Bigger sushi rice on a return visit to Songdo: Sushi Doku The Songdo

Back at Sushi Doku The Songdo after eight months

Sushi Doku The Songdo is a place I visited once before and wrote up on the blog — this time I went back.

There's a sign warning there might be a wait, and honestly, even when it isn't super busy, it seems like the tables have been full every time I've come (I've been a few times beyond just this review).

Of all the seats, I sat in the room right to the left of the entrance. Water, soy sauce, chopsticks and a little brush are all set out. The lighting overall is dim and cozy, and it photographs well. The vibe is comfortable enough, but keep in mind it's mostly a loud, group-dining crowd.

Where Sushi Doku The Songdo is and how to get there by subway

Sushi Doku The Songdo is on the 2nd floor of Onesta Mall, which connects to Songdo Hyundai Outlet. Since the outlet connects straight to Technopark Station on Incheon Line 1, subway access is really convenient.

The 29,500-won premium sushi set, ordered for two

We ordered two servings of the premium sushi set. There's a wasabi option — you can have it placed under the fish or leave it out entirely. If you don't specify, it comes served separately on the plate by default.

Premium sushi set [₩29,500]: made up of 10 pieces of sushi, udon, karaage and shrimp tempura, and chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard). Being a sushi menu, the food comes out fast.

A silicone soy sauce brush in the chopstick sleeve

Open up the chopstick sleeve and you'll find what's basically become Sushi Doku's signature: a silicone brush, used for painting soy sauce onto the fish like this. I've heard sushi with long tails of fish is meant to be eaten this way, and it really does seem to soak in the flavor and season it better.

The 10 pieces of sushi and what has changed

No matter what, let's start with the sushi, since that's Sushi Doku's main event. It's 10 pieces: salmon, red seabream, tuna (akami), squid, flounder, red shrimp, red snow crab, sweet shrimp, eel, and ankimo gunkan.

Comparing this to my memory and photos from before, I noticed the look had changed a bit. The first thing I felt was the size of the sushi itself. The proportion of shari (rice) seemed to have grown, and the pieces overall looked a little bigger. On the other hand, the neta (fish) that used to drape down really long was noticeably shorter this time.

The look is a bit plainer than before, which is a shame, but the sushi as a whole got bigger too, and it felt like proper, filling meal-sized sushi.

Still, the salmon was longer than the rice. You can wrap the rice up in the fish, top and bottom (?), and eat it that way.

The moment the soy sauce brush shines — soy sauce soaking along the grain of the shrimp sashimi.

Ankimo gunkan (monkfish liver) that looked like sea urchin

This gunkan (battleship roll) was really delicious!!! They pile it on generously. I thought it was uni, but the menu said ankimo. Apparently it's monkfish liver, known as the foie gras of the sea... no wonder it melted in my mouth. If you like that rich, deep flavor people call 'nokjin,' I highly recommend it.

Free tuna otoro for a Naver receipt review

The Naver receipt review perk! It still exists...(so moved). You get a piece of tuna otoro sushi worth ₩6,900. One piece per review.

Getting soft, high-quality sushi like this from a review event — I'm definitely going to go bald soon (?). Anyway, after devouring that properly, let's look at the sides.

Chawanmushi, fried sides and udon in the set

First, the soft, pudding-like chawanmushi! By now most people know it as Japanese-style steamed egg custard. They still generously include ginkgo nuts and shrimp. You can see how jiggly it is on video. (There was a small lighting glitch mid-video, so I went back and forth on whether to post it.)

Next, two kinds of fried food: two pieces of karaage (fried chicken) and one shrimp tempura. Not greasy, not soggy — pretty good — and that lemon tartar sauce is a real standout.

The karaage was mostly lean meat with no fat, had good thickness, and the natural juiciness was nice and moist.

Personal preference: the karaage was great with wasabi, and the shrimp tempura with soy sauce.

Finishing udon topped with a Nemo-shaped fish cake

A warm bowl of udon to finish things off. Warm broth was nice to gently heat things back up after all that cold sushi. The broth wasn't too strong, on the cleaner side, so it was easy to finish without feeling heavy at the end. There was a little ssukgat (crown daisy) on top of the udon too, which added a subtle fragrance. I liked that they toss in little touches like the ssukgat. And what really caught my eye was a Nemo-shaped fish cake. 🐠 It seems like such a small thing, but a cute detail like that makes it more fun to look at. Finishing the sushi and wrapping up with warm udon made for a small, fun touch all the way to the end.

There's a cute sushi miniature keyring at the counter. It was too cute not to photograph.

Don't skip the warm plum tea

+) One of Sushi Doku's small signature touches: warm plum tea to help with digestion after all that cold sushi. It's sweet and tangy and delicious, so definitely grab some. We only got one cup between the two of us, and it was way too little — next time I'm getting one cup per person.

Is Sushi Doku The Songdo worth a second visit?

Each piece of sushi had some size to it, so it was more filling than I expected, and the ratio of fish to rice wasn't overwhelming either. Where before the long, draping fish caught the eye visually first, this time the sushi looked a bit more familiar and easier to eat as a proper meal. Coming back to a place I'd visited before and comparing what had changed was its own kind of fun.

The salad, chawanmushi, udon and tempura were all solidly good quality individually, and the whole set came together as a filling menu that paired well with the sushi. There's a distinct atmosphere of big groups coming through, but among similarly priced restaurants nearby, this one has the best quality and access, and since I stop by Songdo regularly, I'd happily come back on a day I want something satisfying without much fuss.