I took a quick little gourmet trip to Busan. First stop: Hwaguk Banjeom, famous for its ganjjajang.

Hwaguk Banjeom

It’s close to the station and not hard to find.

Cup

The place was used as a film location, so there are autographs here and there.

Banchan

Tangsuyuk

Old-school style, but honestly nothing special. One plate between the two of us was a bit much.

The ganjjajang I’d been waiting for

As good as I’d hoped. Ganjjajang seems to be the undisputed star here.

Sauce on

It’s delicious, but I’ve since heard rumours that it went downhill after appearing on Baek Jong-won’s Top 3 Chef King… No, not this gem… Better to wait a while before visiting again.

Fried rice

Ganjjajang is the number one here.

Soup

But if you only order ganjjajang, the shop makes nothing on you. When a place serves ganjjajang this good, ordering at least one proper dish is simply good manners. Prices are so low that all of this came to just over 20,000 won, about 30% cheaper than Seoul. Spend without hesitation and keep the local economy going, or places like this won’t survive. However many customers come through, if everyone just eats ganjjajang and leaves, there’s nothing left for the shop.

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