Gijang Korean restaurant near Haedong Yonggungsa with 15-side self-bar: Dongam Tteokgalbi

Anyone looking for a good place to eat near Haedong Yonggungsa in Gijang, or near the Lotte Outlet? I found a great one! If you want a healthy, un-spicy meal even when eating out, I recommend Dongam Tteokgalbi, a Gijang favorite.

Dongam Tteokgalbi

Hours and finding the 3rd-floor restaurant

Open daily 11:00–21:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 16:30.

Once you come in on the 1st floor, staff will guide you! *On weekends or holidays the parking lot can get crowded, so just follow the attendant's directions.

Take the elevator up to the 3rd floor and you'll find waiting chairs, a restroom, and a waitlist paper! If there's a wait, write your name and have a seat — they'll call you, haha.

I waited about 10 minutes and was seated right away, and the interior looked spacious and clean at first glance ~!~!

Tteokgalbi set menu and prices

It'd been a while since I had tteokgalbi, so the full set menu made it even better. The basic menu includes:

• Dongam Tteokgalbi Set ₩15,000
• Cheese Tteokgalbi Set ₩18,000
• Cheongyang Cream Tteokgalbi Set ₩18,000
• Hanwoo Handmade Tteokgalbi Set ₩22,000
• Kids' Tteokgalbi ₩10,000

At Dongam Tteokgalbi it's one menu item per person!!!

I ordered the Dongam Tteokgalbi for two, and they brought out the basic table setting! Honestly, this alone would be enough for a full meal..!

What's in the 15-side self-bar?

And the amazing part is the self-bar corner .. it's made up of 15 neat side dishes, rice is refillable too, and there were big bowls for mixing it up like bibimbap along with tons of different sides ヾ(´∀｀)ﾉﾞ

Stir-fried sausage, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), stir-fried kimchi, jjajang sauce, steamed egg and more were all laid out,

and you could even refill japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) and seaweed soup. Isn't that amazing~?! All my favorite side dishes gathered in one place ......

Other things I grabbed from the self-bar: acorn jelly, green onion kimchi, and bean sprouts!! Dongam Tteokgalbi's green onion kimchi is especially good, so I refilled it three times.

The rice came as pot rice too, and a deep-flavored seafood doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) was included in the set, served all together on the table. Looked so good.. 🤤

Charcoal-grilled Dongam Tteokgalbi for two — how does it taste?

Here's the Dongam Tteokgalbi for two that I ordered! They say every tteokgalbi at Dongam Tteokgalbi uses 100% beef. Ah, my mouth is watering 🤤

They said it's aged for at least a day in a special soy-sauce-based marinade at low temperature, then grilled over charcoal. The fat is rendered off and the meat, full of smoky char flavor, gets brushed with sauce — the seasoning was just right and it was delicious!!

With its gentle cooking method and soft flavor, it's great for parents and there's also a separate Kids' Tteokgalbi set for children, making it perfect for a family meal out.

Can you see how juicy the meat still is? Savory outside, juicy inside, through and through ﾟ▽ﾟ＠ The more you chewed, the more the meat's flavor came through!

It was also great to just break it apart with a spoon and scoop it up — the meat texture wasn't too coarse, held together softly, so the texture was great too, and it was an absolute rice thief!

Especially eating the really delicious, well-fermented green onion kimchi together with the tteokgalbi was a dream combo .. ~~~~

All the other side dishes were tasty too, so my hand kept reaching over. I kept eating while thinking, why are the side dishes here so good 😚

Near the sights, and great for a family meal out

Gijang favorite Dongam Tteokgalbi sits near East Busan's biggest tourist spots — Lotte Outlet Dongbusan, Oshiria, Songjeong Beach, and Gijang Market — so it's a convenient spot for tourists, families, and locals alike. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a healthy, un-spicy meal, or anyone who loves Korean food — with good meat, carefully made side dishes, and a well-balanced spread, it's a satisfying meal out no matter who you bring. Highly, highly recommend ෆ ෆ