Soup Trail Walker · 11 stories

Along the Southern Table

I write about restaurant visits in Busan and Gyeongnam. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceHaeundae, BusanHair & beauty salons

Haeundae hair salon: rainy-season bob repair straightening, Eco Revi

Eco Revi Hair & Spa Haeundae Centum Branch is a hair salon specializing in repair treatments, on the ground floor of the Haeundae Centum Hotel in Haeundae, Busan. Six months after her last straightening, when semi-curly frizz had grown back into her fine, damaged hair, head director Niki gave the writer a bob-length repair magic straightening, and the whole visit took 3 hours, from scalp diagnosis to cut and blow-dry. Eco Revi's bob repair straightening is a satisfying choice for anyone who wants frizzy rainy-season curls turned into a glossy bob.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, BusanRestaurants

Lotte Gwangbok Japanese lunch revisit: katsu curry & udon, Daidokoro

Daidokoro Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch is a Japanese home-cooking restaurant on the 10th-floor dining floor of the Lotte Department Store Gwangbok main building in Jung-gu, Busan, connected to Nampo Station. Three men returned to Daidokoro for a weekday lunch and ordered a chicken karaage set, a pork cutlet curry set and a fried tofu udon set. The rich curry, tender karaage and deep udon broth left every bowl empty. For a tidy set-meal lunch inside Lotte Department Store Gwangbok, Daidokoro is well worth recommending.

Written Oct 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Jeonpo brunch by day: focaccia sandwich & roe pasta, Odd Bird Oliver

Odd Bird Oliver (오드버드올리버) is a brunch and pasta restaurant near Seongbuk Elementary School in Jeonpo-dong, Busanjin, Busan. After enjoying the atmosphere and pasta on an evening visit, the writer returned at lunchtime with a friend for the classic focaccia sandwich (15,000 won) and the fish roe aglio e olio pasta (18,000 won), and the friend, who knows good food, was impressed too. Odd Bird Oliver is a Jeonpo brunch spot where warm daytime sunlight offers a different mood from its romantic evenings.

Written Jun 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNam-gu, BusanRestaurants

Busan shabu kalguksu date: 2-minute noodles wrapped in beef, Yunujae

Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu (윤우재 문현샤브 칼국수) is a shabu kalguksu restaurant with house-made noodles on the main road in Munhyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Busan. The writer went back with her boyfriend for the spicy red-broth shabu kalguksu for 2 with extra sirloin, eating it as a shabu-shabu, kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) and fried rice course, and notes that Yunujae now has diners boil the noodles for just 2 minutes first and wrap them around meat, water dropwort and mushrooms. With a generous spread and chewy noodles at ₩11,000 per person, Yunujae is the couple's favorite restaurant in Munhyeon-dong.

Written Oct 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangseo, BusanRestaurants

Outdoor-table chicken pub in Myeongji, Busan: soy garlic at Jump Café

Jump Café × Deultong Beer Myeongji International Branch is a café and draft beer chicken pub with outdoor tables, on the ground floor of a shopping row next to POSCO Complex 3 in Myeongji, Gangseo, Busan. A group of four, the writer plus a younger sibling and spouse, ordered one boneless fried chicken and one half-seasoned, half-soy-garlic chicken, and all four ranked the soy garlic chicken first. If you are looking for chicken at outdoor tables in Myeongji, start with the soy garlic chicken at Jump Café × Deultong Beer.

Written Oct 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuRestaurants

Korean food near Jeju Airport: kimchi chicken stew at Deureomtong

Deureomtong Sotttukkeong Dakdoritang is a Korean restaurant in Nohyeong-dong, Jeju City, specializing in pot-lid dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew). On the last day of a Jeju trip, after days of only Japanese and Western food, the writer ordered the pot-lid aged-kimchi dakdoritang for two at 36,000 won, and a staff member lit the drum stove and set a 10-minute timer so the kimchi could cook down further. The spice level sat between mild and medium and the portion was generous enough to leave leftovers, making Deureomtong an easy choice for both family meals and a late-night dinner.

Written Sep 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeogwipo, JejuRestaurants

Chorizo pasta course in a Seongsan, Jeju stone warehouse: Nansan-ri

Nansan-ri Restaurant is a reservation-only course restaurant set in a converted old stone warehouse in Nansan-ri, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju. The writer and her boyfriend took the lunch course, which ran from fern butter with baguette and a warm egg dish topped with caviar to Jeju black pork tenderloin in meljeot (salted anchovy sauce) cream, chorizo oil spaghetti and panna cotta pudding. Nansan-ri Restaurant suits couples who want a fairy-tale setting and a course built on Jeju ingredients.

Written Sep 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Seomyeon BBQ for a team dinner with private booths: Gilchon Sutbul

Gilchon Sutbul Galbi Seomyeon Main Branch is a pork rib BBQ restaurant a 2-minute walk from Exit 8 of Seomyeon Station in Busanjin, Busan. A team dinner here started with one marinated pork rib platter (500g, 29,500 won), got a unanimous vote for a second round, and ended with barley shrimp doenjang stew (2,900 won) and half-and-half naengmyeon (6,900 won). At 5,900 won per 100g, with booth seating at every table and rooms for 8 to 14 people, Gilchon Sutbul Galbi is an easy call for a group night out.

Written Sep 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangseo, BusanRestaurants

Sinho-dong Busan mulhoe restaurant for sashimi bibimbap: Suseong Susan

Suseong Susan is a mulhoe (chilled raw fish soup) and sashimi bibimbap restaurant on Sinhosandan-ro in Sinho-dong, Gangseo, Busan. The order was milchi (gizzard shad) mulhoe and the 3-kind mixed sashimi bibimbap, with icy broth to mix noodles and rice into, plus live sashimi served on a separate plate so its freshness was easy to see. Cold mulhoe followed by a bowl of hot seaweed soup makes Suseong Susan an easy pick for a family meal in Busan.

Written Sep 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Jeonpo pasta restaurant dinner date: pistachio jambon, Odd Bird Oliver

Odd Bird Oliver is a pasta and brunch restaurant a 3-minute walk from Jeonpo Station in Busanjin, Busan. On a third visit, this time a dinner date, the writer ordered the new pistachio jambon pasta, the bottarga aglio e olio and 2 pieces of focaccia bread. Odd Bird Oliver's pistachio jambon pasta balances a nutty butter base with salty house-made black pork jambon, making it a good pick for anyone who wants something beyond the usual pasta flavors.

Written Sep 6, 2026Sponsored
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