Yeonsan-dong beef restaurant in Busan: three hanwoo cuts at Sonja

I went to Sonja Hanwoo Rosgui, a place where you can enjoy hanwoo (Korean beef) in a slightly different way in Yeonsan-dong.

Where is Sonja Hanwoo Rosgui Yeonsan-dong Flagship, and what are its hours?

📍 Sonja Hanwoo Rosgui Yeonsan-dong Flagship

• Address: 35-1 Ssangmicheon-ro 155beon-gil, Yeonje-gu, Busan, South Korea, 1F
• Hours: Mon–Sat 17:00–23:30 / Sun 17:00–22:00
• Last order: Mon–Sat 22:30 / Sun 21:00
• Parking: check with the restaurant in advance for availability and support

When you think of hanwoo, thick-cut steaks grilled whole usually come to mind first, so I was curious about this place, which grills thin-sliced hanwoo rosgui and eats it with all sorts of pairings. After visiting, it wasn't just about eating meat — there was real fun in mixing and matching, which is why it stuck with me haha.

The interior was more spacious than I expected — good for a meal for two, but also fine for a bigger group.

Sesame and perilla oil pressed by seniors in Yeongdo

One wall of the restaurant had bottles of sesame oil and perilla oil lined up, and that caught my eye too. They're apparently made by elders in Yeongdo, Busan. The sesame oil in particular is described as pressed just once, using 100% whole sesame seeds. Maybe that's why the sesame oil smelled so rich and nutty when I ate the yukhoe. The nutty aroma was distinct but not heavy, and it went well with the meat too. I thought it was delicious, and since the restaurant also sells the sesame and perilla oils separately, you can buy some if you like them.

What comes with the order: yukhoe and three hanwoo ros cuts

We ordered a set that let us try yukhoe together with three types of hanwoo rosgui. Sirloin, flat iron, and brisket rosgui all came out with the yukhoe, which was great for tasting several cuts at once.

We started with the yukhoe, and the sesame oil here was genuinely nutty and delicious.

The yukhoe itself was soft and clean, but adding the sesame oil really brought out its nutty flavor.

I usually like sesame oil anyway, but here it was nutty enough that we both said 'this sesame oil is good' right after the first bite — it went really well with the yukhoe.

Sirloin ros samhap: beef, yukhoe, wild garlic and bean sprouts

The sirloin rosgui and flat iron rosgui came out, both a vivid red with a glossy sheen — the color alone made the meat look really appetizing.

On the grill, potato and bean sprouts were cooked alongside as good pairings. The rosgui was thin, so it cooked quickly, and eating it right away while warm really brought out that distinct nutty hanwoo aroma.

At first, they rolled sirloin rosgui with yukhoe, wild garlic, and well-cooked bean sprouts into a samhap (three-way combo) for us. Tender sirloin plus nutty yukhoe, with the tangy-salty wild garlic tying it together in the middle, and then the crunchy bean sprouts adding even more texture — it tasted quite different from eating each element on its own, and it was delicious right from the first combination.

The sirloin rosgui itself, though thin, had a nice soft texture and nutty aroma. Grilled just enough without overcooking, it stayed juicy, and while it was tasty plain, the range of pairings here naturally made me pile things on top.

Flat iron ros with wild garlic leaves and salted squid

With flat iron rosgui, I tried it with wild garlic and bean sprouts. The nutty flavor of the flat iron plus the fresh taste of wild garlic plus the crunch of bean sprouts made for a nice harmony. Since the rosgui is thinly sliced, wrapping several things together still wasn't too much for one bite, which I liked.

The salted squid (ojingeo jeotgal) here was also delicious. At first I just ate it as a side dish, then tried it with flat iron rosgui and wild garlic and

the salted squid on top, and that turned out to be a real treat too. The salty, slightly spicy umami of the salted squid went better with hanwoo than I expected, and the wild garlic freshened things up again. If you like salted squid, I'd recommend trying a bit on top of the meat.

Roasted potato with salted shrimp: does it work?

The golden-brown roasted potato couldn't be ignored either.

This time I wrapped sirloin rosgui with roasted potato and wild garlic and dipped it in shrimp sauce (yukjeot) — the fluffy, nutty potato, tender sirloin, and tangy-salty wild garlic came together nicely, and it was delicious again. Unlike eating just meat, adding the potato made it savory and more filling.

I have to mention the shrimp sauce too — it was really good here. Dipping the meat in it lightly added a salty umami that really brought out the hanwoo flavor, and dipping the roasted potato in it was also a treat. If sesame oil brings out the nutty flavor, shrimp sauce adds more umami — good to alternate between the two depending on your mood.

Wrapping yukhoe in chadol brisket ros: how did it taste?

After the sirloin and flat iron rosgui, the chadol (brisket) rosgui comes out next.

Chadol definitely had that distinct nutty flavor. Being thin, it cooked fast on the grill, developing a slight sheen of fat and a nutty aroma.

Eating the chadol reminded me that singer Kang Min-kyung once said wrapping yukhoe in chadolbagi (brisket) was delicious haha. We'd talked back then about trying it sometime, and since chadol rosgui and yukhoe happened to be on the table together that day, I was curious enough to try wrapping them myself.

I put cold yukhoe on top of warm chadol rosgui and ate it in one bite, but maybe because I'd built up expectations, it was honestly just so-so for my taste. It's a combination where the fatty, nutty chadol meets the soft texture of yukhoe, but personally I think it could be divisive. Still, since I'd been curious about this combo for a while, it was fun to actually try it haha. If you're eating chadol with yukhoe, give it a try for fun, just to your own taste, one piece at a time haha.

Personally, I found the meat suited my taste better when paired with other things like wild garlic, bean sprouts, or potato. Wild garlic especially, with its tangy-salty edge, never overpowered the rosgui's nutty flavor, and it went well with every cut.

The fun of finding your own hanwoo ros combination

At Sonja Hanwoo Rosgui, it was fun how the same hanwoo tasted different depending on how you combined it. I tried sirloin rosgui with yukhoe, wild garlic, and bean sprouts; flat iron rosgui with wild garlic and bean sprouts, then topped with salted squid; sirloin wrapped with potato and wild garlic; and dipping bites in shrimp sauce or sesame oil — I kept finding new combinations that suited my own taste.

They're also running a Naver receipt review event — leave an honest receipt review with food photos and you can try a Sonja-brand yogurt ice cream for dessert.

I got to try yukhoe, sirloin rosgui, flat iron rosgui, and chadol rosgui all in one sitting, and what I liked most was that it wasn't just a monotonous meal of eating meat over and over — there were so many pairings to mix in. In particular, the nutty sesame oil, the savory shrimp sauce, the wild garlic, and the salted squid all went well with the meat, so I never got tired of it until the end.

If you're looking to enjoy hanwoo in a slightly different way in Yeonsan-dong, or want to try several cuts at once, this place is worth a visit. Personally, rather than sticking to one way of eating, I'd recommend trying the shrimp sauce dip as well as combinations with wild garlic, bean sprouts, potato, and salted squid. Sonja Hanwoo Rosgui was a place where the fun was in finding the combination that fit my own taste, one bite at a time.