Kuru Kuru

Busan has always been Korea’s hub to some of Korea’s best seafood, but that is not all it has to offer.   Every neighborhood in Busan seems to house tiny hidden gems in every alley.  One such place is no other than the foreigner haven, Jangsan.  One of the most recent restaurants I have had the pleasure to patronize is Kuru Kuru Ra-men in Jangsan.

I will not claim to be ramen clever.  I am definitely not an expert, but I will say that ramen has become what mac and cheese used to be to me – my comfort food. But as seemingly simple as ramen may seem, it’s truly a complex food.  My ramen knowledge, like most other foreigners’, didn’t really begin until I moved to Korea.  Before then, I thought ramen was nothing more than a poor man’s college diet.  But now I know that not only is ramen damn good but there are many different kinds.  Korean ramen and Japanese ramen to start are very different.  As Korean ramen tends to be hella spicy, Japanese ramen soup tends to be made from a pork or chicken stock and then more texturally flavored with a variety spices, meats, and vegetables.

From the outside Kuru Kuru looks like little more than a closet, but Kuru Kuru makes up for its daintiness with its flavorful bowls of noodles.  As with most small restaurants in Korea, the menu is very simple and in Korean, of course.  I highly recommend anyone who wants to fully experience Korea to learn how to read Korean.  Once you learn to read the Korean alphabet and a few food based words, ordering can be extremely easy.  Many restaurants in Korea specialize in only one thing, which often happens to be the name of the restaurant. Unlike America where a ham sandwich can be known as “Charlie’s Super Fantastic Favorable Fun Blast,” most Korean dishes have their ingredients plainly laid out in their title.

Kuru Kuru has a bit of a variety.  They serve various types of noodles, but also serve Tonkatsu (pork cutlet), and Japanese curry.  I opted for the Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork Ramen) and my boyfriend got the Miso Ramen. I knew at first sight that this bowl of cloudy, milky broth over a bed of yellow, eggy noodles was meant to please.  The bowl was garnished with a hardboiled egg, scallions, bean sprouts and a few pieces of tender pork.  After one sip of the broth life became alright.  The silky texture paired with the rich, yet well balanced broth gave new meaning to comfort food.  The noodles also were a perfect texture, not too chewy, not too soft.  Each noodle seemed to soak up the flavors of the entire bowl

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My boyfriend ordered the Miso Ramen and of course I tried his as well since me-so-hungry.   Miso which unfortunately translates to fermented soybean paste soup is a flavor that, like cheese, is difficult to describe.  I have had miso that tasted bland, but the miso flavor in this ramen accented the broth well.

Overall, I found Kuru Kuru a great find.  Whether you are looking for a quick bite, a hearty meal, or something to soak up the copious amounts of alcohol Kuru Kuru will do the trick. The bowls of ramen will set you back 6,000 won.  The side dishes were a tad skimpy, but this can be expected with cheap bowls of noodles.  Also, they only serve Asahi beer which may cost as much as your meal.

To get there-Go out exit 5 of Jangsan subway and make a right at the Paris Baguette, it will be on your left a few stores down.  The Tonkotsu ramen is the fifth one down on the menu, Miso ramen is the eighth one down. (Learn how to read damn it).