송정3대국밥 Songjung Third-generation Pork Soup 松亭3代豬肉湯飯 @Busan, South Korea

Located in the Dwaeji Gukbap Alley 豬肉湯飯街 at 서면 Seomyeon 西面, this was a popular restaurant famous for its pork soup with rice, which is a must-eat when one is in Busan. The staff were very friendly to the many tourists, and through the English mixed with Mandarin explanations, we were able to place our orders.

We got the 순대국밥 (Sundae-gukbap) Korean Blood Sausage Soup with Rice 血腸湯飯 (₩6,500 nett),  내장국밥 (Naejang-gukbap) Pork Tripe and Intestine with Rice 內臟湯飯 (₩6,500), and instead of the 돼지국밥 (Dwaeji-gukbap) Pork Soup with Rice 豬肉湯泡飯 version (₩6,500 nett) where the sliced pork, rice and soup were all mixed together, we opted for the other version 수육백반 (Suyuk Baekba) Set Menu with Pork Slices 白切肉白飯 (₩8,500). In this version, sliced pork was served separate, along with an array of mee sua (rice vermicelli), kimchi, and other condiments, such as marinated chives, green chilli, garlic, onion, shrimp paste, soybean paste, soy sauce, etc.

We only ordered 3 items to share among the 4 of us, as we were not really hungry, and we were unsure about the food portions in Korea. To our surprise, the staff actually gave us another bowl of clear soup so that we would each have our own. We were so touched by the gesture, and we slurped up every drop of the delicious soup.

The meat was sliced at a good thickness, and we enjoyed the texture. Also, it was nicely cooked without any strong pork smell. The pork tripe and intestines were cooked till soft and yummy, and the best part was the soup! It was hearty but was not overly laden with salt, and we really loved it! Especially for me, who really could not stand the cold 😛

Also, this being my first time trying out Korean Blood Sausages, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were very soft and not very strong-tasting. We really enjoyed the blood sausages here 🙂

Our first dinner in Busan was indeed filled with warmth, not just from the soup, but also the kindness and friendliness of the the staff 🙂