Dong-gu, Busan hagfish restaurant with Korean mint wraps: Gyeongbuksan

Today's post is from a late summer vacation I took to Busan! Let me introduce a local hagfish spot in Dong-gu that I ate really well at!

Where is Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo? 10 minutes from Choryang Station, at the end of the pork rib alley

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo (경북산꼼장어) is at 25 Choryang-ro, Dong-gu, Busan, about a 10-minute walk from Choryang Station. You pass through the pork rib alley and it's right there. When I first walked in I thought, wait, is this a different restaurant? But the inside turned out to be one connected space, haha.

Summer is winding down, but since I was already in Busan I couldn't go home without eating hagfish for a bit of stamina food — and it turned out to already be a famous local favorite!

Tuesday evening at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo and the half-and-half menu

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo has a half salt-grilled, half sauce-grilled option, which was perfect since my companion and I had different tastes — I loved that! It's great when there's a menu that lets both people leave satisfied.

Even visiting on a Tuesday evening, seats filled up fast! The ratio of locals to travelers looked much higher toward locals. It's also available for delivery, so I guess a lot of people order it at home — delivery riders kept coming and going the whole time.

I ordered the half-and-half medium (for 2), and it was convenient that the tableside order tablet let me pick from various options right when I tapped the menu!

They're also running a review event! 1st prize a size upgrade? 3rd prize free fried rice?? I couldn't resist. Instant five-star review⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Side dishes and self-serve bar: silkworm pupae, sea snails and Korean mint leaves

The basic side dishes came out and I saw silkworm pupae and whelks for the first time in a while! A small, nostalgic delight, haha.

Before the food came out I got a look at the self-serve corner too, and the owner will refill your whelks, quail eggs, and silkworm pupae generously if you just ask!

The owner showed me how they pre-grill the hagfish outside — it was so fresh it was still wriggling. Looked like the salt-grilled version is cooked outside while the sauce-grilled version is done in the indoor kitchen.

How big is the half-and-half medium for two, and how spicy is the sauce?

Ta-da! Wait, is it really okay for a 2-person portion of hagfish to be this much,, and I still have to eat fried rice later,,

Looks delicious just by looking at it, right? I'm not usually into sweet sauce, but the sauce-grilled version here really isn't sweet — it's spicy! Perfect as a drinking snack.

New to hagfish? Wrap it in perilla leaf, onion and garlic scapes

Honestly I'm a hagfish-disliking person, and I only came along because my companion loves it.. But if you're a hagfish beginner like me, wrap it in perilla leaf with sweet onion and garlic scapes and you'll fall for the taste of hagfish in no time,,

+ If you know the real flavor of hwangchil leaves, please also eat the young hwangchil leaves from the self-serve bar, please,,

The salt-grilled version is delicious even just dipped in sesame oil sauce ~

How to finish with fried rice in the leftover sauce

After eating everything, fried rice is basically an unwritten rule..! The owner even gave us seaweed on top — such a thoughtful touch,,

• Tip! Order the fried rice while there's still plenty of onion left on the sauce-grilled side
• Eat the fried rice together with the pickled gungchae (pickled aster stem)!!

Done — rice! I was already so full, but the fried rice was so good I scraped the plate clean before leaving.

Is Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo worth a visit in Busan?

I'd been really looking forward to good snacks and a drink on this trip, and eating delicious hagfish in this kind of cool, pleasant weather put me in such a good mood. The owners' friendly welcome especially stuck with me. Ate really well:)

If you're looking for a local hagfish restaurant in Busan, make sure to visit 'Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo' in Dong-gu, Busan!!