Busan pufferfish restaurant with clear soup courses: Busan Bokjip

Busan Bokjip, with 25 years of tradition Fresh cham-bok clear soup done right!

I thought we were just having bokguk (pufferfish soup), but it came as a course, from seasoned pufferfish skin all the way to fried pufferfish 🍲

This time, I visited Busan Bokjip, a 25-year-old spot near Youngkwang Bookstore in Seomyeon. When you look for somewhere to have bokguk in Seomyeon, you notice quite a few quietly long-established pufferfish places.

Besides individual bowls of bokguk, this place also has courses where you can enjoy pufferfish in many ways, so I came by for dinner.

Busan Bokjip visit details in central Seomyeon

It is right in central Seomyeon, so it was easy to get to, and parking support is available too, which made it a fine choice for visiting by car 🚗

A comfortable pufferfish restaurant atmosphere

Rather than feeling like a flashy new restaurant, it had the comfortable atmosphere unique to a pufferfish specialist that has operated in the same spot for a long time. The whole place was clean, and the spacing between tables was decent too!

Given the menu, I could see plenty of people coming here to eat with their parents or for family meals. There are also very spacious group tables and private rooms on the second floor, so it looked like a great place to bring your parents for a meal near Seomyeon!

Busan Bokjip bokguk and course menus

There were plenty of choices, from bokguk to full courses.

• Special A Course ₩75,000
• A Course ₩50,000
• B Course ₩30,000
• Live cham-bok clear soup ₩48,000
• Fresh cham-bok clear soup ₩35,000

With several course price points, it seemed easy to choose depending on the number of people or the purpose of the meal. We ordered the fresh cham-bok at ₩35,000 for two that day, and got to try several dishes including seasoned pufferfish skin, salmon sushi, fried pufferfish, and milbok gon (pufferfish roe).

From seasoned pufferfish skin to braised pufferfish

We began with warm rice porridge. Once it had gently settled our stomachs, dishes such as salmon sushi and seasoned pufferfish skin started arriving one by one.

The seasoned pufferfish skin was especially memorable. The chewy skin, sweet-and-tangy seasoning, and crisp vegetables came together perfectly to wake up the appetite 😋

The fried pufferfish did not have an overly thick coating; it was crisp outside while the fish stayed moist inside. They said the milbok gon was added to the clear soup for extra savory depth.

The braised dish was nicely seasoned too, with substantial pieces of fish. It was fun trying pufferfish prepared in so many different ways.

How was the fresh cham-bok clear soup?

We chose the clear soup as our main. As it bubbled away, the aroma of garlic rose up; one spoonful of the broth was so clean and refreshing that I kept reaching for more.

It was packed with enoki mushrooms and bean sprouts, plus generous chunks of pufferfish 🐡

It was mild and lovely on its own, but dipping it in soy sauce mixed with a little wasabi brought out even more savory flavor.

The longer it simmered in the hot ttukbaegi (earthenware pot), the deeper the broth became, so I finished every last bit of soup too, haha.

A meal where I properly enjoyed pufferfish’s signature chewiness and a refreshing clear soup!

This time I tried the fresh cham-bok clear soup, but I noticed there is also a B Course at ₩30,000 per person. Next time, I would like to order the B Course and enjoy an even wider variety of pufferfish dishes 😊

Whether you are craving bokguk in Seomyeon or looking for a Seomyeon course meal to share with your parents, Busan Bokjip was a worthwhile place to try.