Seomyeon chicken spot open until 5:30am: Yetnal Tongdak & Tang

73-1 Jungang-daero 680beon-gagil, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea, 1st floor Daily 17:30 - 05:30

Where to eat old-style fried chicken in Seomyeon: Yetnal Tongdak & Tang

Lately I've suddenly been craving old-style fried chicken so badly… I wanted to eat it in Seomyeon, and I was torn between Geoin Tongdak and the cauldron chicken place, but ended up at Yetnal Tongdak & Tang! 🍗 The name alone gave off a proper old-style chicken joint vibe, so I walked over feeling hopeful.

The sign has that old-fashioned feel too. What I picked this day was the ⭐️aentang set⭐️ — I wanted chicken and I was craving dakdoritang, and there just happened to be a set, so I ordered it right away.

The crackers, radish, and salad here are all tasty. Hahaha of course I was really hungry, but I genuinely enjoyed them. I basically inhaled all of it before the main dishes even arrived, haha.

The dakdoritang in the aentang set: broth that deepens as it boils

The dakdoritang! It came out faster than I expected. For dakdoritang, the broth is what really matters, and this one had a great sweet-and-garlicky balance. To cut to the chase — the broth was spicy-savory and so delicious. I gulped down just the broth dozens of times early on. It's good from the first spoonful, but as it deepens it gets even better, which made it perfect to eat with rice too. The spice level isn't so strong you can't handle it — it's more like just right when eaten with rice. So I'd eat some old-style fried chicken, take a sip of the dakdoritang broth… then go back to the chicken…

Eating like this, you turn into a pig.

Glass noodles and long rice cakes in the stew

The glass noodles were springy and soft. I loved how much noodle there was — as a glass noodle addict haha, it was such a satisfying amount.

And these long rice cakes, like the ones at Cheongnyeon Dabang, were a real treat. I scooped up every single one. If you go here, you have to try the dakdoritang.

Rice… obviously a must.

Half an old-style fried chicken: the skin is the best part

After the dakdoritang, the chicken came out~|~

Half a serving of old-style fried chicken! It looked crispy from the visuals alone, which I loved. The outside was crunchy and the inside was juicy… honestly, this was the best chicken I've had recently, ugh…. You really have to try it. It felt more like whole-roasted style chicken than typical fried chicken. (?) Do you know what I mean, hahaha. I really love that classic Korean-style chicken feel. This was exactly that.

The skin especially was so good my hand kept reaching for more… Old-style fried chicken like this is nice dipped in sauce too, but I honestly think it's best eaten plain. Or with salt! Also, since it was a half serving, the portion was just right to eat alongside the dakdoritang!! If I'd ordered a whole chicken, it would've been a bit much money-wise to also get dakdoritang, and I would've left food behind. Because it's a half-chicken set, I loved being able to enjoy both dishes together.

Why the set menu works best for a group

If you're visiting with several people and it's awkward to just order one dish, a set menu like this seems like a great option! I usually get a bit tired of eating the same dish over and over, but going back and forth between the dakdoritang and the fried chicken kept things interesting, so I ended up eating way more than expected… probably gained 2kg. Honestly, this kind of thing is the most dangerous, haha.

Overall, I thought Yetnal Tongdak & Tang lives up to its name — a place worth trying once if you like that distinctive old-style fried chicken atmosphere! These days there are so many different chicken menus out there, but sometimes you just crave that plain, crispy old-school fried chicken,, and this is perfect for those moments!

And the combo I had this time — dakdoritang plus half old-style fried chicken — personally, I really liked the pairing. Good good! One side was crispy and savory chicken, the other was spicy and warm dakdoritang, so they each had their own charm and worked really well eaten together. The dakdoritang broth in particular went great with rice, and the old-style fried chicken was the kind of taste that kept me reaching for more, so having both on the table together was a great match.

If you're someone who wants both chicken and dakdoritang, I recommend a set menu like this! Next time I visit, I want to try the other menu items one by one in addition to the old-style fried chicken. Sometimes you crave this kind of plain, rustic old-style chicken more than fancy chicken, and today was exactly that day. End of my review after eating the dakdoritang + half old-style fried chicken set! 🍗 Highly, highly recommend!