Mom lunch with 10-team weekend wait near Haedong Yonggungsa: Dongam

Dongam Tteokgalbi, a Korean restaurant near Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan Location: 160 Gijanghaean-ro, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea, 3rd floor Hours: 11:00-21:00 (Break time on weekdays only) Parking: O Baby chair: O

I visited Dongam Tteokgalbi (동암떡갈비) as the last stop on my last Busan trip and it was so delicious that this time I made it the first stop of the trip! It had been a few months but it was still just as good and amazing... ♥ I went on a weekend, so I'm leaving a waiting report too.

Is there parking?

Dongam Tteokgalbi, a Korean restaurant near Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan, sits close to Lotte Outlet Dongbusan and Haedong Yonggungsa, so it's super accessible. There's a private parking lot, so parking isn't hard even if you drive. But I visited on a busy weekend, so even parking was a bit of a battle... (I'd recommend an opening-time run if you can).

Weekend waiting method and wait time

Once you get to the 3rd floor, it connects straight into the restaurant. The waitlist wasn't through Tabling or Catch Table apps, but a handwritten sign-in with your name and party size. I visited around 1:30pm on a weekend, right after the lunch peak, so I figured there'd be no wait — but nope, this place is so popular the line was real. I waited through more than 10 teams before getting in!

Atmosphere and menu lineup

Finally seated ~~~! The interior is spacious and clean overall, with generous spacing between tables, so it's great to visit with parents too. Especially nice for coming with a baby. The signature menus range from Korean beef tteokgalbi (grilled short-rib patty) to their signature cheese tteokgalbi and cream cheongyang chili tteokgalbi, so you can pick to your taste. Elementary school age and up must order one menu per person :)

Basic side dishes and the unlimited Korean self-bar

After ordering through the kiosk, they bring out basic side dishes — but that's not all, you can also help yourself unlimited times from a wide variety of Korean side dishes :) This is exactly why I couldn't forget it and came back again ,,, ♥

Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and steamed egg that kids will love, fried rice, seaweed soup, barley rice, namul (seasoned vegetables), hand-made tofu, stir-fried kimchi, green onion kimchi — there's so, so much good stuff. The basic table setting is delicious, but everything at the self-bar is also so good,,,

So delicious,, Last time I came with my husband and this time with my mom, and both my husband and my mom absolutely loved Dongam Tteokgalbi, a Korean restaurant near Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan. This is a place everyone, regardless of age or gender, can't help but like. That's probably why it's such a popular spot with such long waits.

What we ordered — Dongam Tteokgalbi Set and Cheese Tteokgalbi Set

• Dongam Tteokgalbi Set ₩15,000
• Cheese Tteokgalbi Set ₩18,000

Here comes the neatly arranged tteokgalbi set! It comes with basic side dishes plus hotpot rice and jjigae (stew). Such a filling composition for one meal. The outside was grilled to a mouthwatering finish and the inside was so tender.

The cheese tteokgalbi comes with what looks like a cheese sauce drizzled on top! Even that cheese is so delicious,,, The tteokgalbi itself isn't chewy at all, it's tender to bite into, with that sweet-and-salty classic tteokgalbi flavor that anyone — adults and kids alike — will love.

And on top of that, it comes with hotpot rice and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) with crab in it — the composition is insane. I really ate a filling meal! I kept thinking how glad I was that I came, haha, and that the long wait was worth it.

Can you pair it with a Haedong Yonggungsa course?

While looking for a menu the baby could eat well and adults could enjoy too, Dongam Tteokgalbi, a Korean restaurant near Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan, was exactly what came to mind. This was a repeat visit and it's still so good... I'm completely open to going again... I wish they'd open a branch near my house ㅠㅠ After eating a filling meal at Dongam Tteokgalbi, we went on to the Haedong Yonggungsa course, and it was close by and worked out great location-wise! (About 5 minutes by car.) If you're looking for a good Korean restaurant near Haedong Yonggungsa, I totally, totally recommend it!!