Kiku in East Ichon-dong might well be the most popular sushi restaurant not just in that neighborhood but in all of Seoul. I dropped by for a bit over the weekend, and sure enough it was packed.
The front entrance
There is even someone out front guiding you into a parking spot..
Chawanmushi and the otoshi set
We had not even started yet and it already felt generous..
Toro, flounder and so on
What comes out is Osaka-style sushi, with long neta over a small bed of rice. The quality of the fish was not bad, but the rice was a bit of a letdown.
Soy-marinated akami and so on
This is sushi made with the ingredients you commonly find in Korea. The taste is ordinary.
Squid, yellowtail, halfbeak
Shrimp, horse mackerel
Abalone
I still cannot quite work out why abalone sushi is supposed to be so good..
Scallop, shime saba
They are not using anything particularly special in the way of seafood, but the portions really are huge.
Clam, oyster
The freshness was just so-so
Eel, crab innards, sea urchin
Every kind of sushi comes out.
Udon
And Kansai-style udon to finish..
Fruit
Even dessert.. There is no question this is a very good place for the price. That said, it is a place where the slight disappointment you feel eating Japanese food in Korea – the same disappointment as eating Korean food in Japan – remains exactly as it is. If you want a place that is not far behind a sushi restaurant in Japan, you have to be prepared to pay about three times what this one costs. The choice is up to each of us..