Jeonpo-dong home-style Korean revisit, two shared bowls: Hyangtaek

Here we go again haha.

A friend took me here before, and it was so clean and delicious that I had to come back for a revisit.

Where is Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch, and what are the hours?

Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch is on the 1st floor of 42-1 Seojeon-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan. It's open daily from 11:00 to 20:00, with a break time from 15:30 to 17:00 (last order at 15:00 and 19:30). Takeout and delivery are also available.

This is the exterior of Hyangtaek, a Jeonpo-dong Korean restaurant. It's a 2-minute walk from the old NC Department Store, across from Busanjin Fire Station — right between Seomyeon and Jeonpo, so it's very easy to get to. The sign is clean and big enough to spot from a distance.

Inside Hyangtaek Jeonpo: a hanok-style dining room

This is the inside of Hyangtaek, taken right before break time. The interior has that clean, hanok (traditional Korean house) vibe going strong. Isn't this decor and atmosphere just perfect for a Korean restaurant?

Hyangtaek Jeonpo menu and the side dishes that come with every meal

This is the menu board at Hyangtaek. There are main dishes like mackerel thistle rice, eggplant doenjang bowl, yukhoe bibimbap and herring roe bibim noodles, plus tempting side dishes like the grilled galbi platter and grilled deodeok and mushrooms. Photos are included next to each item, which made it really easy to pick.

Paper cups, utensils and tissues sit on the table, and they bring you cool roasted barley tea. Barley tea really is the unwritten rule at Korean restaurants — it was so tasty. There's a right way to enjoy it too, so keep that in mind.

Coca-Cola, ₩2,000. Carbonation addicts, go ahead and order a Coke too. I loved that the staff also brought a cup of ice without being asked.

Everyone, make sure to leave a receipt review — you get a free mushroom platter for it!! Such a generous owner (though it's excluded on weekends and public holidays).

Once you order, they set out the side dishes. Gungchae, bibim jeotgal, gim and soup come as standard, and the seasonings that come with them change depending on which main dish you order.

Yukhoe bibimbap, 14,000 won: raw beef in one big mound

Yukhoe bibimbap ₩14,000, eggplant doenjang bowl ₩13,000. It came out faster than expected, which made me happy since I was starving haha. Look how pretty the colors are. Straight up on my Instagram story. Turns out Hyangtaek is pretty famous — everyone was DMing me like 'is that Hyangtaek?' lol. My friends are impressive, recognizing the place just from a photo.

The yukhoe bibimbap comes with an egg yolk and seasoning sauce on the side. I added the yolk and just a little bit of the sauce before mixing it all together. Tra la la.

As you can see from the photos, the amount of yukhoe (raw beef) is huge. It's basically pressed down into one big mound. I was genuinely shocked while mixing it. This would make a great side dish with drinks too.

You can see the visual even more clearly in the video — how good the greens and reds look together.

There are bean sprouts and pear underneath too. Eating it with the sweet pear made the flavor even richer. They gave a generous amount of beef, vegetables and rice all around, so I nearly burst eating it. My friend gave up halfway through, saying she was full. Weakling.

Wrapping it in gim with a bit of bibim jeotgal on top — so good. It paired perfectly with the seasoning, truly delicious. I wish there was a branch near my place, I feel like I could go three times a week.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl, 13,000 won: the kelp vinegar is the trick

Next up, the eggplant doenjang bowl my friend ordered. It comes with kelp vinegar, which turned out to be a masterstroke — tangy and goes down so easily. As you can see in the photos, the eggplant is huge and beautifully grilled. My friend gasped at the visual first, then screamed after tasting it. 'Can eggplant really taste this good?!'

It's delicious just eaten with rice on its own, but piling on the scallions and doenjang like this makes it even better. The texture alone is a work of art. Honestly, I'm not really a fan of eggplant, but this one was so nutty and much less strongly flavored than usual, so I really enjoyed it.

I wrapped this one up in gim too and ate it properly. Eating like this made me feel like I was taking care of myself with a healthy meal, which was oddly satisfying and gave me a good feeling. I want to eat like this at least once a day.

I even slurped down the gungchae. I scraped my bowl so clean there was barely anything to wash.

Is Hyangtaek Jeonpo worth a second trip to Jeonpo-dong?

Hyangtaek Jeonpo is a place I'd strongly recommend to friends who love Korean food. The atmosphere is great and every dish on the menu is delicious, so you really can't order wrong. If you're passing by, make sure to stop in.