Eel buffet sauce mix and no fishy taste in Dongnae, Busan: Songnim Bok

While looking for a good freshwater eel spot in Busan, I found Songnim Bok Jangeo — and it turned out to be all-you-can-eat eel!!

This place is an all-you-can-eat restaurant built around freshwater eel, but what stood out was that you can also eat pork belly and chicken neck meat alongside it.

Honestly, this was my first time at an all-you-can-eat grilled fish place, so before going I worried most about fishiness and freshness. Sure, being able to eat as much eel as you want sounds great, but it's hard to be satisfied if the taste or condition is lacking. Once I actually ate it, though, things were different from what I'd worried about.

How much eel comes on the first table at Songnim Bok?

At first they set a table for you with eel, pork belly and chicken neck meat together, and after that you freely bring over whatever you like to grill.

What I was especially looking forward to was the freshwater eel, and it was thicker and meatier than I expected. Grilled up, the eel's signature springy texture came through nicely, and above all the flavor of the eel itself was good, which satisfied me. I hadn't expected much from an all-you-can-eat eel's texture or flavor, but from the first bite I realized my worries had been unnecessary.

How long you grill the eel matters too — if you grill it too long, the moisture escapes and it gets tough, so it's best eaten at just the right doneness.

Eel sauce: mix the basic and spicy 1:1

And here's something I really want to share — the eel sauce combination. There are two sauces: the basic sauce has almost no spice, while the spicy sauce is hot but felt a bit lacking in sweetness.

So I tried mixing the two roughly 1:1, and it worked out much better than I expected. The basic sauce's sweetness plus the spicy sauce's heat cut through the eel's richness and made it taste even better.

I'd recommend trying each sauce on its own first, then mixing the two and adjusting the ratio to your taste.

Pork belly and chicken neck meat when eel alone isn't enough

Songnim Bok Jangeo isn't just eel, eel, eel.

The self-bar has vegetables, sauces and meat all ready to go. Pork belly and chicken neck meat are also prepared, so when you're craving something other than eel, you can switch it up. It seemed especially good for groups, since everyone can pick their own favorite to eat.

The owner said they run it as an all-you-can-eat concept so people can enjoy grilled eel without financial worry, and that they prepare live eel fresh every day for the table. They emphasized that it's not thawed frozen eel — preparing fresh eel daily is something they take seriously.

Also, most of the ingredients were domestic (Korean) sourced. You could tell they pay attention to their ingredients.

The eel I actually ate didn't have much of a fishy smell, and the thickness and texture were good, so the parts I'd worried about turned out to be satisfying instead.

Is Songnim Bok in Dongnae worth it for eel lovers?

Eel can feel like a splurge every time due to its price, so I think this all-you-can-eat format suits people who want to eat their fill of eel.

If you're someone like me who worried about the freshness or fishiness of all-you-can-eat eel, I think it's worth judging for yourself after actually eating it. The eel itself was tasty, so I was more satisfied than expected. On top of that, you can eat pork belly and chicken neck meat too, so it's also fine for a group wanting to share different kinds of meat.

According to the owner, the eel soup (jangeotang) is made in-house by simmering various parts of the eel for a rich broth, but this time I was too busy eating the eel and meat to try it. Next time I visit, I'd like to try the eel soup too.

The day I visited happened to be the opening anniversary, so they gave us a free bottle of bokbunja (Korean black raspberry wine) haha.

If you're looking for an all-you-can-eat freshwater eel spot in Busan, or just want to eat your fill of eel one day, Songnim Bok Jangeo is worth putting on your list. What stuck with me most was mixing the two sauces together, and given the eel was thick and springy despite being all-you-can-eat, it was a pretty satisfying meal.