Yeonsu-dong sashimi restaurant for seasonal gizzard shad: Veteran

Came to enjoy the first seasonal seafood announcing fall — the weather was so nice, and this is exactly the kind of day I never skip a visit like this. It's why I keep waiting for fall.

Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Yeonsu Branch: hours and parking

I stopped by Veteran General Fish Market Incheon Yeonsu Branch. Hours run from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM, and last order is at 9 PM, so keep that in mind.

Parking was easy since there's a basement lot — spacious with plenty of spots, so I didn't have to worry at all. It'd also be great for groups or gatherings.

Is the hall big enough for work dinners and group gatherings?

The interior was seriously spacious. Strongly recommended for anyone looking for a group-friendly restaurant for an after-party or a company dinner.

I sat down and ordered via tablet — sat wherever I wanted and browsed the tablet, and there was a review event?! They give you 2 whole abalones as a free service, so of course I had to join. Two abalones basically call for a bottle of soju.

What we ordered: raw shrimp sashimi, salt-grilled shrimp and mini gizzard shad sashimi

I ordered a small raw shrimp sashimi and a small salt-grilled raw shrimp — a proper fall menu — plus a mini gizzard shad sashimi.

Grilling your own kimchi pancake at the Veteran self-bar

After ordering, I checked out the self-bar and could freely grab various side dishes.

What stood out most was the self-serve kimchi pancake — oil the pan yourself and cook it to whatever level of crispiness you like.

For anyone who usually fails at making kimchi pancake at home because they can't get the batter consistency right, this was easy enough for anyone to succeed. Making it was fun too.

While I was making the kimchi pancake at the self-bar, the salt-grilled raw shrimp back at the table was cooking.

They were so fresh the lids nearly popped from all the wriggling — huge and super fresh.

The tasting portion of seasoned raw fish that came as a side dish was already lightly mixed with chojang (vinegar-chili sauce) for easy eating.

Raw shrimp sashimi with buldak mayo: how does it taste?

The raw shrimp sashimi came out too, and here's the clever part — normally you'd dip it in salt sauce, soy sauce, or chojang, but wow, it comes with buldak (spicy chicken) mayo, which is trending on social media, and the combo is honestly amazing. The raw shrimp was already trimmed for easy eating, so it was just simple, pick-up-and-eat.

The shrimp heads came fried in butter — pop them in your mouth like a snack and they're crunchy and nutty, absolute beer food.

Dipping the raw shrimp alternately in the buldak mayo and the flying fish roe — the raw shrimp is already delicious on its own, but this took the flavor to another level, like really getting the full experience.

The raw shrimp was plump and tender — even with no sauce at all, the more you chew, the sweeter it gets, fantastic.

This was my first time trying this combo today, and now I'm hooked — I feel like I have to eat raw shrimp with buldak mayo from now on. It felt like everything I'd known before was wrong. I always used to eat it with chojang, and today my eyes were opened to a whole new menu...

The flying fish roe clings on and pops in your mouth — fantastic texture.

The side dishes also included seaweed soup and salted pollock roe, so with a bowl of rice you've got a hearty full meal.

Mini jeoneo (gizzard shad) sashimi: the right amount for two

I ordered one mini gizzard shad sashimi, and even though 'mini' sounded like it'd be small, it was actually just the right size and amount for two people.

In fall it's extra nutty, and the bones weren't tough at all, so you can eat it seko-shi style (bone-in, thin slices) — the more you chew, the more the nutty aroma fills your mouth.

Wrap the gizzard shad in a perilla leaf with a dab of makjang (fermented soybean-chili sauce) and it's the meeting of perilla aroma, makjang, and nutty shad — impossible not to reach for a shot of soju.

When to peel and eat the salt-grilled raw shrimp

For the grilled raw shrimp, when the color turned maple-leaf orange, that's when I turned off the fire and cracked them open right away — the heads were packed with tomalley, so nutty.

They were hot, so I made sure to wear cotton gloves plus a plastic glove over them while peeling — the shells came off really smoothly, easy to eat.

I tried a mix of dips to suit my taste — the grilled shrimp with chojang, and the raw shrimp topped with salted pollock roe or dipped in sesame oil sauce with aged kimchi on the side, which hit the seasoning just right.

After finishing everything and heading out, there was even ice cream ready on the way out — a proper body-boosting meal today, with the seasonal shrimp and gizzard shad tasting exactly like fall's arrival.