Sashimi bar in Changwon: yellowtail with non-alcoholic beer at Haegak

When the weather turns chilly, there's one dish I always crave, and right about now is the perfect time for it!! Winter's specialty: yellowtail sashimi 💕💕

I headed to Haegak Bonggok in Bonggok-dong, Changwon, to eat yellowtail that's gotten nice and fatty, rich and nutty with a chewy bite 😋

Haegak Bonggok takes fresh live fish and a use-it-up-the-same-day policy seriously! Besides fresh seasonal assorted sashimi, they also have makhoe (sliced raw fish served with seasonal vegetables).

What is the atmosphere like inside Haegak Bonggok?

Haegak Bonggok is a cozy, izakaya-style sashimi restaurant with wood-toned interiors. The moment I walked in, it felt so warm! There are different kinds of seating, so it's nice for a quiet meal with your group 😉

It's comfortable for bigger get-togethers too, like meetups with friends or company dinners. Just a casual drink with great sashimi after work! Ahh!

Complimentary side dishes at Haegak Bonggok

The starter side dishes at Haegak Bonggok are seaweed soup, salad, white kimchi and seaweed snack (gim). Before the sashimi came out, I had a spoonful of hot seaweed soup and a bite of the fresh salad.

The white kimchi and seaweed that come alongside go well with the sashimi, so they were great for eating together!

Haegak Bonggok menu and set combinations

Haegak Bonggok has assorted sashimi, yellowtail sashimi and a tasting sashimi plate too, and the set menus looked like the way to go. With a set, you can try combinations like assorted sashimi + makhoe, yellowtail + makhoe, assorted sashimi + mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), or assorted sashimi + mixed tempura!

New dishes: ankimo ssambap and griddle-grilled abalone

The new ankimo ssambap (wrap rice) at Haegak Bonggok is ₩15,000, and the griddle-grilled abalone is also ₩15,000. The ankimo that comes with the yellowtail order was seriously, seriously delicious T_T 💗 Apparently customers kept asking for the ankimo on its own, so the ankimo ssambap became a new menu item. At just ₩15,000 it's easy to order, and the other new dishes, the griddle-grilled abalone (₩15,000), fried fish with sweet and sour sauce and butter-grilled cuttlefish, looked great too 😋

How does the yellowtail sashimi at Haegak Bonggok taste?

The main dish at Haegak Bonggok that day was the yellowtail sashimi! This time of year is the tastiest 💕 It's the winter season, when yellowtail's signature nutty flavor and richness are at their best!!!

Taste and texture differ a bit by cut, and I loved that a variety of cuts came mixed together 😋 The moderately fatty parts melted softly in my mouth, while the lean parts were chewy yet milder and cleaner.

Every chewy, melt-in-your-mouth piece made me think, yep, this is winter yellowtail! 🥰

I don't know which cut this one was, but it had a lovely crunchy texture 😋

I savored it one piece at a time, and as the yellowtail disappeared I felt so sad about it haha

Maybe because it's so fresh, it was good with no seasoning at all, the fish's own nutty flavor really came through. But since some cuts are fatty, you can dab a little wasabi and dip it in soy sauce, or the ankimo that came alongside was the real kicker,,!! 💗

What is ankimo? The "foie gras of the sea" served with yellowtail

Ankimo is a Japanese dish made from monkfish liver, often enjoyed as a premium seafood snack with drinks 😍 I only started eating it relatively recently myself.

Its nickname is the "foie gras of the sea." I've actually had real foie gras too, and it's amazing that you can get that same rich, melting taste from seafood!! One bite is deep, nutty and creamy, with such great savory depth!! 😋

A dense texture and concentrated umami, I never imagined ankimo would go so well with yellowtail.

Yellowtail sashimi with non-alcoholic beer at Haegak Bonggok

Haegak Bonggok has non-alcoholic beer too, so that day I ordered it alongside. Ahh... a bite of ankimo and then straight to the beer 😍 A beer is a must with sashimi, but non-alcoholic ones are really good these days!!

The cool, crisp beer cleaned up the richness of the fatty yellowtail so neatly, a perfect match! Since Haegak Bonggok has non-alcoholic beer, even on days you're not drinking you can enjoy a relaxed table with fresh sashimi 😘

The abalone that came with it was nicely crunchy and tasty, and with so many cuts of yellowtail, it was a lot of fun picking and choosing a bit of this and that.

When is yellowtail in season in Korea?

Yellowtail season is winter, November to February, and December to January is said to be the tastiest, so go eat yellowtail at Haegak in Bonggok-dong, Changwon 😋

Haegak Bonggok is a Changwon sashimi restaurant in Bonggok-dong where you can enjoy all kinds of sashimi and drinking snacks built around fresh live fish and seasonal ingredients. The yellowtail sashimi was delicious, but there's also flatfish, salmon, yuksashimi (raw beef), assorted sashimi and makhoe, so enjoy whatever you like as the seasons change~