Jeonpo-dong Korean restaurant lunch: rice in mulhoe broth, Hyangtaek

I've been trying to eat healthier lately, so while looking for a good place to eat in Jeonpo-dong, Busan, I found this gondeure rice (thistle rice) Korean restaurant — and went to check it out!

Where is Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch, and what are its hours?

Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch is on the 1st floor at 42-1 Seojeon-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, open daily from 11:00 to 20:00 with a break time from 15:30 to 17:00. Last order is at 15:00 and 19:30, and takeout and delivery are both available.

• Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch / Daily 11:00–20:00
• Break time 15:30–17:00
• Last order 15:00, 19:30
• Takeout, delivery ○
• Parking X — nearby private paid lot in a commercial building, 1 minute walk away. *Parking fee is the customer's responsibility.

Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch sits right off a main road, so it was easy to find!

The inside of Hyangtaek, this Jeonpo-dong restaurant, was clean and had a warm atmosphere, which I loved! Walking into a place that feels clean and pleasant already puts me in a good mood before the food even arrives haha.

Three dishes split between two friends

Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch's signature dishes are mackerel gondeure rice and eggplant doenjang rice bowl. After a lot of back-and-forth over which to get, my friend and I ordered like this instead:

• ✔️ Mackerel gondeure rice
• ✔️ Pollack yukhoe mulhoe (raw pollack in cold spicy broth)
• ✔️ Grilled deodeok (mountain roots) with mushrooms

The menu was varied enough that I wanted to come back and try something new each time!

🍯 If you leave a Naver receipt review, they give you a plate of mushrooms, so if you like mushroom dishes it's worth joining in 🐶! Hyangtaek also does takeout and delivery — I liked how the packaging looked like a neat little lunchbox too!👍

On the table were spoons and chopsticks, cups, water, and tissues!

While waiting for the food, I checked out the tips for eating it the best way.

Everything was served in order, and the table filled up neatly, dish by dish!! (Love that they give you gopchang gim — seasoned laver strips — too!)

Pollack yukhoe mulhoe: the right dish for September heat

It's September, but the afternoons are still hot, so my friend ordered the cold pollack yukhoe mulhoe at Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch!

So much raw pollack piled on top!👍 The pollack yukhoe mulhoe looked refreshing just to see, and it was tangy and savory, loaded with plenty of raw pollack in the broth — loved it!😋 Summer's winding down, but this is exactly the dish for a hot day when you've lost your appetite!!

Mixed it up nicely, swish swish—

and slurped it up nice and cool.

Rice came on the side too, so we finished by pouring it right into the broth! (It'd feel wrong not to.) Eating the rice on top made it so satisfying — we were completely full!

How was the signature mackerel gondeure rice?

You can't skip the signature dish at Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch, mackerel gondeure rice! It came piled high with thick mackerel and gondeure greens.

The mackerel was boneless, so I could just mash it up easily and mix it into the rice! Being boneless made it really easy to eat.

First bite plain, then mixed with the seasoned soy sauce, then wrapped in gim (seaweed sheet), then topped with grilled deodeok! The mackerel had zero fishy taste, which I loved, and it paired really well with the gondeure aroma! The seasoned soy sauce that came with it wasn't salty at all, so it was easy to add generously while mixing — really tasty!!😋

The side order: grilled deodeok with mushrooms

I really love grilled deodeok, so I was already happy it was on the side menu, and the smoky, sweet-spicy flavor went great with the rice.

Scraped the bowl clean~! Munch munch😋 Both the mulhoe and the mackerel gondeure rice were generous portions, so after finishing we felt really full!🍚

Who should eat at Hyangtaek in Jeonpo-dong?

I felt Hyangtaek is a great place to visit when you want a healthy, hearty meal instead of something heavily seasoned!😊 Maybe because it's gondeure rice, but I didn't feel weighed down afterward — just satisfyingly full.

Visiting with a friend and ordering one dish each to share meant we got to try several things, which made it even better haha. Picking a restaurant in Jeonpo-dong can be surprisingly tricky, but Hyangtaek has enough variety that you can choose whatever suits your taste!👍 Next time I want to try the eggplant doenjang rice bowl, so I've quietly saved it on my revisit list! If you're looking for a healthy, filling Korean meal in Jeonpo-dong, give Hyangtaek a try~!