Weekday dinner pho and Vietnamese fried sides in Myeongji, Busan

Mibundang Myeongji Branch, a pho specialist in Myeongji, Busan

Mibundang Myeongji Branch is a pho restaurant at 41 Myeongji-gukje 2-ro, Gangseo-gu, Busan, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. As the weather starts cooling down these days, warm soup dishes just start calling to you, right? This time I went looking for a simple but filling meal around Myeongji in Busan, and ended up at the pho specialist Mibundang.

Myeongji has all kinds of good restaurants clustered together, but if you're looking for something to eat without feeling weighed down, pho seems like a pretty solid choice. Mibundang in particular focuses on a clean lineup centered on pho, so it looked like a good spot for solo dining or a simple meal. You just order easily at the kiosk and head in.

Mibundang specializes in Vietnamese pho. Some people think of pho as having strong spices or a taste that's not for everyone, but Mibundang's pho leans clean and light, easy to enjoy the broth. The whole place also had a tidy, clean atmosphere, which made it easy to focus on the meal. I felt like this is a good spot to visit whenever you're craving pho in Myeongji.

What Mibundang looks like at 7 p.m. on a weekday, and the bar seating

Inside Mibundang Myeongji Branch, the seating is L-shaped bar (dodge) style, which makes it a pretty good setup for eating solo. I arrived around 7 p.m. on a weekday, and even after I ordered, a lot of people kept coming in at that late hour, haha.

Take a look at the guide on how to enjoy Mibundang's pho at its best.

Mibundang pho loaded with meat and bean sprouts

Pho is exactly what you want when you're craving warm broth. The moment my order arrived, the first thing that caught my eye was the generous amount of meat and bean sprouts, and the plentiful broth. Eating the thin pho noodles together with the meat and bean sprouts, the textures worked well together and the broth went down clean. Broth is especially important in pho, and this one wasn't heavy or overly strong — it was the kind of style that's easy to finish a warm bowl of.

I ate the very hearty, good-quality meat first, then savored the cool broth. If you already like pho, I think you'd enjoy this one without any complaints.

There's a good variety of meat types too, so it's fun picking and choosing what to eat.

The chewy pho noodles taste amazing eaten together with the meat. The meat in the pho paired even better when eaten with the noodles. Picking up the tender meat and pho noodles together with the bean sprouts added a crunchy texture, so I didn't get tired of the bowl at all. And since both the bean sprouts and the pho noodles are refillable, you can keep on eating!

How do you add the sauces to the pho?

The sauces at Mibundang Myeongji Branch are set up on the upper part of the table — try picking whichever suits your taste and setting it up for yourself!

Following the instructions and mixing in the sauce gives the dish a whole different flavor. Being able to enjoy a different taste depending on how you dress it with sauce feels like one of pho's advantages. I'd recommend tasting the plain broth first, then gradually adding a little sauce at a time after that.

Vietnamese-style fried chicken and fries to finish the meal

The colorful, eye-catching fried sides let you finish the meal completely stuffed and satisfied, one piece at a time.

Freshly fried and very crispy, with several kinds ranging from chicken to fries — eating these Vietnamese-style fried sides made the meal even more filling.

Why Mibundang works for a clean, simple meal in Myeongji

What I felt eating at Mibundang Myeongji Branch was that overall, it's clean, easy-going food that's not heavy on the stomach. A bowl of pho is more filling than you'd expect, so it works well for lunch, and it also seems like a good option for dinner when you want to avoid something too heavy. Pho seems like a pretty good menu choice especially on days when you have to eat alone or just want a simple meal.

Mibundang Myeongji Branch: address, hours and ordering

• Address: 41 Myeongji-gukje 2-ro, Gangseo-gu, Busan, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• A good spot to visit in Myeongji, Busan whenever you're craving clean, simple pho