Things I learned making, and places I ate.
Miso oden bar, Dongnae: an easy place to talk over oden
An oden bar in Dongnae where I went for a second round on a Thursday night. I had oden and grilled toothfish with a bottle of Junmai Momokawa sake.
Horangi Yeontan, Dongnae: decent webfoot octopus, small portion
A briquette-grill bar in Dongnae I visited because I wanted webfoot octopus. The 39,900 won set for two tasted fine, but there was less octopus than I expected.
Suyeong Naengsam, Dongnae branch: thin pork belly, great fried rice
A visit to the since-closed Dongnae branch of Suyeong Naengsam. The 1 mm frozen pork belly was affordable, and the fried rice was a great finish.
Yetnal Omakjip, Daesin-dong: the tripe and intestine were great again
My favorite beef tripe restaurant in Busan, with a friend visiting from another city. The meat was as good as ever, but service suffered on a busy night.
Seugeun in Jeonpo: very good beef tendon suyuk on a full stomach
A bar specializing in beef tendon, our second stop on a Wednesday night. The tendon suyuk was very good, and the Chapagetti went well with scallion kimchi.
Noriba in Seomyeon: the raw fish with perilla and sides were good
A bar in Seomyeon picked by a friend and former coworker. We walked in as the first customers and ordered the raw fish with perilla on its own.
Opo in Gijang: good coffee and pastry with a sea view
A cafe on the Gijang coast where my family and I stopped after eel. We were full, so we shared one pastry with an iced americano and a vanilla latte.
Woljeon, Gijang: 1 kg of eel for 30,000 won, fresh and plentiful
The row of tent stalls at Woljeon in Gijang, where I went with family for lunch. One kilogram of eel cost 30,000 won and we grilled it over charcoal.
Oneurui Tokyo in Deokcheon: the yakitori was good again
An izakaya in Deokcheon-dong I have often visited alone. After a big first round we ordered just a chicken skin skewer, a tsukune, gyoza, and some oden.
Gaekgi in Deokcheon: raw beef good enough that we added pasta
I went back to Deokcheon-dong a day after my last visit. At Gaekgi, a bar I had saved on the map, we had the 49,000 won raw beef spread and added pasta.
Jinujip in Deokcheon: good frozen pork belly, slightly slow service
I had a craving for thin frozen pork belly and called a friend out to Deokcheon-dong. We grilled four servings, added bibim noodles, and ended with fried rice.
Ondaljip in Dongnae: chicken better in perilla than in dumplings
A grilled chicken place in Dongnae. This time flat dumplings came with the chive chicken, but we both preferred perilla wraps. We added cheese tteokbokki.
Pogunamujip, Geumjeong: fair pork skirt meat, too much smoke
A pork skirt meat grill in Geumjeong-gu I found on social media. The meat was fair and the charcoal good, but orders came late and the smoke lingered.
Yongwon Hoechojang, Jinhae: steamed mud crab, hard shell, lots of meat
Back in Yongwon with a friend for the mud crab I skipped last time. We bought crab, kuruma prawns, and spoon worm and had them prepared.
Rentan Suyeong: one springy grilled cuttlefish for a second stop
A second stop after barbecue on a Saturday night. I was full, so I asked to order just one dish, the signature cuttlefish, with one bottle of soju.
Skewers at Sutnom Kkochigui in Yeonsan-dong: tasty and good value
A skewer izakaya for a second round after makchang. I was full, so we ordered only the ten-skewer set. It tasted good and felt worth the price.
Baeksu Nongwon, Suyeong: I like the sweet potato after the meat
A barbecue place in Suyeong I keep going back to. Pork belly first, marinated ribs last, and the sweet potato from the coals as dessert.
At Oedo Nursery, I ordered two drinks and liked the terrace view
I could not get a ferry ticket to Oedo, so I put my name on the waiting list and walked into this cafe. I ordered a piña colada and a hibiscus omija drink.
Jjaekjjaek Coffee in Gohyeon, Geoje: a warehouse-like room to rest in
After lunch in Geoje we went to a cafe in Gohyeon that my friend found. The 4,500 won americano was fine, and I liked the room. I spilled some coffee.
The special set at Jisimdo Hoetjip in Geoje: many dishes, but lacking
A friend and I went to Geoje on a whim and found a raw fish place that opens at 11. The set has raw fish, sushi, grilled fish, and fried food. It fell short.
