Island Meal Marker · 17 stories

Gimhae Meal Marker

Writes about restaurant meals encountered around Busan and Gyeongnam. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Bars

PlaceSuyeong, BusanRestaurants

Gwangalli pork belly BBQ and soju with a bridge view: Gwangan-mok

Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch is an aged-pork Korean BBQ restaurant on Gwangnam-ro in Suyeong, Busan, on the main road one block from Gwangalli Beach. After work on a weekday evening, two diners ordered the B Set, and staff grilled pre-seared aged pork belly and pork neck, served with anchovy salt and chimichurri alongside soju. With great meat, generous side dishes and a cozy window-seat mood, Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch is a strong pick for Korean BBQ in Gwangalli.

Written Apr 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanRestaurants

Aged-sashimi izakaya in Gwangalli: whole horse mackerel at Green Pacha

Green Pacha Gwangalli is an aged-sashimi izakaya in a converted house down an alley just inside Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong, Busan. The writer visited Green Pacha with a friend one evening, tried live horse mackerel sashimi (38,000 won) for the first time, and paired it with gamtae (seaweed) added for 3,000 won and seasoned sea lettuce (parae muchim). Thick, savory and free of any fishy taste, the horse mackerel sashimi at Green Pacha was easily the best thing the writer had eaten in recent memory.

Written Apr 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanBars

Weekend bar in Gwangalli, Busan: torched cheese scallops, Maenggu

Maenggu Pocha Gwang-an Main Branch is an old-school seafood pocha (Korean street-style tavern) in an alley right in front of Gwangalli Beach in Busan. On a weekend visit with a friend, the writer had the 35,000 won seafood platter (sea cucumber, sea squirt, abalone, octopus and shrimp) and torch-grilled cheese scallops with Daeseon soju. Maenggu Pocha serves fresh seafood at good value and is a great Gwangalli bar for a second round of soju.

Written Apr 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanCafés

Gwangan Bridge-view café, salmon Benedict & pizza: Working Holiday

Working Holiday Millak (워킹홀리데이앤나잇 민락점) is a brunch café with a Gwangan Bridge view on the 7th floor of the Bada Maru building, facing Gwangalli Beach in Millak-dong, Suyeong, Busan, serving coffee and brunch by day and beer and wine at night. On a weekend visit the writer ordered the salmon eggs Benedict (21,000 won) and the Super Supreme pizza (25,000 won), while the floor-to-ceiling windows took in Gwangalli Beach and Gwangan Bridge at a glance. If you want brunch or pizza with an ocean view, Working Holiday Millak is a good choice.

Written Apr 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanCafés

Songjeong tea café, Busan: old-schoolhouse floor seats, Suwolgyeonghwa

Suwolgyeonghwa is a traditional tea and Korean sweets café with an ocean view, on the 3rd and 4th floors of a building right in front of Songjeong Beach in Haeundae, Busan. On the 4th floor, where gayageum music plays, the writer ordered at the kiosk a Dalbodeure Box (about ₩10,000), Jeju Breeze hallabong tea and sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch) topped with pine nuts, then looked around the 3rd floor's floor seating that feels like an old village schoolhouse. Suwolgyeonghwa is a good pick for showing a foreign friend or a partner Korean traditional tea together with a sea view.

Written Apr 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Weekday tonkatsu lunch in Songjeong, Busan: kimchi cheese nabe, Hana

Hana Donkatsu Songjeong Beach Branch is a Blue Ribbon-selected tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) restaurant on the ground floor of a building just above Songjeong Beach in Haeundae, Busan. On a weekday lunch the writer had the signature kimchi cheese nabe (14,000 won) and the loin cutlet + soba set (15,000 won), and was happy with the thick loin, the deep kimchi flavor and the buckwheat-scented cold soba. For lunch in Songjeong, a tonkatsu at Hana Donkatsu is well worth recommending.

