Sinmae, Daegu Korean restaurant: couple's hangover meal, Cafe Dong-i

What is Cafe Dong-i Sicheol like?

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol (카페동이 시지점) is a good-value Korean restaurant inside Sinmae Market, near Sinmae Plaza in Daegu. My husband and I have gone here whenever we crave Korean food since our dating days. It's our regular spot!

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol hours and parking

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol is open daily 11:00-21:00, with break time 14:30-16:30 and last order at 20:00. For parking, use the Sinmae Market public parking lot right in front.

The public lot is right there, so no worries at all! It goes down to B2 and it's huge and roomy, haha. One hour of free parking applies, and it's free to enter on weekends, which is so nice, haha.

Cafe Dong-i is a 1-2 minute walk from the lot. The entrance is a little further along, on the side with the tile-roof (giwa) hanger. That's the entrance, so don't get confused~

Waiting and atmosphere inside

It's a popular place, so there can be a wait..! At the entrance, the warm-hearted owner even offers cool hovenia tea (heotgae-cha) for passersby, hehe.

We were lucky and got in right away, but five minutes after we arrived customers kept streaming in and a line formed..haha. My husband and I agreed we'd timed it perfectly, heh heh.

The inside is clean and cozy, and the tables are spacious, so even when there's a wait the turnover is fast, haha.

Each table has a tablet, so you order and pay right at your seat~

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol menu

The menu is built around one-person set meals on a tray. There are stews, curry, jjukkumi (baby octopus), jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork), bulgogi, tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and more, and some items have special deals, so do read the menu carefully, haha.

There's a receipt review event and a Dong-i membership sign-up event too, so grab those perks~

What's refillable at the Cafe Dong-i service bar?

Fried eggs, multigrain rice, gopchang gim (seaweed) and gangjeong (sweet crispy snack) are all free refills! Unlimited rice and fried eggs, how generous is that?! ❤️ My husband loves fried eggs, so he took 2 >_<

I brought back fried eggs, seaweed and hovenia tea from the service bar, haha. The gangjeong here is really good too, but we were too full to eat any..haha. It's really tasty, so do try it!

How is the Eonyang-style bulgogi set?

The Eonyang-style beef bulgogi set at Cafe Dong-i Sicheol comes on a small brazier, with a sweet-salty seasoning that isn't harsh. While my husband and I were chatting, a tray full of warm home-style Korean food arrived, and my mouth watered at first sight~ The basic side dishes were neat and tasty too!

The portion is really generous! It looks great too, haha. The bulgogi comes on a brazier so it doesn't get cold, and it stayed warm until we finished, which I loved.

The Eonyang-style bulgogi wasn't quite crispy (the "bassak" in the name), but it was moist, tender and tasty. It comes with enoki mushrooms and vegetables, so it never gets boring. The seasoning is sweet-salty and not harsh, so it went down easily with rice, haha.

Is the grilled jeyuk set spicy?

The grilled jeyuk set at Cafe Dong-i Sicheol is red, but not spicy at all. The red pork looks totally my style~

It has pork, cabbage and vegetables, and although the red color looks hot, it isn't spicy at all~ haha. A flavor any Korean would love!

The jeyuk is really tender too, and eating it with cabbage adds a crunchy texture that makes it even better 👍

Jeyuk is a man's soul food! My husband polished off a bowl of rice with the stir-fried pork, lol.

Swapping doenjang stew for kimchi jjigae to cure a hangover

The set's default stew is doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), but you can change it to kimchi jjigae. My husband and I had been drinking the night before, so I swapped it for a hangover cure, and it was a really good decision~ The kimchi jjigae was refreshing, packed with kimchi, tofu and meat, haha.

Is the mini tangsuyuk worth adding?

The mini tangsuyuk here isn't the chopped-up kind but kkwabaroew style (Chinese-style sweet and sour pork in big pieces). Cut into bite-size pieces, the batter is really thin, haha.

Everyone, even if you're full, please order the tangsuyuk! The meat is so tender it melts in your mouth.. seriously, do get it, haha. The tteok (rice cake) fritters that came with it were soft and tasty too~

Finish with omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) after the meal for a clean, perfect end to the meal!

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol in one line

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol in Sicheol, Daegu has a great location and a great parking lot, so it's a really good place when you want a hearty meal. If you're looking for a neat Korean restaurant near Sicheol, Daegu, do visit Cafe Dong-i Sicheol 👍