Surim Restaurant Hongdae Tantanmen and Dongpo Pork Review

Hi, this is Ijjingne. I visited Surim Restaurant, a tantanmen place with its main branch in Busan. I had heard it was famous in Busan and had wanted to try it, and when I found out a Hongdae branch had opened, I went right away.

The shop is inside the main Hongdae area, so it is a reasonable walk if you are hanging out or on a date in Hongdae. Parking support can be difficult in Hongdae, but Surim Restaurant does offer parking support. On weekdays, one car can park beside the shop. On weekends, parking is possible if spaces beside the shop remain; when the reviewer visited on a weekend, it looked like about three cars could fit.

Hours listed in the source are 11:00-21:00, break time 15:00-17:00, and last order 20:00. On weekends and public holidays, they operate without break time.

Surim Restaurant has counter-style seats along both sides of the shop, good for solo dining or side-by-side seating. There were many solo diners too.

Deeper inside the shop, there is a large wide table that can seat six to eight people. Baskets for storing belongings were placed at each table and were useful.

There was also a hanger on one side. In winter, long coats are common, and it was nice not to have to pile clothes up, drop them, or drag them from a chair.

Tantanmen special, dongpo pork rice bowl, and Zero Coke.

If you come to Surim Restaurant, you have to try the tantanmen. I also ordered the signature dongpo pork rice bowl.

There was a guide for eating tantanmen more deliciously. Some of the ingredients were not my usual favorites, so I ate the basic flavor first and then tried adding only the mala sauce halfway through.

The basic side dishes were seasoned zha cai and danmuji. I like zha cai, so I kept eating it. Since I ordered the special tantanmen, the bowl was huge. It was genuinely big enough to surprise me.

The dongpo pork rice bowl came with well-cooked chunks of dongpo pork, bean sprouts, sliced green onion, chives, and a soft-boiled egg. I tried one piece of meat first, and the seasoning was just right.

It was the best dongpo pork I have tried. There was no unpleasant smell, the aroma was just right, and the meat was so tender that it almost melted. There was plenty of sauce too, so it was great mixed into the rice bowl.

A bite with sauce-covered dongpo pork, rice, and bean sprouts tasted amazing. I understood why the dongpo pork rice bowl is a signature dish at a tantanmen specialty restaurant.

The tantanmen special was enormous. It was definitely too much for me to finish alone, so I shared it with my friend. The rich broth impressed me first, and the nicely cooked noodles and generous portion impressed me again.

Because it was the special, they even added two soft-boiled eggs. I liked the spicy, nutty, savory broth. It was exactly the kind of tantanmen flavor I enjoy.

Each table has condiments you can add. If you like mala, please try adding the mala sauce. I ate about half in the original flavor, then added two big spoons of mala sauce, and it turned into a strong malatang-style taste. As someone who loves mala, I liked it even more than the base flavor.

The look and taste were both excellent. The owner was kind, and the food came out quickly. I will really come back to Surim Restaurant.

On weekends, parking was convenient, and the shop is close to the main Hongdae street. I recommend it for both lunch and dinner. I heard the fried eggplant is good too, so I will try that next time.