Garak Mall fish shop: live croaker platter for 3 to go, Narae Susan

Why Narae Susan at Garak Market instead of the sea

When you want fresh sashimi but can't get to the sea, Narae Susan (나래수산) at Garak Market was the answer. I've been craving fresh sashimi sooo much lately... I have plans every weekend in July, so I can't even take my usual weekly trips, and I can't just run off to the East Sea for one plate of raw fish either, so I kept wondering where to find tasty, fresh sashimi (T_T)

Then suddenly it hit me: if I can't get to the sea, I can just go to Garak Market near my home!! But anyone who's been there knows it's a seafood market with SO many sashimi shops?! I searched hard for where to order without a fail, and went to Narae Susan, famous even within Garak Market for fresh fish and tidy cutting and packing, haha

Getting to Narae Susan in Garak Mall, and parking

Narae Susan is at Garak Mall Panmae-dong, 1st floor, Unit 48, and the owner texted me where to park and how to find the shop, so I didn't get lost even on my first visit. It was my first time, and I worried about finding the shop in the huge market, but thanks to the owner's kind directions it was easy after parking!

Anyway!! I parked where the owner told me and headed off to Narae Susan to pick up the sashimi I'd reserved~~

When I arrived, it was way more crowded than the other shops! Yep... famous places really are different, haha

Narae Susan's tanks and menu: what sashimi do they sell?

The tanks in front of Narae Susan were full of fresh live fish, and there was a huge variety of seafood too, including octopus and crab!! There were so many kinds of fish and seafood that browsing each one was a real treat, haha

Menus and prices were posted above the shop where you can see them at a glance! From live croaker (mineo), a popular summer health food, to striped jack, summer sea bass, summer kase, and signature and basic live platters, there were plenty of options to match your group size. There were summer sides like seafood platters and mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), plus snow crab, abalone, octopus and sea cucumber, so adding something to go with your sashimi looks easy, haha

When croaker alone wasn't available: why I chose the platter for 3

When I visited, Narae Susan's croaker supply wasn't smooth, so croaker alone wasn't possible and only platters were available, which is why I ordered the live croaker platter for 3. Of all the fish out there, croaker was what I most wanted this time~ A few months ago I came back from a Mokpo trip without eating croaker sashimi, and it's been bugging me ever since (T_T)

So I was determined to eat croaker this time and ordered it when I reserved, haha. But they told me that with croaker supply tight lately, single-item croaker was hard to order and only possible as a platter combined with other fish. So we ordered the live croaker platter for 3! I was a little sad not to get croaker on its own, but being able to taste several kinds of sashimi on one plate with croaker at the center made me glad I went with the platter, haha

Garak Market sashimi takeout: reserve and pick up right away

At Narae Susan, I went at my reserved time, said my name, and got the already prepared sashimi right away. No long wait on the spot, which was sooo convenient. If you're planning sashimi takeout at Garak Market, I recommend checking ahead whether they have the fish you want, reserving, and then visiting!

We packed it to eat comfortably at home, but if you want to eat right away, it seems you can pay a table setting fee and eat at a chojang shop (a shop serving the dipping sauce and table setup). Choose whichever suits you: take it home to eat in comfort, or eat it fresh on the spot at a chojang shop, haha

How was Narae Susan's packaging?

Inside the Narae Susan box there were plenty of ice packs, so the sashimi stayed cold all the way home. When I opened the box at home... how is the packing this neat?! I also liked that the sashimi was packed cleanly so nothing was messed up or squashed. As expected, a place famous for freshness, cutting and packing is different, haha

What's in the live croaker platter: croaker, red seabream, flatfish and sea bass, plus a free swim bladder

Narae Susan's live croaker platter had croaker at the center with red seabream, flatfish, sea bass and other sashimi, and each kind came with a name tag. The moment I took out the packed sashimi... the plate was packed full, and the flesh was so translucent and glossy that the freshness came through just from looking. I also liked that the name tags let me check which fish each piece was as I ate!

And on top of that, the swim bladder the owner gave us as a freebie~~ Doesn't a sight like this feel like it's properly comforting me for not being able to travel for a whole month... haha

I took out everything the owner packed for us one by one and set it all out, and I'd basically made a sashimi-restaurant-level spread at home!!

How do Narae Susan's croaker sashimi and swim bladder taste?

Narae Susan's croaker sashimi had a wonderfully thick yet chewy texture. Anyway!! I tried the croaker and swim bladder first! The croaker I was looking forward to most starts out mild, then the more you chew the more you get a subtle sweetness and nuttiness... how?! How can it be this good?!

And the swim bladder was so crunchy and chewy... the texture was a work of art, haha

Were the red seabream and flatfish fresh too?

The red seabream and flatfish in the platter weren't mushy at all, with a firm, springy, sticky-chewy texture, just right. Each fish had a slightly different texture and flavor, so picking them one by one was fun, haha. Above all they had no fishy taste and were so fresh that even a light dip in soy sauce tasted great!

You can probably tell from the photos, but the sashimi was cut really thick overall, so the chew was perfect!! Plus the freshness felt almost like eating fish just caught at the seaside, which really satisfied my sashimi craving, haha

The fish stew kit works like a meal kit

The spicy fish stew (maeuntang) ingredients I added at Narae Susan came like a meal kit: fish, assorted seafood, the vegetables for the stew, and the stew seasoning. Just add water to a pot and boil, done! I slurped the stew down the moment it was boiled so I have no photo.. but it was spicy and refreshing, the kind of taste that's totally healing, I'd say?! haha

Garak Market Narae Susan live croaker platter takeout, in summary

Narae Susan, the Garak Market sashimi shop I visited because I wanted fresh sashimi sooo much!

I could see the freshness of the live fish and seafood right from the tanks, and with the neat cutting and packing I could enjoy tasty sashimi comfortably at home. Reserving ahead meant I could pick up right away without waiting, and the owner even guided me carefully on where to park and how to find the shop, so I found it easily even on my first visit, haha

The live croaker platter in particular let us taste not only the croaker I'd hoped for but several kinds of fresh sashimi at once, so it was a satisfying setup for sharing! On days when you can't get to the sea but want fresh, tasty sashimi, if you're looking for sashimi takeout at Garak Market, it may be worth reserving ahead at Narae Susan. When I crave sashimi again, I'll probably go back to pack up another seasonal fish, haha