Busan eel restaurant: eel four ways plus maguro sashimi, Shunsaikubo

What kind of restaurant is Shunsaikubo Hwamyeong?

Shunsaikubo is a pretty long-running Japanese restaurant in Hwamyeong-dong. My place is literally right around the corner, so I knew about it way before it got famous for its eel rice bowl.

Actually, Shunsaikubo wasn't originally an eel rice bowl place! Back in the day it was more of an izakaya-style Japanese restaurant where you could enjoy sashimi and various dishes, and at some point the Nagoya-style eel bowl, hitsumabushi, became the main menu item.

I used to just call ahead whenever I felt like it and pop in if there was a seat... but these days, with a Michelin Guide mention and way more people looking for it, I made sure to book ahead this time :)

Location, hours and reservations at Shunsaikubo Hwamyeong

• 17 Yangdal-ro 4beon-gil, Buk-gu, Busan, South Korea
• 11:30 - 21:00 (break time 15:00 - 17:30)
• Reservations available via Naver Reservation or Catch Table

Weekends and mealtimes tend to have a wait, so book ahead if you can!

What is the dining room like?

Walking in, the overall vibe is calm and clean! The wood tones give it a warm feeling, and the tables were spaced pretty generously. It has a strong Japanese dining feel, so it seemed good for a date or family dinner too ~

There was a slightly more private space in the back, and rows of Japanese sake bottles lined up by the window, so a bit of that old izakaya feel still lingers.

What we ordered at Shunsaikubo and what it cost

The signature dish is hitsumabushi, but we also ordered maguro akami sashimi alongside it :) Hitsumabushi (1 portion) ₩39,000, maguro akami sashimi ₩26,000.

Side dishes and starters in the set course

While waiting after ordering, the side dishes started coming out one by one ~

First, a light salad to start! It was good for perking up the appetite before the mains arrived, though the vegetables gave it a slightly bitter finish ~

Sweet potato chips came out too. Not so much crispy as quite firm in texture, with a subtly sweet taste! Good for picking at before the eel arrived, and it went well with the draft beer too. Kirin draft beer ₩9,500.

And then the pre-meal Japanese-style tempura! Eggplant, lotus root, sweet pumpkin, all perfectly crispy ~ The curry salt that came with it was so full of umami that I kept dipping the tempura in it again and again...

Maguro akami sashimi, 26,000 won

Maguro akami sashimi (Atlantic tuna akami sashimi, 10 pieces) — simply put, this is the red, lean part of the tuna, called akami (赤身) in Japanese. It's not a fatty cut, so it's on the lighter side, but the distinct umami of tuna still comes through clearly.

It was well aged, so it had a slightly salty edge along with good umami, and it just melted away in my mouth...

Hitsumabushi, 39,000 won: how to eat it four ways

And finally, the hitsumabushi arrived. It came out with the lid still closed, which got me excited before I'd even opened it!!

Ta-da ✨ Lift the lid and there's the eel, covering the rice completely! It passed the looks test right away 🤎

The glossy eel look alone was already a win. Hitsumabushi isn't just eaten like a regular eel rice bowl — you divide it into four portions and enjoy it in several different ways! The instructions were written out in detail on the table, so we followed along step by step:

Step 1: the eel on its own

First, we tried the eel and rice plain, with nothing added!

Eating it plain first was, as always, the best way to taste the eel itself ~ The outside was slightly seared and savory, while the inside was soft and moist... The more you chewed, the more that subtle smoky char came through, and the sweet-salty sauce went really well with the rice ~

Step 2: unatama with egg

Second was unatama! You mix in half a portion of dashimaki tamago (rolled Japanese omelet) with the eel. Adding the fluffy, slightly sweet rolled egg went surprisingly well with the salty eel sauce >_<

Step 3: with yakumi condiments

Third was with yakumi! You add toppings like seaweed, chopped scallion, perilla leaf, and wasabi. Compared to just eel and rice, the aroma really came alive, and the toppings cut through the richness in between bites too. I was pretty into this combination ~

Step 4: as ochazuke with broth

The last method is pouring warm broth over it and eating it like ochazuke!

Once the broth went in, the rice grains softened up and the rich eel sauce flavor mellowed out too. Personally this was my favorite method — and if you add ginger on top, it's seriously delicious ㅠㅠ

It cut through the oily richness of the eel and brought the aroma right back up, making it the cleanest way to finish the dish ^0^

Chawanmushi and matcha pudding to finish

The set also came with chawanmushi (savory steamed egg custard). Soft and jiggly chawanmushi ~ Maybe because of the seaweed on top, it had a subtle nori aroma and good umami — tastier than I expected haha.

Between the salad, tempura, maguro akami sashimi, and hitsumabushi, the table filled up fast...

Since we'd also ordered the maguro akami sashimi this time, we tried putting the tuna on top of the rice and eating it sushi-style. It was a nice change from the eel bowl combination, actually pretty fun ~

To finish off the meal, dessert! A matcha pudding, made in-house, came out. It had a soft, bouncy texture with a subtle bitterness from the matcha, and wasn't too sweet, so it made for a clean finish ~

When we paid, they even gave us candy to freshen up with. A small, nice touch right to the end!

Where to park near Shunsaikubo Hwamyeong

If you're driving, it's worth checking on parking beforehand. My place is basically right next door so I walked, but if you're driving, you can use the nearby Hwamyeong Public Parking Lot! You get 1 hour of parking support if your order is over ₩50,000, so keep that in mind if you're bringing a car.

Is Shunsaikubo Hwamyeong worth a return visit?

I was extra happy about this place since I'd known about it for so long :) It had been a while since my last visit, and the hitsumabushi was still just as satisfying, plus I finally got to try the maguro akami sashimi for the first time and it was great too. I especially loved getting to enjoy the hitsumabushi in different ways, and personally, the warm broth ochazuke with ginger on top is still my favorite 🤎 I think I'll come back again whenever I'm craving eel rice bowl in Hwamyeong-dong :) Thanks for the meal ~