Daeyeon-dong pork restaurant with crispy makchang, Busan: Daepae Maket

I went to Daepae Maket Busan Daeyeon Branch, a pork belly restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, for a delicious dinner with my family. It's a place packed with satisfying things, from fresh meat to the salad bar, so I really want to recommend it.

Where is Daepae Maket Busan Daeyeon, and where can you park?

Daepae Maket, a meat restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, is about 20 seconds on foot from Exit 5 of Daeyeon Station on Busan Metro Line 2. It's on the Daeyeon-dong restaurant street, so it's really easy to find. And the place is seriously, truly huge and spacious.

With orders over ₩40,000, you get 1 hour of parking support per table. The store's affiliated parking lots are Sin Parking Lot, Modeun Parking Lot, Gallery Medi Tower, Ashure Parking Lot, and Gagaho Parking Lot. Just ask for a parking ticket at the counter when you pay.

How long is the wait at Daepae Maket?

Since it's such a popular pork belly restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, there can be a wait during peak times — register via CatchTable in front of the store and wait your turn in the waiting area outside. We were lucky enough to get seated right away, but when we came out after our meal, the waiting area was completely packed.

Free welcome oden soup and the Daepae Maket menu

While we were ordering, the staff brought us welcome oden (fish cake) soup. It's served free with your first order. It was bubbling away and so delicious.

Daepae Maket's signature dishes are thin-cut pork belly, thin-cut pork neck, and thin-cut gochujang pork belly, and there's an even wider variety with Jeju native pork, thin-cut pork jowl, thin-cut makchang, thin-cut beef brisket, thin-cut duck, and Korean beef chadol (thin brisket).

Ordering by kiosk and the 3kg challenge

Alright, shall we order? You order from the kiosk on the table. Since I was really hungry, I ordered 500g of chestnut-fed thin-cut pork belly, thin-cut snowflake makchang, kimchi stew, and rice. You can also adjust the thickness of the thin-cut meat.

If anyone wants to try the 3kg-in-1-hour challenge — succeed and the meat is free plus you get a ₩300,000 meal voucher and ₩200,000 cash; fail and you just pay the regular price. Something to keep in mind!

The salad bar at Daepae Maket: 2,000 won per person

At Daepae Maket, the salad bar (about 30 kinds) is ₩2,000 per person, available from elementary schoolers to adults, and you can use it freely. Now that we've ordered, shall we check out the self bar?

Isn't the variety just too much?? Stir-fried vegetables, sundae (blood sausage), sausages, and more — it's easiest to pile it all onto one big plate in one go.

It's easiest to bring it all back on one big plate, but by the time I took the photo, this is how much I'd already piled on... The meat we ordered arrived too, so let's really get started now.

500g of chestnut-fed pork belly: how the Duroc marbling looks

Duroc pork fed on chestnuts!! Thanks to Duroc's characteristic dense marbling, the more you chew, the more the nutty flavor and umami seem to explode.

Thin-cut snowflake makchang, crisp with no gamey smell

Honestly, I ordered the thin-cut makchang not knowing it would look like this — and wow!!!!

The outside grills up crispy like a cracker, and the more you chew, the more you get that distinctively chewy texture of makchang.

Honestly, while it was grilling the smell was so strong I thought, oh no, will I even be able to eat this? But the moment I dipped it in the makchang sauce, I devoured the delicious thing all by myself. Once it's fully grilled, there's no gamey smell at all. Highly recommend!!!!!

Sundae, rice cake and sausage on the grill too

Sundae (blood sausage), rice cake, sausage, mushrooms, sundae again — all grilled up so deliciously that we happily ate our way through. Especially the sundae!! Grilled, it's so good.

I ate some with the kimchi stew too, then wrapped up the leftover meat with the bibim-naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) for one big satisfying bite.

A restaurant big enough for a group of 110

Daepae Maket in Daeyeon-dong is seriously, truly spacious — spacious enough to take reservations for groups of around 110 people.

When you leave after your meal, be sure to grab the ice cream or coffee by the entrance. It's so, so, so good!!!!!!

If you leave a receipt review with a photo, you'll get your choice of mul-naengmyeon, bibim-naengmyeon, or a drink.

Why I recommend Daepae Maket Busan Daeyeon Branch

• Excellent value without breaking the bank, even in this high-price era
• Quality meat and a wide variety of menu items
• A generous, well-stocked salad bar
• Friendly and quick service