Namdong sashimi restaurant with seafood ramen: Veteran Fish Market

The day I was craving flounder sashimi near Incheon City Hall

Whenever I want sashimi in Incheon, I find myself looking for somewhere that offers everything at once, from fresh fish to generous side dishes. This time, I visited Veteran General Fish Market Incheon City Hall Branch. I ordered the small Special Grade A Wando flounder sashimi platter! We enjoyed it with the grilled saury and side dishes that came with it, then added warm, spicy seafood ramen at the end. Above all, the flounder sashimi was definitely the star of this meal.

The thin, translucent slices of flounder sashimi arrived beautifully arranged across the whole plate, and just looking at them gave me a sense of how fresh the fish was. I visited Veteran General Fish Market while looking for a good restaurant near Incheon City Hall. When I go out for sashimi, the things I care about most are the freshness and texture of the fish. Seasonings and accompaniments matter too, of course, but I think the taste of the sashimi itself is what matters most in the end.

The side dishes served with the flounder sashimi

The table was set with side dishes to enjoy alongside the sashimi. There was a variety of food, including salad, vegetables, gim (roasted seaweed), and onions, so I could eat the sashimi in lots of different ways. Since the sashimi itself was mild, having a refreshing side dish such as salad now and then made my palate feel nicely cleared.

Especially with sashimi, changing just one seasoning can completely change the direction of the flavor, right? Soy sauce → chojang (sweet-and-tangy red chili sauce) → wasabi → gim → vegetables. Rotating through them like this kept the flounder sashimi from ever feeling monotonous.

The springy texture of Special Grade A Wando flounder sashimi

That is why I ordered flounder sashimi as the main dish that day. Flounder is such a familiar sashimi fish, but its texture and flavor can feel quite different depending on how it is prepared and aged. The small Special Grade A Wando flounder sashimi platter at Veteran General Fish Market Incheon City Hall Branch was spread broadly across the plate. The subtle translucence showing through the white flesh made a clean first impression. When I lifted a slice with my chopsticks, it was thinly cut but not limp; it still felt firm and bouncy. That pleasantly chewy, resilient texture is exactly what makes flounder sashimi so appealing.

The first slice, with nothing added

First, I tried one piece of flounder sashimi with nothing added. The flounder's distinctive mild, clean flavor came through first, followed by a subtle sweetness as I chewed. It did not have a strong fishy taste either, so it was easy to enjoy.

Sometimes, sashimi has a distinctive fishy aroma that makes you reach for lots of chojang or soy sauce, but the first few pieces of flounder that day were delicious even without seasoning. I also liked its texture: it gave a little springy chew in the mouth, then went down smoothly. Flounder sashimi can be disappointing when it is too soft, but this had just the right amount of resilience, making it fun to chew.

Because the sashimi was sliced thinly, it never felt overly thick in the mouth, and I did not tire of it even after several pieces. Mild flavor + chewy texture + a clean finish. It had all the charms I look for in flounder sashimi.

Flounder sashimi with soy sauce, wasabi, and chojang

For my second piece, I dipped it lightly in soy sauce. Personally, I prefer touching just the edge to the soy sauce rather than soaking the entire slice. The flounder's mild flavor still came through, while the saltiness of the soy sauce really brought out the savoriness.

The flounder's clean flavor went especially well with the savory saltiness of soy sauce. Add just a tiny bit of wasabi and its sharp aroma rises through your nose, creating another layer of flavor. Too much wasabi can cover up the flounder itself, so I used only a little, and this combination was just right. Chewy flounder, savory soy sauce, and sharp wasabi. For sashimi lovers, it is a familiar combination that still keeps you reaching for another bite.

You cannot leave out chojang when it comes to flounder sashimi, either. This time, I gave it a light dip in chojang too. Soy sauce highlighted the flounder's natural mildness and savoriness, while chojang added sweet, sour, and spicy seasoning for a completely different feel. After eating several pieces, dipping one in chojang every now and then seemed to wake up my appetite again more than sticking only with the mild flavor.

A combination with shredded onion and gim

In the center of the sashimi platter were shredded onion and vegetables. Eating the sashimi plain is lovely too, but I personally enjoy adding crisp vegetables like these. Put a little shredded onion on a piece of flounder and lightly dip it in chojang: the crisp texture comes first, followed by the chewy flounder. It was fun trying different combinations, since the texture and flavor changed depending on what I ate with the same flounder sashimi.

And I could not overlook the gim served with the sashimi. Place a slice of flounder on a sheet of gim with onion or vegetables, and the nutty seaweed aroma makes it another special bite. One slice of sashimi, one sheet of gim, then another piece of sashimi dipped in soy sauce. My chopsticks just kept moving.

Included grilled saury and spicy seafood ramen

Among the foods served with the flounder sashimi, the saury stood out. Golden-brown grilled saury arrived on a long plate; the outside was crisp while the flesh inside was fairly moist. When you keep eating only sashimi, you can start craving warm grilled fish, and having a bite of saury here and there changed the flow of the meal. Its nutty exterior and saury's rich, oily flavor made it the kind of taste that called for rice. I also liked being able to enjoy sashimi and grilled fish together in one meal.

After we had eaten a good amount of flounder sashimi, I started craving warm broth. So I ordered seafood ramen as an extra. Sashimi followed by ramen really feels like a combination that is hard to get wrong. The seafood ramen had that savory seafood depth in its broth and was spicy and warming, which made it a great finishing dish after sashimi. After eating cold sashimi, taking a spoonful of hot broth made my stomach feel warm!

The chewy ramen noodles together with the broth made the ending of the meal feel filling. I was glad I ordered seafood ramen instead of stopping with the sashimi. The broth was spicy, with an extra savory flavor from the seafood that kept me going back for more spoonfuls. It was like clearing away every last bit of lingering regret after sashimi with hot seafood ramen.

Combinations I would recommend for flounder sashimi lovers

Thinking back on the meal, these were my personal favorite ways to eat the flounder sashimi:

• First: flounder sashimi on its own. At the start, it was nice to appreciate the fish's flavor and texture without seasoning.
• Second: soy sauce + wasabi. This was the most basic yet delicious pairing, preserving the flounder's mild flavor while adding savory saltiness and a sharp kick.
• Third: chojang + shredded onion. The sweet-and-tangy chojang with crisp shredded onion creates a fuller texture in the mouth—a combination that makes you keep eating!
• Fourth: gim + flounder sashimi + shredded onion. The nutty flavor of gim made it a refreshing new way to enjoy it.
• And finally, seafood ramen. With this combination, you can finish the meal feeling satisfyingly full even after the sashimi.

A full meal from sashimi to side dishes

This meal centered on the small Special Grade A Wando flounder sashimi platter, alongside saury, the included side dishes, and extra seafood ramen. What stayed with me most was the flounder sashimi's texture. I loved how the thin slices were pleasantly chewy in the mouth, followed by a mild, clean flavor. Seasonings added savory and sweet-and-tangy notes, while gim and shredded onion added more texture, so it could be enjoyed in many ways.

If you love sashimi, I would recommend tasting the fish itself first. Try a piece plain, then with soy sauce, then with chojang. Changing the combination one by one lets you discover quite a range of flavors from the same flounder sashimi. And ending with hot seafood ramen made the meal satisfyingly filling too.

On a day when you are craving clean, mild flounder sashimi near Incheon City Hall, Veteran General Fish Market Incheon City Hall Branch could be a good choice if you want a full meal from sashimi to side dishes. Enjoy the chewy texture and mild flavor of every slice with saury and side dishes, then finish with spicy seafood ramen! It was a meal I would want to return for the next time I am craving sashimi.