Late-night sushi at Hwangje Sushi, a Goyang restaurant

Near Ilsan Lake Park, with customers still coming late at night

I go to Ilsan often for work, and every time I passed by, it was always bustling with people, so I had been curious. This time, I finally visited: Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch, a well-known Ilsan spot. It is near Ilsan Lake Park, so it seems perfect for stopping by after a day out.

I visited Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch late in the evening, but customers still seemed to be coming in steadily.. A truly popular Ilsan restaurant, indeed,, You can spot Hwangje Sushi right after crossing just one crosswalk from the Ilsan Lake Park side :)

Counter seats, roomy tables, and table ordering

Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch was not especially large inside, but it had single-person counter seats as well as spacious four-person tables :) The tables were quite wide too, so it was comfortable to eat.

At Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch, you can order from the table and pay right there too. There is a really wide variety of sushi sets, and you can also order à la carte when ordering 10 pieces or more! Plus, if you write a Naver receipt review, they give you two large fried shrimp pieces as a service!!

And this was the basic spread they brought out! Even though it is a sushi restaurant, I do not think I have ever seen one serve side dishes like this..!! There was a 500 ml bottle of water, self-serve rakgyo (pickled scallions) and pickled ginger, plus three kinds of pickles. Everything was so good alongside the sushi :)ാഹ

And the thing I loved most! They serve abalone porridge as a complimentary dish..!! ㅠㅠ It was just the right temperature and perfect as an appetizer. It was so delicious that I scraped the bowl clean as soon as it arrived,,

A full spread of shrimp and salmon assorted sushi

Then all the dishes we ordered appeared at once :) The owner served us so kindly that I felt happy before I had even eaten anything haha

Assorted shrimp sushi

First was the assorted shrimp sushi I ordered (₩22,000). I am personally a huge shrimp fan, so I was so happy that they had a set like this haha. It came with two pieces each of grilled shrimp, sweet shrimp, soy-marinated shrimp, grilled red shrimp, and vinegared shrimp. Every piece was generously sized, wonderfully fresh of course, and such great quality!

Assorted salmon sushi

Next was the assorted salmon sushi (₩22,000), a menu item my salmon-obsessed friend was very satisfied with. It came with two pieces each of salmon, salmon belly, grilled salmon, gravlax, and soy-marinated salmon—every variation of salmon aged with natural ingredients on one plate haha. The salmon itself was so generously sized that one piece of sushi filled your whole mouth haha. I did not eat it, but my friend said it was seriously delicious ㅠㅠ

Set extras and the self-service bar

With a set menu at Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch, you get potato croquettes and mini udon as complimentary dishes. Even though they were free, the quality was high. The udon had plenty of fish cake in it too..! And the croquettes were soft, fluffy, and delicious ㅠㅠ

Then, while we were eating, they brought us grilled salmon as another complimentary dish ㅠㅠ There was quite a lot of fish on it, and I really loved the savory salty flavor unique to soy-braised food.

At the Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch self-service bar, you could also get warm soup, pickled radish, shichimi seasoning, and more.

I was so, so full.. and that was the end of our meal at Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch... The owner was so kind, and the food was so, so delicious!! Above all, the service was really wonderful, so if I crave sushi in Ilsan next time, this is a great place I definitely want to visit again :)