Haeundae Banchan Tray · 40 stories

The Side Dish Plate

I write about meals and restaurant visits in Busan and Gyeongnam. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Books & stationery

PlaceSuyeong, BusanCafés

Gwangalli café with 4-hour parking validation: Working Holiday Millak

Working Holiday Millak is a panoramic oceanview brunch café on the 7th floor of the Badamaru building, at the end of Millak Hoe Center Street in Suyeong, Busan. Driving out for the day, I had the house-made jambon eggs Benedict while looking straight at Gwangalli Beach and Gwangan Bridge, and the basement lot behind the building validated 1 hour of parking per 10,000 won spent, up to 4 hours. Working Holiday Millak is a good pick for a day when you want the view and easy parking at once.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanCafés

Songjeong café couple's tea date with a K-dessert box: Suwolgyeonghwa

Suwolgyeonghwa is a hanok-style ocean-view tea café on the 4th floor of a red-brick building across from the Gudeokpo tunnel in Songjeong, Haeundae-gu, Busan. The Jjoko couple took a window seat to watch the Busan Beach Train roll past while sharing the Dalbodeure box of Korean desserts with Hyeonwol Hojicha and the signature Hojigabae. Nothing was overly sweet, and the balance between the teas and the desserts made Suwolgyeonghwa a good pick for a quiet seaside tea date.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanCafés

Busan café with a bathhouse-mark sign and choco affogato: Café Buajang

Café Buajang is a dessert café in Millak-dong, Suyeong, Busan, a short walk from Gwangalli, decorated with felt dolls and plants. The order was chestnut tiramisu, a caffe latte and a choco gelato affogato, and the owner explained that the ♨️ bathhouse mark on the sign is really the steam rising from a coffee cup. Between the things to look at and the quality of the desserts, Café Buajang is a calm stop near Gwangalli, with parking for 3–4 cars out front.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Busan drive-date Chinese restaurant, 2 whole squids: Songjeong Dol

Songjeong Dol Jjamppong is a stone-plate seafood jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) restaurant on Songjeonggwangeogol-ro in Haeundae, Busan. On a drive date through Songjeong, the writer ordered the level-1 spice stone-plate jjamppong with 2 whole squids added and the crunchy tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) set, and the stone plate kept the broth piping hot to the last spoonful, right down to the scorched rice scraped from underneath. At Songjeong Dol Jjamppong the whole squid add-on was more satisfying than the tangsuyuk in this hearty, spicy meal.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Seomyeon pork belly restaurant with hot-plate warming: Anmin Busan

Anmin Busan is a pork belly restaurant in Seomyeon, Busan, a 5-minute walk from Exit 12 of Seomyeon Station. Staff at Anmin Busan grill whole raw pork belly from start to finish and move it onto a hot plate so it stays warm, served with cheese fondue, fish sauce, and lemon baek-kimchi with hairtail jeotgal sauce so no bite tastes the same. Finish with chestnut stone-pot rice and pot-style soft tofu stew and it becomes a genuinely filling meal.

Written Sep 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBusanjin, BusanRestaurants

Jeonpo tonkatsu with green onion kimchi in Busan: Katsu Kitchen

Katsu Kitchen Premium Jeonpo Main Branch is a Japanese tonkatsu restaurant tucked into an alley off Dongseong-ro 25beon-gil in Busanjin, Busan. Even at 2:30pm the restaurant was fully packed, and the Katsu Mix 1 set — fillet and loin cutlets in one plate — eaten with the green onion kimchi side dish stayed easy to finish without feeling greasy. Katsu Kitchen is a 2-minute walk from Jeonpo Station Exit 4, but there is no dedicated parking, so a nearby paid lot is the way to go.

Written Sep 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongnae, BusanRestaurants

Suan Station Korean BBQ: 240-hour aged pork belly in booths, Yukmildo

Yukmildo Dongnae Direct Branch (육밀도 동래직영점) is a premium aged pork belly Korean BBQ restaurant on Chungnyeol-daero in Dongnae-gu, Busan. Servers grill raw pork belly aged 240 hours through alternating dry and wet aging right at your private booth table, alongside sotbap (hot pot rice) and free corkage. If you want a private, stress-free BBQ dinner without touching the grill yourself, Yukmildo Dongnae Direct Branch is the place.

Written Sep 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanRestaurants

Gwangalli Japanese diner mega karaage + nekomamma: Daidokoro Gwangalli

Daidokoro Gwangalli Main Branch is a Japanese restaurant in Suyeong, Busan, a 7-minute walk from Geumnyeonsan Station. The 2-person Set A came piled with tonkatsu, karaage, and udon, upgraded with a mega karaage set (+₩7,000) and nekomamma butter soy-sauce egg rice (+₩1,500), all inside a Dotonbori-style interior perfect for photos. A great pick when you want a taste of Japan without the flight.

Written Sep 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuyeong, BusanCafés

Gwangalli café with pistachio raspberry cheesecake: Deokmi Atelier

Deokmi Atelier Gwang-an Branch is an antique-style café tucked in an alley 3-4 minutes' walk from Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong, Busan. The writer tried the crème brûlée French toast and pistachio raspberry cheesecake with a vanilla bean latte and orange Americano, and even met the café's mascot, a resident stray cat wandering the space. A great pick for a relaxed, atmospheric date in Gwangalli.

Written Sep 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHaeundae, BusanRestaurants

Marine City Chinese restaurant with panoramic ocean view: Bueokgan

Bueokgan Chinese Marine City Branch is a 100-pyeong Chinese restaurant on the 2nd floor of The Sharp Adelis commercial building in Marine City, Haeundae, Busan, with a panoramic view of the sea off Dongbaekseom. After a walk around Marine City, the writer ordered black vinegar tenderloin tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and seafood jjamppong-bap (spicy seafood soup over rice) and ate quietly under George Nelson bubble lamps beside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Bueokgan Chinese is a good Haeundae choice when you want a view and a calm room instead of a greasy, noisy Chinese restaurant.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored