Jeonpo bar for a second-round Busan fish cake stew with beer: 12.24

A Busan night at 12.24 Seomyeon Branch, a Jeonpo izakaya known for crab odeng-tang

I went to 12.24 Seomyeon Branch, a Jeonpo izakaya near Jeonpo Station that's great for a second round. We'd smashed grilled beef intestines for round one, and I got a craving for a good broth, so I went looking for a fish cake stew made with real Busan fish cakes and found this place. The exterior already looked clean, so I walked in without a second thought.

What the room and seating are like at 12.24 Seomyeon Branch

12.24 Seomyeon Branch has table seats on one side and a long counter on the other. You can't tell from outside, but the place goes back quite deep. There's even a Christmas tree — they seem to be serious about Christmas, and it feels like this Jeonpo izakaya already has you getting a little tipsy on year-end vibes.

How do you order at 12.24 Seomyeon Branch?

You order via the tablet on the table, and looking at other tables with several people, a lot of them seemed to be ordering set menus. Since we came for round two, we planned to keep it simple.

Yukhoe (raw beef tartare), sashimi, futomaki, mackerel pressed sushi, motsunabe (offal hot pot), crab odeng-tang, and dak-doritang (spicy braised chicken) — a nice mix of Japanese and Korean dishes.

And on top of that, their signature-looking kushikatsu (fried skewers)!! I heard the owner used to be a hotel chef in Osaka, which probably explains why they're so good at Japanese food. Every single one looked delicious.

They also had cold small plates, and I wanted to try one of each... T_T. Would recommend visiting here if you're traveling in the area.

They also had a good variety of drinks — sake, highballs, beer, soju — a real plus for this izakaya.

We ordered crab odeng-tang, beer, and zero-sugar cola.

The complimentary snacks and drinks arrive

The basic side dishes are sweet potato sticks, corn salad, and cabbage. Good basic snacks to go with beer.

And here comes the cold beer. We also asked for ice to keep the cola cold too.

Why Busan fish cakes taste best in this crab odeng-tang

I came to this izakaya specifically for the Busan fish cakes (odeng) I'd been singing about the whole trip haha. But when I saw reviews saying the fish cakes in their odeng stew were seriously high quality, there was no way I wasn't coming.

Square fish cakes, fish-shaped fish cakes, long thin ones, ball-shaped ones — such a variety, and the fish content is really high, so delicious. On top of that there's bean sprouts, various vegetables, and a whole crab thrown in, all for a price that's just absurdly cheap.

The broth is spicy-savory, like a proper crab stew. All the crab's sweetness has completely melted into the broth. Maybe because it's male crab season right now, the broth is pure art — I kept scooping it up over and over. I came for the fish cakes but ended up leaving having eaten a delicious crab stew too.

Once it's bubbling away and boiling, that's when you start eating.

The friend I went with ended up switching from beer to soju-and-beer later on. That's how good the side dish was — this Jeonpo izakaya near Seomyeon, 12.24 Seomyeon Branch.

There was so much fish cake that even though it was our second round, the two of us walked out completely full. Of all the fish cake stews I've had recently, this was the tastiest and most satisfying.

A Busan trip properly rounded off with a solid second round. That was 12.24 Seomyeon Branch, a delicious Jeonpo izakaya bar!!!

How to get to 12.24 Seomyeon Branch in Jeonpo

• Subway: 3-minute walk (256m) from Exit 7, Jeonpo Station, Line 2
• Bus: Take routes 24, 133, or 138-1 and get off at 'Jeonpo Sageori'
• Car: Enter '1F, 225 Jeonpo-daero, Busanjin-gu, Busan, 12.24 Seomyeon Branch' into navigation; paid parking in the same building, Gyeongmu Building
• Hours: Daily 17:00 - 02:00 (next day)