Samdeok-dong bossam bar in Daegu: garlic suyuk with wasabi, Sangbong

Today I'm bringing you the story of Sangbong, a Dongseong-ro bar I visited with my boyfriend. The food is so good, the interior is cozy and the vibe is great, so it's the Samdeok-dong-area bar I think of whenever I'm hungry!

Where is Sangbong Dongseong-ro?

Sangbong Dongseong-ro is tucked away in a shady corner of an alley off Dongseong-ro 3-gil, so you really have to set out to find it. It's a small hanok (traditional Korean house) with a single white sign hanging under wooden eaves.

Outside, there are old-school style seats. If it weren't for the mosquitoes, it would be a perfect spot with a really great atmosphere...

Inside Sangbong, a converted hanok bar

Since Sangbong Dongseong-ro is a converted hanok, it feels different from the usual Dongseong-ro bars. It's just as lively and loud, but maybe because of the interior, it felt cozier and more comfortable.

The tables are fairly well spaced out. There's a red basket beside each chair, so you can put your bag or coat in there.

The graffiti wall filled by customers

One wall at Sangbong is a space where you can doodle. When I came earlier this year there was still quite a bit of room, but lots of customers have visited since, and the wall is now full of graffiti. They've even taken away the pens!

With this much graffiti on the wall, browsing it is a small pleasure that makes the wait feel a little less boring.

What is famous on the Sangbong Dongseong-ro menu?

The main dishes at Sangbong Dongseong-ro that seem especially famous are garlic suyuk (boiled pork slices), cheese potato pancake and soft tofu hot pot. Suyuk looked like the headline act, so we ordered the garlic suyuk.

There were quite a lot of side dishes too. We also added the kimchi fried rice, which is a recommended menu item!

This is gangnaengi (puffed corn snack), the classic complimentary bar snack. You'd never buy it yourself, but once it's on the table you end up picking at it all day. Admit it?

How do you eat Sangbong's garlic suyuk with bossam kimchi?

We ordered one garlic suyuk, one Minki-style kimchi fried rice (민기표 김치볶음밥) and draft beer.

Sangbong's garlic suyuk comes with a thick layer of minced garlic piled on the pork. The heaped bossam kimchi (kimchi made for wrapping pork) on the side was the real kicker.

Try the bossam kimchi on its own and the sweetness hits first, and it's so refreshing~ But the more you chew, the more a little spiciness creeps up.

Soy sauce and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) come along too, but kimchi and garlic alone give it plenty of seasoning.

The sweetness of the kimchi plus the aroma and flavor of the minced garlic were enough, so I barely dipped into that soy sauce, hehe.

Personally, my favorite combo was a little wasabi on the garlic suyuk with bossam kimchi on top.

It isn't even a suyuk specialist, yet it's so tender and delicious. I'll happily say it's one of the best bar snacks among Dongseong-ro bars!

What does the Minki-style kimchi fried rice taste like?

Sangbong's Minki-style kimchi fried rice hits you with the aroma of sesame oil before any kimchi sourness. When you think of kimchi fried rice, you usually think of that sour kimchi flavor first, right?

A whole fried egg sits on top, and mayonnaise is drizzled over it in lines.

It's kimchi fried rice, but the kimchi flavor is mild and so is the spiciness, so it seemed like something almost anyone could eat comfortably.

What should you drink at Sangbong?

Sangbong Dongseong-ro also has tempting options like tomato beer and lemon beer, but both the garlic suyuk and the kimchi fried rice are strongly flavored, so I recommend plain draft beer with them :) Thoughtfully, it's served in a frozen, rock-solid glass.

Back at Sangbong: final thoughts

It had been a while since my last visit, and once again I was very happy with both the atmosphere and the food!

If you're looking for a Dongseong-ro bar on a hungry day, I recommend Sangbong, close to Samdeok-dong! If you want a Samdeok-dong bar for tasty snacks and a glass of draft beer, save it on your map and drop by!