COOL AND UNUSUAL THINGS I ATE IN BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA
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One of the best parts of my 4 weeks in Busan was exploring some of the interesting snacks on offer. There were quite a few I had never seen before and had no clue what to expect!
As I am not a big eater, snacks helped me to stick to my Busan budget. I did struggle a bit with communication (Busan has surprisingly few foreigners outside the tourist zones) so didn’t try as many as I would have liked. But I did manage a few and found some I loved (and others I wouldn’t necessarily repeat).
I have noted below where I bought the snack and how much they cost. In some cases I didn’t quite recall the price (I need to keep better records!) so have given my best estimate (denoted by a *).
waffle with apple Filling
An interesting but fairly safe snack. Basically it is a waffle folded in two and filled with something like marshmallow cream and apple sauce. In general, waffles with various fillings seem quite popular in South Korea.
This waffle sandwich was a handy snack to eat on the go. It was neither messy nor did it come with a lot of trash. As far as taste goes, it tasted pretty much as expected though the apple taste wasn’t very strong.
Where: BIFF Square
How much: 3,000 KRW*
Value for money: Good
Would I buy it again: Sure. It did the job and was pretty filling. At least to me it wasn’t very exciting or anything extra-special though. A convenient snack if you are hungry and looking for something sweet.
Chocolate Bread Choki Choki
I bought this at a bakery near my apartment – I went there quite a bit and tried many of their offerings. This was definitely one of the best!
Basically it is a chocolatey bread with pieces of chocolate and chocolate ganache inside and a chocolate glaze with nuts on the outside. Carbs, chocolate, and nuts – what’s not to like?
This is rich, but not too rich. Neither is it too sweet. Basically a perfect sweet treat (though kind of big so more a meal than a snack for me).
Where: LAB Bakery, PNU area
How much: 4,500 KRW
Value for money: Good
Would I buy it again: Absolutely – I bought it several times
Takoyaki
I got this Japanese snack/meal at the Taco Papa near PNU but you can get it at many places. But what is it? Basically it is doughballs with pieces of octopus inside. Then they put sauces on top (there is a large variety to choose from, like wasabi, cheese, spicy, etc.) and finally they strew fish flakes! (It looked a lot better before they added the fish flakes.)
I wasn’t too crazy about this. The dough part and the sauces were tasty but I am not a huge friend of fish. If I ordered it again I would get it without the fish flakes. And honestly I thought it would be better without the octopus too.
But if you like fish/sea food more than me you may love this and should definitely try it! It was quite filling and good value for money.
Where: Taco Papa near PNU
How much: 6,000 KRW
Value for money: Quite good
Would I buy it again: Maybe but I would skip the fish flakes.
Chicken on a Stick
This is pretty much what it looks like, marinated chicken pieces on a stick.
To be honest, it was not my favorite snack. First, the chicken was – to me – weirdly soft. Maybe I expected it to be crunchier on the outside? Secondly, the marinade wasn’t bad but neither was it exciting. Mostly it tasted sweet. Thirdly, you are stuck with a long stick – there are no public trash container in South Korea so if you walked on (like me) you won’t have a place to get rid of it. Luckily I had a backpack and managed to break the stick in halves so it fit.
Where: BIFF Square
How much: 3,000 KRW*
Value for money: Okay
Would I buy it again: Maybe? I wouldn’t buy the exact same one again as I didn’t love it but may well try meat on a stick at some later point.
Gamcheon Culture Sand
Walking through Gamcheon Cultural Village I saw various signs for Gamcheon Sand. It sounded tempting and like something unique to the area so I went ahead and got one.
I was a bit shocked when I did get it as based on the price and the photos outside I had expected something much bigger/more substantive. As you can see on the picture it is quite small.
These cookies come in various flavors, like blueberry, raspberry, pineapple, mango etc. I went for the caramel version. As for the taste – it wasn’t bad. A small but thick, crumbly and rather dry cookie with a cream filling. The caramel flavour wasn’t very strong. The cookie comes frozen and is best eaten still cold so this is not something you can buy in bulk to take home with you if you love it.
My verdict: It was pretty and I am glad I tried it. It was a perfectly fine cookie but nothing extra special and quite small for the price.
Where: Gamcheon Village, near Little Prince House
How much: 2,100 KRW
Value for money: Not great
Would I buy it again: Probably not. I mean I would eat it again but would probably not buy it due to the relatively high price.
Special Sandwich
I bought this sandwich at a street stall near PNU and it made for a nice smaller meal. There were three slices of bread and the filling consisted of a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, a fried egg, cabbage as well as various sauces.
It was fun to watch them prepare this sandwich as it had quite a few steps and ingredients. It was fairly filling and easy to eat with comparatively little trash. While I liked it I didn’t love it enough to get another during my stay.
Where: Sandwich Stall next to PNU Gate
How much: 4,500 KRW
Value for money: Good
Would I buy it again: Sure
Chicken and Rice Cakes in Cajun Sauce
This was one of my favorite snacks/small meals in Busan. It is a mix of fried chicken pieces and fried rice cakes in a slightly sweet and somewhat spicy sauce and I loved it! While we all know what fried chicken tastes like (delicious) the fried rice cakes were new too me. They were crunchy on the outside and the inside consistency was somewhat similar to mozzarella sticks. You do have to be a bit careful when eating so you don’t choke on the gooey rice cakes.
Luckily for me you can get this snack/small meal (there is also a bigger full-sized meal version) all over Korea as it was from a chain restaurant. You will find Mom’s Touch almost anywhere so you can try this for yourself easily if you visit Korea. The same snack also comes with other sauces but I liked the Cajun Version so mach that I stuck with it.
Where: At any Mom’s Touch in Korea
How much: 4,400 KWR
Value for money: Quite good
Would I eat it again: Absolutely! I had it a bunch of times.
Hotteok
This is probably the most popular snack for tourists in Busan and you can get it many places. Basically it is a fried pancake that gets split open and filled. I had it twice, once with cheese and honey and once with seeds/nuts (the most common variety).
I really liked these and wish I had eaten more of them. The cheese and honey version was a bit unusual and I am not quite sure how I feel about the combination. Pretty sure I liked it though? I recommend you try the seed version. It sounded a bit boring/dry but actually was delicious.
Quick note: Do make sure it looks kind of like the photo/is freshly fried. I had something by the same name in Seoul and it was completely different, closer to a grilled cheese sandwich in taste. Not bad but not on the same level at all!
Where: Food Street in Haeundae, BIFF Square, many other places
How much: 2,000-3,000 KWR dependig on filling
Value for money: Good
Would I eat it again: Absolutely! I wish I had ordered more of them.
Conclusion
In Busan I struggled a bit with the language and feeling slightly out of place as a foreigner in the PNU area. I kind of regret not trying even more unique snacks. Still, I did manage to try some and all were at least okay.
My favorites were definitely the Hotteok and the Chicken/Rice Snack at Mom’s Touch. As I don’t have a big appetite most of these snacks were plenty for a meal for me which helped me to stick to my budget.
If getting a snack in Korea always remember you will be stuck with any leftovers/trash as there are no public trash cans. So either buy something that comes with little trash (like the waffles) or eat your snack near the food stall so you can return any trash there!
On my next trip to Korea I will definitely try more different snacks. I saw some amazing looking ones I never got around to!
