성태
Choryang tendon where the lotus root tempura is the benchmark
A tendon specialist about five minutes on foot from Exit 1 of Choryang Station and close to Busan Station. The exterior looks like a Japanese house, with waiting chairs by the door, and the room is a compact mix of counter and table seats. The kitchen sits behind a partial curtain, which makes eating alone comfortable.
The standard tendon at KRW 14,000 carries two shrimp plus eggplant, shishito pepper, lotus root, shiitake and kabocha. The batter is thin, so everything stays crisp to the last bite, and the lotus root in particular is sharply crisp outside and moist inside. Even the shrimp heads are fried through, so the bowl never feels heavy. The tare soaks in lightly, staying sweet and savoury rather than salty.
Ebi tendon at KRW 18,000 puts four large shrimp on top with the heads fried separately in their own dish. There is also anago tendon with conger eel at KRW 16,000, tori tendon with chicken at KRW 14,000 and a premium tendon at KRW 22,000. The lunch-only tendon set at KRW 16,000 adds aged kimchi, a fish-cake and gotbaegi side, a light salad and the soup of the day, which rotates between seaweed soup and a fish-cake and radish broth cooked clean and deep.
Sides include chikuwa isobeage at KRW 9,000 made with Busan Youngjin fish cake, myeongnan with sesame oil and chopped scallion at KRW 7,000, and roasted sweet potato tempura with butter at KRW 6,000. Two shichimi blends sit on the table, one with laver and black sesame and one with sancho for heat. Kirin draft comes in 150ml and 360ml. It is a no-kids restaurant and takes no reservations, so the full party must arrive to be seated, and the kitchen can close early when ingredients run out. Hours are 11:00-20:00 Tuesday to Sunday with a 15:00-17:00 break, last orders at 14:30 and 19:30, and closed every Monday. There is no parking lot, so public transport is the easier route.