi, and taking a spoonful now and then left my mouth feeling clean and refreshed.

Red shrimp sashimi tastes sweeter without chojang

The red shrimp sashimi at Choe Uyeong Sushiya has a lovely sweetness and a crunchy texture, and the sweetness came through more when I ate it as is, without dipping it in chojang (sweet-and-sour chili sauce). The sashimi menu was good value for the price.

The sashimi menu was good value for the price. Among it, the red shrimp sashimi was the tasty one. I loved the signature sweetness of red shrimp and its crunchy bite. If you like shrimp, it's a dish you should try at least once.

My recommended way to eat it is as is, without dipping it in chojang. When I dipped it, the shrimp's natural sweetness actually got covered up. Chewing it with no seasoning, I could taste the red shrimp's sweetness much better.

The sashimi prices were quite reasonable too, and considering the quality of the food, it was a really satisfying lineup.

What's in the premium sushi set?

The premium sushi set (geuksang chobap) at Choe Uyeong Sushiya includes egg, cuttlefish, negitoro (minced tuna belly with scallion) gunkan, monkfish liver, flounder, red sea bream, freshwater eel, sea urchin roe and steamed abalone sushi. The fish was thick and fresh overall.

The premium sushi set I ordered as my main had a lineup I especially liked. It has soft egg sushi, chewy cuttlefish sushi, a savory negitoro gunkan and rich monkfish liver sushi, plus clean white fish like flounder and red sea bream, and then freshwater eel, sea urchin roe and steamed abalone sushi, so there's a wide variety.

True to the Choe Uyeong Suisan name, the fish was thick and fresh overall. With each piece, the texture and flavor of the ingredient came through clearly. It was built mostly around high-end fish, so eating it was plenty of fun.

À la carte sushi too, wow wow: why the fish is so thick

The tuna and other à la carte sushi I ordered at Choe Uyeong Sushiya also had thick fish, so I could taste the ingredient more than the rice.

With tuna and other premium fish, eating it piece by piece was definitely fun. When the fish is thin, the rice can feel like too big a share, but here the fish is thick, so the texture is rich and you can taste the ingredient well. With sushi topped generously with fresh fish, I thought it'd be hard for it to be anything but good.

₩1,500 ankimo gunkan, the best of the day

The dish I liked best at Choe Uyeong Sushiya that day was, without question, the ankimo gunkan (battleship-style sushi wrapped in seaweed). Topped with monkfish liver, it's ₩1,500 a piece and had a rich, savory flavor.

Ankimo means monkfish liver, and its rich, savory taste is the appeal. The deep flavor spreading through my mouth was so good that I was happy the whole time I ate it.

The price was even more surprising. One piece of ankimo gunkan for ₩1,500! I was delighted to enjoy this flavor at this price. Next time, I'd like to fill a whole plate with nothing but ankimo gunkan. Being able to pick my favorite sushi without worrying about the cost made Choe Uyeong Sushiya even more appealing.

₩6,000 shrimp tempura udon: portion and broth

The shrimp tempura udon at Choe Uyeong Sushiya is ₩6,000 with a generous portion, and the broth had the deep, rich taste of instant-made udon rather than the sweetness of tsuyu (soy-based dipping broth).

The shrimp tempura udon I ordered with the sushi was good too. It's ₩6,000, and I was surprised by how generous the portion was. I especially liked the broth. Instead of the usual sweet tsuyu flavor, it had a deep, rich taste like you'd get at a made-to-order udon shop.

If you like hot broth, it would go well with sushi. The udon is cheap and the portion generous, so I thought it was great value.

How about it for a lunch near Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun?

If you work around Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun, a bowl of udon with a few pieces of your favorite sushi at lunch would be really filling. I was honestly jealous of office workers with a place like this nearby. Adding a few pieces of sushi doesn't cost much, and you get hot udon too, so I thought it would be a perfect lunch.

Two pieces of shrimp tempura as a side

Besides the sushi and udon, I ordered two pieces of shrimp tempura. It was nice as a light side, and considering the price it was quite satisfying. It's a good add-on when sushi alone feels like not enough or you want something a bit more filling. I also liked that at Choe Uyeong Sushiya you can enjoy the side menu without worrying about the cost, not just the sushi.

A place I'd return to when I crave sushi near Jonggak Station

I was satisfied overall with Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch: the clean restaurant, the reasonable prices, and the thick, fresh sushi. Takeout is also possible at the kiosk at the entrance.

What stays with me is the sweetness of the red shrimp sashimi and the rich flavor of the ankimo gunkan. The shrimp tempura udon was satisfying in price, portion and broth too. On top of that, I liked being able to choose my favorite sushi however I wanted. You don't have to stick to the set menus and can order to your taste, so it feels low-pressure.

You can order takeout at the kiosk at the entrance too~ If you're looking for a good-value sushi place near Jonggak Station or Gwanghwamun, it's worth a visit. Next time, I want to order plenty of ankimo gunkan myself.

Store information for Choe Uyeong Sushiya Jongno Branch

• Address: TOWER 8, B1 Unit 104, 7 Jongno 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Directions: about 3 minutes on foot from Jonggak Station Exit 1
• Hours: daily 11:00–21:30 (last order 21:00)
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Parking: building underground parking available (check before you go whether the 2 hours of free parking for diners is offered)