Solo sushi lunch: Kumano Sushi's 12-piece special set in Busanjin

So I had a gold filling on my upper right molar from elementary school, right? A gap must've formed there because a cavity showed up ㅜㅜ I ended up going back and forth to Seomyeon for the treatment, and it's finally done ＼(^o^)／

To celebrate finishing the last treatment I wanted something fancy, so I went for sushi haha. This is Kumano Sushi, a great-quality sushi spot in Seomyeon, Busan~

Kumano Sushi's location, hours, and parking

• Location: 31 Seojeon-ro 46beon-gil, 1st floor, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea
• Hours: Wed–Sat 12:00–17:00 (last order 16:00)
• Closed: every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
• No parking lot — you can park at the street public lot behind Gyeongnam Technical High School, ₩300 per 10 minutes~

Inside, it's mostly two-seat tables

Here's the interior of Kumano Sushi, the great-quality sushi spot in Seomyeon, Busan. It's mostly two-seat tables, so it'd be a good spot for couples or friends~

Sushi itself is a food you can eat cleanly, and the quality here is good, so I'd recommend it as a date spot in Seomyeon too, haha.

The menu and my order — the Kumano Special Sushi 12 pieces

Here's the menu at Kumano Sushi, the sushi place in Seomyeon, Busan. I went alone, so I ordered the Kumano Special Sushi 12 pieces >_<

Soy sauce is set out on every table, and pickled radish, pickled ginger, and water are brought over once you order. I don't eat pickled radish, so I only took the pickled ginger.

House-made jang-guk (savory broth)

This is the house-made jang-guk at Kumano Sushi in Seomyeon, Busan. It wasn't just the sushi — the broth was great quality too. They seemed to make their own stock separately for it, and the deep, savory flavor with a hint of spice was excellent haha.

The ₩25,000 special sushi set, explained piece by piece by the owner

Here's the Kumano Special Sushi I ordered~ It cost ₩25,000. When the owner brought the food out, he explained each piece of sushi one by one. I really liked that part~

Kumano Sushi also has plenty of the white fish I love, which made me happy >_< From left: flounder, sea bream, and yellowtail amberjack haha.

Handmade soy sauce

I'd picked up somewhere that dabbing pickled ginger in soy sauce and brushing it on the sushi tastes great, so I did that ㅋㅅㅋ At Kumano Sushi in Seomyeon, Busan, they make their soy sauce by hand. Maybe that's why it wasn't too salty and had great umami.

Flounder fin (engawa)

My favorite, flounder fin~~ The engawa had a really nice crunchy texture too.

Shrimp nigiri topped with monkfish liver

The shrimp nigiri had monkfish liver on top, which could easily have made the shrimp flavor one-note but instead really elevated it haha. Rich and savory — I loved it.

I stole the monkfish liver off the shrimp and put it on the white fish nigiri too ㅋㅅㅋ White fish is so clean-tasting that it goes really well with something as thick and rich as monkfish liver.

The tuna nigiri showed real fundamentals

The tuna nigiri had these little knife scores cut into it, which I think made the texture even softer haha. What really made me feel this chef has real skill was that he sliced the white fish thin while cutting the tuna and salmon thick.

White fish has a lot of collagen, so slicing it thin is better for the texture, while migratory fish like tuna and salmon have more protein and fat, so cutting them thick brings out more flavor — but a lot of Japanese restaurants these days skip these basics, right? This place felt like it had those fundamentals locked down.

Salmon nigiri topped with capers

My beloved salmon nigiri >_< It came with what seemed like a house-made sauce, topped with julienned onion and capers. Rich, savory salmon with tangy, salty capers — you already know how well that pairs, right?!

I was so curious about the recipe for that sauce. It was a flavor I'd never had before, and it went so well with the salmon. I wanted to sneak in and steal the recipe (not really).

Seasonal gizzard shad nigiri

This is nigiri made with gizzard shad, the fish famous for the saying 'even a runaway daughter-in-law comes back for it.' Autumn gizzard shad is famous, right? haha Being in season, it had really nice fat content — savory and delicious.

Egg nigiri

Love-it-or-hate-it, but for me egg nigiri is an absolute favorite! I feel like you haven't truly had sushi until you've had the egg piece. The fluffy, sweet egg feels almost like dessert — like a little ceremony that puts a period at the end of the meal ^^ㅋ

Finishing with freshwater eel nigiri

To finish, freshwater eel nigiri~ The combination of the savory, sauce-glazed grilled eel with pickled ginger was great haha.

Overall thoughts from a solo visit

So that's my review of Kumano Sushi, the great-quality sushi spot in Seomyeon, Busan~ The owner runs the place drawing on over 20 years of experience in Japanese cuisine. Maybe that's why the fundamentals were so solid, and I could feel the care put into everything — the ingredients, the broth, the soy sauce, all of it haha. I went solo this time, but next time I'll have to bring a friend along >_<