Vanity Table Nights · 18 stories

Loose Vanity, Busan/Gyeongnam, Seoul and Daegu/Gyeongbuk Restaurants, Cafes, Bars and Beauty

Writes about restaurants, cafes, bars and beauty spots visited across Busan/Gyeongnam, Seoul and Daegu/Gyeongbuk. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceGeumjeong, BusanRestaurants

Pork makchang BBQ in Busan with lemon pickled radish wraps: Jeongwon

Jeongwon Makchang Busan Main Branch (정원막창 부산본점) is a charcoal-grill restaurant for pork makchang (pig large intestine) and pork belly on Geumgang-ro in Guseo-dong, Geumjeong, Busan. On a weekend visit, the Jeongwon set (small, 49,000 won) brought boiled, pre-grilled pork makchang that was chewy with no gamey smell, plus free mussel soup, a self-bar with lemon ssambu (pickled radish wraps), free seed jeotgal bibimbap before 6 pm and jjondeugi (chewy dried snack) grilled over the charcoal. Jeongwon Makchang is an easy recommendation in Guseo-dong for people who rarely eat offal and for family or friend gatherings.

Written Apr 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBuk-gu, BusanRestaurants

Private-room sushi restaurant in Hwamyeong-dong, Busan: Haejo Sushi

Haejo Sushi is a family sushi restaurant near Hwamyeong Library in Hwamyeong-dong, Buk-gu, Busan, with private rooms for 4, 8 and 12 people. On a weekend, two diners booked by phone and ordered the day's live fish sushi (12 pieces, ₩22,000), flounder and salmon sushi (12 pieces, ₩21,000) and fish cake udon (₩8,000); the thick slices of fish, friendly service and udon broth with chewy fish cake stood out. Haejo Sushi is a good Hwamyeong-dong pick for family gatherings or birthday parties in a private room.

Written Nov 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, BusanRestaurants

Solo-friendly hot pot & lamb skewer buffet in Nampo, Busan: Sacheon

Sacheon Hwogwa Yangkkochi Nampo Branch (사천훠궈양꼬치 남포점) is an all-you-can-eat hot pot and lamb skewer restaurant near Jagalchi Station Exit 3, on the Kkangtong Market side of Jung-gu, Busan. The writer visited around 4 p.m. on a weekday with an acquaintance, ordered the buffet covering both hot pot and skewers, and used the full 2 hours on white broth and level 1 red broth hot pot, charcoal-grilled lamb skewers and Tsingtao beer. With a wide range of ingredients and all-you-can-eat available even for one person, Sacheon Hwogwa Yangkkochi Nampo Branch is worth considering for a hearty hot pot and skewer meal in Nampo.

Written May 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanRestaurants

Gwangalli Japanese diner on a holiday: order while waiting, Daidokoro

Daidokoro Gwangalli Main Branch is a Japanese home-style restaurant in Suyeong, Busan, about a 5-minute walk from Gwangalli Beach. On a Children's Day holiday date, the writer arrived around 11:30, waited about 30 minutes, and pre-ordered Dado Set A for two (karaage, curry, tempura udon and menbosha) when joining the waitlist, so the food came out as soon as they sat down. Thanks to the pre-order and cute plating, Daidokoro Gwangalli Main Branch was a satisfying date-meal spot in Gwangalli despite the wait.

Written May 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, BusanRestaurants

Holiday burger sets in Nampo, Busan: egg bulgogi smash, Downtowner

Downtowner Busan Lotte Gwangbok is a handmade burger shop on the B1 floor of Lotte Department Store in Nampo, Busan, right in front of the music fountain. On a holiday revisit with a friend, the writer ordered 3 Egg Bulgogi Smash sets, 1 Hot Honey Chicken set and a Jumbo Mozza Stick; the Hot Honey Chicken burger seemed to hold about half a chicken, and the Egg Bulgogi Smash with grilled onions tasted clean and mild, and both were filling and tasty. For a generous handmade burger at a fair price in Nampo, Downtowner Busan Lotte Gwangbok is a good choice.

