Haeundae Chinese restaurant, mala ganpung shrimp family meal: Bueokgan

Is Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch a good Chinese restaurant for a family gathering in Haeundae?

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch (부엌간 차이니즈 해운대점) is a Chinese restaurant I visited while looking for a place for a family meal in Haeundae. I was searching for a Chinese restaurant with a tidy atmosphere, and this one looked just right.

We came for a family gathering, and the food aside, the place is clean and has a nice vibe, so it seemed like it would suit get-togethers well.

And of course they have baby chairs!

A tidy interior, unlike a typical neighborhood Chinese place

From the outside to the inside, Bueokgan felt a little different from an ordinary neighborhood Chinese restaurant. The tables and space were well kept, so it felt comfortable while we ate, and I saw other families visiting too.

The menu isn't just meals like jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) or fried rice; there are plenty of dishes to share too, so it works well for a group. The mood is neat but with a dash of casual, so it wasn't overwhelming, and it looked fine for a family meal.

When you look for a family gathering spot in Haeundae, the atmosphere matters more than you'd think, right? A too-casual place is awkward with parents, and a too-fancy one is a burden. Bueokgan sits right in between, so it was easy to visit.

What's on the menu at Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch?

The menu had more variety than I expected: meals like jjajangmyeon, jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), and fried rice or rice bowls, plus dishes like tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and cream shrimp. Besides the basic noodle and rice options, there were so many dishes that choosing took a while, haha.

There's a surprising range of jjajangmyeon, and you can pick your jjamppong to suit your taste too! With family, everyone's taste is different and it's hard to settle on one thing, so having lots of options so each person can order what they want was a plus.

If you're not into noodles, the shrimp fried rice or mapo tofu rice bowl looked good too!

The dish section is varied too, with tangsuyuk, cream shrimp, ganpung shrimp (fried shrimp in a spicy-sweet sauce), fried eggplant in yuxiang sauce and more, so it was also fine for a family like ours to order several dishes and share.

After much deliberation, we ordered shrimp fried rice, poached-egg pork belly ganjjajang, and ganpung shrimp.

Danmuji and basic side dishes

First, the pickled yellow radish (danmuji) and pickled sides were set out, along with the Coke Zero we ordered, prettily poured into a glass~

Shrimp fried rice goes well with a little jjajang sauce on the side

Bueokgan's shrimp fried rice came with a little jjajang sauce and egg soup. It was a busy time when I visited, so the dishes were served one by one at different times, and the shrimp fried rice came out first!

You can eat the fried rice on its own first, or add the jjajang sauce bit by bit, so it suits whatever you prefer.

Rather than pouring all the jjajang sauce on at once, I put a little on at a time, so I could taste the fried rice and enjoy the jjajang together.

The rice grains were fluffy, the shrimp were big, and the jjajang sauce wasn't too salty, so I remember the balance being great 👍🏻👍🏻

What does the poached-egg pork belly ganjjajang taste like?

As the name says, the poached-egg pork belly ganjjajang (stir-fried jjajang noodles with a thicker, drier sauce) is a Bueokgan dish topped with a poached egg and pork belly. It definitely felt a bit more special than plain jjajangmyeon.

Mix the jjajang sauce well into the noodles, break the poached egg and eat them together, and the yolk makes the flavor a little smoother.

Eating it together with the pork belly gave it a rich, hearty feel too.

Doesn't the poached egg make the noodles look moister and softer?? If you like jjajangmyeon, a dish like the poached-egg pork belly ganjjajang seems worth trying instead of the basic one.

Bueokgan's ganpung shrimp: the mala aroma is the highlight

Unlike the usual sweet-and-spicy ganpung shrimp, Bueokgan's had a fairly strong mala (numbing spicy) aroma, and personally this was the dish I remember most. I expected a sweet, spicy flavor like regular ganpung shrimp, but the aroma hits you right away, so if you like mala, it should suit your taste.

The flavor is quite intense, so rather than eating only the ganpung shrimp, it was better alternating with the jjajang or fried rice. Eaten with the jjajang especially, the different flavors went well together.

For me, someone who loves malatang, adores mala tteokbokki and often eats mala rosé, this was such a great dish..💗

A Haeundae Chinese restaurant that worked well for a family gathering

After this visit, I think Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch is a good place for a family meal, with a varied menu and a clean restaurant. Especially with a bigger group, it's nice that you can order a mix of meals and dishes and share them.

If you're looking for a Chinese restaurant in Haeundae for a family gathering, this is a place where you can judge the atmosphere as well as the food. Personally, the mala aroma of the ganpung shrimp was quite impressive, and eating it together with the jjajang dishes was a great combo!!👍🏻 I'd recommend it when you want somewhere not too casual, like a meal with your parents or a family dinner out after a long while, haha