Weekend dinner sushi set in Gimhae, all garlic sauce: Sushi Hwa

On a weekend evening, my husband and I visited Sushi Hwa, a sushi restaurant on Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil in Gimhae. I'd only ever had a piece or two of flame-seared sushi before, but this was my first time having a full set — and the deep, smoky flavor totally won me over. Here's the review, go~*^^*

Sushi Hwa's hours, parking and storefront in Bonghwang-dong

• Hours: 10:00–21:00
• Parking: In front of the store or the Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil public parking lot

Sushi Hwa, a sushi restaurant located on Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil in Gimhae. The orange awning catches your eye from far away. There's parking for about 2 cars in front, and if it's full you can park in a nearby alley or the Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil public parking lot.

Inside Sushi Hwa: group table and open-kitchen bar seats

From outside it looked like a cozy little place, but once inside, it's actually pretty spacious. A tidy, clean atmosphere with a mix of white and wood tones.

Behind the wood partitions there's group seating, great for company dinners or big family meals ^^

In front of the open kitchen there's a bar table, so solo dining feels totally comfortable too. Since freshness is everything with sushi, having an open kitchen you can see into makes it feel even more reassuring ^^

Sushi Hwa's menu and prices

Assorted Flame Sushi Set 10p ₩15,000 / Assorted Raw Sushi Set 10p ₩14,000 / Sushi Hwa Flame Sushi Set 27p ₩38,000 / Kids' Flame Sushi Set ₩8,000. Beyond these, there are various combination sets, rice bowls, soba, udon, and other side dishes fully lined up, so there's plenty to choose from.

What comes in the 38,000-won, 27-piece flame sushi set

Our pick was the signature dish of Sushi Hwa on Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil, the Sushi Hwa Flame Sushi Set (₩38,000). It's a great-value set with 27 pieces of flame sushi + 2 salads + 2 udon or cold soba (naengmomil). Absolutely recommended if you're visiting as a pair!! ㅎ_ㅎ

Plenty of sushi places serve so-so side dishes, but Sushi Hwa's udon and cold soba were genuinely good too ^^ The udon noodles especially were super chewy, with big chunks of fish cake and plenty of other ingredients — very satisfying. The cold soba was tasty too, though eating cold soba in the evening now gives me a little chill, haha. The salad wasn't drizzled with sesame sauce but with a refreshing yuzu sauce, perfect for waking up your appetite before the sushi!^^

The flame sushi set includes a good variety — wagyu, salmon, scallop, egg, fried tofu skin, raw shrimp, and more. Wow, the majesty of 27 pieces! It fills up an entire table ^^

How was the smoky flavor and the rice-to-fish balance?

Sushi Hwa's flame sushi is full of smoky char! That slightly scorched flavor deepens the taste of the ingredients — a rich, deep flavor. It felt like even a kid who doesn't usually like sushi would happily eat this kind of flame sushi — a flavor that's hard not to like. The sushi itself is so packed with umami that you forget to even dip it in soy sauce. Sometimes with sushi the rice-to-topping balance gets thrown off because there's too much rice, but here at Sushi Hwa on Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil the rice amount was just right, so there was no need to scrape any off ^^

Why order all 27 pieces with garlic sauce?

You can choose between two sauces, spicy or garlic, and we went all garlic sauce for every piece. The sushi is already delicious on its own, but adding the pungent, sweet garlic sauce made it, wow, need I say more~~

The sushi was great, but the owner and staff were also so kind that I feel like I'll end up coming back often — this Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil sushi spot in Gimhae, Sushi Hwa! The weather's been so nice lately, it seems perfect to have some delicious sushi at Sushi Hwa, grab a coffee on Bonghwang-ri-dan-gil, and take a leisurely stroll through the nearby alleys ^^