Hello Busan

BUSAN | DAY 01

-nice to meet you-

I landed in Incheon at 8am and got out pretty quickly. I love how fast the immigration is at Incheon. When I got out, I’ve realized that I left my phone in the bathroom before the immigration. It took me almost an hour trying to find it because I didn’t know whom to ask. I went to the information desk and Korean Airline desk, but they couldn’t help me, so I just went to one the airport officers, and she gave it back to me (someone probably turned it in). I was so worried because without a phone, it would be almost impossible to get around in Korea, and I just couldn’t afford to buy another phone. That took me a really long time.

I got out around 9am got a limousine ticket at 9:34 bus to Yeon Shin Nae (연신내) where my friend lives. It’s better for me to take the airport bus because I have three luggages (one carry-on and two check-ins). They dropped me off at the bus station, and the ahjussi charged me 10,000 won more for the third luggage which Tae was surprised because they never charged her for another one, and all the guys at the airport didn’t say anything about it. I should have asked the guy at the desk first.

I got to the Yeon Shin Nae (연신내) bus stop around 10:47am and the train to Busan was leaving at 12:00pm. More than that, my friend Tae hadn’t packed yet, and it normally takes about 40 mins by train to Seoul Station (서울역). By the time we got there, we had 8 mins to sprint to the train. Tae helped me carrying my carry-on. That was probably one of the worst time in my life physically. Thankfully, there were some other people who were running like us too. I think I spent like 20 min catching up breath, and I knocked out on the train for the entire 4 hours. I’m really thankful for Tae. She took a really good care of me.

-BUSAN-

We arrived at the Airbnb place in Cho-ryang (초량) which was really nice. It was clean and had a really nice view. We spent some time unpacking and finding a camera shop that has Fujifilm XT20 because my beloved Canon 600D, and I desperately needed a new one (it was mainly Tae’s work.. what would I do without you her??). We found one in Gwangbok-ro (광복로), but it was better for us to go eat first (higher priority goes to food, of course).

-PULBAK-

While I was sleeping on the train, Tae did a full-on research on food in Busan, so I was pretty a much a good follower. Since we were already in the Cho-ryang (초량) area, we couldn’t afford to miss the popular dish called Pulback (불백). It was about a 15 min walk from our Airbnb place. The weather was as cold as Seoul’s and less windy, so the walk wasn’t bad at all.

Once we got to the area, there were several Pulback (불백) places which is pretty normal to Korea. If one place gets popular, everyone in the area will start doing the same thing. Tae’s research led us to Cho-ryang Pulback (초량불백) which was a pretty small yet cozy place. The place had 7-8 tables, and there was only one customer other than us. I heard it’s super crowded in the weekend though. The highlight of this place is that they open 24/7!!

We ordered Pork Pulback (불백 정식) and Squid Stir-fry (낙지 볶음). Every thing was really good, but it felt to me like any other stir-fry dish (매운 볶음). Both dishes tasted the same (of course with different texture), but I mean.. we’re in Busan, so why shouldn’t we take the advantage of being near the sea by eating seafood as much as we can? I really liked their kimchi and their other side dishes too.

Cho-ryang Pulbak (초량불백)

Address: Busan, Dong-gu, Cho-ryang 36 / 부산광역시 동구 초량로 36

Hours: 24 hours

Korean Review Blog: Click

-MISSION FOR FOOD-

We found a camera shop in Gwangbok-ro (광복로) which was pretty much Shinchon (신촌) of Busan, so I went there to get a camera because my trip would have been miserable without one. There were a few coffee shops in the small alleys, which would be worth checking out, but that was not our mission at the time.

We headed to Guk-je Market (국제시장시장) which was crowded with different shops. It is a place to go with an empty stomach, so you could try different things without hurting your stomach. My stomach is a black hole, so that is the last think I need to worry about.

One of the must-try food in Busan is their famous Busan Fish Cake (부산어묵/오뎅).

Their sauce suspender machine is such a genius invention.

Not too far away from the market, is the Busan International Film Festival Street or BIFF (부사비프거리). We came here specifically for the Seeded Hotteok (씨앗호떡). Of course, we got distracted along the way by other food like the famous fried dumplings served with marinated cabbage salad (남짝만두) and Chicken Stir-fry (불닭) -- they were all okay, or in Korean "그냥 그냥".

Now comes the true highlight of the day: Seeded Hotteok (씨앗호떡)!!!! There were multiple stores in the area (of course). We got the Hotteok from The Real Original Uncle's Seeded Hotteok (부산 진짜원조 아저씨 씨앗호떡). The name reminds me of different noodle shops in Thailand. One place would claim to be the first original shop, and another would claim to be older than the "original" place. Anyways, it was soooooo GOOD and different from the regular Hotteok. Personally, I like having texture in my food and something to chew, so having different kinds of seeds in Hotteok is just perfect. After finishing our very first Seeded Hotteok, we went back to get second ones right away. What a good way to end our first day in Busan.

부산 진짜원조 아저씨 씨앗호떡

Address: 부산광역시 중구 남포동 5가 105-2

Hours: 10:00 ~ 21:00

Korean Review Blog: Click