Yeouido kaisendon restaurant: raw vs seared aburidon at Ilpum

Sushi in Yeouido, from premium kaisendon to abrudon.

Picking a meal in Yeouido is oddly hard sometimes. Instead of my usual order, I was craving sashimi this time, so I went out for kaisendon (raw seafood rice bowl). The place I visited was Ilpum in Yeouido! It's not too far from National Assembly Station, so it wasn't hard to find at all~

What is Ilpum Yeouido Branch like inside?

Walking into Ilpum Yeouido Branch, the space felt clean and tidy overall. It was calmer than I expected rather than loud, which made it easy to enjoy the meal haha

Ordering one premium kaisendon and one aburidon

We ordered premium kaisendon and abrudon at Ilpum Yeouido Branch~ Since it's a signature kaisendon spot in Yeouido, I had to try the premium version. You can click for a bigger view of the detailed menu and prices.

Oh, and if you join the receipt review event, they'll give you a free croquette, so make sure to join and grab one!

Starting with the clear broth and chawanmushi

First came the broth and the Japanese egg custard, chawanmushi. The broth had a pretty ordinary flavor, but the chawanmushi was seriously good! It had ginkgo nuts and shrimp inside, so it was fun picking through it.

The kaisendon arrived quickly too — isn't the presentation so pretty? Arranged like flowers, almost too nice to disturb~ Even before I took a bite, the abrudon gave off this smoky, charcoal-grilled scent that really got to my nose.

Premium kaisendon: thick sashimi with uni and salmon roe

True to a premium kaisendon, the sashimi was cut thick and looked super fresh at a glance. Uni and salmon roe were piled on top too.

There were so many types of sashimi, which made it fun to pick one at a time~ Personally, when I eat kaisendon I prefer the ingredients to have some thickness rather than being sliced too finely, and since the sashimi here was nice and thick, the texture really came through when eaten with the rice><

I started by trying the sashimi on its own, then had it with rice, then dabbed a little wasabi on here and there. Eating that way, the bowl emptied surprisingly fast?! After trying every combination, layering it on gim (dried seaweed) was the tastiest by far!!

How is aburidon different from kaisendon?

With abrudon, the ingredients are lightly seared on the surface, so there was a smoky flavor from the very first bite — a clear difference from kaisendon, which leans more raw even though it's the same style of seafood rice bowl.. Between the two, I liked the premium kaisendon a bit more, but mixing in bites of the abrudon along the way was good too.

I love egg sushi so much, and the egg here was so tasty too~

The salmon roe and ankimo (monkfish liver) were amazing too. Ordering one dish each and sharing between the two of us so we could taste different styles was such a smart move!

Cold udon and pudding that come with every kaisendon

Udon comes standard when you order kaisendon at Ilpum Yeouido Branch! Since it's cold udon, it was perfect for the hot weather, with a soy-sauce base and a refreshing tang that I slurped up happily.

The karaage (fried chicken) inside the udon was the fun surprise. Nicely fried chicken.

Pudding came out too, and it was the perfect palate cleanser haha. It seemed homemade, and it was really good. The portion was pretty generous too.

When you want kaisendon in Yeouido

Now I get why Ilpum is famous as a kaisendon and sushi spot in Yeouido. Rather than just going for a bowl piled high with sashimi, it feels like a good place to visit when you want a clean, satisfying Japanese meal! If you have a lunch appointment in Yeouido, sushi or sashimi is great, but if you want something a bit different, kaisendon could be a solid option too.

Especially if you want to taste several types of seafood at once, I'd recommend the premium kaisendon! I had the premium kaisendon this time, so next visit I'd love to try other sushi items or futomaki. If you're craving sashimi or kaisendon in Yeouido and want a proper meal that isn't too heavy, Ilpum is worth stopping by~