Ansan izakaya dinner with parents: 5 seafood dishes at Susan Jang

Fresh off a trip to Thailand and craving soju, I took my mom and dad to a neighborhood favorite ❕❕❕ We went for dinner-plus-drinks at Susan Jang, an izakaya in Gojan-dong 🐟🍶 The three of us demolished five dishes, and everything was so fresh and delicious that the soju just kept going down easy.

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Susan Jang is famous enough that I've tried to go on weekends a few times and always found it full — really disappointing 🥹 I even struck out here once on a blind date, but the atmosphere is nice enough that it's a good spot for a second date too!!

I was craving seasonal seafood so I came to Susan Jang, and the menu turned out to be more varied than expected, so I ordered a bit of everything. The place has that genuine Japanese izakaya vibe, like being on a trip to Japan 🫧 Even the complimentary flounder starter was perfect. A large group came in that night so our order took a little while, but picking at the flounder while we waited was just fine.

What we ordered

Raw shrimp sashimi and buckwheat noodles with seasoned crab sauce

The first dish out was raw shrimp sashimi 🦐 The shrimp were firm and had great texture, so it was a pleasure to eat. It felt totally different from cooked shrimp — fresh, and you could really taste the natural sweetness of the shrimp itself. Mom and dad both said it was delicious, so it was a good one to share.

Then there was the slightly unusual buckwheat noodles with seasoned crab sauce 🍜 It's a dish where you toss buckwheat noodles with seasoned crab marinade, and it worked better than I expected. The sauce was savory with a bit of a spicy kick, so mixing it in partway through the seafood course really woke up my appetite again. The noodles weren't too heavy either, so it was easy to share as a side dish.

Seasonal perilla-herb gizzard shad, grilled Chilean sea bass, and flounder-bream sashimi

One of the dishes I really enjoyed was the perilla-herb gizzard shad 🌿🐟 It had in-season gizzard shad tossed with perilla herb, so it was fragrant and pleasantly tangy. The savory character of the gizzard shad paired with the aroma of the perilla herb turned out to be a better combination than I expected. It was a great dish for when you're craving seasonal seafood these days.

Next up was grilled Chilean sea bass with potato mousse 🐟🥔 The grilled tuna head was savory and mild, so it was fun to slowly pick the meat off. The potato mousse that came alongside was soft, and pairing it with the grilled fish gave it a whole different flavor. It's not a dish I eat often, so it made for good conversation with mom and dad.

Finally, we ordered flounder-and-sea bream sashimi 🐠 It was nice to have both flounder and sea bream together, and the sashimi itself was clean and fresh. The flounder had a nice chewy texture, and the sea bream was mild and clean, making it a great way to finish off after trying so many other dishes.

How it worked as a family dinner

Overall, Susan Jang's menu isn't limited to one style — it ranges from sashimi to seafood salads, noodles, and grilled dishes, so it was great for ordering and sharing when there are several people 😊 With a good variety of seasonal seafood on the menu, anyone who loves seafood would enjoy the fun of picking what to order. I went with my mom and dad, and since the menu was so varied, it was fun to try a little of everything — a good choice for a family meal too.

And personally, beyond the food, I really liked the interior full of Japanese atmosphere ✨ The lighting and overall vibe of the place were cozy, which felt especially fitting for an evening visit.

When you want something more varied than the usual sashimi or common seafood dishes in Gojan-dong, or you're looking for an izakaya with good atmosphere, Susan Jang was a solid choice 🐟 I got to spend a relaxed evening with mom and dad, trying all kinds of seasonal seafood together after a long time. 🤍