We checked out of our Haeundae hotel and stayed somewhere closer to BIFF, and Jagalchi Market is also within this area. So, naturally, we had to do a proper visit to Jagalchi as previously, we only went to the outer side of the market and had lunch at one of the restaurants there. This time round, we will be buying the fresh seafood from one of the vendors and get it cooked upstairs.
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| Jagalchi Fish Market building right in front |
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| outerside vendor |
Instead of going right for the food, we went up to the Jagalchi Market Observatory.
The view from the observatory was nice!
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| photo-op |
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| enjoying the view of Busan port |
Unless you were up there for a photo-shoot, otherwise, nothing much to do at the Jagalchi Market Observatory.
So we went back down to the wet market area.
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| shop for fresh seafood |
However, I found the experience pretty stressful as each vendor will try to entice you to buy from their stall. The pricing varies from vendor to vendor and some may throw in specials for you if you ask nicely.
We bought some ₩30,000 worth of shellfish from a random seller and went upstairs to have it cooked. The cooking and dine-in price was about ₩32,000 (for 4 pax), so we probably should get more seafood in that case. Ordered additional stuffs from the Level 2 shop where we had our seafood cooked; fish sashimi, and grilled rockfish.
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| banchan |
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| shellfish from downstairs, cooked upstairs |
The sweet potato and peanuts were nice. The shellfish was grilled simply and we enjoyed the natural taste of the sea.
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| peanuts |
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| sweet potato |
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| nice |
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| does this have alcohol? |
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| cheers |
As the cooking method was either grilled or steamed, our food arrived quickly. But then, we also devoured it as quickly as it came. Hahaha!
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| sashimi |
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| lettuce wrap |
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| dipping sauce |
I can't stress it enough but one must order grilled rockfish when in Busan. Had it many years ago, and had it again this time. It tasted as good as ever!
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| grilled rockfish |
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| firm, sweet flesh, not too bony |
The grilled fish was slightly salted so, it paired well with the beer. Then, came to the question on whether we wanted to try the Alaskan King Crab and in the end, we decided yes. Informed the lady boss of the shop and told her that we wanted the smallest size of the crab which from our initial experience downstairs, it will be close to 2kg. The cheapest market price per kilo for that day that I enquired from 3 shops, was around ₩55,000.
She went downstairs for a few minutes and then came back to inform that the total price (inclusive of cooking would be around ₩180,000. The crab weight was around 2kg. We agreed and off she went to purchase and cook it for us.
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| Alaskan King Crab |
It was the best decision ever! My first time trying Alaskan King Crab and it is worth the money. Freshly steamed crab meat tasted so sweet!
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| cracked and ready to eat |
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| yummy! |
I liked that the crab was so easy to eat not only because of its size, but also because the restaurant cracked the shell for easier access.
One thing I noted was the juice from the crab was not as umami as I thought it would be, but we still drank it. Keke!
The people that we met at Jagalchi Market was nice and friendly, even if we didn't buy from their stall. But of course, I felt 'paiseh' as I had to walk away after asking for the price. Sorry!
The ladies at the Level 2 restaurant were also nice and friendly.
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| we ate here, at #3 shop |
Thank you Tracy, Hence and Ivan for allowing me to indulge in expensive seafood! All in all, we spent around ₩370,000 in total, or about ₩92,500 (~SGD95 per pax).
Jagalchi Market 자갈치시장
Address: 52 Jagalchihaean-ro, Jung-gu, Busan, South Korea
Business Hours:
Closed on Tues.
Wed-Mon: 5 AM–10 PM
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