Gimhae sushi restaurant with red shrimp flame-seared sushi: Sushi Hwa

Sushi Hwa

Sushi Hwa's opening hours and facilities

🗓️ Hours 10:00–21:00 (last order 20:40)

• Kids menu / group seating available
• Takeout / delivery / reservations / wifi
• Separate men's and women's restrooms / high chair / waiting area
• Wheelchair-accessible entrance and seating / disabled parking

I was searching for good restaurants on Bongridan-gil in Gimhae and a sushi place popped up, so I dropped by Sushi Hwa on a whim. Here's my review of their flame-seared sushi set, which had a subtle smoky char. ☺️

Parking and seating at Sushi Hwa on Bongridan-gil

There's room for about 2–3 cars right in front of Sushi Hwa, but since the Bonghwang-dong Bongridan-gil public parking lot is right nearby, we used that instead.

The interior was a clean, wood-toned design overall.

In a section separated by a partition, there was a table that seats 8, which looked great for group dining.

There were also seats set apart that looked good for solo dining, so it seemed like a fine spot to come alone for a casual meal.

Why a raw-sushi fan picked the signature flame-seared set

I'm normally a raw-sushi person, so I considered ordering raw sushi, salmon sashimi, or eel rice bowl, but the flame-seared sushi seemed to be the signature menu, so I found myself ordering it almost on instinct! Haha

🍽️ Ordered Sushi Hwa flame-seared sushi set 27pc flame-seared sushi + 2 salads + choice of 2 (udon or cold soba) ₩38,000

🧾 Receipt review ✅ 2 pieces of sushi or a drink as a perk

What comes with the 38,000 won flame-seared sushi set

A table filled with the flame-seared sushi set! The visual alone made me go 'oooh.' 🫢

The sauce, salad, pickled radish (rakkyo), pickled ginger, blueberries, and the noodle dish each come on their own tray, while the sushi comes plated together to share.

The salad seemed to have a yuzu dressing, and its refreshing taste paired well with the sushi.

This is how the sushi came out — true to the name 'flame-seared sushi,' the regular sushi was lightly torched, giving it a smoky char. I usually only eat raw sushi and just the one or two seared pieces that come mixed in, but trying flame-seared sushi here, I found it was really tasty too!

Garlic or spicy sauce at Sushi Hwa: which is better?

Oh, and you can also choose the sauce that goes on top of the sushi. There's garlic sauce and spicy sauce, and since half-and-half was possible, I ordered it that way.

Different sushi pieces suit different sauces better, so I'd recommend ordering half-and-half to try both. If I had to pick just one, I lean slightly toward the spicy sauce.

Wasabi isn't included by default, so you can add as much as you like to taste. They actually gave us the whole tube of wasabi, which was great for someone like me who loves piling it on, haha. Let me introduce the sushi types one by one.

All 27 flame-seared pieces, type by type

Moist scallop / mild-flavored squid

Egg sushi with a nice sweet taste / fried tofu sushi (inari) packed with filling

The beef sushi wasn't chewy at all, and it also came in the two sauces.

The salmon was lightly seared too, and the soft texture was great.

The sweet shrimp went well with both the garlic and spicy sauce.

But the tastiest of all was the red shrimp sushi! The chunky, plump flesh filled my mouth, and from the chewy texture to the shrimp's sweet, rich umami, it was absolutely delicious!

Udon, cold soba and a blueberry finish at Sushi Hwa

For the noodle dish that comes with the set, you can choose between udon and cold soba, so we ordered one of each!

I went with the cold soba! Haha. The noodles were tasty, and the ice-cold, clean-tasting broth with slushy ice bits was perfect to sip between bites. 👍 I've always loved cold soba as a side to pork cutlet or sushi.

After finishing everything, we wrapped up with a sweet blueberry dessert!

If you're looking for a simple lunch spot on Bongridan-gil in Gimhae, or hunting for a good sushi restaurant, why not stop by Sushi Hwa? ☺️