Ssiat hotteok
This is Busan’s specialty version of the hotteok, a Korean pancake-doughnut hybrid. Small balls of batter are fried and squashed flat with a special tool, then the ssiat hotteok is liberally filled with brown sugar syrup and a mix of chopped nuts and seeds, and served piping hot. The best place to try this iconic Busan treat is BIFF Square, where the hotteok tend to be a little fatter and chewier. To find a street stall selling it, just follow the sound of sizzling oil and the smell of sweet batter.
Odeng
Fish cakes (eomuk) made in Busan are exported to the whole of Korea. They’re known for being especially delicious thanks to the port city’s abundance of fresh seafood. Concertinaed onto skewers and cooked in hot broth (eomukguk), they’re known as odeng. You can find them at street food stalls all over the city, in metro stations, or you can go to Busan’s oldest fish cake maker Samjin. Samjin’s flagship store is in Yeongdo, and they also have an outlet conveniently located inside Busan Station.
Dwaeji gukbap
Hot and hearty, dwaeji gukbap is a rich soup made by boiling pork bones for several hours until a milky broth is produced, then adding pork shank, soy sauce, rice wine, miso and sesame oil, and finally green vegetables. Dwaeji gukbap is a Busan specialty that is served with rice (the soup is normally poured over this) and a number of side dishes. It’s said to be good for invalids, so is the perfect meal if you’re feeling fragile after over-indulgence in Busan’s vibrant nightlife. There are lots of great gukbap restaurants in the city, but for the full experience head to Gukbap Alley in Seomyeon, where you can choose from a streetful of gukbap restaurants, all of which are tasty, cheap and emit fragrant soup aromas. If you prefer beef to pork, head to Haeundae’s Beef Gukbap Alley.
Jogae gui
Jogae gui, or grilled clams, are a delicacy best enjoyed with beer, soju and some friends in one of Taejongdae’s clam tents. The tents are located on the tip of Yeongdo Island, and the seafood here is ultra-fresh — so fresh, in fact, that you can see clams and mussels being collected from the water just 50 metres away. The prices are roughly the same in all the tents, and they all serve the same fare — shellfish, prawns, and gaebul (otherwise endearingly known as ‘penis fish’) which you grill yourself at your table. It’s a culinary experience which is well worth the bus trek from other parts of the city.
Milmyeon
Milmyeon is a dish much beloved by Busanites on a hot summer’s day. It consists of long thin cold wheat noodles, and comes in two varieties: bibim milmyeon is dry, with a spicy gochujang sauce, and mul milmyeon is less spicy, and served in a chicken or beef broth. In very hot weather, the soup may even contain ice cubes to cool you down further. Try a very good version at Gaya Milmyeon: there are a few outlets of this family-run business around the city, including one at the tourist hotspot of Haeundae.