The three characters inside the red seal at the top of the menu are the owner's name: Park Hae-yun. He has always cooked under his own name, and always to the best he can do. This Tongyeong table carries the same name. Whatever I do, my name is on it. The seal is not decoration. It is a signature.

He began at the sink. He lost his parents young, needed somewhere to learn, and took a job in a restaurant kitchen. He washed dishes and learned to cook by watching over other people's shoulders. Five years in kitchens. He and his wife still run this one themselves, and the sauces are still made by hand. Food is care. Even one side dish gets everything I have.

Asked why Tongyeong, he said it is where he is from. Oysters, eel, sea squirt. A man born and raised in Tongyeong, setting a Tongyeong table in Busan. That is the whole reason the town's name is above the door.

Asked what a first-time guest should order, he did not hesitate. The boribgulbi set. Gulbi is dried yellow croaker. It is served with green tea water: try a bite of the salty fish with rice lightly dipped in the tea. Stir-fried octopus, seaweed-and-mussel rice, and twelve side dishes complete the table.