Aged sashimi rice bowl solo dining at Sonsi Sushi, Hayang branch

I stopped by Sonsi Sushi Hayang branch, right in front of Hayang Station, and tried the value set plus ankimo futomaki — honestly such a good-value, delicious, and fresh spot in Hayang. There were a lot of regulars and quite a few solo diners too, and once I ate here I immediately understood why. Here's the full review!

Location and business info

It's located at 8 Hayangyeok-gil, Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan, 1st floor. Right across from Hayang Station and right next to Lotte Mart, so it was really easy to find.

Hours are 11:30 AM to 9 PM, with a break time from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. I visited around 11:40 AM on a Monday and there was only one seat left — but turnover is fast, so even people waiting got in within 5 minutes.

Where do you park?

You can park 2 cars right in front of the store, and there's no curb on the sidewalk side, so even beginner drivers found it easy to park and pull out. I was worried about double parking, but the space turned out to be plenty roomy.

If you can't park in front, you can use the Hayang Station lot (3 min walk), the Hayang Sauna lot (1 min walk), or park along the roadside in front of the store. Using the Hayang Station or Hayang Sauna lots gets you ₩1,000 in parking support.

Inside the store and the solo-dining vibe

Inside there are 5 tables plus a bar counter, so a lot of solo diners were there too. The owner thoughtfully arranged seating right away so everyone could sit comfortably.

The value set: what's in it and how it tastes

I ordered the value set + ankimo futomaki + small aged assorted sushi platter. The value set comes with 8 pieces of aged sashimi sushi + large udon + aged vinegar-gochujang sashimi rice bowl + 4 fried shrimp. We eat a lot, so we added the assorted sashimi on top, and the table was so full people around us kept glancing over haha.

The sushi was really fresh and excellent — the moment I ate a piece I let out an involuntary 'mmm, delicious.' I'd watched Chef Jung Ho-young make sushi on a cooking show on Tving the night before and had been craving it so badly, so maybe that's why it tasted even better eating it right when I wanted it. I was eating so enthusiastically that my husband gave up two pieces of sushi to me haha. A staff member recommended eating in order starting with the more aged pieces, and following that made everything taste even fresher.

Ankimo futomaki: like a creamy gimbap

I'm not usually a big fan of ankimo (monkfish liver), but with ankimo on top of the futomaki, it tasted like eating an incredibly creamy gimbap (seaweed rice roll). If you love cream pasta or rich squid innards, you'll really love this one. I'd wanted something clean and simple like sushi, but eating the ankimo futomaki alongside it gave a completely different texture that felt fresh and delicious all over again haha.

The aged vinegar-gochujang sashimi rice bowl that solo diners love

I'd been eyeing the sashimi rice bowl the table next to us was eating, mouth watering. It came packed with plenty of vegetables and diced salmon, and mixing it with the house-made apple vinegar-gochujang sauce was absolutely fantastic too.

Apparently a lot of solo diners come in just to order this aged vinegar-gochujang sashimi rice bowl by itself, and after eating it I immediately understood why. Highly recommend!

It's packed full of raw fish, so it never feels like your money went to waste.

Fried shrimp and udon

The fried shrimp is something you can get by joining the Naver receipt review event, and since we ordered the set, it came included. Eating it crispy alongside the udon felt like a fancy tempura udon experience ^^ The sauce that came with it was so good too — there isn't a single unimpressive menu item at Sonsi Sushi, honestly.

Keyring draw and the customer-care corner

I said I'd join the receipt review event and tried the keyring draw. I've recently been into making planners as a hobby, so I thought it'd be cute to have one dangling from my binder. Please let it be the futomaki keyring, please!!

Haha, I won the acrylic keyring with Sonsi Sushi's signature logo. Still cute though ^^

Next to the draw box there was a whole corner stocked with hair ties, floss, toothpicks, hand cream, mouthwash, and more thoughtful extras for customers — really touching.

This was my honest review of Sonsi Sushi Hayang branch, which I'd strongly recommend to anyone looking for good food near Hayang Station or near Daegu Catholic University. Hope this review helps!