Daegu Jongno makchang restaurant with 41,000 won Bongja set: Bongja

Attention, anyone hunting for good food around Jongno in downtown Daegu! 👀 Whether you've just watched a movie at Megabox Manggyeongwan and want a meal, or you're craving samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) and makchang (grilled pork intestine) to stuff yourself silly, this is the place — Bongja Makchang!

It's been featured on TV multiple times and was even picked for The Taster Road. These days it's so famous it's got branches all over the country, not just Daegu but Seoul too! Having eaten here myself, I can confirm — this is a genuinely great restaurant!! 😋 Here's my honest review of Bongja Makchang in Jongno, Daegu!

• Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–2:00 next day / Fri–Sun 16:00–2:00 next day
• Parking: Paid parking available

Where is Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch? Across from Megabox Manggyeongwan

Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch is located in the Jongno food alley, right across from Megabox Manggyeongwan. There are a lot of fun movies out these days, so it's perfectly placed for a meal right after a screening.

Right from the entrance, you can see all the traces of TV appearances! Yoon Nam-no, Hiigab, Choo Sung-hoon, Kim Jong-kook, Daesung — so many celebrities have visited and eaten here, which had my expectations sky-high before I even walked in!

The interior is black and wood-toned, clean and with a good atmosphere. The ventilation is solid too, so there's less worry about carrying smells home! We came right at opening — first customers of the day! By evening, guests started pouring in and the place got busy fast.

What comes in the 41,000 won Bongja set, and what the menu costs

Looking at the Bongja Makchang menu, there's makchang of course, plus samgyeopsal (pork belly), pork neck, beef brisket, pork skin, and more — plenty of variety to pick from. The Bongja set in particular lets you mix meats to order, which is perfect for trying a bit of everything, so that's what we went with.

There's also a review event where you can choose from pork skin, self-serve fried rice, a drink, or mango bingsu — worth knowing about 😊

• Bongja set ₩41,000 — raw pork belly + seasoned makchang + special bracken + steamed egg + ramen + patbingsu
• Beef brisket doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) ₩5,000
• Rice (2 bowls) ₩2,000
• Pepsi Zero ₩2,000

Self-serve corner with free refills: cooking your own Odongtong ramen

And here's what I loved!! At Bongja Makchang, ramen, steamed egg, and patbingsu are all unlimited refills! First stop, boiling up some ramen to eat alongside the meat 🍜

At the self-serve corner, you'll find several types of ramen laid out, plus side dishes you can take as much of as you like. Just follow the instructions to measure water with the cup provided, then boil it right at the burner on your table. Done!

I picked the odongtong noodles with kelp mixed in, and slurped it down happily alongside the meat.

The raw pork belly spread and the beef brisket doenjang jjigae

While I was busy with the ramen, the side dishes and raw pork belly showed up! Mushrooms, rice cake, bracken too — a generous spread, so I quickly got everything onto the grill.

With the beef brisket doenjang jjigae and steamed egg out too, the table was completely full — it already felt hearty and substantial before I'd even taken a bite 😋 The jjigae in particular was loaded generously with beef brisket, which I really appreciated. The steamed egg was seasoned just right, soft and nutty — you'd miss it if it weren't there.

With kimchi, bean sprouts, and garlic laid out to go alongside, I was completely satisfied. Sizzling everything together in the meat drippings really is the best.

Gorgeously golden-brown grilled meat ✨ I took a bite with rice and it was so good! Being raw pork belly, there was zero unpleasant smell, and it was so tasty I ate like there was no tomorrow.

Wrapped up neatly in lettuce it's delicious, and dipped in the special fermented anchovy sauce that comes with it, absolute honey! 🤤 Dipped in curry powder it's tasty too, and in sesame oil salt — however you eat it, you never get tired of it, haha.

Of course, it's also delicious eaten together with the beef brisket doenjang jjigae — mixing the jjigae into rice and topping it with a piece of brisket is pure honey! Eating like this, I was already stuffed, but the astonishing thing was the main dish hadn't even arrived yet..!

Seasoned makchang arrives fully cooked: the smoky main event

Here comes the seasoned makchang! 🔥 It's a fully-cooked dish so it took a little time, but it arrived perfectly golden-brown and ready to eat, no grilling needed — just dig in right away. The look of it already got the saliva going, seriously.

Whoa... this is exactly the smoky, fire-charred flavor I love! 🔥 One bite in and my face scrunched up with pure honesty... it's genuinely delicious, so if you go to Bongja Makchang, you absolutely have to try the seasoned makchang! The spicy-sweet sauce combined with that smoky char was perfect following the pork belly!

For someone with a low spice tolerance like me, the heat starts to tingle a bit if you keep eating, so I dipped it deep into the mayonnaise sauce and wrapped it up with rice in a lettuce leaf. Spicy as it was, it was so good I kept reaching for more, haha. Truly, this is a real makchang spot in Jongno, Daegu — the makchang is the real deal.

Finishing with patbingsu, and candy on the way out

Even though I was truly full, I still couldn't resist the patbingsu (shaved ice dessert)... I tried a spoonful to cleanse the palate, and even though it seemed to be just basic ingredients, it was still good. In the end, I ate until I genuinely couldn't eat another bite.

After finishing everything and heading out, they even handed us candy! That thoughtful touch right to the end wrapped up the meal on a perfectly good note.

If you're looking for a makchang restaurant in Jongno, Daegu, definitely come try Bongja Makchang! Beyond makchang, there's a wide variety of meats to enjoy together, so even people who aren't into makchang can fully enjoy it. Meat alone is filling enough, but with unlimited side refills too, we really got to eat until bursting at great value! I was so satisfied I think I'll be back again 😊