The food and restaurants in Busan were a revelation to me. Maybe it has to do with expectations because it’s always the city that I’m the least excited to visit that ends up being my favourite. And what city becomes my favourite is directly correlated to which has the most delicious eats and for this trip, Busan was THE spot.

As South Korea’s second largest city with the largest port in the country, there are local specialties that you canNOT miss out on while you’re in Busan. Of course, it is your foodie duty to feast yourself sick on seafood, from sashimi to seafood stews you won’t find it fresher or in more abundance than here.

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If you’re planning a trip to South Korea and you’re a foodie, then you MUST check out the restaurants in Busan and feast on all of the local specialties this port city has to offer. Of course, there are only so many meals in a day so here are the must-eat foods:

Dokdo Shrimp

Being a large port city Busan is known for its beaches and therefore its abundance of seafood

After a long, sweltering morning navigating the hoards of tourists at Gamcheon Culture Village, we just wanted to be fed and coddled. And that’s exactly what we got at Ulleungdo Shrimp. We stumbled upon this local gem that (unbeknownst to us at the time) was Kpop superstar, Rain’s favourite restaurant.

We traded our dusty shoes for worn slippers while the kind ahjummas proceeded to serve us a feast of dokdo shrimp, also known as the spiny lobster.

Found on the east coast north of Pohang in South Korea, a bowl of these freshly-caught, spiky crustaceans were presented to us for inspection. One of the ahjummas proceeded to peel half and place them on a platter of ice as sashimi (amaebi) to be dipped in a small pool of soy with fragrant wasabi. The rest of the shrimp, along with the discarded heads from the sashimi, were then roasted on a pan with salt. So simple but so delicious.

This was my favourite meal of my entire trip to South Korea and therefore an absolute must-eat in Busan.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Ulleungdo Shrimp (울릉도 꽃새우), 50 Jinnam-ro, Daeyeon 5(o)-dong, Nam-gu
💰100,000 krw (for 2) ($103.51 CAD)

Haemultang

Now, you know we didn’t just eat shrimp at Ulleungdo.

To experience the full extent of what the Yellow and East seas surrounding Busan has to offer, haemultang has it all. Literally. This spicy seafood stew was served at the table over an open flame in a hot pot brimming with massive clams, not-so massive clams, prawns, tofu, and veggies which made the broth so flavourful and full of umami.

After devouring some of the seafood to make room in the pot, we cooked ramen in the broth. Obviously. It was the perfect way to fill in the cracks of our hunger and the starch from the noodles made the soup even thicker.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Ulleungdo Shrimp (울릉도 꽃새우), 50 Jinnam-ro, Daeyeon 5(o)-dong, Nam-gu
💰 50,000 krw (for 2) ($51.76 CAD)

Jokbal

Want to know how you can return home from South Korea with amazing skin (other than filling a suitcase full of skin care products from Olive Young, of course)? Indulge in jokbal! Seriously, I’m not just making up a convenient excuse to eat pig’s trotters — it’s full of collagen which is essential to maintaining a youthful fullness to your face.

Jokbal is a must in Busan so much so that there’s an entire street in Nampo-dong dedicated to this lusciously chewy treat.

After taking a seat at Bupyeong Jokbal, we ordered “Banban Jokbal,” the mixed plate of jokbal served 2 ways — braised in soy sauce, rice wine and spices then sliced, as well as spicy pork feet practically falling off the bone.

The spicy pig’s feet I’d eat as is while the sliced jokbal I would bundle in a leaf of lettuce along with some ssamjang, kimchi and garlic and unceremoniously shove into my maw whole. Like a lady.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Bupyeong Jokbal (부평족발), 36-20 Bupyeong-dong 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu
💰38,000 krw (for 2) ($39.33 CAD)

Ssiat Hotteok

Despite BIFF Square being a chaotic bustle of hungry tourists and eager food stall owners, I was a woman on a mission. I bypassed the evening parade of drool-worthy Korean street food and beelined for the first stall I saw selling ssiat hotteok (the one with 6 cartoon characters on the sign).

Ssiat hotteok is a local variation of the Korean sweet pancake. They were fried fresh with brown sugar in the centre then filled with healthy seeds that balance out the sweetness while giving it a satisfying crunch.

We were so full ALL THE TIME yet I still grabbed a ssiat hotteok near our hotel every night before turning in.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Seunggi Ssiat Hotteok (BIFF Square), 40 Bupyeongdong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu
💰2,000 krw ($2.07 CAD)

Dwaeji Gukbap

Dwaeji gukbap is an absolute MUST in Busan! It literally translates to “pork, soup, rice” in Korean which makes sense since it’s a light yet flavourful bone broth made with slices of pork, soy sauce, miso, rice wine, sesame oil and heaps of green onion.

After giving the comforting broth a taste as is, season it according to your preference with salted shrimp and gochujang and dump your bowl of rice right in. For a flavour explosion, pair a slice of the pork with some kimchi.