Written Apr 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Haeundae Chinese weekend lunch with a Dongbaek Island view: Bueokgan

Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch is an ocean-view Chinese restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Suebyeonchoego Dwaeji Gukbap (pork and rice soup) building in Marine City, Haeundae, Busan. At a weekend lunch by a window facing Dongbaek Island, the writer ordered jajangmyeon (black bean noodles, ₩8,000), mapo tofu rice (₩12,000) and jalapeño cream shrimp (₩22,000); the mild, meat-packed jajangmyeon and the fried shrimp in cream sauce topped with jalapeño were the highlights. Bueokgan Chinese is a good-value pick for an ocean-view lunch in Marine City.

Written May 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGeumjeong, BusanRestaurants

Katsu & udon in Dongnae, Busan: after-work dinner for two at Gatjidong

Gatjidong Busan Jangjeon Branch (갓지동 부산장전점) is a katsu and udon Japanese restaurant in Jangjeon-dong, Geumjeong, Busan, between Oncheonjang Station and Busandae Station. After work, the blogger and his wife ordered the signature half-and-half katsu, a tomato green tangerine salmon udon set and 3 pieces of spicy fried squid. The cheese katsu, served after a 1-minute hourglass wait, and the green tangerine salmon udon were the highlights. With a self-bar that includes cream soup, unlimited rice and free private parking, Gatjidong is a place where any menu choice satisfies.

Written May 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanCafés

Jeonpo, Busan terrace café: puff-pastry egg tarts at Upper East Bakery

Upper East Bakery is a pastry-focused bakery café on the 2nd floor of the Pickles building on Jeonpo Café Street in Busanjin, Busan. The writer visited on a weekday afternoon, looked around the plant-filled terrace and cozy white-and-wood interior, and took home a large puff-pastry egg tart and a cinnamon pistachio kouign-amann, among other pastries. For egg tarts or a terrace café in Jeonpo, Upper East Bakery is well worth recommending.

Written May 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Taiwanese teppanyaki lunch for two in Seomyeon: 4 scallops at Karen

Karen (Karen Lotte Department Store Busan Main Branch) is a Taiwanese teppanyaki restaurant in the B1 food court of Lotte Department Store in Seomyeon, Busan, where a Taiwanese chef grills meat and seafood on the griddle right in front of you. At lunch the writer ordered Karen's premium set for two (top blade steak, beef short rib, scallops, cuttlefish and tomato egg stir-fry), and the scallops came as 4 instead of the usual 2. For lunch at Lotte Department Store Seomyeon, Karen's teppanyaki is well worth it, especially the tomato egg stir-fry.

Written May 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGijang, BusanCafés

Yeonhwa-ri café in Gijang for a family drive: 8-person room, Deokmi

Deokmi Gijang Branch is an ocean-view dessert café by the sea in Yeonhwa-ri village, Gijang, Busan, right next to Ananti Cove. On a weekend family drive, the writer ordered a mango tiramisu (12,000 won), an Oreo cheesecake (7,800 won), a mango ade and an Americano, and was happy with both the in-house baked cakes and the coffee, which had no burnt taste. For quiet cake and coffee to the sound of waves, Deokmi Gijang Branch is worth a stop.

Written May 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongnae, BusanRestaurants

Myeongnyun Station sushi: ₩30,900 platter and tuna collar, Moshi Moshi

Moshi Moshi Sushi (Lotte Department Store Dongnae Branch) is a sushi restaurant in the 8th-floor food court of Lotte Department Store Dongnae in Busan, reached from Myeongnyun Station. At a late lunch, the writer ordered the ₩30,900 sashimi platter (hoe hansang) and Assorted Sushi D with tempura. The writer was pleased that the platter includes sashimi, a big bowl of udon and crispy tempura, and with premium pieces like tuna collar (gama-sal) and crab innards gunkan. For a sushi lunch near Myeongnyun Station, Moshi Moshi Sushi is a solid choice.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored