Solo dining at Sushi Hwa, a flame-seared sushi restaurant in Gimhae

There are some meals you just have to have regularly. One of them is — sushi!!

How I found Sushi Hwa on Gimhae's Bongridan-gil

Sushi Hwa is a flame-seared sushi restaurant on Bongridan-gil in Gimhae. I'd gone to Gimhae for a lecture after a long while, and I was way too hungry to just head straight home, so I was looking around for something to eat — and since it was about time for my periodic sushi craving, I went sushi-hunting and found Sushi Hwa! It's apparently designated as a safe restaurant by Gimhae city.

Sushi Hwa's opening hours

Checking the hours! Sushi every single day from Monday to Sunday... what a happy neighborhood this is.

Monday–Sunday / 11am–11pm

Inside Sushi Hwa: atmosphere and seating

My lecture ended at an odd hour, so I walked in as the very first customer of the first dinner service at Sushi Hwa. Sunlight was pouring across the whole restaurant, giving it a really warm feel.

There's a long table set up that could easily handle a group, no problem. The kind of vibe that would work great for an office lunch gathering if there's a company nearby?

Ordering by tablet at the table

Every table has its own tablet, so ordering is super convenient. It even handles payment right there, making the whole thing even easier.

There are posters up giving it a slightly semi-Japanese feel, plus photos of the sushi on the walls. The second you see them you get even hungrier — such a mouthwatering look that I went ahead and ordered right away.

Like I said, ordering was done easily right from the table!! And the menu I picked was...

The flame-seared sushi set, with buckwheat soba as the side

The flame-seared sushi set!!! And for the side, I went with buckwheat soba. Honestly... I was craving soba. I usually always go for udon, but for some reason that day... haha.

Aahhh!!! Can you all see this?? Raw sushi has its own charm, but flame-seared sushi is delicious in a whole different way!! Everything torched all over, sending up that smoky char smell — how could it not be good?

Pickled shallots and ginger, cut thicker than usual

And there was the buckwheat soba I'd been craving! Can you see the little ice slush floating in it ㅠ

Pickled radish (rakkyo) and pickled ginger came out as side dishes. The pickled ginger wasn't the usual thin look — it was noticeably thicker. So I couldn't do my usual move of brushing on soy sauce like a paintbrush, but it had more bite this way and honestly suited the flame-seared sushi even better.

And then the salad with yuzu sauce! Yuzu sauce has been so good lately. It's a great match with cabbage salad — exactly the kind of thing to refresh your palate between bites of sushi.

I stirred the wasabi in fully and took a bite of the soba. Wow... what is this. It was exactly the flavor I wanted. The noodles were so chewy too — a good slurp, then that springy chew after. Best soba I've had in a while, hands down number one.

Sushi Hwa's flame-seared sushi, piece by piece

Time to properly get into the sushi. First up, flame-seared salmon sushi with something on top! I couldn't tell what the topping was, but it went together perfectly and had an incredible savory depth.

The shrimp — need I say more. It had a slightly spicy sauce brushed on, so spicy shrimp, and honestly, pure happiness.

The meat sushi speaks for itself too. The meat was so tender, with a mild smoky char that made it really delicious.

I also tried the scallop sushi. The smoky char added on top of the usual flavor gave it an extra layer of savoriness, and the chewy texture was great too.

This shrimp piece had no sauce on it. You could really feel the shrimp's crisp, springy texture, and it was great.

There was also beef sushi with a spicy sauce brushed on. This one was such a rice thief — it went so well with the rice.

And one of my favorite kinds of sushi — egg sushi!! With the smoky char added, it felt a bit plumper and softer. And with the spicy sauce on it, it matched the rice so well.

There was another properly spicy shrimp piece too. I'm genuinely obsessed with shrimp... every single shrimp sushi at this place was top tier.

I also had a quick bite of the fried tofu sushi. Unlike the other pieces, this one kept its plain, classic flavor without the smoky char.

And the grand finale, the last bite!! Squid!! You all know grilled squid is amazing on its own, right? Now add spicy sauce on top? Hehe... this is pure heaven.

Finishing with the blueberry dessert

And there's even a proper dessert to wrap it all up. They bring out a little bowl of blueberries, and eating them at the end gave a really clean finish to the meal. I hadn't expected this, so I'd also ordered a drink — but as much as finishing with a drink is nice, finishing with blueberries was even better.

If you're looking for a real go-to lunch spot on Gimhae's Bongridan-gil, I fully recommend Sushi Hwa!