Haeundae Dalmaji-gil drive lunch at a Chinese restaurant: Bueokgan

What is Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch?

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch is a Chinese restaurant with a European-style sensibility. It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 16:30 and last order at 20:30, and parking is free. You can use the basement lot behind the building, or park along the roadside in front of the restaurant and across the street.

With the Dalmaji-gil atmosphere plus a European touch, it's also a good place for a family meal or a group gathering.

Why Bueokgan Chinese was the lunch stop on a Dalmaji-gil drive

It was a rare day with cool breezes and clear skies. Too nice to just stay in, so I used my lunch hour to head up to Dalmaji-gil in Haeundae. Higher up the road there are spots near Haewoljeong pavilion with wide-open sea views, making it a great drive even on its own. Wanting to see the ocean and eat something good, I ended up at Bueokgan Chinese.

Bueokgan Chinese exterior and free parking on Dalmaji-gil

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch sits on the first floor of the building, so it wasn't hard to find. I came by car, and the basement parking lot in the building made parking easy too. It felt like a great spot to grab a meal after cruising along Dalmaji-gil.

Inside Bueokgan Chinese: a European-style dining room

Once I opened the door, the atmosphere was clearly different from a typical Chinese restaurant. The spacious, neatly arranged space with its distinctive concept interior made me feel for a moment like I'd stepped into a trip to China. That said, it's not heavy or overly formal — overall it feels more like a stylish restaurant.

With seating ranging from tables for two to bigger tables for groups, it looked good for family meals or gatherings. In fact, there were group diners in for lunch that day too.

Bueokgan Chinese menu and prices

The menu at Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch is quite varied, ranging from basics like jjajangmyeon and jjamppong to fried rice, Chinese-style rice bowls, and various cooked dishes.

• Pork belly mapo tofu ₩24,000
• Kkanpung monkfish ₩30,000
• Mapo tofu rice bowl ₩12,000
• Yurinki ₩26,000
• Kkanpung shrimp ₩28,000
• Black vinegar loin sweet and sour pork ₩28,000
• Five-layer pork with green pepper stir-fry ₩28,000
• Octopus Chinese-style rice bowl ₩16,000
• Shiitake shumai ₩18,000
• Yuxiang eggplant ₩22,000
• Jalapeño cream shrimp ₩22,000
• Beef belly jjamppong ₩12,000
• Seafood jjamppong ₩14,000
• Mala cilantro jjamppong ₩14,000
• Shrimp fried rice ₩10,000
• Jjajangmyeon ₩8,000
• Paihuanggua cucumber salad ₩8,000
• Poached-egg five-layer pork jjajangmyeon ₩10,000
• Chili pepper jjajangmyeon ₩10,000, and more..

What I ordered that day was the poached-egg five-layer pork jjajangmyeon, shrimp fried rice, and kkanpung monkfish.

How the poached-egg pork belly gan-jjajang tastes

The first thing that catches your eye is the poached egg sitting on top of the jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles). The jjajang sauce itself had a nice savory flavor, and breaking the poached egg to mix in the yolk made everything even smoother. I also found it interesting that there was pork belly in it — pork belly in jjajangmyeon felt a bit unusual at first, but once I tried it, the chewy texture worked. Being five-layer pork, I expected it to be greasy, but it wasn't, and it went well with the jjajang.

How the shrimp fried rice tastes at Bueokgan Chinese

Visually, the shrimp fried rice looks fairly standard. But the moment you take a spoonful, you can tell right away that the grains were fried nice and fluffy. The rice doesn't clump together — it separates easily and carries a savory flavor. I'm not a fan of fried rice that's soaked in too much oil and turns mushy like sticky rice, so I liked how each grain here kept its own flavor. This is clearly a place that knows how to make fried rice properly.

What does kkanpung monkfish taste like?

The dish I was most curious about that day was the kkanpung monkfish. At first you catch a slightly spicy aroma, but it's not actually a strongly spicy dish. There was also a distinctive hint of what seemed like mala spice. The monkfish meat was springy with a good texture. What struck me most was how well monkfish worked as a kkanpung-style dish — better than I expected. Overall, it left me with the impression that the kitchen's skills are solid.

Is Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch worth a visit?

I visited Bueokgan Chinese's Marine City branch not long ago, and the food and atmosphere left a strong impression there too. This time at the Haeundae branch, each dish still had solid fundamentals. Unlike a typical Chinese restaurant, the atmosphere here clearly comes through in the food, which made me want to try everything on the menu. Having so many dishes left to try is also a reason to come back. If you want to enjoy the sea view on Dalmaji-gil along with tasty, atmospheric Chinese food, this is a place worth stopping by.