Rolled egg sushi and sake-don in Hwajeong, Goyang: Min Cook Dasima

Anyone looking for a Hwajeong Station lunch recommendation? How about sushi or sake-don at Min Cook Dasima?? The umami in the sashimi made me get why Goyang's very first sushi restaurant earned a Hundred-Year Store title — a real Hwajeong Station sushi find.

Did you know there's an old-school sushi spot in Hwajeong-dong, Goyang?? I visited Min Cook Dasima, a Hundred-Year Store running for 26 years!

Where is Min Cook Dasima? Miso Yaki on the 1st floor, sushi on the 2nd

Min Cook Dasima is on the 2nd floor of a building at 37 Hwasin-ro 260beon-gil, Deokyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. I got confused because the 1st floor also has "Min Cook" in its name — that's Min Cook Miso Yaki, a Japanese-style grilled fish and rice bowl spot, while the 2nd floor is the sushi restaurant Min Cook Dasima. And there's also a grilled fish place, Min Cook Apbadang, over in Seongsa-dong haha.

Made it up to 2nd floor Min Cook Dasima!

The hallway: Min Cook Dasima's rice principles and 26 years on record

Walking through the 2nd floor hallway of Min Cook Dasima, I got a glimpse of the restaurant's history (?) and philosophy. I learned here for the first time that the tub used to mix sushi rice is called a "hangiri" lol. It says Min Cook Dasima keeps rice milled within 5 days in a dedicated fridge, then cooks it with Jeju Samdasoo water.

And Min Cook Dasima has been running since 2001 — a whopping 26 years! It's also Goyang's very first sushi restaurant.

So they've kept a whole collection of old photos on display — after 26 years, this is the kind of restaurant where a kid who used to come with their parents can grow up and find it still there, still in the same spot. I'm so envious of people with a nostalgia spot like this haha. It looked like there was a wait during the day judging by the waitlist and waiting seats, but we came on a weekday past 7:30pm and there was no wait at all!

At the door of Min Cook Dasima there was a notice about being selected as a Goyang Tourism Restaurant and Blue Ribbon in 2024 and 2025.

Inside Min Cook Dasima: self-service corner and QR ordering

The inside of Min Cook Dasima is quite spacious with a lot of tables! The tables by the windows and walls sat a good distance apart from the center of the hall.

And there were little decorative items by the windows that were nice to look at. We sat at a window table too!

There's free Wi-Fi and a Min Cook regulars' QR code that links to discount info. Beyond the Hundred-Year Store certification, you could also spot a Master Craftsman plaque and a New Intellectual certificate.

There was a self-service corner — with small plates, a microwave, forks and so on, it looked handy for anyone bringing kids, and if you run out of sashimi soy sauce or need chili vinegar sauce, head there too!

Min Cook Dasima doesn't have a printed menu — you just scan the QR code on the table. I happened to overhear the table next to us and it sounded like there used to be tablets here. They were an older couple who clearly seemed like regulars.

And there's a separate takeout menu, so if you're near Hwajeong Station looking for lunch, takeout could work well too!

Ordering the special sushi set and salmon bowl — porridge comes first

Since we were walk-ins, we decided to try Min Cook Dasima's special sushi set. We also ordered the raw salmon bowl, sake-don, haha. The difference between the regular and special sushi set was whether or not sashimi was included.

While we ordered, porridge came out first!

Call it an appetizer. It was savory and smooth.

What comes in the special sushi set at Min Cook Dasima

And then the special sushi set arrived~ From top left: salad, sashimi, chawanmushi (Japanese-style steamed egg), tempura, side dishes, braised fish, and 9 pieces of sushi including a large futomaki roll, plus soup!

The salad wasn't just cabbage and lettuce — tangy sun-dried tomatoes were the kick. I wanted to steal the recipe for whatever dressing they used haha. Not too sweet, refreshing..!

You might not fully get it from a still image, but the steamed egg was pure softness..!! The egg part was so soft you could practically eat it with just your gums. There were cocktail shrimp hiding inside too haha.

The braised fish had that salty-sweet Japanese flavor, and as you can tell from the chili on top, there's a slight kick of spice too. Whether it was semi-dried fish or not, the flesh had a firm texture.

Tempura with batter that shatters at the first bite

One thing that really impressed me was the tempura!! I usually prefer a very thin batter and don't go for ones with a lot of coating, but this made me realize what a proper tempura batter is supposed to feel like! No raw-flour taste at all — crispy, and when you bite in it just shatters apart without hurting the roof of your mouth, all nutty and savory!!

There were 3 pieces — shrimp, chili pepper, and sweet pumpkin — all delicious, and the chili pepper tempura especially helped cut through the richness.

Kelp-aged sashimi and nine pieces of sushi

Next up, the sashimi~ Flounder, tuna, and salmon.

It seemed like all of it had gone through kelp-aging — instead of the chewy texture of freshly cut raw fish, it had that soft, springy aged-sashimi feel. Aging brings out more umami, and now that I've gotten into aged sashimi lately, this was really satisfying haha.

Let's talk sushi too~ The fish on the sushi seemed aged as well! Make sure to top it with the side dishes.

There are apparently three rice principles here, and true to that, the rice grains were moist without being mushy — perfect for sushi — and the portion wasn't too much, which let the fish on top really shine!

And the rolled egg sushi is a whole other level! Not the standard mass-produced kind — it's fluffy and slightly sweet, Japanese-style rolled egg that's genuinely signature-worthy! People often skip the egg sushi at sushi restaurants, but here at this Hwajeong Station lunch spot, I'd honestly order the egg sushi on its own.

Mackerel sushi, shime saba~ Look at that pattern, so vivid! It seemed to be the most heavily aged piece, with less moisture and a stronger seasoning, so I'd recommend saving it for last haha.

How the raw salmon bowl (sake-don) tasted

Now let's move on to Min Cook Dasima's raw salmon bowl! Radish sprouts, ginger, and wasabi are on top. Onions are hiding underneath!

I understand you're not supposed to mix sake-don like Korean bibimbap, so I scooped rice, topped it with onion, laid the salmon over it, then added wasabi and radish sprouts.

Added side dishes on top freely too haha. There's seasoning underneath the rice as well, so it's good to lift the salmon aside a little and mix the rice first.

I also put some of the sashimi salmon on top — whether it was the sashimi or the sake-don salmon, both were so soft and full of umami~ I'm already a salmon lover to begin with haha.

Cleared the side dishes and soup completely, and on the way out I noticed they sell scorched rice (nurungji) at the counter haha.

There's info on parking and payment methods too, so check that out! Even as we were leaving, Min Cook Dasima still had customers coming in haha.

Final verdict: a Hwajeong Station sushi restaurant worth its 26 years

So that was my visit to Min Cook Dasima, a Hwajeong Station restaurant! Min Cook has 3 branded spots in Goyang alone! Having stood as Goyang's first sushi restaurant since 2001, it clearly has a strong base of regulars, and after actually trying the sushi set and sake-don, it was easy to see why they've been able to keep going for 26 years.

Selected for Blue Ribbon, Hundred-Year Store, and Tourism Restaurant status too, so the quality is proven! We went for dinner, but there are menu perks especially for lunch, so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a Hwajeong Station lunch spot too haha.