Nampo Samgyetang — Restaurant in Busan

Dining Experience @ Nampo Samgyetang. . Established since 1959, Nampo Samgyetang (남포 삼계탕) has been consistently serving hearty ginseng chicken soup made with fresh ingredients. . Ambience is rustic and casual. The brightly lit place is lined with simple wooden furnishings and minimal decor, and the atmosphere is bustling. Steam wafts through the air from bubbling stews at nearby tables, spreading a lovely fragrance that whets the appetite. . Service is brusque, with the elderly staff being rather grumpy. They only communicate in Korean, but you'll get by through pointing at the menu, which has English descriptions and pictures. As with most other Korean restaurants, all diners have to place 1 order each. I note that orders are quickly fulfilled, and staff clean up efficiently when diners leave. . Food is traditional Korean cuisine, focused on ginseng chicken soup and its variations. Ingredients are fresh, and the base soup stock is boiled for over 24 hours. Soulful and tasty, each mouthful is packed with flavour. They have a limited menu with other dishes, but these are average at best, rather lacklustre. Portions are large for individuals. Prices are slightly high, budget about KRW ₩21,000 / SGD $21 per person. . Loved the house signature Samgyetang / Ginseng Chicken Soup (KRW ₩17,000), which has a robust and delicious chicken broth / soup infused with ginseng, slow boiled over 24 hours, resulting in a lovely meaty savoury salty herbal sweet flavour. Garnished with a whole bone-in tender young chicken stuffed with sticky glutinous rice, soft garlic, dense Korean ginseng herbs, and crisp green onions. This carries beautiful meaty sweet savoury vegetal herbal spice starchy flavour, yum. . Functionally similar, the luxurious Samgyetang Jeonbok / Ginseng Chicken Soup With Abalone (KRW ₩27,000) has 2 whole added abalones. An excellent pairing, the springy dense abalones absorb the meaty savoury salty herbal sweet flavour of the broth / soup, complimenting with its natural briny salty...

Sat down to order with family. We haven't finished ordering, but the waiter (old lady) assumed that we were done and SNUBBED us, refusing to take our order (scolded something in Korean) and walked away rudely. We only realised after another waiter told us that they expected a minimum order. We left immediately. It was miscommunication, yes. But we came to eat, not to be treated rudely. Honestly, it was the worst experience I had in Korea to date.

*edit: Looking through the one-star reviews, it looks like the restaurant waitress/owner has a reputation of being rude to foreigners. We probably weren't an isolated...

I think this is these Jinsen Chicken Soup I’ve had until now. I tried many many jinsen chicken soup in Seoul before, and I didn’t have high expectation about it before entering this restaurant. However, it really amazed me. It’s flavor is good and also they prepare jinsen wine for gourmands to drink or pour into their chicken soup to adjust its flavor. Other sorts of Kimchi are also well seasoned.

P.S. This restaurant doesn’t sell half portion which means half a chicken...