Mandu are Korean style dumplings, similar to potstickers or gyoza. There was this amazing mandu shop in Pusan on the way to our hostel. It seemed like no matter if we were up at 6am or coming back at 1 am, the little shop was always open. In the morning, you could see the owner making mandu skin and being heckled by the ajummas, and at night the steam from the cooking mandu would surround the entire shop. I’ve had mandu before, both the frozen kind from Paldo World, and in other shops in Korea, but none of them could compare to these mandu. Eash little mandu is stuffed to almost bursting, and half the time the dumplings were being made right in front of us by the friendly owner, using house made skin and filling. We managed to stop in and try a new kind of mandu every day we were in Pusan, regardless of how full we were.
My favorites were the garlic mandu, steaming hot and served with a splash of black vinegar. We also got to try the owner’s specialty, cheese mandu. They are open faced mandu, topped with melty cheese, peas, corn, and a little ketchup.
I don’t suppose I could convince someone to open a little mandu shop here in Yamanashi?
Pusan, South Korea
Hey there, I’m actually heading to Busan in December, and these mandus sound awesome!
Would you mind terribly letting me know the location of this shop? I’d love to visit it when I’m there =)
Thanks much!
yikes, i wish i had written down the shop’s name. it’s in Seomyeon not far from the city center subway toward the e-mart and tesco, near the Zen backpacker’s hostel. I hope you can find it, though there are plenty of other really good places to eat
Give the haemul pajeon a try with a couple bowls of makkoli