Written May 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Yangjeong BBQ with parking, fall open-air dining: Jirisan Kkul Tong

Jirisan Kkul Tong Galbi Busan Yangjeong Branch is a charcoal-grilled pork galbi and pork belly restaurant near Yangjeong Station Exit 1 in Busanjin, Busan. On an early weekend evening, with the folding doors open for a fall open-air feel, the order was 600g split between unmarinated galbi and green tea pork belly, followed by 200g of marinated galbi and jar-served Chapagetti. With meat at ₩3,900–4,900, a self-serve bar and paid parking out front, Jirisan Kkul Tong Galbi is a great-value Korean BBQ spot in Yangjeong.

Written Nov 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYangsan, GyeongnamCafés

Hopo Station bakery café in Yangsan with babka and sofa seats: Choi

Choi Main Branch (CHOi) is a large bakery café near Hopo Station in Dong-myeon, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, with basement parking and a 3rd-floor rooftop. On a rainy weekday lunch revisit, the writer tried the Moon Embracing the Sun (13,000 won), Real Strawberry (9,200 won) and babka (5,500 won) with an iced Americano and iced peppermint tea, and the wide sofa seats and showy pastries stood out most. For an easy-parking bakery café in Hopo, Yangsan that suits groups and solo visitors alike, Choi is well worth recommending.

Written May 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongnae, BusanRestaurants

Myeongnyun Station sushi with no fishy taste: sashimi set, Moshi Moshi

Moshi Moshi Sushi, Lotte Department Store Dongnae Branch is a sushi restaurant on the 8th-floor food court of Lotte Department Store in Dongnae, Busan, connected to Exit 5 of Myeongnyun Station. The writer arrived at opening time on a weekend morning, ordered the sashimi set (30,900 won) and Assorted Sushi Set C (27,000 won), and enjoyed thick-cut sashimi, parboiled abalone and tempura that stayed crisp to the last bite. Even though the writer is sensitive to the smell of red-fleshed fish, the tuna and salmon at Moshi Moshi Sushi tasted clean with no fishiness, and the writer would return 100%.

Written Jun 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Jeonpo curry spot with a hand-cream sink and cheese curry: Sarugak20

Sarugak20 is a Japanese curry restaurant in a basement right in front of the Jeonpo-dong community center in Busanjin, Busan, near Seomyeon. At lunch the writer had a cheese-topped half-and-half curry (₩10,000), beef curry with pork cutlet and a sweet potato cheese croquette (₩3,500), and was struck by the sunlit wood-toned interior, a sink stocked with hand cream and a clean open kitchen. With meals starting around ₩10,000 and refills of curry and rice, Sarugak20 is worth recommending for a Seomyeon-Jeonpo lunch or a date.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeonje, BusanRestaurants

Yeonsan-dong noodle house: rainy pre-show bossam sets, Sinseon Myeonga

Sinseon Myeonga (신선면가) is a Korean restaurant in Yeonsan-dong, Yeonje, Busan, serving house-made kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), bibimbap and bossam (boiled pork). On a rainy evening after work and before a show, the writer had the anchovy kalguksu with taster bossam set (11,900 won) and the bulgogi bibimbap with taster bossam set (14,400 won), with sundae (Korean blood sausage) as a basic side and coffee, sikhye and yakgwa from the self-serve bar. Sinseon Myeonga is a good Yeonsan-dong pick when you want broth, rice and meat together in one generous set.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongnae, BusanHair & beauty salons

Dongnae lash salon, first lash lift for puffy eyelids: Beauty Haze

Beauty Haze (뷰티헤이즈) is a lash salon on the 5th floor of Daewol Officetel on Myeongnyun-ro in Dongnae, Busan, offering lash lifts, lash extensions, eyebrow and lip treatments. The writer, whose fleshy eyelids made mascara stick to the skin, finally got a first lash lift at Beauty Haze after putting it off for years, was relaxed enough to fall asleep during the treatment, and came away with lashes lifted clear of the eyelid. If puffy eyelids have kept you from trying a lash lift, Beauty Haze is worth a consultation first.

Written Jun 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanHair & beauty salons

Jeonpo lash perm salon: tear-free J curl for short lashes, Double D

Double D is a lash perm salon on the 2nd floor of the Monkey Brown building in Jeonpo-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan. The writer, who used to cry through every lash perm at a previous salon, got a one-on-one custom curl at Double D, with the inner lashes lifted tight and the ends finished in a natural J curl, and did not cry once. For anyone with short lashes and puffy lids who keeps hopping between lash perm salons, Double D is a place worth sticking with.

Written Oct 12, 2026Sponsored