Haeundae Chinese after checkout: ganjajang & garlic yuringi, Bueokgan

Last day of our Busan trip: lunch at Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch, near Dongbaek Island

For our last-day lunch in Busan, we went to Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch, a Chinese restaurant in Marine City, Haeundae. We decided to fill up on a proper lunch before heading back to Seoul.

After checking out of the hotel, we headed to this restaurant near Dongbaek Island. It has a great atmosphere for a Haeundae meal and a classy, unusual Chinese menu, so we decided to have lunch here before setting off.

The Gwangan Bridge we crossed looks amazing!

Where is Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch, and where do you park?

Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch is at 51 Marine City 3-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, on the 2nd floor of the Adelis building, which also houses Pungwonjang and Subyeon Choego Dwaeji Gukbap. You can park in the Adelis building's own parking lot, free for 1 hour 30 minutes.

• Address: 2nd floor, 51 Marine City 3-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan (Subyeon Choego Dwaeji Gukbap building)
• Hours: daily 11:00-22:00 (break time 15:30-17:00 / last order 20:30)
• Groups welcome, high chairs, takeout
• Parking: Adelis building's own lot, 1 hour 30 minutes free

The building is big, so it was easy to spot from far away. We came by car, drove in through the Adelis main gate and used the building's parking lot. Having parking was a plus for a Marine City restaurant.

Is this really a Chinese restaurant? The stylish interior of Bueokgan Chinese

From the entrance, the vibe was quite different from an ordinary Chinese restaurant. Riding the elevator up to the 2nd floor, I caught myself thinking, "Is this really a Chinese restaurant?" It was a late weekday lunch, so we got in without a wait.

The first thing I noticed inside was the variety of lights. With stylish furniture dotted around, it felt more like a nice restaurant than a Chinese place.

The space is nearly 100 pyeong (about 330 m²), so the tables are nicely spaced out, and the window side looks out on greenery and even the sea, which kept me in a good mood the whole meal. There are also private rooms, so it looked good for family outings or group gatherings. If you're hunting for a place near Dongbaek Island and want atmosphere too, it's worth a visit.

We settled into our seats looking out at the sea.

Sitting there with a cold cider (lemon-lime soda) in hand, watching the sea, the urge not to go back to Seoul crept up on me again, haha.

What we ordered for two: poached-egg pork belly ganjajang and whole-garlic yuringi

At Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch we ordered the poached-egg pork belly ganjajang (₩10,000), the whole-garlic yuringi (₩35,000; crispy fried chicken in a tangy sauce) and a Sprite. Ordering was easy with the tablet on the table.

The poached-egg pork belly ganjajang (ganjajang is jajangmyeon with a stir-fried, undiluted black bean sauce) is said to be one of Bueokgan Chinese's signature dishes, and even in the photos it looked clearly different from the jajangmyeon I usually eat, so I had to try it. After a short wait the food came out one dish at a time, and the portions were quite generous.

How does the poached-egg ganjajang taste? Smoky jjajang with a runny yolk

Bueokgan Chinese's poached-egg pork belly ganjajang (₩10,000) had a rich jjajang sauce with a strong wok-fire aroma. It was loaded with chunky pork belly and onions, with a poached egg sitting right in the middle.

I first mixed it as it was and tasted it, and the rich jjajang sauce had a strong smoky wok-fire flavor.

The pork belly gives it a satisfying chew and the onions stay crisp, so it's clearly different from jjajangmyeon that's just noodles. When I popped the poached egg and mixed everything evenly, the flavor turned even smoother.

The nutty yolk coats the rich jjajang sauce, softening the saltiness and deepening the flavor. Having tried it, I get why people order it as the signature dish of this Marine City restaurant.

How does the whole-garlic yuringi taste? A crispy, zingy plate

Bueokgan Chinese's whole-garlic yuringi (₩35,000) came out as a generous plateful. Crispy fried chicken was piled with sauce, whole garlic cloves, and green and red chili peppers, and it looked appetizing from the first glance.

I hear fried dishes are cooked to order, and on the first bite the outside was crispy and the meat inside was moist. The tangy, savory yuringi sauce plus the zingy chilies meant it never felt greasy, and I kept reaching for more.

With the whole garlic in there, I, a garlic lover, had fun picking it out, haha. Alternating between the ganjajang and the yuringi worked well together, and the two of us got really full.

Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch as our last Busan lunch: how was it?

Since it was our last lunch before leaving for Seoul, I wanted to eat somewhere good, and choosing Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch turned out to be the right call. Instead of the noisy Chinese restaurant atmosphere you might picture, we ate at leisure in a big space with stylish lighting and furniture, and the food wasn't ordinary, so it stuck in my memory.

If you're looking for a place to eat in Haeundae or wondering where to eat near Dongbaek Island, it's worth a stop. It's a Marine City restaurant that suits everything from family meals to dates and group gatherings.

With the poached-egg pork belly ganjajang and whole-garlic yuringi in our stomachs, it was finally time to head to Seoul! We filled up on one last tasty meal in Busan before going.