Basic tteokgalbi lunch with Lotte World view, Gijang: Dongam

I was out on a trip to Gijang and this time I visited Dongam Tteokgalbi :) I generally love Korean food, and I stopped by on a day I was heading to Lotte Outlet East Busan — the location turned out to be pretty great. It's also a convenient distance if you're out around Osiria, so it was easy to pair with other plans nearby.

The vibe and the menu

It's located near Lotte World, Lotte Outlet East Busan, and IKEA. The bus stop is right in front, and the building's parking lot is huge, so it should be easy to park even if you're driving.

I went on a weekday for the lunch opening time, and there were already a lot of people eating. Since there's a waiting area, I'd guess there's a wait on weekends. I'd recommend going early!

Inside, the place felt clean and comfortable overall. I saw families out for a meal together, tourists visiting Busan, and quite a few people with kids.

The wide-open view of Lotte World right out front is pretty haha

Maybe because it's a Korean restaurant with lots of side dishes, all the tables were spacious and comfortable.

The menu ranges from Dongam tteokgalbi, Hanwoo tteokgalbi, cheese tteokgalbi and more, starting at ₩15,000. Once you order tteokgalbi, the side dishes and rice at the self-bar are unlimited. There's also a separate kids menu, and it seemed like pretty good value overall.

How much is at the all-you-can-eat side dish self-bar?

We ordered the basic Dongam tteokgalbi. The basic side dishes came out right after ordering.

There's a much wider variety of food at the self-bar, so you just go grab as much as you'll eat.

There were really a ton of namul (seasoned vegetable) options, and since there's barley rice too, a lot of people were making bibimbap (mixed rice) with it.

Beyond that, there was steamed egg, tofu, jjajang, tteokbokki, stir-fried squid, fried rice — so much that it was hard to bring it all back at once.

By the time I'd brought back a bit of everything, the table was already packed before the main dish, the tteokgalbi, even arrived. Just this alone was as much food as you'd get at a decent Korean restaurant!

How the basic Dongam tteokgalbi and hotpot rice tasted

Finally, the tteokgalbi arrived! It looked appetizing, and the flavor was perfect for eating with rice.

It wasn't too strongly seasoned, so it seemed fine even for kids to eat. The meat was really tender and cut easily, and it was thick with a generous portion.

You could really feel that soft, tender texture unique to tteokgalbi, and it went perfectly with rice as expected. It wasn't overly sweet either, which I liked even more.

And the rice was hotpot rice, no less! Getting tteokgalbi and hotpot rice for ₩15,000 felt like really good value. The freshly cooked hotpot rice paired so well with the tteokgalbi.

Then a doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) loaded with crab and tofu arrived, and the whole spread was complete. With tteokgalbi, hotpot rice, and doenjang jjigae all together, it really felt like a full, satisfying meal.

Final thoughts

Dongam Tteokgalbi is a great choice for when you're out around Gijang or Osiria and craving Korean food. Getting to eat tteokgalbi as the main alongside rice and a variety of side dishes made for a satisfying meal.

Especially if you go with a group, everyone can pick side dishes to their own taste, and it feels much heartier than just eating tteokgalbi alone — it left me thinking this is a great-value spot in Gijang. If you're visiting the Lotte Outlet or IKEA area and looking for somewhere nearby to eat, Dongam Tteokgalbi is worth a stop 😊