Seomyeon chicken pub date, boneless set dipped in pepper salt: Yetnal

It was a pretty hot weekend, and I was out on a date with my partner in Seomyeon. We wanted dinner and a light drink, so we went looking and ended up at Yetnal Tongdak & Tang Seomyeon Branch (옛날통닭앤탕 서면점), a newly opened chicken spot. My partner loves chicken, and I love chicken dishes swimming in broth, so a place with a menu that satisfies both of us was a real win.

Where is Yetnal Tongdak & Tang Seomyeon Branch, and what are its hours?

Yetnal Tongdak & Tang Seomyeon Branch is at 73-1 Jungang-daero 680beon-gil, Busanjin-gu, Busan. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 17:30 to 05:30, and closed every Monday. You'll need to use a paid parking lot nearby.

• Hours: Tue–Sun 17:30–05:30
• Closed: every Monday
• Parking: paid lots nearby
• Group gatherings, draft beer and takeout available

It's not hard to find once you step into the Seomyeon Food Alley (먹자골목).

Retro hof pub interior at Yetnal Tongdak & Tang

The retro decor reminds you of an old-school hof (Korean beer pub), and the memories came flooding back. You know that mood where you just want a cold draft beer? That's it.

Yetnal Tongdak & Tang menu, prices and what we ordered

The recommended items are the stew set (Tang) at ₩32,000, the boneless stew set at ₩33,000 and the gizzard stew set at ₩30,000. We went with the boneless stew set. Dakdoritang (spicy braised chicken stew) and boneless fried chicken come out together, which is exactly our taste, haha. (Switching the dakdoritang to boneless costs +₩2,000.)

The side dishes were neat and simple: the snacks you can't skip at a chicken place, a fresh cabbage salad, and pickled radish.

First impressions of the boneless chicken & stew set

The set comes with dakdoritang and boneless fried chicken. The stew placed in the middle of the table looked way more generous than I expected. The red broth started bubbling, and the smell alone got my appetite going. The boneless fried chicken uses Harim chicken thigh meat, and it looked juicy at a glance. Golden and crispy on the outside!!

Looking at the whole spread, I could see why Yetnal Tongdak & Tang is popular as a second-round pub. Spicy dakdoritang, crispy chicken and cold draft beer? Honestly, game over, right?!

How does the dakdoritang taste, and what's in it?

The dakdoritang comes fully cooked, so you only need to simmer it briefly. You know the golden rule of fishing out the glass noodles first, right?! It was packed with wheat rice cakes and glass noodles. Tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) fans will especially love it. There was plenty of broth too, so it was great to keep simmering. A dish that drinkers go crazy for, haha.

The 500cc draft beer washed away the whole weekend's fatigue. We started with a light cheers, haha.

I took a spoonful of the broth too, and it was spicy yet deep in flavor. I had switched the chicken to boneless, and it was so convenient. No need to pick out bones, you can eat it right away with the broth, which makes it a top-notch drinking snack.

Boneless fried chicken: skip the sauce, dip in pepper salt

The boneless fried chicken is the kind where "crispy outside, juicy inside" fits perfectly. The batter was crunchy in just the right way!! I dipped it in both the sauce and the pepper salt that came with it, and personally I prefer the pepper salt. With well-fried batter, only pepper salt lets you really taste the nutty flavor, haha.

Who should order the boneless chicken & stew set?

If one of you loves chicken and the other loves dakdoritang, I recommend the boneless stew set at Yetnal Tongdak & Tang Seomyeon Branch. One dish gives each person what they want, so we were very satisfied. If you're looking for a second-round pub or a place for a light drink in Seomyeon, this is it. That's the end of today's tasty weekend date log. Stay safe in the summer heat!