Family Japanese lunch in Hwajeong: grilled salmon set, Min Cook Dasima

How do you get to Min Cook Dasima near Hwajeong Station, and where do you park?

Min Cook Dasima is a Japanese restaurant at 37 Hwasin-ro 260beon-gil, Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, and parking seemed to be a mechanical lot. Parking at E-mart Hwajeong seemed to register you for 1 hour.

I was looking for somewhere to have lunch in Hwajeong and ended up at Min Cook Dasima. I found it by the sign, but it wasn't listed on the elevator directory or whatever, so I wandered around a bit.

Apparently this place opened in 2001.

It's a store that accepts Goyang Pay and high-oil-price relief funds.

Three set meals our family ordered at Min Cook Dasima, and QR ordering

At Min Cook Dasima we ordered three things: the grilled salmon set, the sushi set, and the soba-sushi set. There's no separate paper menu — you have to scan the QR code at your table to see the menu, and you finish ordering there too.

I like sushi in general and wanted to try a few different Japanese dishes, so I picked three. There are a lot of menu options, so it also seemed like a good spot for people who each want something different to order separately and share.

Atmosphere at Min Cook Dasima, and the seat we weren't thrilled about

Overall, Min Cook Dasima had a clean, comfortable atmosphere for eating. It wasn't overly formal, but it wasn't chaotic or crowded either, so it was fine for a lunch outing. If you're looking for somewhere to eat around Hwajeong and Japanese food comes to mind, this place is worth a stop.

We went during a late lunch hour so there weren't many customers, but getting seated in what seemed like a staff walkway kind of aisle wasn't great haha;;

Pre-meal porridge and individually wrapped chopsticks

After we finished ordering at Min Cook Dasima, they brought out chopsticks and porridge while we waited. The porridge was tasty, and the chopsticks were individually wrapped, which felt like a nice attention to hygiene.

The grilled salmon set: fine even if you don't like raw fish

Min Cook Dasima's grilled salmon set isn't sushi or sashimi but a grilled dish, so I thought it would work well for someone who doesn't like raw fish. I tried my own order, the grilled salmon set, first.

Grilled, the salmon had a savory flavor and went well with rice. Having a grilled dish like this instead of eating sushi the whole time made for good variety too.

What comes with the sushi set: chawanmushi, salad, shrimp and sweet pumpkin tempura

Min Cook Dasima's sushi set isn't just sushi — it comes with chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard), salad, and tempura too, so there was a lot to try. I liked the variety.

The chawanmushi was soft and warm, nice to eat alongside the sushi partway through. The salad came along too, letting us switch up flavors bit by bit. Eating sushi non-stop can end up tasting similar after a while, but having chawanmushi and salad in the mix made the meal feel more varied.

The tempura was shrimp and sweet pumpkin. The shrimp tempura was crispy and easy to eat, and the sweet pumpkin tempura had that mild sweetness particular to sweet pumpkin, which felt different from the shrimp. I personally like sweet pumpkin tempura, so I was glad it was included.

Who's the soba-sushi set for?

Min Cook Dasima's soba-sushi set came with soba, tempura, and 4 pieces of sushi. I ordered it because I wanted soba and sushi together.

It seemed well suited to someone who wants a little noodle and a little sushi rather than eating a lot of sushi. Having a piece of sushi here and there between bites of soba worked better than I expected, and with the tempura included too, it didn't feel lacking as a meal.

Sharing all three sets

Min Cook Dasima's three sets each had a slightly different feel. The grilled salmon set was hearty and good with rice; the sushi set, with its chawanmushi, salad, and tempura, was great when you want to eat a variety of things; the soba-sushi set was good to order when you want something a bit different since you get soba and sushi together.

I especially thought it'd work well when the people you're eating with want different things. If one person wants sushi and another wants noodles or a grilled dish, there's enough variety on the menu that everyone can pick what they want easily.

On a day when you want Japanese food like sushi or soba in Hwajeong, and you'd rather enjoy a few different things than just one dish, Min Cook Dasima seems like a good option. If you're looking for a clean, satisfying meal in Hwajeong, it's worth a visit. Sushi lovers especially should try the sushi set, and if you want other dishes alongside sushi, go for the soba-sushi set or the grilled salmon set.