Crab roe hot pot at a Garosugil seafood pocha: Parang Haenyeojip

A stylish taste of the sea in a Sinsa-dong backstreet

On a weekend evening, walking down a quiet backstreet behind the main Garosugil strip in Sinsa-dong, I spotted one storefront that was unusually bright and warm. Through the glass I could see a clean interior and crowds of people chatting away, glasses raised over a piece of sashimi. This was Parang Haenyeojip Sinsa, a Garosugil sashimi restaurant that had been getting a lot of buzz lately among seafood lovers. Since I usually prefer fresh, clean aged sashimi or soup dishes over greasy meat, I headed in without hesitation.

The exterior wasn't the typical rough-and-ready pocha look at all — it had a modern, atmospheric daepojip vibe. Stepping inside, I was greeted by cool, pleasant air and friendly staff. The tables, spaced generously under soft lighting, felt neat and composed, and the floor-to-ceiling windows opened up a wide view of the alley outside. Even before sitting down, the charm of a window seat pulled me in. It was a space where the particular sensibility of Sinsa-dong met the good-natured buzz of a seafood pocha.

Where is Parang Haenyeojip Sinsa, and what should you know before going?

Here's the basic info and directions worth knowing before you visit.

• Address: 19 Gangnam-daero 160-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1F)
• Transit: About a 5-minute walk from Sinsa Station (Line 3 and Sinbundang Line) Exit 8. Take the first alley on the right before you reach the main Garosugil road and you'll find it easily.
• Hours and note: During busy peak hours, table time is set at 2 hours 50 minutes to keep the restaurant running smoothly for waiting guests.
• Amenities: Catch Table and Naver receipt photo review event running (one free beer or soju with a review). Corkage available (₩20,000 per bottle for wine/sake, ₩40,000 for whiskey; one free corkage plus a matching side dish with in-house wine/sake orders).

What comes with the small aged sashimi platter?

After sitting down, I ordered the signature small aged sashimi platter. Not long after ordering, neat side dishes started arriving on the table one by one.

The first thing that caught my eye was a warm bowl of miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) served in a yellow brass pot. Slow-simmered with deep savory flavor, one spoonful was enough to melt away the cool evening air. Next came a shared plate of fresh seaweed — kkosiraegi (a chewy sea vegetable) and miyeok — along with crisply toasted gim (seaweed sheets) and perilla leaves. The crunchy kkosiraegi carried the taste of the sea and did a great job of waking up the appetite before the main dish.

Soon after, the main event — the aged sashimi platter — arrived. The presentation at this Garosugil sashimi restaurant was overwhelming from the start. On a large bamboo tray sat three to four kinds of seasonal fish, thickly and evenly sliced: salmon, flounder, and sea bream with its skin lightly seared. The glossy sheen on each piece made it obvious the aging had been done perfectly. It came with a hearty spread of aged kimchi, house-made ssamjang (dipping sauce), fresh wasabi, pickled ginger, rakkyo (pickled scallion), chili, and garlic.

I started with a thick piece of flounder, lightly dipped in wasabi and soy sauce. A chewy texture followed by a nutty sweetness spread through my mouth as I chewed. There was none of the toughness you get with live-caught raw fish — instead, the soft, springy pull that only aged sashimi has. The salmon, too, had zero fishiness, just a smooth, savory richness that melted in the mouth. The seared-skin sea bream in particular offered a great balance between the crisp, nutty skin and the firm, springy flesh. Wrapping a thick piece of aged sashimi with gim, house ssamjang, kkosiraegi, and aged kimchi over a perilla leaf made for a bite you can only get here.

Is the minari (water dropwort) salad worth adding?

Midway through the sashimi, I added a minari (water dropwort) vegetable salad to take the flavor up a notch. A big plate arrived piled high with fragrant minari and crunchy cabbage, tossed generously in a sweet-and-spicy sauce. The sheer volume alone was appetite-stirring. The crisp texture and fragrant aroma of the fresh minari, combined with the tangy sauce, cleaned up the taste of the sashimi beautifully.

Piled generously on top of the thick aged sashimi, the sharp, refreshing minari paired perfectly with the savory richness of the fish. It's a side dish that keeps your palate fresh so you never get tired of the sashimi. If you visit this Garosugil sashimi restaurant, I'd strongly recommend adding the minari vegetable salad.

Yeonpyeong Island crab roe alkoni-tang with dumpling and fish cake sari

As the sashimi was nearly finished, we ordered the Yeonpyeong Island crab roe alkoni-tang for a soup dish. The pot, set on a gas burner, was piled high with fresh minari, and underneath sat plump Yeonpyeong Island crabs loaded with roe and gonad (alkoni). Once we turned on the flame and it started bubbling, the spicy, refreshing aroma of the stew spread out across the table.

Once the broth was fully boiled, I tried a sip first. The rich, deep umami from the crab combined with the nutty flavor of the alkoni and the crisp brightness of the minari made for a proper deep broth. It wasn't just spicy for the sake of being spicy — the natural, clean depth of the seafood came through and drew a genuine gasp. The pot was generously loaded with roe and gonad, so every spoonful pulled up big chunks. The gonad was nutty and springy with no off-flavor, and the crab meat was packed full, making every bite satisfying.

We also added dumpling (sujebi) and fish cake skewers as the sari (extra ingredients) for the soup. The chewy sujebi soaked up the deep broth wonderfully and was fun to pick through, while the long fish cake skewers, simmered in the broth, delivered a rich savoriness on a completely different level from what you'd get at a snack bar. The combination of the spicy broth and skewered fish cake really lifted the mood of the meal.

Is Parang Haenyeojip Sinsa worth a trip to Garosugil?

Thanks to the great aged sashimi, hearty soup, and good atmosphere, the time flew by. It's not easy to find a place right in the middle of a busy area like Garosugil in Sinsa-dong that manages to deliver both freshness and deep flavor in seafood at the same time — this was a satisfying find. The friendly service, clean upkeep, and the care put into every dish stuck with me.

With extras like the Naver receipt photo review event and free corkage, it seems like a solid choice for gatherings or dates too. Whenever I'm craving fresh sashimi and a spicy stew around Garosugil, I think Parang Haenyeojip Sinsa will come to mind. Next time, I'd like to try other popular menu items like the East Sea flower squid sashimi or the haenyeo bossam.