BIFF Square @Busan, South Korea

BIFF Square (which got its name from Busan International Film Festival) is just a short walk away from the 자갈치시장 Jagalchi Market 札嘎其市場.

The square has rows of shops and was meant to be a gathering place for people when they visited the annual Busan International Film Festival. Do check out the hand prints of past award-winners of the BIFF, which was similar to Hollywood Walk of Fame/Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars.

While BIFF started out as a theater district, it is also well-known for its street food. In particular,  씨앗호떡 (Ssiat Hotteok) Korean Sweet Seed Pancake 瓜子糖餡餅 is a popular classic Busan street food.

We found 2 stalls side by side, and since both queues were equally long, we bought one from each stall (₩1,200 each) 😛

The stall on the left 승기 씨앗호떡 (Seunggi Ssiat Hotteok) had a yellow/orange signage.

The Ssiat Hotteok was fragrant with a generous amount of brown sugar, which complemented the seeds and nuts (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, etc.) well,  and was not overly sweet.

The batter was lightly crispy outside and soft inside, reminding us of ham chee peng.

The stall on the right 아저씨 씨앗호떡 (Ahjussi Ssiat Hotteok) with red signage fried its Ssiat Hotteok to a deeper brown, and was definitely more fragrant.

The batter was much more crisper and there was much lesser brown sugar. Instead, it was super generous with the seeds and nuts, and also had some raisins, which gave it a sourish twist to the otherwise nutty flavour.

Verdict: We all preferred the red stall 🙂

We also tried a Potato Fishcake (₩2,000), but felt that the one nearer to our hotel was better (see note below).

Continuing on straight from the Ssiat Hotteok stalls, we soon found 창선동 먹자골목 (Changseondong Meokja Golmok), which was a small eating alley located between T-world (Coffeebean is above) and a drug store.

Stalls with little stools lined this short alley, and this place is supposed to be famous for 당면 (Dangmyeon) Glass Noodles 冬粉. It was really quite quiet today though, and since we were still quite full, we decided to give it a miss.

Walking on, we passed by a maze of shops, before arriving at 부평(깡통)시장 Bupyeong (Kkangtong) Market 富平(罐頭)市場 around 7:15pm. While the shops were still open, I think we were slightly too early, for around 15 minutes later, we began to see hordes of push carts making their way here, and doing set up. What a sight! However, we did not want to continue to wait for them to set up, for we were not sure how long it would take.

We continued to roam around till we were tired, and then made our way back to our hotel for dinner.

Note:

The 이화동수제어묵고로케 (Ihwa Dong Suje Eomuk Goroke) Ihwa Dong Handmade Fishcake Croquette 梨花洞手作酥炸魚糕 that we tried at BIFF Square has another outlet in 서면 Seomyeon 西面, and somehow, we all preferred the ones we tried at Seomyeon branch.

At both branches, there are 6 flavours to choose from: 새우 (Saeu) Shrimp 鮮蝦, 감자(Gamja) Potato 土豆, 치즈 (Chijeu) Cheese 起司, 카레 (Kale) Curry 咖哩, 날치알 와사비 (Nalchi Al Wasabi) Flying Fish Roe Wasabi 芥末飛魚籽, 매운맛 (Maeunmas) Spicy 辣味. It cost ₩2,000 each, or ₩10,000 for six pieces.

In all, we had tried cheese, curry, potato, and flying fish roe wasabi flavours. Our favourite was the cheese flavour 😀 As the fishcake croquettes were heated up upon ordering, do be careful not to get burnt tongues 😮

• Directions: After coming out of Exit 7 of 서면역 Seomyeon Station 西面站 (Subway Line 1 and 2, Station Number 119), walk straight and turn into the second right alley. It is a corner shop that we found after having dinner at 송정3대국밥 Songjung Third-generation Pork Soup 松亭3代豬肉湯飯, and passing by a few restaurants specialising in fried chicken. It is next to 양상쿄쿄 Yangsang Kyokyo Fried Chicken 梁山咕咕炸雞. Turning at the corner, you will see 민재김네일 Min Jae Kim Nail, a manicure / pedicure shop.
• Location: 부산광역시 부산진구 부전동 242-20 Bujeon-dong 242-20, Busanjin-gu, Busan 釜山廣域市釜山镇區釜田洞242-20