Kimchi jjigae swap at Cafe Dongi, a Suseong, Daegu Korean restaurant

Hi everyone ~ I'm 34 weeks pregnant. Isn't it just brutal cooking at home in this heat? The hotter it gets, the more I droop and the more I end up eating out. Today I've got a review of Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch, a great spot for a family or couple's lunch.

Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch: hours and where to park

Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch is open daily from 11am to 8:30pm, with a break time from 3pm to 5pm. You can park at the Suseong Lotte Castle The First apartment complex, the Suseong 1-ga-dong Community Welfare Center, or briefly on the road in front of the store.

• Hours: Daily 11:00am–8:30pm
• Break time: 3:00pm–5:00pm
• Parking: Suseong Lotte Castle The First apartment complex, or Suseong 1-ga-dong Community Welfare Center, or brief roadside parking in front of the store

My husband and I used the parking lot at the Suseong Lotte Castle The First apartment complex.

There were plenty of spots so parking was easy, and with the heat lately it was so nice that almost every spot was shaded.

After parking, if you cut through the building toward the road, Cafe Dongi is right there on the right. There's even cool hutgae (Japanese raisin tree) tea set out in front of the store for anyone to drink.

Inside Cafe Dongi: seating and Gimpo Geumssal five-grain rice

Inside Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch there are window seats and bar seats, plus baby chairs available. As soon as we walked in, the staff greeted us warmly. Even though we came in past 1pm for a late lunch, there were still quite a lot of customers — it really is a well-known Korean restaurant in Suseong.

The window seats had a nice, pretty view, and there were bar seats too.

Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch has a policy of using only good rice. They actually use Gimpo Geumssal rice, and the origin is labeled transparently and honestly, so you can eat with peace of mind.

Five-grain rice, fried eggs, and seaweed are all unlimited refill, self-serve, so you can help yourself to as much as you want.

Swapping doenjang jjigae for kimchi jjigae on the baby octopus set

At Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch, you can swap the set meal's default doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) for kimchi jjigae for just ₩1,000 extra. My husband had overdone it drinking the night before and needed to cure his hangover, so even though the [Tabletop grill for 1] Grandma's Stir-Fried Baby Octopus Set (₩16,900) comes with doenjang jjigae by default, he swapped it for kimchi jjigae saying he needed to recover. The extra charge for the swap is only ₩1,000, so that was fine. I got the [Tabletop grill for 1] Fire-Grilled Pork Set (₩12,900) with mini sweet and sour pork added.

While waiting for the food, my husband made himself a fried egg.

[Tabletop grill for 1] Grandma's Stir-Fried Baby Octopus Set (₩16,900) + kimchi jjigae swap (₩1,000) = ₩17,900 total

[Tabletop grill for 1] Fire-Grilled Pork Set (₩12,900) + mini sweet and sour pork added (₩8,900) = ₩21,800 total

Mini sweet and sour pork: 8,900 won when added to a set meal

The mini sweet and sour pork sampler is ₩9,900 ordered on its own, but only ₩8,900 when added to a set meal. Cafe Dongi's sweet and sour pork is tastier than most Chinese restaurant versions, so I really recommend adding it. Plus it's gluten-free — no wheat flour used — so you can enjoy it without worry.

Here's my husband cutting up the crispy sweet and sour pork. He cuts it so neatly!

My husband said the kimchi jjigae really settled his stomach and cured his hangover. Everything at Cafe Dongi tastes natural, not artificial, and the seasoning is just right — so delicious.

How to get the 5,900 won lemonade free with a Naver review

If you write a Naver review and show it to the staff, you can get a free lemonade too — and their lemonade is also excellent, so definitely take part and get the ₩5,900 lemonade for free.

Because it's five-grain rice, even the rice was delicious, and the stir-fried pork had meat that wasn't chewy at all — so tender, and seasoned just right, it went down easily.

I ate the stir-fried pork and also stole some rice cake pieces from my husband's baby octopus stir-fry. The rice cakes here are so good too.

Lemonade (₩5,900 if ordered, free with the review event) — you just mix it well before drinking. Even my husband, who doesn't usually like drinks, said it was so delicious, which really says something about this Korean restaurant in Suseong that even nails its lemonade.

The gluten-free sweet and sour pork is really so good — I definitely recommend pairing it with your meal at Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch.

Omija tea to finish, and visiting Cafe Dongi with a baby

Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch's set meals come with omija (schisandra berry) tea by default. After finishing our food, we wrapped up with the omija tea that comes standard with the set. Cafe Dongi's omija tea isn't too sweet or too sour — the taste is just right.

Both my husband and I finished our meals completely satisfied — we even cleared the sweet and sour pork and lemonade down to the last drop.

With baby chairs available too, Cafe Dongi Suseong 1-ga Branch is a great Korean restaurant in Suseong to visit even with a baby. I've heard heatstroke cases are rising these days, so please everyone be careful in this heat and take care of your health.