Nampo, Busan 6-round sashimi course with chili sukiyaki: Ppong Sashimi

Ppong Sashimi in Nampo, Busan: a Japanese restaurant packed even on weekday evenings

Ppong Sashimi (뽕사시미) is well known as a Japanese restaurant in Nampo, a tuna spot near Jungangdong Station, and a sashimi place in Nampo. Here's my review of my recent visit.

I went on a weekday evening and it was still really crowded, so I thought, okay, there's a reason it's famous. It's a popular spot for family gatherings, company dinners and all kinds of get-togethers, so the atmosphere was great and the food quality really satisfied me. This time I ordered the assorted sashimi course (₩60,000 per person)!

Ppong Sashimi's 60,000 won sashimi course: how much food do you get?

The course is ₩60,000 per person, and the food just keeps coming, so you get full before you even reach the sashimi. Honestly, at ₩60,000 I first thought, "It'll probably be a reasonable amount, right?" But the dishes really never stopped and I was so surprised 😂 I actually started getting full before the sashimi, so when the later dishes arrived I had a happy dilemma.

Tip before you go: pace yourself in the early rounds

If you're planning a visit, please take note! Don't eat too much early on! The lineup gets more impressive as it goes, so I strongly recommend eating just a little at a time from the beginning.

Round 1: side dishes, abalone porridge and seaweed soup

The first round of the course is side dishes (sukkidashi, small starter plates), abalone porridge and seaweed soup. First up came an assortment of small side dishes.

• Salad
• Rolled omelet (gyeranmari)
• Seasoned cucumber
• Dried octopus

Then, like an appetizer, abalone porridge and seaweed soup came out too. The porridge was really thick and nutty with a strong abalone aroma, and it felt soothing on the stomach. The seaweed soup had a rich yet clean broth and warmed me up before the main meal began. Satisfied from the very start 😊

Round 2: a seafood platter and 6 pieces of sushi

Round 2 brings a seafood plate and 6 pieces of sushi. A whole plate was piled with different kinds of seafood.

• Turban shell (sora)
• Sea squirt (meongge)
• Shrimp
• Cuttlefish
• Abalone
• Tako wasabi (chopped raw octopus with wasabi)

You could really taste the freshness, and every piece was delicious with no fishy smell. The tako wasabi seemed to be made in-house rather than store-bought, so it was much fresher, and the cuttlefish was so tender. Delicious!

And then the 6 pieces of sushi that came with it! Salmon, flounder and raw shrimp sushi. The fish was fresh and the rice was seasoned just right, so it was easy and enjoyable to eat.

Round 3: assorted sashimi and the best tuna tartare I've had

In round 3 the long-awaited assorted sashimi arrives, along with tuna tartare and cold boiled pork (naengsuyuk). The sashimi was sea bream, salmon and flounder, and the slices were a good thickness with a great texture, so I was really satisfied.

The most memorable dish of the day was the tuna tartare. It uses tuna in place of the beef in yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), and since I'd never had it before I was even more excited. It was nutty, soft and had a great savory depth. This one dish alone made me want to come back 😍

The cold boiled pork that came with it was also really tender, and it went so well with the sauce on top that I kept reaching for more.

Round 4: 6 pieces of tuna sashimi wrapped in seaweed

In round 4, 6 pieces of tuna sashimi came with seaweed (gim), sesame oil and sprouts. I wrapped them in the seaweed, and the nuttiness was the best. Tuna that melts softly in your mouth together with seaweed is a combo that's good any time.

But... around this point I slowly started to get full 😂 I thought, "It must be almost over now, right?" ...That was a big mistake.

Round 5: grilled dishes, tempura and sukiyaki served at your own pace

What really amazed me is that the Ppong Sashimi course doesn't bring all the food out at once, but sets each dish down in step with your eating speed. Because of that, the food never went cold and I could eat it at its best, which made me even happier.

This time, these dishes came out in generous portions too.

• Grilled cheese shrimp
• Grilled cheese scallops
• Grilled abalone
• Fried shrimp
• Braised tuna head
• Sukiyaki

My top pick: kataifi shrimp tempura

My number one pick was definitely the fried shrimp! The shrimp is coated in kataifi (shredded pastry) and fried crisp, and the texture was a work of art. Crispy outside and juicy inside, it wasn't greasy at all and I kept eating it.

Sukiyaki with extra Cheongyang chili peppers for a spicy kick

For the sukiyaki I asked for extra Cheongyang chili peppers (a spicy Korean pepper), and the spicy broth went really well. It was packed with meat, tofu and even ginkgo nuts, so it was filling on its own. By this point I felt like I was going to burst 🤣

Round 6: albap (fish roe rice) and monkfish stew to finish

The course ends with roe rice (albap) and monkfish stew (agwitang). I really thought it was over... but finishing with nutty roe rice and then a cool, refreshing bowl of monkfish stew made it a perfect course.

There was plenty of monkfish, and the broth was so refreshing that I enjoyed it to the very end. I was really stuffed, but I still finished almost all of it 😊

Why Ppong Sashimi is my pick for sashimi in Nampo, Busan

Ppong Sashimi isn't just a place to eat raw fish; it's a place where you can enjoy a proper Japanese course.

• Fresh assorted sashimi
• Tuna sashimi
• Tuna tartare
• A variety of seafood
• Sushi
• Grilled dishes
• Tempura
• Sukiyaki
• Roe rice
• Monkfish stew

The course just keeps coming with all of these, so the price didn't feel wasted at all.

Above all, I loved that the food came out one dish at a time, matched to our eating speed, and the staff were friendly, so it was a pleasant meal. With so many customers even on a weekday, you can tell this is already a well-known Nampo, Busan favorite.

Which gatherings suit Ppong Sashimi's sashimi course?

If you're looking for a place for a family gathering, a meal with your parents, a company dinner or a get-together with friends, I think you'll be really happy with Ppong Sashimi.

If you're looking for Japanese food in Nampo, Busan, tuna near Jungangdong Station, or a good assorted sashimi place in Busan, definitely visit Ppong Sashimi! 🐟💙