Ryusenso Gwangan Headstore: Oyster ramen in Busan

There are many restaurant and food options by Gwangalli Beach, the area we were staying during our trip to Busan. One of the restaurants that caught out eye when we were strolling by was a ramen restaurant – we love ramen 😍!

Ryusenso Gwangan Headstore (류센소 광안직영점) is where we ate dinner during our second night in Busan. They have 4.5 stars on Google Maps and specialize in Japanese ramen noodles. Here is everything we tried.

The vibe

The exterior of the restaurant looks unassuming in a good way. You know how in Japan, the best restaurant are these random hole-in-the-walls? Ryusenso Gwangan was a little bit like that except we were able to see a copy of their menu on the sign outside before we decided to go in and eat.

Once inside, it is a pretty small restaurant with only bar seating. We liked this since it is very similar to Japan where you eat ramen noodles at a bar and can see them making it in front of you.

It is mostly a warm wood tone aesthetic but I felt comfortable and spacious at my seat and it was still easy to talk and spend time with my partner, who is sitting beside me.

Food review

Here is everything we ordered for 2 adults. Prices are converted 1000:1 KRW to CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar.

Ryusenso ($10)

I order the first ramen listed on their menu – the Ryusenso. It is a Donkotsu ramen based on pork bone stew. Included in the ramen toppings are 2 slices of chasu (Japanese style seared pork belly), half a ramen egg, green onions and black fungus mushrooms.

For $10, I am very happy with this bowl of hearty noodles and it is quite a large portion of noodles. The pork bone broth is very comforting and light – not greasy at all! The chasu is also quite tender and has a bit of smokiness to it that I appreciated.

Ryusenso Kaki ($12)

The most unique ramen on the menu was the kaki ramen. The broth is based on Manila clam stew with oysters and they add a bunch of oysters as a topping instead of the regular chasu 🤩.

For $12 I think this ramen is certainly worth it because you get a lot of oyster goodness – not only as a topping but stewed into the broth itself. I will say you should only order it if you love oysters though because it can get quite overwhelming if you don’t like the texture or taste of oysters.

Kaki fry ($11)

So one of the reasons why we may have found the oyster ramen to be a little overwhelming even though we love to eat oysters is because we also ordered a side order of the kaki fry, which are fried oysters. Basically, I think we ordered too many oysters 😅.

But the fried oysters were so delicious! They fried it so well with a nice crunchy batter that wasn’t soggy or falling apart from the inside. They also serve it with 2 different sauces – a mayo and a soy sauce. I preferred the mayo but they were both good.

The oysters were also pretty big! Even though $11 is more expensive than most of the ramen on the menu, I find fried oysters to be really hard to do well so I think it is still reasonably priced for the quality of the dish. I actually would prefer this over the oyster ramen.

Jeju black pork gyoza ($8)

Our second additional side were the Jeju black pork gyoza. This may be a bit of a touristy/gimmicky item since we just came from Jeju Island and ate black pork there, but we thought it would be fun to try it since it’s different from just a regular gyoza.

The 5 pc gyoza came and the dumpling wrapper was black, which I don’t think really changes anything about the taste but it makes it a bit more fun to eat. And in case you’re wondering, black pork meat isn’t black either but the pig itself has black hair so that’s where the colour black comes in.

I did like the gyozas and they were again prepared really well with a nicely pan fried skin and dipping sauce. The meat inside did resemble a more similar taste to beef, as Jeju black pork is known for tasting “meatier”. However, I don’t love the $8 price tag for 5 gyozas.

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

We were full and happy after our ramen meal at Ryusenso Gwangan. Both of the ramen noodles were generous portions at great price points – under $12!

Out of the 2, I preferred my ramen (the Donkatsu one) because I liked the soup base more as it was more savoury vs. the clam and oyster base, which was a bit “fishier” in a sense. But again, for $12 an oyster ramen we had to get it because we’d never seen something like that before in Vancouver. Oysters are like $3 each in Vancouver 😭.

The 2 side dishes we ordered were great add-ons but also made us feel even more full. Out of the 2, I think the fried oysters were tastier.

I highly recommend this ramen restaurant if you are looking for Japanese style ramen by Gwangalli Beach and if you love oysters!

Sincerely, Loewe