Nowon sushi buffet for shrimp lovers: lemon cream shrimp, Kuu Kuu

Hi, it's Kkulyang🐝 Welcome to another installment of Kkulyang's honey-sweet food road, where I go hunting for a new good eatery. I was craving fresh sushi for the first time in a while, so I went to Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch on the 6th floor of the Seoul Oncheon building in Nowon.

It's a famous sushi buffet in Nowon, so I came with high expectations, and the place was even bigger than I expected, with a great range and quality of food. I left totally satisfied!

Opening at 11 a.m.: parking and waiting

Kuu Kuu Nowon opens at 11 every day, and we booked through Naver for the 11 a.m. first seating. We could use the underground parking in the building.

Even though we arrived 10 minutes before opening, plenty of people were already lined up. As soon as entry started, the place filled with customers and a wait formed almost immediately, so you could really feel how popular it is.

Even with customers pouring in nonstop, what amazed me was that the food was almost never empty!

The staff kept an eye on the floor and refilled empty trays constantly, so we could grab whatever we wanted without waiting.

With such high turnover, the seafood and sushi stayed fresh to the very end, which made the meal really satisfying.

How far does the shrimp lineup at Kuu Kuu Nowon go?

I took a big lap around the restaurant, and it was honestly hard to find anything that wasn't there.

Besides the basic sushi and rolls, there was a sashimi corner, pizza, pasta, fried food, Korean food, Chinese food and even desserts, a lineup that was a feast for the eyes.

But what really won me over this visit was, without question, the shrimp dishes.

It starts with all kinds of shrimp sushi, like raw shrimp, sweet shrimp and soy-marinated shrimp sushi, and goes on to lemon cream shrimp, soy shrimp, crispy fried shrimp and spicy kanpung chili shrimp (sweet-and-spicy fried shrimp)!

It felt like every tasty thing you can make with shrimp was gathered in one place. If you love shrimp, this is the perfect Nowon sushi buffet, where you'll fill your plate again and again.

Raw shrimp, flounder, cuttlefish and soy shrimp sushi

Personally, I was most impressed by the basic raw shrimp sushi, which kept that plump, sweet texture intact!

The flounder sushi was cut thick, so it had a proper chew, and the cuttlefish sushi was soft yet nicely chewy, so I kept reaching for more!

The soy shrimp sushi wasn't salty either, with a fantastic sweet-salty balance that went great with the rice. Picking through tuna and beef sushi too, I lost track of time.

Udon, cream soup and the Korean food corner

When you're eating cold sushi, you naturally start craving something hot and brothy, and that's where the udon corner at Kuu Kuu Nowon shone. The broth was clean and deep, and it felt like it reset my whole mouth.

The smooth, nutty cream soup paired so well with warm bread that I went back for it twice.

The Korean food corner was also better than expected! Rice-stealer dishes like ganjang gejang (soy-marinated raw crab), soy shrimp and steamed shrimp were neatly laid out,

so even older family members who don't usually enjoy Japanese food, or anyone who prefers Korean, could eat plenty to their taste.

There's so much for all ages to enjoy that I immediately understood why this place is known by word of mouth as a go-to for Nowon family gatherings.

Dessert corner: fruit and petit cakes to finish

After a hearty main meal, I headed to the dessert corner.

Fresh fruit like mango, melon, pineapple and apple was washed and cut into bite-size pieces,

and there were cute petit cakes and sweet ice cream too, so I could wrap up the meal neatly.

The lingering aftertaste of a meal: today's honey-sweet verdict🐝

A spacious restaurant with a thoughtful lineup, highly recommended for big groups!

Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch is pleasant and roomy throughout, with generous space between seats, so even a large group can eat without feeling cramped. It's a solid Nowon sushi buffet that sushi lovers, and especially shrimp lovers, will enjoy.

I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a Nowon spot for a family meal or special day, or for a group dinner or small get-together. That was my visit to Kuu Kuu Nowon Branch!🍯