Japanese restaurant at Nampo Station: 3 PM walk-in, no wait, Daidokoro

On the last day of our Busan trip, I went to Daidokoro (다이도코로) on the 10th floor of Lotte Department Store Gwangbok. It serves Japanese home cooking, and from the entrance I felt like I was on a trip to Japan! For a second I honestly couldn't tell whether I was in Busan or Osaka.

Conclusion first: I'd go back 100%! Here are the weekday wait, the menu, the prices and my honest taste review in detail.

How to get to Daidokoro Gwangbok, and the weekday wait

Daidokoro Gwangbok is easy to find because Nampo Station connects straight to Lotte Department Store Gwangbok. When you get off at Nampo Station, an underground passage leads to the department store, you know? You don't have to go outside at all, just take the elevator up to the 10th floor.

I went at 3 PM on a weekday without a reservation, and we were seated right away. It was well past lunchtime, so I wondered if there might be a wait, but luckily we got in immediately! Avoiding the lunch peak probably helped, so we were lucky. (If you hate waiting, register in advance on Catch Table.)

Heads-up: Daidokoro Gwangbok's closing days

Daidokoro Gwangbok closes on the same days as Lotte Department Store. Naver shows it as open every day, but in October the second Monday was a closing day. Be sure to check the department store's closing days before you go!

Daidokoro Gwangbok interior and atmosphere

The restaurant has Japanese-style interior that looks like Dotonbori moved over as is. The moment we walked in, the Japanese mood hit us hard. Cat trinkets, No-Face (Kaonashi), all kinds of cartoon characters! Cute little props were everywhere you looked, so it felt like browsing a knick-knack shop.

What we ordered at Daidokoro, and the prices

At Daidokoro Gwangbok we ordered the chicken nanban set (₩17,500) and the kkanpunggi set (₩17,500). We also added menbosha, 4 pieces (₩5,000), draft beer (₩4,000) and mango ade (₩4,000).

How was the chicken nanban?

Daidokoro's chicken nanban had a crunchy coating and moist chicken. I tried my husband's chicken nanban first, and wow~ maybe they fry in clean oil, because it was crispy with no oily smell at all.

Even with a generous pour of tartar sauce on top, the coating wasn't soggy and stayed crisp.

And with it, a cold draft beer! After one sip he gave a thumbs up saying it was delicious. He ended up ordering another, so two glasses in total, haha!

How was the kkanpunggi set?

Daidokoro's kkanpunggi (Korean-Chinese style sweet and sour fried chicken) set comes with fried chicken thigh tossed evenly in a sweet-and-sour sauce. It was the No. 2 most popular item and my pick, so I ate it with high expectations.

It's good with rice, but as I ate I thought kkanpunggi would also be perfect as a beer snack. I think I get why my husband drank beer?

The set also comes with egg rice, curry and a little of a few side dishes. They even decorated it cutely. The moment I saw it I couldn't help chuckling.

Side dish: how is the menbosha, 4 pieces?

Daidokoro's menbosha (shrimp toast) is a side dish of minced shrimp sandwiched between slices of bread and fried, ₩5,000 for 4 pieces. The moment I bit in, the springy texture of the shrimp was really great.

It's like a shrimp ball fried a bit crispier? Dipped in the chili sauce, the sweet-and-sour flavor made me keep reaching for more. The cabbage comes without sauce, so just use the sauce on the table.

100-hour aged curry: leave half the rice and mix it in

What I remembered most at Daidokoro was the 100-hour aged curry that comes with the set. It's not a curry with big chunks but a smoothly dissolved style, and when the rice was about half gone I poured it over and mixed it in, you know?

It soaks in between the grains and wets the rice nicely, and that turned out to be a real treat! It was so good I cleaned the plate completely. When you go to Daidokoro, don't finish all your rice at the start; keep half and pour the curry on. Highly recommend.

Finishing with mango ade and milk pudding

Daidokoro's mango ade has finely chopped fruit pieces in it, so it was a nice palate cleanser. Midway, one sip~ the fruit came right up the straw and my mouth felt totally refreshed.

Near the end of the meal you finish with a small milk pudding. You scoop it with the teaspoon on the table, and there's nothing to chew, it just melts.

Would I revisit Daidokoro Gwangbok?

Yes, I'd revisit Daidokoro Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch. If you're wondering about lunch at Lotte Department Store Gwangbok in Busan, or looking for a date course in Nampo, stop by Daidokoro! It really felt like a quick trip to Japan. I keep thinking about it and want to stop by again next time I'm in Busan.