Sangeo in Sadang: Aged Sashimi Maki
I came up to Seoul for the first time in a while to meet up with my former coworkers. The whole point of this group is to get completely wasted at great restaurants, so no matter where we decide to meet, the food never disappoints. True to form for a group of foodies, we had our get-together at a really fantastic spot today.
Today we met in Sadang (a major transit hub in Seoul). We usually go to expensive tuna sashimi restaurants. Today's spot is also a raw fish place, but they specialize in aged sashimi, and it's a bit cheaper than tuna. I'll stop explaining—just looking at the photos of the food will make you want to visit immediately.
The restaurant is quite small. There are only a few tables, so it fills up with just about eight groups. I highly recommend making a reservation, though I hear even that isn't easy. It's just that popular in this area.
The must-order menu item is the 'Aged Sashimi Platter.' You absolutely have to add the 'Self Maki' to go with it. Eating it is simple. Put some rice on a piece of seaweed, top it with your favorite sashimi, add radish sprouts, flying fish roe, and pickled radish, and take a big bite! After washing it down with a shot of soju, you'll find yourself grabbing another piece of seaweed to make the next one. Eating the sashimi on its own can be a bit plain, but making it into a maki roll turns it into a proper meal and brings out more sweetness when you chew. It fills your mouth, making the texture much better than eating the fish by itself.
We polished it off in no time and thought about ordering another platter, but decided to try a few different things, so we ordered the menchi-katsu (minced meat cutlet) and mulhoe (spicy raw fish soup). The menchi-katsu was decent but didn't pair well with soju, and the mulhoe was disappointing. I don't have a picture, but we also had the fish cake nabe (hot pot), which was also subpar. If you're a beer drinker, I recommend the menchi-katsu; otherwise, I highly suggest just sticking with the aged sashimi platters all the way.
It's been a while since I visited an aged sashimi restaurant. It's really hard to find them these days. Places that do it well are rare, but 'Sangeo' has created its own unique signature by combining maki with aged sashimi. Next time, I'll have to try ordering it with konowada (cured sea cucumber entrails). Right now, there's just a hint of sweetness and acidity, but I feel like adding konowada would bring a much wider variety of flavors to the palate.