Gimhae Chinese group dining rooms, kids' shrimp fried rice: Dongbaek

I stopped by this Chinese restaurant in Gimhae recently and wow, it turned out to be a real find!! The atmosphere and facilities were great, but most of all the food was so good I fell completely in love. Turns out it's famous for its course meals in Gimhae haha. Let me introduce Dongbaek, a Chinese restaurant with lots of private rooms in Gimhae 😊

📍Address: 1F, 514 Garo-ro, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do / ⏰Hours: 11AM–9PM, break time 3:30PM–5PM, last order 8:20PM / 🚗 Parking available / 🏷️ Open as usual during Chuseok holiday

Where is Dongbaek and where do you park? 514 Gaya-ro, Dongsang-dong, Gimhae

Dongbaek, this room-style Chinese restaurant in Dongsang-dong, Gimhae, is just 10–15 minutes from Naeoe-dong, Gusan-dong, Samgye-dong, Gimhae Theme Park, and Gimhae Gaya Land, so it's perfect to stop by on an outing! There's underground parking in the building too, which made things easy.

The exterior is way bigger than I expected — totally surprised me!! Even from outside the interior practically says 'this is a proper Chinese restaurant' haha.

I also loved the 'homemade noodles' sign haha. Using their own hand-pulled noodles as a Chinese cuisine specialist really gives off that good-restaurant vibe ✨

Dongbaek's private rooms and hall for first birthdays, in-law meetings and group dinners

Dongbaek can be rented out entirely for first-birthday parties, matchmaking meetings, wedding receptions, 60th and 70th birthday celebrations, group dinners, and all sorts of events!! With spaces for everything from small gatherings to large ones, it's a perfect match for family get-togethers or company dinners haha. I come from a pretty big family myself (four siblings lol, and when the nieces and nephews all show up it's about 15 people...), so I always bookmark places that can handle big group meals like this haha.

The classic Chinese-restaurant interior paired with relaxing background music was perfect at this room-style Chinese restaurant in Gimhae! And being a place built for group gatherings, it had a ton of private rooms.

The rooms came in all different sizes and numbers, and on top of the private rooms there was also a separate table hall, which was great haha.

Does Dongbaek have baby chairs for families with kids?

Most of the table hall was 4-seaters, but there were extra chairs too, and since it's a restaurant optimized for family gatherings, baby chairs were also on hand haha.

The moment we sat down, chopsticks and side dishes were neatly set out!

Having pickled radish, jjajai (pickled turnip), and even warm jasmine tea at the self-serve bar was genuinely touching,,,, ❤️👍🏻

What's in Dongbaek's lunch special A course, and what does it cost?

Being a place known for course meals in Gimhae, they had everything from various courses to à la carte dishes. But the value for money was... whoa.

A course meal in the ₩20,000 range, for real...? And it included the Dongbaek cold appetizer, abalone porridge, yusanseul, tangsuyuk, yurinji, a rice or noodle dish (jjajang or jjamppong), and dessert.... We had to try this! So we went straight ahead and ordered the lunch special A course plus a fried rice add-on for the kids haha. Isn't that price seriously kind? haha

Abalone porridge and Dongbaek cold appetizer: mild, not over-seasoned

Abalone porridge and the Dongbaek cold appetizer! Chinese food tends to be heavily seasoned, right...ㅠㅠ Tasty while you're eating it but your stomach always feels off afterward...ㅠㅠ But Dongbaek!!!!!! It wasn't overly strong or harsh in seasoning, and I loved that so much ❤️ That doesn't mean it was bland or lacking in flavor though!!!! It was genuinely delicious... I kept eating while marveling, how is this quality possible at this price? hahaha

This is yusanseul! ♥️♥️

This is yurinji!!!

Crispy and delicious haha.

Dongbaek's fresh sirloin tangsuyuk: crisp outside, tender inside

This is the fresh sirloin tangsuyuk!!! Truly crispy outside, tender inside.... ✨👍🏻 Both the look and the taste were top-notch 👍🏻

Adding shrimp fried rice for the kids, plus jjajangmyeon

The kids' shrimp fried rice..... This is what real fried rice tastes like, you know? haha. My husband and I have been into watching Street Restaurant Fighter lately, and honestly every good comment they make on that show applies here lol. This place really knows how to wok fried rice.... ♥️

The kids devoured it happily haha ❤️

The jjamppong broth that came alongside the fried rice... check out the quality... seriously impressive, right? haha

The glossy jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) that arrived got polished off by the kids in seconds.... lol. Genuinely, kids and adults alike loved every bite of this meal ♥️

Dessert at Dongbaek: fresh pineapple and fried dumpling wrappers

You can't skip dessert on a proper course, right? haha. It was fresh pineapple and fried dumpling wrappers, crispy and delicious haha. First time I'd ever tried fried dumpling wrappers... lol. My stomach was about to burst, but since pineapple supposedly helps digestion, I ended up cleaning the plate anyway lol.

Free takeaway coffee on the way out of Dongbaek

We finished eating so happily and were heading out when, of all things... there was a takeaway-only coffee counter?

We wrapped things up neatly with an iced Americano lol. From start to finish it was all 'delicious, so good' on repeat at Dongbaek, this course-meal spot in Gimhae!!!! I'm definitely revisiting this place 🤩👍🏻 If you're looking for a good restaurant in Gimhae, or need a place for a group meal in Gimhae, you have to check this out!! haha Highly recommend it 👍🏻