Assorted sashimi platter at Jukdo Market, Pohang: Yeonggwang Hoe

Today it's just the two of us, footloose as usual~~~~ We debated going to Daegu, or maybe Busan, but then realized we couldn't even remember the last time we had a date night in our own city, Pohang. So today we decided to find a good spot in our own neighborhood and have a drink.

Even though we live in Pohang, when we want sashimi, we still go to Jukdo Market! If you're looking for a raw fish restaurant in Jukdo Market, how about this one? We didn't get to eat much mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) this summer, and now that the wind has turned cool, we were craving sashimi with a shot of soju. And when you eat sashimi, you've got to do it properly, so off to Jukdo Market in Pohang we went.

Location and hours of Yeonggwang Hoe Daegae Center

• Yeonggwang Hoe Daegae Center
• Address: 34 Jukdosijang-gil, Buk-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, South Korea
• Hours: 10:00–22:00
• Open with no break time, and open later than most

Since it operates inside Jukdo Market, there aren't many places open this late!

Prices posted out front, pick your own fish

The prices are posted in huge letters right in front of the store. This is a place that does business honestly — prices don't change every time you visit. It's not crab season right now, but they had domestic snow crab, Dokdo shrimp, and a variety of sashimi on hand. You can look and pick it out yourself if you want. We figured they'd take good care of us, so we just went straight inside! Now I'm craving Dokdo shrimp... I'll have to try the Dokdo shrimp special next time.

For two, is the medium assorted platter enough?

We saved crab for another time and just wanted a simple drink with sashimi, so we ordered the regular assorted sashimi platter, medium size. For two people, medium was plenty~! Perfect amount for two hearty eaters. If you're mainly drinking, it could probably feed three.

The weather wasn't great today so there wasn't any wild-caught fish available, so we went with the regular assorted platter instead. Since it's fresh seafood, it's heavily affected by weather and season.

We only ordered sashimi, but the side dishes?!

The side dish spread. We only ordered sashimi, but this is how many side dishes came out?! The table was practically groaning under it all. I don't think there's going to be room left for the sashimi, boss.

When I posted this on Instagram, a lot of people asked where it was. So here it is, for my fellow Pohang folks — a sashimi restaurant in Pohang.

Two pieces of shrimp sushi, aged kimchi, peanuts.

Some kind of glasswort greens? Vinegared squid salad, corn salad. Corn salad is the number one dish you'd be sad to not see at a sashimi restaurant, and probably the one people refill the most. Loaded with cheese and mayo, it's a knockout. I told them I don't eat the glasswort greens, but they insisted it was delicious — honestly there were just too many side dishes to get through! There's so much good stuff, what can you do~~

Deodeok root salad, grilled Chilean sea bass, potato chips. Grilled Chilean sea bass — something you'd only expect at a tuna restaurant — showing up here as a side dish. Sweet and salty, total rice-side-dish energy.

Sea squirt, conch, and jellyfish salad all came out as standard side dishes, no extra charge. You don't even need to order seafood separately. I really wanted to eat fresh sea squirt sashimi somewhere reliable — buying it at the local supermarket always makes me worry about freshness, so at a fresh sashimi spot like this, might as well eat plenty. Is there anything better as a drinking snack?

Vinegared periwinkle salad, and piping hot crab fritters too. Made fresh the moment you order.

My husband said he'd finish a whole bottle of soju even before the main dish arrived. We even skipped a proper breakfast this morning just to save room and rushed straight to Jukdo Market. This is the taste that keeps us footloose.

Neatly sliced sashimi and a spicy stew finish

Neatly sliced sashimi is love. This isn't some rough-cut, market-style sashimi. The portion was also generous — enough that by the time we'd eaten our fill, we had some left over. We finished it off shabu-shabu style, dipping it into the spicy fish stew.

They mashed up the fish in the stew, saying it makes the broth taste better, and honestly, the depth of the broth really changed. The longer it boiled, the better it got. We polished off the spicy hot stew along with the sashimi, no leftovers. It's rare that we go out just the two of us, so let's enjoy it~ Cheers. The sashimi was fresh and delicious, and everything about the meal was perfect.