Eel soup and spicy ramyeon add-ons in Anrak-dong, Busan: Songnim Bok

Still hot in Busan even now 😎☀️ It's the kind of season where you sweat buckets and get tired just walking a little, so I went back to a freshwater eel unlimited-refill spot in Anrak-dong for some body-boosting energy 😋

Where is Songnim Bok Jangeo's Dongnae branch, and when is it open?

Songnim Bok Jangeo Unlimited Freshwater Eel, Busan Dongnae Branch is at 146 Myeongjang-ro, Dongnae-gu, Busan, on the 1st floor. It's open daily from 11:50 to 23:00, last order 22:10, and there's no dedicated parking lot so you'll need to use a nearby paid lot.

Songnim Bok Jangeo is already a well-known local favorite among Busan residents, and I came to their Dongnae branch specifically out of several locations. It was so satisfying that I'm planning to bring my coworkers here for a company dinner soon. If you're looking for a group-dinner spot in Dongnae-gu, pay attention!

Unlimited refills of freshwater eel trimmed that day, not frozen

You'd think a place with unlimited refills would rely a lot on frozen stock, right? But here, live freshwater eel is delivered from an eel farm/direct market every dawn and prepped fresh the same day — a genuine Busan freshwater eel restaurant. Top quality, top taste! 👍🏻

They clearly display a sign saying they're a partner of a Suhyup (Korea's fisheries cooperative) No. 8 wholesale broker, and once you eat it, you can really tell — the freshness and texture were on a completely different level from eel at other places!🫪

I got there just before the dinner peak, so I could snap photos of the interior. Just past 6pm, a lot of people started coming in for dinner. Most looked like older folks or genuine Anrak-dong locals, so it really felt like a true local Busan favorite.

Songnim Bok Jangeo menu and prices

At this Anrak-dong favorite, the menu shows unlimited buffet for adults at ₩29,900, unlimited buffet for children (elementary school) at ₩14,000, and a table setting fee of ₩3,000.

The table setting fee is charged per person, no exceptions. Besides the basic buffet, there were regular meal items like eel tang (eel soup), yukgaejang (spicy beef soup), and buckwheat mak-guksu (cold buckwheat noodles) on the board. They also serve lunch, so I'd guess these dishes get popular during that time slot :)

The basic table setting comes with white kimchi, pickled perilla leaves, pickled onion, ginger, and — surprisingly delicious — green onion kimchi! All perfectly paired with grilled eel. Doesn't it look the part for an Anrak-dong favorite~?

Unlimited freshwater eel with a bottle of bokbunja wine included

We ordered the unlimited buffet for two adults, and honestly I expected only eel to keep coming, but nope — pork belly and duck meat came out too, plus a whole bottle of bokbunja wine!!!! ✨🤩 You get land, sea, and everything in one spread, making it a great Dongnae-gu spot to bring along kids too.

What's at the self-serve bar for unlimited refills

There's a self-serve bar in the middle of the restaurant where you can grab side dishes or more of the main items you want.

You can even grab eel, pork, and duck meat straight from the self-bar, which made things a lot more convenient. When you're ordering seconds — even if it's technically unlimited — it can feel awkward calling the staff over again and again if you're eating a lot, haha. This place has no such awkwardness — an Anrak-dong favorite with a system that lets you eat freely.

How to grill the eel so it tastes best

Before putting the grilled eel on the charcoal fire, let me share their tip for grilling it well. First, they say to place it with the scaly skin side down.

Enjoying so many things on one grill tonight, plus a glass of bokbunja — might as well leave the car at home, haha. Perfect for dinner or a Dongnae-gu group dinner.

Today's freshly prepped grilled eel over charcoal — even just looking at it on the grill, the juices rising up made it look incredibly delicious.

When grilling eel, standing it upright like this to brown the cut surface tastes the best😊

A bite of warm, savory eel followed by a sip of cool, sweet bokbunja wine — tonight's definitely a proper body-boosting night.

There's also grilled eel sauce and spicy sauce on the table, so you can enjoy other flavors besides plain salt-grilled eel. Adding a bit of ginger on top is great!

Honestly, it was much plumper and tastier than a grilled eel place I visited a while back, and I thought — ah, this is a genuine Busan freshwater eel favorite. The eel quality was way better than a lot of places that went viral on SNS.

Finishing with 5,000 won spicy ramyeon and 10,000 won eel soup

While eating grilled eel and meats, I noticed spicy ramyeon on the menu and ordered one. ₩5,000.

In a yellow tin pot, with chopped green onion, cracked egg, and plenty of chili powder — one bite of this spicy ramyeon and the meal wrapped up so much more refreshingly.

Eel tang, ₩10,000 (rice included). I ordered this too, and it was rich, savory, and really tasty. They thoughtfully served sancho powder (Korean pepper powder) on the side so you could season it to your own taste.

My husband said the eel tang was truly savory and hearty, and polished off a whole bowl of rice with it, haha.

Today I visited Songnim Bok Jangeo Unlimited Freshwater Eel, Busan Dongnae Branch, an Anrak-dong favorite — the interior is spacious and the unlimited refill format lets you eat without worry, so I'd highly recommend it as a Dongnae group-dinner spot.