Sokcho sashimi restaurant with DIY sushi rice takeout: Hoega

You can't come to Sokcho without eating a plate of sashimi, right? Eating at a sashimi restaurant is nice too, but I much prefer packing it up and bringing it back to the hotel to eat comfortably. Showering off, changing into comfy clothes, turning on the TV, and sprawling out to eat sashimi — that's the tastiest way to do it.

This time too, while looking around for where to get takeout, I found a place called Hoega and went to check it out.

The inside of the shop was clean and looked fine for eating in too, but I stuck to my original plan and ordered takeout.

Hoega's menu and which sizes you can get for takeout

Hoega's menu had all kinds of things, from sashimi dishes like mixed sashimi, sekkoshi (thin-cut sashimi with bones), and a build-your-own 3-way option, to mulhoe, sashimi rice bowl, and steamed scallops. For reference, the mixed sashimi starts at a medium size if you're eating in the shop, but a small size is available for takeout.

I checked the origin label board, and all the fish and seafood were marked as domestic, which gave me a lot of confidence.

How to order Hoega takeout by phone and pick it up

I ordered a small mixed sashimi and a mulhoe. I called these two in ahead of time and visited, and I was able to pick them up right away without waiting.

For anyone getting takeout, I'd recommend calling ahead to reserve.

What comes in a Hoega takeout order

Once I got back to the hotel and excitedly unpacked each piece of the Hoega order, the contents were seriously solid. They included lettuce and perilla leaves for wrapping, seaweed, rinsed kimchi, sushi rice, and cherry tomatoes for cleansing the palate. There was also a generous amount of noodles to add to the mulhoe.

Sometimes when you get takeout from a sashimi restaurant, you end up with a bunch of tiny side dishes you never touch, and then you're stuck dealing with food waste.

Hoega was filled cleanly with just practical, well-matched sides meant to go with the sashimi, and I liked it even before I started eating!

Mixed sashimi (small): how chewy are the flounder, rockfish and yellowtail?

The Hoega mixed sashimi comes piled generously around the plate — you'd never guess it was the small size.

The mixed sashimi lineup was flounder, rockfish, and yellowtail, and it felt like a solid combination. Just looking at it, the glossy sheen made the freshness obvious.

I much prefer sashimi that's springy and chewy the more you chew it, over anything mushy or overly soft. The moment I popped a piece in my mouth, that exact firm, chewy bounce I was hoping for filled my mouth.

No fishy smell at all, and a subtle sweetness came through the more I chewed.

The yellowtail had really different charms depending on the cut — some parts were crisp with a springy chew, while other parts had just the right amount of fat and went down smoothly.

I put a piece of sashimi on the rinsed kimchi they gave us, dipped it in ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), and wrapped it up — crisp and refreshing! It also went really well wrapped in seasoned seaweed with radish sprouts, nutty and satisfying.

Making DIY sushi with Hoega's sushi rice

Just put wasabi on the little round balls of sushi rice, top with a thick piece of sashimi, and instant sashimi rice is done.

Being near the coast, eating fresh, chewy sashimi like this really makes it feel like you're truly in Sokcho.

Icy mulhoe with a whole abalone and thin noodles

While eating the mixed sashimi, I opened up the Hoega mulhoe too. The icy mulhoe broth came in a separate plastic bottle, so you could pour it into the bowl right before eating.

I poured in the broth and stirred with a spoon, and the contents were really substantial. Crisp cabbage and fresh vegetables were packed in generously, plenty of raw fish, and a whole abalone, sliced up for easy eating.

The sliced raw fish in the mulhoe was soft and tender, while the thinly sliced abalone had an appealingly crunchy, crisp bite.

With the crispness of the vegetables added on top, the textures were varied and interesting to chew through.

The broth wasn't heavy at all — sweet and tangy, so taking a spoonful in between bites of sashimi cleaned my palate right up.

After eating most of the toppings, I added the yellow noodles that came included. There were two big bundles in there. Loosening the noodles into the icy broth and slurping them up, the noodles turned cold and chewy — a real treat. It was the perfect, filling finish.

Is Hoega worth it for sashimi takeout in Sokcho?

I loved the combination of eating a chewy piece of mixed sashimi and then taking a sip of the cool mulhoe broth — I was glad I ordered both.

The sashimi was fresh, and the side dishes were satisfying, so I finished the meal in a great mood. If you're looking to enjoy a fresh sashimi spread during a trip to Sokcho, I'd recommend trying the mixed sashimi and mulhoe combo at Hoega.