Busan

This legendary market will blow the mind of anyone who happens to have even a passing interest in seafood. The sheer variety of sea creatures sold here must be seen to be believed. If the Korean favourites such as crab and eel get stale, try the 'kalguksu' noodles with clams or 'bajirak' as well as basically anything that can be extracted from the deep waters washing over Busan. One speciality that Jagalchi does particularly well is 'hoe' (pronounced /wɛ/), which is raw fish cut into thin slithers almost like sashimi. Dip it in sauce and wrap it up in a lettuce leaf for a flavour punch in a crunchy casing.

This compact hole in the wall serves one thing and one thing only, Korean 'samgye-tang'. This gingery soup is made up of a whole chicken stuffed with rice and flavourful ingredients such as garlic and ginseng. The soup is deemed to hold all sorts of curative properties and is considered to be a traditional warm-weather dish. The owner is exceptionally friendly to foreign visitors and willingly demonstrates the proper way to eat the soup, with an assortment of Korean pickles followed by a special ginseng drink and chased with a coffee.

Fishcakes have a long tradition in Busan, and Samjin Amook is Busan's oldest operating fishcake factory. Its main outlet is a fishcake bakery that features an observable production line, a store where multiple varieties of fishcake are on sale at surprisingly low prices and even a museum on the top floor. There is a cafe of sorts across from the store, where your "catch" can be cooked into a full noodle dish. Fresh cakes sell out quick, so arrive early for best assortment.

A classic inexpensive eatery in close proximity to the Busan station, Choryang Milmyeon serves up cold 'milmyeon' noodles which are a local favourite. The dish might not be for everyone (although we do of course encourage you to try this Busan speciality), wheres the 'mandu' (meat dumplings) rarely disappoint. Prices are extremely affordable.