Suyeong, Busan pocha with live octopus seaweed bossam: Ppallaepan

Ppallaepan Pocha is located close to Suyeong Station! It's tucked in an alley with no separate parking lot or parking space, so I'd recommend using a nearby public parking lot or just walking over!

What is the pocha atmosphere like near Suyeong Station?

If you look at the exterior, you can see live octopus and whelks swimming around in the tanks! It really is a pocha (street-pub style restaurant) in the truest sense, and I loved that lively atmosphere haha

The tanks also seemed really well maintained and clean! No smell, no scale buildup — a place you can trust to eat from haha

Ppallaepan seating: main hall and back room

Here's the inside of the restaurant! There's an overall main hall and a room inside! Outside there were around 7–8 tables, and inside had about 6 seats too, so plenty of room! Should be no problem for groups or gatherings! It really carries that pocha vibe just like the exterior, so if you like this kind of atmosphere, you'll probably love it haha

Ordering the 59,000 won live octopus and seaweed bossam

The menu is posted on the wall like this, and they also bring a copy to your table! It's easy to read and there were quite a lot of menu items! The place isn't huge, but I was impressed they offer so many dishes.. and the prices felt very reasonable too!

Once you order, they bring out these side dishes haha We ordered the live octopus and seaweed bossam for 59,000 won, and the seaweed you see next to it seems to only come with that specific menu! They put fresh chili peppers in the bean sprout soup so it was really spicy and clean-tasting, and I kept reaching for more..

How good is the boiled pork and live octopus?

Wow, this is what I ordered. It's seriously substantial! The boiled pork was cooked perfectly too, so tender, soft, clean-tasting yet rich — I loved it.. The vegetables, kimchi, and dried radish you wrap it with all went so well together. On top of the meat they gave us two roots of what looked like wild ginseng or ginseng, and I passed both to my dad haha That kind of thoughtful touch was really nice, T.T

For the live octopus, the staff cut it up with scissors right there! The size looked smaller than I expected, so I asked, and they said this size boils faster and turns out more tender, making for tastier octopus! It really was soft and delicious! Don't underestimate it just because it's small haha

They also cut up the head and served it on a small plate — dipped in vinegar-chili sauce, it had that nutty, chewy flavor from the innards and was seriously, seriously delicious!! My dad demolished it in seconds too haha

So we properly settled into the meal. Putting two pieces of boiled pork on a napa cabbage leaf, adding the octopus, dried radish, kimchi, garlic, and chili, and wrapping it all up made me genuinely happy… stuffing my mouth full, T.T

If any side dish runs low, just ask and they refill it right away, so you can eat as much as you want!!

Next time at Ppallaepan: deep-sea whelk seaweed bossam

The two of us ate with everything we had and only left a tiny bit behind.. I think about three people could eat their fill if they add some sides too!! While chatting with the owner on our way out, they mentioned the deep-sea whelk is also delicious here! Apparently not many places serve deep-sea whelk. So we decided to come back next time for the deep-sea whelk seaweed bossam!! We really enjoyed the live octopus and seaweed bossam, so I fully recommend it :)!!