Yeonan Pier is the Incheon equivalent of Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, and even though Incheon is a port city, I have a feeling Yeonan Pier is the only fish market of its kind here. For as long as I can remember, if you felt like eating some seafood, going to Yeonan Pier was the default. It is not that far from Incheon Station, and it is near Wolmido. That said, it is not an easy walk, but the buses run often.
A place like this
You can feel the history..
Inside
Somewhere like this makes me think of Garak Market too.
This kind of atmosphere
It is not so much that being a market makes everything dirt cheap; what it does have is plenty of genuinely fresh, meaty fish. And having come all the way to the market, you would not want to just grab something so-so and head home.
This kind of atmosphere
The lighting looks really nicely done. So many things that look good to eat.
They have blue crab out as well.
The goal for the day, Minyoung Fresh Fish Factory
They mainly sell sushi and sashimi. But you have to put your order in outside and wait in line. Who knew Yeonan Pier had a place this popular.
Roughly this kind of setup
These days they have branches in department stores too. Which shows just how popular they are.
The sushi
Quite a range of kinds.
Sushi and sashimi
They sell the thick-cut sushi that Koreans go for, and the freshness is high, so even if the price is a bit up there, it feels fair enough.
Mussels and cockles
If you want to buy this sort of thing, Yeonan Pier seems to be the only answer.
Mullet, conger eel, pomfret, shad and mackerel sashimi
In truth it is spread out wide so it looks like a lot, but a few slices in and it is gone. Still, it is nicely sliced and packed up, so it makes a good set for having a drink with a slice at a time. The pomfret in particular has a lovely nutty richness, so I keep coming back to it.
A seawater bathhouse
Wait, they have one of these too..
There is a fritter shop as well.
They sell hotteok too.
If you came out with the kids, seafood is all well and good, but there is no way you are skipping snacks like this. I think that is one of the quiet pleasures of a trip to Yeonan Pier.
Scenes inside
Scenes inside
Scenes inside
It reminds me of the old Tsukiji.
They sell skate as well
Squid, and conger eel too..
King crab
Cockles
The Minyoung Fresh Fish Factory cooler bag
Honestly, carrying sushi all the way home makes me worry about the freshness, but they just hand you a cooler bag. I suspect service like this is the secret to their popularity. With this, an hour or so of travel looked like it would be no problem.
Sushi
A pretty good lineup.
Sashimi
Sushi
Sushi
I think we bought four and it came to around 100,000 won, and four or five of us ate well. That is not a bad price at all.
Pomfret sashimi
Since we were at Yeonan Pier anyway, a plate of pomfret sashimi as well
The set
These days, whether you buy sashimi or sushi, they set you up nicely with everything you need to eat it. It is service like this that keeps pulling me back out to Yeonan Pier. That said, Minyoung Fresh Fish Factory has grown to a national scale now and has even moved into department stores. I think I saw them at the Lotte in Incheon and the one in Dongtan. Who would have thought Incheon would turn out a place famous nationwide other than dakgangjeong..
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