₩30,000 pufferfish course in Seomyeon for big eaters: Busan Bokjip

How filling is the ₩30,000 pufferfish course at Busan Bokjip in Seomyeon?

My husband and I had the ₩30,000-per-person pufferfish course at Busan Bokjip in Seomyeon, Busan. At first I figured that price would get us a decent taste of a few things, but then the food started coming out and just kept coming, way more variety than I expected.

I love going out to eat good food in general. Pufferfish is delicious as a single dish, but a course where you get to enjoy lots of different dishes in one sitting has its own charm, right?

My husband in particular is a big eater who doesn't get full on normal portions. That day we skipped breakfast and arrived around 11 a.m. Even though we were both starving, the food kept coming and we almost couldn't finish it all. We couldn't even finish the rice that came at the very end. It's been a long time since a place felt this generous for the price, so I wanted to introduce it to anyone looking for good food in Seomyeon.

Busan Bokjip restaurant info

• Name: Busan Bokjip (부산복집)
• Address: 25 Seomyeonmunhwa-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea
• Order: pufferfish course, ₩30,000
• Visit time: around 11 a.m.
• ※ Please check opening hours and the exact menu with the restaurant before visiting.

Why I chose a pufferfish course in Seomyeon

Busan Bokjip is at 25 Seomyeonmunhwa-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan. I was looking for somewhere to eat in Seomyeon, and that day my husband and I wanted a relaxed meal with really good food, so we headed here.

There are so many restaurants in Seomyeon, but when you want to taste lots of different things a little at a time instead of just one dish, you end up looking for a course restaurant, right? Some people only know pufferfish as soup, like bokguk or bokjiri (clear pufferfish soup). This time we decided to try a course that lets you enjoy pufferfish cooked in many different ways.

Above all, the price of ₩30,000 per person caught my eye. With eating-out prices these days, a meal for two often adds up to quite a bit, so I went in curious about what would actually come out.

Skipping breakfast and arriving at Busan Bokjip at 11 a.m.

We got to Busan Bokjip around 11 a.m. Neither of us had eaten breakfast, so we were quite hungry. My husband is a big eater and rarely says he's full on ordinary portions.

So at first I thought we might even have room for more food after the course. That idea changed completely as the dishes started arriving.

It began with light dishes, then a variety of pufferfish dishes came out one after another. It wasn't over after one or two; new dishes just kept coming, which made the meal fun. Since a course serves food in order, it's a different kind of enjoyment from eating one dish. You get to taste each one while wondering what will come next.

What comes in the ₩30,000 course at Busan Bokjip?

What we ordered that day was Busan Bokjip's ₩30,000-per-person course. The first dish was porridge. Starting with something soft and easy to eat before the meal proper felt like a nice way to get going.

Salad, salmon sushi and side dishes

Next came a salad and salmon sushi. After whetting my appetite with the fresh salad and sushi, I was even more excited for what was coming.

After that came dubu kimchi (tofu with stir-fried kimchi), along with braised wood ear mushrooms and jangjorim (soy-braised beef). I liked that besides the pufferfish dishes there were all sorts of sides to eat in between. Being able to taste lots of things a little at a time is the strength of a course.

Pufferfish skin salad and boiled pufferfish

Then came the pufferfish skin salad. Among pufferfish dishes, the seasoned skin has a charm of its own, doesn't it? I was impressed that the course is put together so you can enjoy pufferfish in so many ways.

And then the boiled pufferfish (bok suyuk) arrived.

Pufferfish isn't just for soup; you can enjoy it boiled and sliced too, so the menu is really varied.

Fried pufferfish, sweet and sour pufferfish, and soy-braised pufferfish

If it had ended there, I wouldn't have been this surprised. Next came the fried pufferfish. Fried food has that crispy appeal, so it's a great dish for the middle of a course.

After that, even sweet and sour pufferfish (bok tangsuyuk) came out. I like regular tangsuyuk (Korean sweet and sour pork), but made with pufferfish it felt extra special. With fried pufferfish and then sweet and sour pufferfish, I realized how many different dishes you can make with pufferfish.

Soy-braised pufferfish came next. I really liked getting to taste pufferfish cooked in different ways one after another: fried, boiled, braised. Instead of eating the same thing over and over, we got to enjoy a variety, and I felt we'd made the right choice with the course.

Grilled mero and pufferfish hot pot to finish

Then grilled mero (Patagonian toothfish) came out too. I thought only pufferfish dishes would be served, so having mero included made the lineup feel even richer.

Finally, the pufferfish hot pot (jeongol) arrived. With a warm, soupy dish included in the course, you can finish the meal feeling really satisfied.

Even my big-eater husband said he was full: portions at Busan Bokjip

From porridge to salad, salmon sushi, tofu with kimchi, braised wood ear mushrooms, soy-braised beef, pufferfish skin salad, boiled pufferfish, fried pufferfish, sweet and sour pufferfish, soy-braised pufferfish, grilled mero and pufferfish hot pot! Even just recalling them one by one, that's a lot of variety, isn't it?

And the fact that this was a ₩30,000-per-person course was what really amazed me. My husband and I hadn't eaten breakfast and arrived around 11 a.m., so at first, being hungry, I thought we'd put it away easily. But even my big-eater husband said he was full as we kept eating. I was also too full at the end to eat any more. We couldn't even finish the rice that came last.

When eating out, you sometimes feel the portions are disappointing for the price, but this time it was the opposite: the food was so generous we nearly couldn't finish it. Of course, menu lineup and portions matter in a course, but being able to taste many dishes in one sitting is also a big plus. At Busan Bokjip we got to enjoy pufferfish in many different ways, and with other dishes mixed in along the way, the meal never got boring.

Who is the Busan Bokjip course in Seomyeon right for?

The Busan Bokjip course in Seomyeon seems like a great choice if you want to try pufferfish in several ways or enjoy a spread of dishes rather than just one. What I felt most strongly personally was that I really hope a restaurant like this does well. Preparing and serving this many dishes for ₩30,000 per person felt truly generous from a customer's point of view.

Like my husband and me, you might skip breakfast and still end up too full to finish the last bowl of rice. That's how generous the meal felt. I hope Busan Bokjip stays loved by lots of customers for a long time.