Dongnae date bar with Tsingtao draft and yurinki set: Lounge Mokhwa

休息室木花

Lounge Mokhwa is a Hong Kong noir Chinese pub! It feels like a hideout glowing in red light, tucked down a back alley in Hong Kong during the golden age of its cinema. Dreamy, like you're the lead in a noir film. The mood is relaxed and the place is packed with tasty dishes to blow away the fatigue of a long day.

Where is Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch?

Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch (라운지목화 동래관) is on Myeongnyun 1beonga street in Dongnae, Busan, between Kkokjijine Dongnae Branch and Dublin alley. Even the neon sign you can spot from far away gives off Hong Kong vibes.

Atmosphere and crowd at Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae

When I visited at 8:10 pm, the place was full. I was so startled when I walked in! Luckily a table was being cleared right away, so after a short wait I got a seat.

I'd guess the customers were late 20s to late 40s. A restaurant packed with slightly older diners is, how do I put it... like an automatic good-restaurant screening system.

With the red lighting and the yellow lights at a comfortable level that doesn't strain your eyes, it really feels like a restaurant on a Hong Kong street (?). Funny thing to say, but I've never been to Hong Kong. (haha)

Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae menu and review event

Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch serves Sichuan-style and other Chinese dishes as drinking snacks, with Tsingtao draft beer and many kinds of baijiu. This is actually my second visit. The menu seems more varied than when I came before on my own dime. There were so many unusual dishes unlike the usual bar snacks that I agonized over what to eat. And it has Tsingtao draft beer, which you rarely see elsewhere, and a really wide variety of baijiu!

They were also running a Naver receipt review event. I remember it being steamed flower buns before, but when I visited they were giving shrimp jjajo (fried shrimp spring rolls) or fried chicken-skin dumplings. Even the event items are hard-to-find dishes.

Tsingtao draft and yurinki set: how much do you save?

Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch sells Tsingtao draft beer and yurinki (crispy fried chicken with sauce) as a set, and ordering the set saves ₩2,000. I was already thinking of yurinki and mala cream noodles when I spotted the set on the menu and picked it right away.

Ice-cold, cheers! So good.

What does the yurinki at Lounge Mokhwa taste like?

The yurinki at Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch is whole chicken thigh, deep-fried and served with crunchy vegetables and Cheongyang chili peppers. The peppers are quite spicy, so be careful, haha.

In my own words: Chinese-style fried chicken that's not salty, crispy and fresh but not sour, with plump meat!! The meat is thick and the batter isn't heavy, so it isn't greasy, which makes it really good. Even soaked in sauce it doesn't get salty. But it's not bland either.

Are the mala cream noodles at Lounge Mokhwa very spicy?

The mala cream noodles at Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch is a Chinese-style cream noodle dish that blends numbing mala sauce with smooth cream. So good, so good, so good. Seriously so delicious.

For a spice wimp like me it wasn't very hot, just tingly and creamy, kind of like the mala rose tteokbokki from Yeopdduk (Yupdduk, a chain I eat regularly, a soul food for women). With the seafood inside it also reminded me of cream jjamppong.. absolutely delicious.

Shrimp jjajo from the review event

The shrimp jjajo at Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch is a whole shrimp wrapped in rice paper and fried, and this time I got it as the receipt review event item. It was the perfect review gift for a shrimp lover like me. Hoho. It has a different crunch from the yurinki, with a bouncy shrimp texture and a nutty flavor. Since it's also on the add-on menu, you could try it through the event and order it later if you like it!

Is Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae good for a date or group dinner?

Lounge Mokhwa Dongnae Branch seems perfect not just for a Dongnae date but also for a work dinner or a school reunion! I went for dinner and a drink to kick off my day off.

• Address: 37 Myeongnyun-ro 129beonda-gil, Dongnae-gu, Busan, 1st floor
• Hours: 17:00–01:00 (until 02:00 Fri and Sat) / closed Sundays
• Wi-Fi available
• No parking