Jeonpo izakaya for zucchini fritters and a bottle of soju each: 12.24

Do you all,, like Japanese food? A year and a half ago when I lived in Busan there was an izakaya near my place I used to go to a few times, and now I've come back to "12.24" Seomyeon Branch, the place with mackerel bong-sushi that melts in your mouth and futomaki that looks and tastes great.

12.24 Seomyeon Branch on Jeonpo-daero: an exterior that looks like a café

12.24 Seomyeon Branch is an izakaya at 225 Jeonpo-daero, 1F, Busanjin-gu, Busan. Even coming back after a while, the outside alone — warm lighting, white wood tones — has such a restaurant-like atmosphere for a Busan bar, izakaya 12.24.

Outside you can see what kinds of side dishes they have. Actually the first time I saw this place, walking by, the vibe was so nice I thought, is this a café? I think it's good that other people won't get confused now haha.

Inside 12.24 Seomyeon Branch: bar seats, 6-person tables and Christmas decorations

Inside there are tables and bar seats where you can sit side by side for a date, or drink with a bunch of friends. And because the name of this Busan bar, izakaya 12.24, means wanting every day to feel like a gift, like Christmas Eve, there were various Christmas-feeling decorations around haha.

There are also two 6-person tables, so it's good for group visits too haha. Since most of the food is delicious, going with a group and sharing seems like a really good option.

This Busan bar, izakaya 12.24, has various Instagram follow events, and unlike other places' drink or ade giveaways, it's running a generous ₩55,000 review event.

What is on the menu at 12.24 Seomyeon Branch?

The menu had various popular sets you could enjoy at good value,

and many kinds of raw dishes like sashimi platters and beef tartare, plus tuna futomaki, mackerel bong-sushi, various stir-fried noodles, and okonomiyaki.

There's a really wide range of other menu items too, so I think watching the video would help more. We ordered two dishes — hanwoo yukhoe and mackerel bong-sushi haha.

The basic side dishes were sweet potato fritters and cabbage and corn salad.

For soju, I'm loyal to Ganggyeong Jinro Fine and my friend to Ganggyeong Chamisul Fine, so we each ordered our own bottle hoho.

Hanwoo yukhoe sliced thin enough to wrap around the tongue

First came the yukhoe (beef tartare) from this Busan bar, izakaya 12.24! The plating alone was so pretty, with the yukhoe spread out just right and a generous egg yolk and chopped scallions on top. It came with radish sprouts, wasabi, pickled ginger and vinegared ginger to go with it, though cheese or seaweed didn't come separately.

The focus is a bit off in this photo but sorry about that — the yukhoe at this Busan bar, izakaya 12.24, was sliced more delicately and thinly than at other places, so it felt like it curled around your tongue more. The sesame oil and soy sauce base tasted great too, making it a good drinking snack. Since I'd only had firmer-textured yukhoe lately, this tasted even better by comparison.

Mackerel bong-sushi: why less rice makes the mackerel taste stronger

Mackerel bong-sushi at this Busan bar, izakaya 12.24 — honestly this is what I came for. Isn't the rounded end so cute? It came with pickled ginger, vinegared ginger and wasabi too. With the leaf underneath the sushi and the cutely rolled wasabi, the plating clearly had a lot of care put into it, which I loved even more.

And here's a cross-section of the mackerel bong-sushi — compared to other places' bong-sushi, there's less rice here, so the mackerel flavor comes through bigger and richer. The mackerel in particular felt softer than at other places, so the moment it went into my mouth it felt like it melted. The mackerel's characteristic fishy taste was well controlled, and the rice was seasoned with a strong tangy fragrance, so even people who aren't great with oily blue fish could eat it without any resistance.

Finishing it off with vinegared ginger on top — I kept singing about wanting to eat this, so the friends I went with let me have more, and I ended up eating three whole pieces hehe. These days more places serve mackerel bong-sushi than before, but the bong-sushi at this Busan bar, izakaya 12.24, has something that melts yet is also plump and rich — the texture is really different from other places. If you like mackerel bong-sushi, I'd recommend trying it once.

Zucchini fritters and vegetable kushikatsu ordered before round two

And before heading to round two, since we still had drinks left, we ordered zucchini fritters. This Busan bar, izakaya 12.24, has plenty of great first-round food like raw dishes and soup dishes, but for kushikatsu it also has not just chicken thigh, shrimp and squid but lighter options like sweet potato, garlic scapes, zucchini and button mushroom — vegetable-type fritters that are hard to find elsewhere — so it's also great for a second or third round. The batter is really crispy and delicious, but the vegetables inside are also cooked really well, so you'll be satisfied if you try them. From sashimi, the basics of a Busan bar izakaya, to various soups and fritters, nothing was lacking — a satisfying visit to 12.24 Seomyeon, a Busan izakaya.