Open-run hilltop lunch on Dalmaji-gil, Haeundae Chinese: Bueokgan

Why we chose Bueokgan Chinese in Haeundae on a Busan trip

I came to Busan on a last-minute trip, and when it was time to eat, the deliberating began 😑 I thought about what to eat in Busan, and instead of just eating anything, I decided to go to a Chinese restaurant. Turns out it's a franchise with several branches. Honestly, wouldn't it be good no matter which one you go to? 🤤 Bueokgan Chinese.

It's a bit up a hill, so I was really confused at first, and climbing up was tough… lol. But once I arrived, the exterior had this feel of a fancy restaurant 💕 Kind of like finding my own one-of-a-kind spot.

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae: address, hours and how to get there

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch is within a 20-minute walk from Exit 9 of Jangsan Station on the Busan Metro. (Bus or car is more convenient.)

Inside Bueokgan Chinese: a European-style dining room, quiet right at opening

Wow, it really feels like being in a European restaurant 👩🏻‍🍳 I went almost right when it opened so there weren't many people, but the interior really made me think back to my old Europe trips.

Did I come to Busan or to Europe? My mood was already great the moment I walked in 👍

Even the lighting is genuinely pretty. The inside of this Haeundae go-to spot, Bueokgan Chinese, was really upscale! There are lots of long tables too, great for groups, and there are 2-person tables as well, making it a perfect spot for a date.

Here's the menu. It's packed with dishes I really, really wanted to eat 👍

Danmuji (pickled radish) and jajai (pickled mustard tuber) — the basics of any Chinese restaurant, right? 🤤

First dish: poached-egg pork belly gan-jjajang

This is the poached-egg pork belly jjajangmyeon. Wow... it's really been a while since I had jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles). Even the color alone is a work of art 🥢

I cracked open the poached egg gently, like handling a baby 🍳 So gorgeous, haha! 🥢

Breaking open the poached egg! 🥚 Mixing it in made the aroma even better. And the more I mixed, the softer and glossier the noodles got!

It had been a while since I'd had this, and the noodles were so clean and the jjajang flavor was genuinely top-tier!

And true to its name, as I mixed with my chopsticks, pieces of pork belly that had been hiding at the bottom came tumbling up 😆

The winner of the day: yuxiang fried eggplant

This is the yuxiang eggplant. Fried eggplant, one of my favorites..! The moment it arrived in front of me, it had already seduced me with its smell! 👍

I expected it to be more tender than crispy 🍆 Since it's called fried, you could see the light coating on the outside, but it didn't look thick, so I figured the texture would be amazing.

My prediction was right 🍆🤤 Wow, crispy on the outside but tender eggplant inside once you bite in, and the sauce was seriously incredible. This must be what people mean by 'melts in your mouth'!!!

My number one was the yuxiang eggplant. I left the jjajangmyeon aside and kept reaching for this with my chopsticks!

Load it up with sauce and it melts in your mouth. If you like eggplant, you really, truly must order this! ⭐️

They gave a generous amount of onion too, and eating it together with the yuxiang eggplant was the best.

Paihuanggua, the cucumber side that resets your palate

I ordered paihuanggua 🥒 thinking I'd need something refreshing to cleanse the palate. Think of it as smashed cucumber salad and it's easy to picture 💚

It was on the sides menu, so I picked it right away! Something refreshing really suits Chinese food!! You can see how the cucumber is smashed into pieces — that made the texture even crunchier 🥒

Topping the jjajangmyeon with a piece of cucumber felt like I could start all over again from the beginning... 😆

Is Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae worth the trip up Dalmaji-gil?

🔈 Seriously, everything here was delicious... please open more branches in Seoul.. no, Incheon too.. no, all over the Seoul metropolitan area, please, please...