Yangsan sushi restaurant with high chairs for two babies: Shirokuma

I came down to my parents' place for a friend's wedding and ended up staying unexpectedly for about 3 weeks, so lately I've been co-parenting with my older sister. She told me about a sushi place she used to eat at instead of raw fish when she was pregnant, and she really wanted me to try it. I'd heard about it many times, so when the chance came up, I finally visited.

What kind of sushi restaurant is Shirokuma?

Shirokuma is a sushi restaurant known around Yangsan for its great food, and its signature menu item is eggplant sushi. It's open Mon–Sat 11:30–21:00, with a break time from 14:30–17:30, and closed on Sundays.

Since we were coming with a 5-month-old and a 9-month-old, we booked ahead for 11:30. We arrived a bit late because I was feeding my niece baby food, and every table except ours was already full — there was even a waiting list. Lunchtime tends to get crowded, so I'd recommend reserving ahead.

Where is Shirokuma, and where do you park?

Shirokuma is located in the Beomeo residential area of Yangsan, across from Busan National University Hospital.

There's some parking space in front of and beside the store, but not a lot of spots. There's no dedicated parking lot. If it's full, you can use the Hwangsan Village public parking lot. You can also find parking in the alleys around the Beomeo residential area — we parked in front of a shop that only opens in the afternoon.

High chairs, stroller space and other baby-friendly details

The place was full, so I barely got any photos of the interior. Shirokuma isn't a big restaurant — it has about 6-7 tables you can dine at. The one we used had partitions in front and behind, giving some sense of separation, and it was the largest seat in the whole place. If you're visiting with a baby, reservations are absolutely essential! There's only one seat like this, haha.

I'd told them in advance that we needed space for one baby chair and one stroller, and they had the seat ready for us.

Shirokuma's menu and how to order by tablet

You order using the tablet at the table, which was convenient since you could see photos of each dish while choosing.

Special sushi set and premium sushi set with soba

What we ordered: Special sushi set + soba, and Premium sushi set + soba.

Maybe because every table was full, it took about 15 minutes for the food to come out after ordering.

I liked that it wasn't just plain water, and pickled radish (rakkyo) and ginger were set up right beside the table, so as someone who eats a lot of side dishes, I could eat freely without feeling self-conscious.

It finally arrived!!!! I usually love raw fish and sushi, and the moment I took a bite, it just melted in my mouth.

The rice portion wasn't too much, and the ratio of fish to rice was just right, so I really enjoyed it.

Putting wasabi on the soba (buckwheat noodles) made a perfect combination. The wasabi was fresh-grated, which is totally my style, T.T. The dipping broth was delicious too, and the sesame(?) black sesame(?) salad was nutty and tasty. I just keep saying delicious, but it really was delicious. What other word is there... umai~~? Haha.

Eggplant sushi, tasted by someone who hates eggplant

Shirokuma also offers takeout and delivery, not just dine-in, so you can still enjoy it on days when visiting is hard.

My favorite picks were the garlic shrimp sushi and the eggplant sushi!! My sister used to order eggplant sushi a lot when she was pregnant, and I thought, eggplant sushi, really?;; I wondered if eggplant and sushi could even go well together, and honestly it seemed strange to pay money for an eggplant dish. I've always disliked eggplant, so I don't even eat the eohyang eggplant or fried eggplant that people say are the good versions.

I was most curious about the eggplant sushi, and it was genuinely, truly *10000 delicious. I'd recommend that even people who dislike eggplant try it at least once! Especially if you're pregnant or breastfeeding and need to be careful with raw food, eggplant sushi could be a great thing to eat with family or friends instead of raw fish. Next time my husband comes, I'll have to bring him too...♥

And endless thanks to my son and my niece for sleeping and sitting so well through it all~~