Name-tagged striped jack sashimi at Garak Market, Seoul: Narae Susan

As the breeze turns cooler, all I want is a plate of chewy, fresh sashimi. My husband and I planned a weekend trip to the fish market to make our evening special. Among the countless stalls, I dug around for the place known as a tier-one sashimi restaurant in Garak Market for its great yield and thick cuts. The spot that passed my picky standards completely was Narae Susan, a genuine Garak Market favorite inside Garakmol. Let me walk you through my honest takeout review — I was won over by the overwhelming quality of the premium fish and the friendly service!

Where is Narae Susan, and how do you park at Garakmol?

Narae Susan is at 48, 1st floor, Sales Building, Garakmol, 932 Yangjaedae-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea. If you're driving, head to basement level 3 — there's an elevator near pillar B12, so parking around there makes getting up easy :)

The front of Narae Susan was crowded with customers picking out fresh fish, giving off real local-favorite energy. What caught my data-loving eye in particular was how clean the tanks were. A tank without a trace of scum directly reflects how fresh the fish is.

What fish are on the Narae Susan menu?

Looking at the illustrated menu board above the counter, there were various sets built around the season's tastiest fish. From striped jack — as rich and nutty as amberjack — to a wild croaker platter, the lineup featured premium fish rarely seen at a regular neighborhood sashimi shop.

There were also fresh sea cucumber and sea squirt.

They also make assorted sushi and futomaki rolls in-house!

They have snow crab too~

Out of all the Garak Market sashimi restaurants, I chose this one for its uncompromising thickness and the variety of fish.

Premium live-fish platter for two, plus stew bones, clams and raw shrimp

For the best possible meal, we ordered the premium live-fish platter for two, and added clams and raw shrimp to the fish-bone stew set to boost the broth's savoriness. The generous owner even threw in fresh conch as a service item — I was genuinely touched!

The review event, Naver Place, and Zero Pay QR codes are all posted above, so you can scan them easily.

They caught the raw shrimp right there for us :) Seeing it live made it feel even fresher...!

Since they'd just caught them, they were all still alive!

They packed everything in a yellow insulated bag, which was really convenient :)

Opening the Narae Susan takeout box at home

Ta-da~ Snapped a photo right after opening the bag at home! First up, the stew ingredients~

It was great that the clams, raw shrimp and conch had all stayed fresh.

A name tag on every slice showing the cut

What sets Narae Susan's premium live-fish platter apart is the carefully placed name tag on each and every slice. Halibut fin, seabass, striped jack, red seabream (hibiki/belly), salmon belly — knowing exactly which part you're eating doubles the pleasure of the meal.

A shot of the whole spread~

The abalone was even pre-sliced, which made it easy to eat.

It's meant for two, but there was so much that three people could eat plenty! You can tell just from the color how fresh the sashimi is, right?

How did the red seabream, halibut and striped jack taste?

I tried the red seabream first~ It was sliced impressively thick, filling my mouth with volume in the best way.

The halibut and its fin were, as expected, chewy, soft and had great texture!

The premium striped jack was the best — that crisp, oily, nutty flavor that builds the more you chew it :) At first I thought it was amberjack, but it was striped jack, which isn't easy to find!

Spicy stew simmered from Narae Susan's fish bones

The spicy stew you cook after eating the sashimi is Narae Susan's hidden weapon. The owner generously included a big red seabream head and halibut bones, giving the broth exceptional depth. Add in the extra raw shrimp and clams, plus the included bean sprouts, radish, scallion and the special sauce packet, and simmer it all together — the broth turns out downright insane. The clams' clean sweetness and the shrimp's rich sweetness come together into a broth so deep it outdoes plenty of dedicated seafood-stew restaurants.

The trick that makes the spicy fish stew twice as good

When cooking the stew ingredients you take home, don't add all the vegetables from the start. Rinse the blood off the fish bones and head, then simmer just those with the radish on high heat for at least 15 minutes so the broth draws out deep flavor from the bones. Then add the bean sprouts and seafood (clams, shrimp) in the last 5 minutes — that way they stay tender instead of tough, and you get the ultimate refreshing broth.