Hwajeong Station sushi lunch: special vs regular set, Min Cook Dasima

I had some business near Hwajeong Station after a long while, and while I was there I stopped by Min Cook Dasima, a sushi restaurant right in front of Hwajeong E-mart near the Hwajeong Culture Street, for a really satisfying lunch. They especially offer good-value discounted sushi set meals at lunchtime. So my wife and I ordered the special sushi set and the regular sushi set and enjoyed them both — and I'm writing up that review now. I even got free parking at the nearby Hwajeong E-mart, so it was a comfortable outing all around. Here's my review of Min Cook Dasima, a Hundred-Year Store sushi restaurant near Hwajeong Station.

Where is Min Cook Dasima, and what are its hours and parking?

• Location: 37 Hwasin-ro260beon-gil, Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–16:50
• Last order: 14:30, 20:30
• Closed: First and third Sunday of every month
• Parking: In front of the restaurant, free parking at Hwajeong E-mart

Lunch in front of Hwajeong E-mart: how does the parking work?

There are really so many good restaurants around Hwajeong Station, and especially near Hwajeong E-mart there are a lot of good-value spots. After some deliberation I decided on Min Cook Dasima, which is

right in front of Hwajeong E-mart, and they even support up to 1 hour of free parking, so it was easy to visit for lunch. If you think you might need extra time, grabbing a coffee inside the E-mart extends the parking pretty comfortably, so that's a good trick to keep in mind.

Walking up to the entrance of Min Cook Dasima on the 2nd floor, I noticed a lot of faded, nostalgic polaroid photos — fitting for a restaurant that opened back in 2001. Each one felt like proof of precious time spent with customers over the years. Maybe because of that, I walked inside with a bit of a warm feeling.

Inside Min Cook Dasima and its lunch discount menu

The inside of Min Cook Dasima has lighting that makes for a comfortable atmosphere to chat over lunch, and the window seats with their full glass view were really striking. There's a large E-mart right in front, but thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, it didn't feel cramped at all, which I liked.

Maybe because we arrived just as the lunch rush was ending, there was only one table of elderly guests when we got there.

Looking at other reviews, it seems this place is usually packed at lunchtime.

And on one side of the restaurant, I noticed a Hundred-Year Store certificate and a Goyang City tourism restaurant certificate, both pretty impressive. Min Cook's three rice principles were fun too: rice milled within 5 days, Samdasu water, and a rice-only fridge. I've never seen a sushi restaurant so serious about their rice, so it got me excited for the meal.

The menu is set up so you scan a QR code at your table to view it and order. On this visit, the original sushi set and special sushi set had been reworked slightly and were being sold as lunch discount specials:

• Lunch discount sushi set (special): ₩25,000
• Lunch discount sushi set (regular): ₩19,500

We ordered these two menu items. It looked like a few things had changed from the original set meals, and the value seemed pretty good!

What comes with the 25,000 won special sushi set?

For the appetizer, we got a porridge — I couldn't tell if it was clam or mushroom, but it was delicious and light, and it soothed my empty stomach first. The porridge had a subtly mild flavor that was really nice! While I was slowly eating it, my wife's lunch discount special sushi set arrived first!

The special sushi set, ₩25,000, came with a really solid spread. There was a salad with sun-dried tomato, shrimp, chili pepper and sweet pumpkin tempura, chawanmushi (Japanese-style steamed egg), tuna and salmon sashimi, plus soybean paste soup and 9 pieces of sushi.

Unlike the deep red tuna you usually think of, the tuna sashimi here looked pink, almost like salmon, and that stood out alongside the salmon sashimi. The blue-backed fish sushi, which is hard to find fresh inland, also stood out.

True to my simple tastes, the sweet pumpkin, shrimp, and chili pepper tempura were really tasty. You could tell exactly why this place has been loved for 20 years — the tempura was so crispy and delicious. Soon after, my own sushi set arrived too.

How the 19,500 won sushi set differs from the special

The ₩19,500 sushi set. Compared to the special set, the difference seems to be whether or not sashimi is included, and one extra piece of flounder sushi. If you love sashimi, ordering the special sushi set at lunch is great value and will fill you up completely with sashimi included — otherwise, the regular sushi set is a nice, light way to eat too.

Whenever I go to a Japanese restaurant, I usually eat two bowls of chawanmushi haha. It's really that good. Min Cook Dasima's chawanmushi is your basic steamed egg, but it was so soft and silky, and it tasted really great.

The red tuna especially had zero fishy taste and just melted in my mouth — it was really good.

The fried tofu sushi (inari) and sun-dried tomato were also fresh and light, and tasted really nice.

The flounder sushi had a chewy texture, more like aged sushi than live-fish sushi. Maybe that's why the flavor felt so light and clean.

And the slightly firm-textured tuna sushi also had a really nice bite. The blue-backed fish sushi might be a favorite for people who love that kind of fish, or a bit of a challenge for beginners, but the texture was pretty good. I finished up with the delicious egg sushi for a clean finish.

We really ate well and got completely full — it felt like a satisfying lunch near Hwajeong Station after a long while! The portion was a bit much so we left a little behind, but we finished all the sushi haha.

Final verdict on lunch at Min Cook Dasima

If you're looking for a good sushi restaurant near Hwajeong Culture Street or Hwajeong E-mart, Min Cook Dasima's good-value lunch discount sushi sets should make for a warm afternoon. We ate so well. Next time, I'd love to try the pork cutlet and some of their other menu items too! Thanks for the great meal.