There are tons of dwaeji gukbap spots all over Busan but since we were near the Orukdo Skywalk after bumbling along the Igidae Coastal “Walk” (more like a strenuous hike!), we checked out Hapcheon Gwaeji-gukbap. This modest mom-and-pop shop was clean, fast and apparently featured on TV several times.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Hapcheon Dwaeji Gukbap (합천국밥집), 235 Yongho-ro, Nam-gu
💰11,000 krw ($11.39 CAD)

Milmyeon

Originating in Busan, milmyeon is a local take on naengmyeon but the noodles are made with wheat as opposed to buckwheat.

Like its North Korean counterpart, milmyeon is composed of an icy cold beef broth mixed with gochujang, garlic and soy sauce, topped with a boiled egg, sliced cucumber, radish and pork.

Don’t forget to drizzle your noodles with a swirl of vinegar and hot mustard!

Before visiting Busan Tower, we swung by the nearby Ilmimilmyeon. The space was small and the menu was limited to 10 items total but that’s how I knew the milmyeon was going to be good. Despite being in Busan mid-May, the weather was already approaching stiflingly hot in the city so this chilled bowl was perfectly refreshing.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Ilmimilmyeon (일미밀면), 17-7, Daecheong-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu
💰6,500 krw ($6.73 CAD)

Mochi Ice Cream

Ok, so mochi ice cream isn’t exactly a Busan specialty but Horangi Jellatteok is pretty famous. After trying it for myself, I totally get why.
You’ll recognize it from the giant tiger mural and the long line snaking out of the front door. Don’t be deterred — they’re very efficient so the lines moves really fast.

You can choose from a selection of flavoured ice cream — Roasted Pistachio, Lovely Cherry, Biscoff, Jeju Matcha, and Himalayan Pink Salt with Milk — that is then wrapped in a shockingly thin layer of rice cake. I’m not usually a pistachio gal but I gave it a try since it’s their signature flavour and I was NOT disappointed. It was so good that I still have dreams about it! It was creamy, not too sweet, and the nutty taste was delicately subtle.

After receiving our mochi ice creams that arrived on cute bamboo trays (you can repurpose them as coasters!), we headed down to Haeundae Beach to watch the sunset. Perfect end to our busy day in Busan.

Busan Restaurant:

📍Horangi Jellatteok (호랑이젤라떡), 38 Dalmaji-gil 62beon-gil, Haeundae-gu
💰4,500 krw ($4.66 CAD)

King Crab

Any time we thought we were eating TOO much seafood, we’d say to ourselves “When in Rome…” because where else should we indulge in seafood other than Busan? So after touring the popular tourist site, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, we took a scenic walk over to Gijang Kkeutib for MORE CRAB.

We started the meal by choosing which crustacean we wanted directly from huge tanks at the side of the restaurant. Our server then caught it with a net, weighed it and we paid before they took it back to the kitchen to be cooked. Due to a miscommunication (see: our Korean is poor) we each got our own MASSIVE crab which was far too much food.

The crabs arrived to the table segmented, cracked (very convenient), and steamed in a bamboo box. We used long, thin scissors to get to the juicy meat then they fried rice and seaweed with the good stuff from the main body of the crab and presented it in the shells. So much umami!

Busan Restaurant:

📍Gijang Kkeutjib, 128 Gijanghaean-ro, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun
💰35,000 krw (per person) ($36.23 CAD)

Other Place To Eat In Busan:

+ Ttalgimojji: When you do you typical tourist thang and visit the infamous Haedong Yonggung Temple, you’ll see a bunch of food stands leading up to the entrance. Here you’ll find this spot that serves up the freshest strawberry daifuku — slightly sweet red bean paste and a juicy strawberry at the centre of a soft and chewy rice cake. Like eating a cloud!

+ Magnate: Did I only come here because of a certain Kpop idol’s dad owned this cafe? Maybe. BUT the strawberry juice and cheesecake I had were delicious. The cafe itself was very spacious with lots of different types of comfy seating. There was so much Kpop paraphanalia lying around that it kind of looked like a shrine…

+ Cheongsapo Hanok Lounge: While waiting for our time slot on the sky capsule at Haeundae Blueline Park, we explored the surround area and sipped a refreshing plum ade at a gorgeous little lounge. Housed inside of a traditional hanok structure, the decor was gorgeous with unique artisan furniture filling the space.

+ Egg Drop: You’ll often see this luscious egg sandwiches featured on Kdramas like Hospital Playlist so of course I had to try it out! Not gonna lie, I ended up waiting 45-minutes and was pretty cranky about it…but the bulgogi cheese sandwich was saucy just how I like it. Hopefully you won’t have to wait as long as I did.

South Korea brought me back to life. The food, culture, sights, people, THE FOOD — reignited my dormant creative spark that had been burnt out during the pandemic. I’m excited to share again, if only to relive what was probably one of my top 5 trips of my entire life…and that is a bold claim! So look forward to it 😉

If you’re planning to visit South Korea, keep an eye out for my upcoming blog posts covering Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island. But until then, Japan isn’t too far from Korea so you may want to think of hitting up the Land of the Rising Sun while you’re in the area, starting with with this 5-day itinerary of Tokyo.

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