Haeundae Chinese restaurant family dinner: Bueokgan Chinese

A Haeundae Chinese dining spot I visited with my parents

While deciding where to go for dinner with my parents, Dad suddenly said, “I want Chinese food today,” haha, so we went to Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch, which was already on my saved list!! Rather than a typical Chinese restaurant, it felt more like a clean, atmospheric Chinese dining spot, so I thought it would be perfect for dinner with my parents. Mom likes places that are neat and tidy ✨

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch is on the first floor of the building. First-time visitors might be a little confused about the entrance or which floor it is on.

A clean, relaxed atmosphere

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was that the restaurant was much cleaner than I expected.

Instead of the bustling feel of a typical Chinese restaurant, it had a calm, orderly atmosphere overall. The space was roomy, and the tables were nicely spaced apart too.

There are tables for two and four, plus sofa seating, so it felt easy to settle in comfortably for your group size. When eating with parents, places that are too noisy or have tables packed too closely together can feel a little uncomfortable.

At Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch, we could sit comfortably, chat, and eat.

The restroom is shared by men and women, but it was clean. It has that Chinese dining feel where you get to enjoy the space and atmosphere too! So I thought it would work not only for family meals, but also dates or dinner gatherings.

Bueokgan Chinese menu

The Bueokgan Chinese menu has more variety than I expected.

Along with classics such as jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), there are gan-jjajang, Chinese-style rice bowls, and fried rice. For sharing, there are lots of dishes too, including tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork), eo-hyang eggplant, yuringi, cream shrimp, and kkangpung shrimp. Some signature choices include black-vinegar pork-loin tangsuyuk, poached-egg octopus Chinese-style rice bowl, poached-egg pork-belly gan-jjajang, and beef brisket jjamppong, so it is easy to choose according to your taste.

What the three of us ordered and the total

The three of us ordered black-vinegar tangsuyuk for ₩28,000, poached-egg octopus Chinese-style rice bowl for ₩16,000, poached-egg pork-belly gan-jjajang for ₩10,000, a large portion for ₩2,000, beef brisket jjamppong for ₩12,000, and steamed rice for ₩1,000, for a total of ₩69,000.

For three people, that is such good value, right?? Haha. Chinese food is so fun when you order several things and share little bits of each!?

Black-vinegar tangsuyuk, ₩28,000

The best-selling black-vinegar tangsuyuk!!!!

The coating was crisp while the meat stayed juicy—completely crispy outside, tender inside. I loved the special sauce with the distinctive tang of black vinegar ㅠ The rich fried pork and sweet-tangy sauce worked so well together that it never felt heavy, and I kept reaching for more.

My family kept saying it was delicious and picking up one piece after another too, haha.

Poached-egg octopus Chinese-style rice bowl, ₩16,000

Dad’s number-one pick. This is the poached-egg octopus Chinese-style rice bowl, with lots of wok aroma, chewy octopus, and a sweet-spicy sauce. Stir-fried octopus comes topped with a poached egg, and after Dad tried it, he said, “The octopus is fresh and springy.”

The octopus really did have a bouncy texture, which was great, and I liked the subtle smoky wok flavor from the stir-fry too. Once I broke the poached egg and ate it with the octopus and rice, its richness joined the spicy seasoning and went really well with the rice. It was not spicy at all compared with how it looks—mild-spice people can easily eat it too.

Poached-egg pork belly gan-jjajang, ₩10,000

A large portion costs an extra ₩2,000.

You cannot leave out jjajangmyeon at a Chinese restaurant, right? Haha. I got the large poached-egg pork-belly gan-jjajang ✌️ With pork belly and a poached egg on top, it felt a little more substantial than regular gan-jjajang! Break the egg, then mix it through with the black bean sauce, and the egg makes the originally deep gan-jjajang sauce feel a little smoother!!

There was plenty of pork belly too, so it was nice getting those bites of meat throughout. The gan-jjajang was not overly salty and tasted clean, so jjajangmyeon was my number-one pick 🤎 When you come to a Chinese restaurant, you have to have at least one jjajangmyeon, haha.

Beef brisket jjamppong, ₩12,000

Mom’s favorite was the beef brisket jjamppong. After one sip of the broth, she said, “The broth is rich, but clean?” She liked it so much that later she said, “This would be good with rice mixed into it,” haha.

I tried the broth too. It had the rich, savory flavor from the brisket, but the finish was clean and refreshing, so I kept taking spoonful after spoonful. Mom declared it a great jjamppong place, and later she really did happily mix rice into it, haha.

Why it was good for a meal with my parents

This time I visited with my parents, and I think it was even more fun because they each had a different favorite dish, haha.

Dad liked the octopus rice bowl for its springy octopus and wok flavor, while Mom loved the rich yet refreshing beef brisket jjamppong. Then there was the gan-jjajang and sweet-tangy black-vinegar tangsuyuk too, haha. Ordering several dishes between the three of us and sharing them meant everyone could pick something that suited their taste.

More than anything, the restaurant was clean and the staff were kind. The seating and space were also relaxed, making it a comfortable place to talk while eating with my parents.

Final thoughts

We visited while figuring out dinner because Dad said he wanted Chinese food, and the restaurant atmosphere was completely clean while the food suited everyone in the family—so we left very, very satisfied.

I especially liked that my parents each clearly had a favorite dish, making it great for a family to order and share several things. It was also nice to eat in a cleaner, more relaxed setting than at a typical Chinese restaurant.

Next time, I am planning to return with my Chinese-food-loving girlfriend and try the dishes we missed this time, one by one, haha. If you are looking for somewhere to take your parents in Haeundae or for an atmospheric Chinese restaurant in Haeundae, I totally recommend putting Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch on your list!!

This is a 100% honest personal review after visiting in person and absolutely demolishing the menu.