Sushi restaurant in Bangi-dong: eel sushi lunch revisit, Susi Seon

You know how a restaurant you liked once can pop back into your head months later? While looking for lunch in Bangi-dong, I remembered Susi Seon Bangi Branch (스시선 방이점), where I'd eaten before, and went back haha. I remembered being quite happy with the sushi last time, so this time I picked my favorite things properly.

Where is Susi Seon Bangi Branch?

Susi Seon Bangi Branch is on the 1st floor at 37 Ollimpik-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, deep inside the Bangi-dong Food Alley. The big '스시 善' sign is visible from far away, so anyone who has been once will find it quickly haha.

Lanterns with a real sushi-shop feel hang on both sides of the entrance, and the menu is posted out front. When I visited, the sign said they were open from 11 AM to 10 PM.

Atmosphere inside Susi Seon

The inside is small and cozy, with warm wood tones haha. The tables aren't spaced super wide, but it felt comfortable for eating alone or a light sushi meal for two. Nothing seemed changed from my last visit, and it still has that neighborhood regulars' vibe, which was actually nice to see haha.

What did I order on the return visit?

My order this time was very clear-cut haha: eel sushi as the main, plus 2 pieces of egg sushi and a mini katsu. Mixing different sushi is fun too, but that day I especially wanted sweet eel sushi, so I built the order around eel.

Salad and porridge before the sushi

Before the food came out, a salad and porridge were set down first. The salad was generously topped with onion, so it was nicely crisp, and the dressing wasn't too heavy, which worked well to open up the appetite haha.

The porridge was warm and soft, gently warming up the stomach before the sushi. None of these little extras is flashy, but they quietly add a lot to the satisfaction haha.

How was the eel sushi at Susi Seon?

And finally, the eel sushi! Long strips of eel were laid out in a single line, and it looked better than I expected. It had a moist shine, with shredded ginger lightly placed on top, and looked really appetizing haha.

The eel melted softly the moment it went into my mouth. It's brushed with a sweet glaze, but it's not sticky-sweet; it just brings out the eel's natural richness, so I kept reaching for more haha.

The ratio of rice to eel was good too, so there was no feeling of leftover rice. The soft eel and the rice came apart together, leaving a subtle sweetness at the end, which was totally my taste haha. Eating the ginger or pickled rakkyo (pickled scallions) in between cleaned my palate so I could enjoy the eel again. And of course I can't skip the egg sushi I ordered with it haha.

Egg sushi between the eel

The egg sushi is the familiar style: a thick slice of yellow rolled omelet held with a band of seaweed in the middle. The egg was moist and slightly sweet, and eaten between seasoned sushi like the eel, it totally changed the mood. It may seem like nothing special, but there's a reason I always order one egg sushi at a sushi place haha.

What about the mini katsu and udon?

The mini katsu I added had more presence than I expected. The breading was coarse and crispy, and I could feel the crunch from the moment I picked it up with chopsticks haha. Biting in, the outside was crunchy and the meat inside was relatively moist, so it was nice to have one here and there when I got tired of only sushi.

It came with sauce, and dipping it lightly made it feel like I'd ordered an extra plate of tonkatsu (pork cutlet) haha. With warm udon on top of that, the meal became quite filling. The udon broth wasn't strong, just plainly warm, so it was nice to sip a spoonful between bites of eel sushi haha.

With the weather turning chilly, sushi with warm udon went even better. This revisit to Susi Seon was a bit different from last time: a day when I focused only on the sushi I love haha.

If you love eel sushi, try ordering like this

If you like eel sushi, ordering eel as the main at Susi Seon and adding egg sushi or a mini katsu as sides seems like a good idea. The sweetness of eel, softness of egg and crunch of katsu are all different textures, and the combination worked better than I expected haha.

When I want an easy sushi meal in Bangi-dong, I think I'll be craving this place again. A place you return to rather than visit once clearly has its reasons haha. Next time I'll try some other sushi menu.