₩1,000 extra rice with parents, Haeundae Chinese restaurant: Bueokgan

My family was staying in Haeundae and wanted a good lunch spot nearby for the next day. We'd had Korean food the night before and chicken the day before that, so I was craving something spicy and soup-based, and since we were traveling I also wanted somewhere with that Busan aesthetic vibe. That's how we ended up at this Haeundae Chinese restaurant, Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch. In the end I fell for the taste even more than the vibe!

• Hours) Daily 11:00 - 21:00
• 15:00 - 16:30 break time
• 20:30 last order
• Location) 200 Dalmaji-gil117beon-na-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, 1st floor

Parking and getting to Bueokgan Chinese in Haeundae

Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch has its own dedicated B1 parking lot. Bueokgan runs this Haeundae Chinese restaurant, but there's also a stylish restaurant on the floor above, and a Bueokgan café next door that isn't currently operating — so you can enjoy the whole building in one visit, which is part of why I wanted to recommend this Busan aesthetic spot in particular.

So do you have to take the stairs to get between the 1st and 2nd floors? Nope — there's an elevator, so it's easy to move around, which makes this Haeundae Chinese restaurant a great spot for dining out with family in Busan.

What three of us ordered at Bueokgan Chinese

The menu has all the familiar Haeundae Chinese restaurant staples — jjajang, jjamppong, fried rice. But the real strength is a lineup of well-made, distinctive specialty dishes, so we ordered the restaurant's most popular items: suran samgyeop ganjajang (poached-egg pork black bean noodles), seafood jjamppong, and jalapeño cream shrimp.

This was probably my first time trying ganjajang, and now I get why people who fall for it can't stop ordering it. The sauce is sweet and savory with deep umami, which could easily turn heavy, but it's loaded with onions that

cut right through that richness with their crisp crunch. Onions can easily be undercooked or overcooked and leave you disappointed, but these were cooked just right — you could tell the kitchen really knows what it's doing.

I found the noodles at this Haeundae Chinese restaurant especially unique — not the usual thin Chinese-style noodles, but something closer to thinner udon noodles?

Top pick: suran samgyeop ganjajang (poached-egg pork black bean noodles)

The well-stir-fried ganjajang sauce coated the noodles perfectly and the flavor soaked in so well that I kept going back for more. This suran samgyeop ganjajang was hands-down my dad's and my top pick haha.

One more thing my dad and I loved: the pork belly!!! Most jjajangmyeon just has plain stir-fried meat, or meat from some mystery cut, but here the pork belly is fried until nice and crisp, so the ganjajang sauce soaks into it beautifully, and the fat from the belly adds extra savory richness!!!

The suran samgyeop ganjajang came out first, followed by the jjamppong and the jalapeño cream shrimp. The cream shrimp looked even better than I expected — so good that my mom and dad, who never normally photograph their food, kept snapping away.

Mom's pick: seafood jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup)

The seafood jjamppong lived up to its name with the ingredients. It was packed with seafood, and one sip of the broth and I thought, 'so refreshing!' — clean, bright seafood flavor. Normally that kind of bright seafood taste can be undercut by an artificial saltiness that makes you not want more broth, but

this broth wasn't salty at all, seasoned with the natural saltiness of the seafood itself rather than anything artificial, and the vegetables added a lot of flavor too — this seafood jjamppong was my mom's top pick.

The seafood in the jjamppong included what I guessed was octopus, plump squid, and what might have been mussels — but more than any of the other seafood, the shrimp were plump and clearly fresh, so if you love shrimp, this Haeundae Chinese restaurant is a must-visit.

For shrimp lovers: jalapeno cream shrimp

Since we're on the subject of shrimp, let's move on to the jalapeño cream shrimp review. It looked totally different from other cream shrimp dishes I've had. The batter wasn't thick, and it wasn't soggy either, so you could actually taste that crisp texture, and

the sauce wasn't overdone either — just the right amount to flavor the batter without overwhelming it, so this jalapeño cream sauce kept the shrimp's own flavor intact while adding an appealing spicy-rich kick.

Why we added the 1,000-won bowl of rice

Something felt like it was missing, haha, so we added a bowl of rice. It was a generous portion and yet it only cost ₩1,000.

We mixed half of it into the ganjajang sauce and half into the jjamppong broth — perfect for the three of us to share.

The photo spot: Bueokgan's bubble lamps

Now let me quickly point out the aesthetic details of this Busan-vibe restaurant.

Aren't those lamps beautiful? You've got a good eye if you think so. That warm, elegant fixture is George Nelson's Bubble Lamp, and I was told they brought in European furniture specifically to give the restaurant this aesthetic atmosphere!

Since this place is near Dalmaji-gil, it's already a very popular Busan date course spot. Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch delivers on both atmosphere and food, so I'd strongly recommend it for family dinners or dates alike.

Customers who fall for the atmosphere and the food come from all over — not just Haeundae, but Gwangalli, Marine City, Nampo-dong, and some (like us) even travel from Gimhae. You have to come and try the 'suran samgyeop ganjajang'.

Is Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae worth a return visit?

• Taste ★★★★★
• Price ★★★★
• Service ★★★★

Great taste, great atmosphere, great service — Bueokgan Chinese Haeundae Branch is a definite repeat visit!