Sokcho sweet shrimp and uni platter, Susanjang Dongtan Branch

I love seafood way too much, and this is my favorite season for it >_<!!! My husband and I have been going restaurant-hopping around famous local spots every weekend, and when I heard a new aged-sashimi seafood place had opened in Dongtan, I went straight away!

I visited on a sponsored basis, but I ended up spending more of my own money — that's how genuinely good it was 🤭 lol Time to write this post right away!

Susanjang Dongtan Branch: location, hours, reservations

• Address: 91-9 Bansong-dong, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 17:00 – 00:50
• With a Naver reservation, aged kimchi rolls are included / No-kids zone

The Susanjang Dongtan Branch we visited sits behind the Bansong 119 Safety Center near Dongtan's North Plaza. The wooden exterior genuinely looks like a mountain lodge, and it's a Suntory The Premium Malt's draft specialty spot, so I was excited before we even walked in 😖 There's a board at the entrance listing today's recommended menu, so you get to try fresh, in-season dishes for that day. Haha.

Waiting at dinnertime? Seats and reservations

We arrived a bit earlier than dinner rush, and already every seat except the bar was taken — there's also a room with seating inside, but that was already booked by a group. By the time we finished taking photos, even the bar seats had filled up, so I think there's basically always a wait during dinner. Making a reservation like we did seems like the safer move.

Every table has a kiosk, so ordering is easy, and there's a good range of fried items alongside the seafood, so even people who don't love seafood (= my husband) can fully enjoy this place!

What we ordered today and the prices

• Sokcho sweet shrimp + uni ₩32,000
• Chicken nanban ₩14,000
• Egg fried rice ₩7,000
• Suntory ₩8,000
• = ₩61,000

Grilled flounder (complimentary side dish)

I've never seen a complimentary side dish be such a plump flounder..? It wasn't something we ordered, so I asked, and the friendly staff explained it's just the standard side dish. The table behind us loved it so much they kept ordering extra rounds — it's a really meaty flounder, and a great light dish to pair with a drink before the mains arrive!

Suntory draft beer

I was curious the moment I saw the sign at the entrance saying 'Suntory The Premium Malt's draft specialty store,' and it really is smooth and delicious! My husband drove, so he couldn't drink, but he said just looking at it, it had to be good. The foam on top was so soft that it acted like a proper lid the whole time, keeping the carbonation from escaping. If you come here, you absolutely have to try the Suntory... ♥

Egg fried rice

Stir-fried over high heat like Chinese-style fried rice, it's genuinely fluffy and grain-separated, with pepper bringing out real depth of flavor! I already love egg fried rice, but this was honestly better than most Chinese restaurants I've had it at. It's also affordable, so it's the best side dish that basically every table was ordering :)

Chicken nanban

This is the dish my husband, who's not great with seafood, ordered. The butter garlic sauce on top is the kicker! The onions are sliced thin and long, and the green onions are chopped short, cutting through the richness so you keep reaching for more — it's addictive. Anyone who isn't into seafood will love this without exception, and the sauce is so good you should ask for extra and dip generously — it's even better that way!

Sokcho sweet shrimp + uni — make sure to ask for rice

This was the dish I was most excited about, and it was, as expected, even better than I hoped!!!!!! Sweet shrimp, rich uni, and gamtae (roasted seaweed laver) all together — it's basically a party!!!!!! :) The kiosk photo showed a rice dish like seasoned rice as an option when ordering, but when the food came out, there was no rice, so I asked — turns out you have to specifically request it..? If you're reading this post, please make sure to ask for it..

Because that's how you get to eat this incredible gamtae, sweet shrimp and uni gimbap.. You really have to eat it this way for the flavor to fully come alive.. ♥ Maybe because it was so fresh, I ate this whole huge portion of sweet shrimp and uni by myself and didn't feel bloated or heavy at all — if anything, I felt like I'd eaten a light meal!

.. ... hahaha, found a genuinely delicious place in Dongtan after a long time