Japanese restaurant in Songjeong, Busan: tamago fry and tori-don, Yuok

Where is Yuok in Songjeong, and can you bring a dog?

Yuok is a Japanese restaurant on Songjeongangbyeon-ro in Haeundae, Busan known for its eel rice bowls, and it welcomes dogs if you bring a carrier. I'd been out searching for dog-friendly restaurants with my dog and came across this Songjeong eel-bowl spot known for being dog-friendly with a carrier, so I called ahead to double-check before visiting.

Beyond being dog-friendly, this place is also famous for its excellent rice bowls, so I'd been meaning to come — and today was finally the day!!

There's a dedicated parking lot right beside the restaurant, so parking wasn't difficult at all. The weather was cool and perfect for a warm rice bowl, so I walked in happily — there's even a little pond with fish in the yard, which was fun to look at, and the clean, tidy exterior stood out.

What we ordered at Yuok on a weekday afternoon

This time I ordered the jumbo unaju set, the tori-don set, and tamago fry as a side. The jumbo unaju set, an eel rice bowl, is the signature dish, so I had to order it — it would've been a shame to leave without trying it. I went back and forth between salmon and chicken, then settled on tori-don with its tender chicken, plus the tamago fry everyone says you must try!!

The menu names alone gave off that proper Japanese set-meal vibe, so I was curious how it would taste — and ordering several dishes to share meant I got to try a bit of everything.

I visited on a weekday afternoon a bit after lunchtime, and luckily it wasn't too crowded — but judging from the food, this place must get packed on weekends. I was glad I came today, haha~ If I'd had more room, I was curious about the mazesoba too, but the sets were so generous that I decided to save it for next time~~

Yuok's menu: sets you can add toppings to

Yuok is known as a Songjeong eel-bowl restaurant, but the menu is actually quite varied. Looking at the menu board, there's a main menu, a side menu, and an add-on menu — and I liked that even with a set, you can add extra toppings.

This time I had the unaju set and the tori-don set, so next time I want to try the mazesoba and the saba ochazuke set for sure. And of course, the tamago fry is a must!! It genuinely surprised me with how good it was — I'll be thinking about it for a while :)

How the jumbo unaju eel set tastes

First up was the jumbo unaju set, which caught my eye for being more generous than I expected. Unaju is eel served over rice, so it's hard to skip if you love eel — and this jumbo size in particular looked really appetizing from the start.

Taking a bite of eel with rice, the tender eel meat combined with a sweet glaze that paired well with the rice. Eel can be disappointing when it's too chewy, but this had a soft, easy bite that made it comfortable to eat. The sauce matched well with the rice too, so I kept going spoonful after spoonful.

The eel tasted better with rice than on its own, and there were side dishes to eat along the way, which made the whole set fun to eat. The jumbo unaju set seems like a great choice when you want a proper, filling meal.

What is tamago fry like at Yuok?

The tamago fry I ordered as a side also stuck with me more than I expected. It's fried egg, so it's crispy on the outside and soft inside — a great thing to nibble on between bites of rice bowl.

Eating it alongside the warm rice bowl was fun because the texture changed things up. The outside had that savory fried flavor, and the inside had the soft taste of egg — it worked really well as a side. If you like egg dishes, this is one worth ordering.

Sharing the tori-don set and the unaju eel bowl

The tori-don set I ordered alongside was also something I'd been looking forward to. Tori-don is chicken served over rice, and it has a different charm from eel. The chicken was mild yet went well with the rice once combined with the sauce — while the eel was rich and sweet, the tori-don felt relatively light by comparison.

If two people are visiting, ordering one unaju and one tori-don to share seems like a good idea. Even though they're both rice bowls, the different ingredients made switching between them feel genuinely different, so I didn't get tired of either. Rather than ordering just one dish, trying a bit of several, like I did this time, was a great approach.

Yuok as a meal before a day out in Songjeong

This time I ordered the jumbo unaju set, the tori-don set, and tamago fry, trying a bit of everything — and the combination worked out better than expected. The soft, sweet eel, the mild chicken, and the crispy-soft tamago fry each had a different charm, which made switching between them fun.

Best of all, it was a great meal to have before heading straight to the beach in Songjeong, and it felt like a solid meal to fuel a day of travel. Familiar Busan foods like pork soup, milmyeon, or sashimi are always good, but sometimes trying a Japanese-style rice bowl like this is nice too.

This Songjeong eel-bowl restaurant is genuinely excellent — top-tier, hands down!!

How two people should order at Yuok

If you love eel, the jumbo unaju set will likely satisfy you a lot, and if you're with someone who finds eel a bit much, ordering the tori-don set to share is a good idea. Add the tamago fry on top and you've got an even more varied spread, which worked well for two people.

I visited wanting a filling meal before checking out the beach in Songjeong, and everything I ordered went well together, so I left happy and full. None of the dishes were overpowering — each one paired nicely with rice, making for a solid meal, and sharing several dishes made it more fun.

If you're looking for something different to eat in Songjeong, Busan, or you enjoy Japanese-style rice bowl sets like eel or chicken bowls, Yuok is worth a stop. This time I ate well through the jumbo unaju set, the tori-don set, and the tamago fry, giving me a solid start to my day in Songjeong.

It had been a while since I'd had proper eel, and getting to try tamago fry, something I don't usually eat, made for a personally satisfying meal. Next time I'm back in Songjeong craving a good meal, I'd love to stop by again.