Daegu set-meal restaurant, gim and jeotgal wraps: Hyangtaek Daebong

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch hours, break time and parking

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch is open 11:00-20:00 with a break time from 15:30-17:00. Last order is at two points: 15:00 and 19:30.

Parking fits about 2 cars in front of the restaurant. Beyond that, you'll need to use a nearby public parking lot.

Why the writer followed Hyangtaek from Gyodong Market to Daebong-dong

Hi everyone, today I went to Hyangtaek Daebong Branch, a well-known spot near Gyeongbuk University Hospital Station. I first visited Hyangtaek back when it was in Gyodong Market and fell for its tidy, well-put-together meals, so I came back for more! Turns out they've opened branches all over haha. Out of those, I dropped by the Daebong branch, known as a good spot near Kim Kwang-seok Street hahaha.

Hyangtaek is a Korean restaurant well known for its clean, tidy set-table meals. The menu is full of dishes your parents would enjoy too, so I'd recommend stopping by here if you're ever having a meal with older family members 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

There's so much overly strong-flavored food around these days that sometimes I really crave this kind of gentle, easy-on-the-stomach meal.

What's on the menu at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch

The menu was simply put together.

The signature dishes are mackerel gondre rice and eggplant doenjang rice bowl! The mackerel gondre rice comes with the subtle aroma of gondre (dried mountain greens), plainly grilled mackerel, a special soy sauce mix, and gopchang gim on the side, while the eggplant doenjang bowl brings out savory depth with grilled eggplant, a special doenjang sauce, and kelp vinegar. There's also yukhoe bibimbap, chamnamul squid rice bowl, and herring roe bibim noodles. Next time I want to try the herring roe bibim noodles!

How many seats does Hyangtaek Daebong Branch have? Room for groups too

Inside, there are about 2 tables of 8, roughly 3 tables of 4, and about one table of 2! Enough for a group to sit comfortably. The tables had good spacing between them, so it felt spacious and never cramped haha.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl: good even if you don't like eggplant

What I ordered was the eggplant rice bowl! How can eggplant taste this good? It was an eggplant packed full of vegetable juice haha.

I was torn about ordering the mackerel, but I think I made the right call! I think this is an appealing dish that even people who usually avoid eggplant's mushy texture could enjoy without worry.

A look and taste you can't replicate at home. Cut the eggplant gently with a spoon, mix it with the rice, and take a bite — the outside is slightly chewy while the inside is soft, melting with a full load of vegetable juice.

How Hyangtaek says to eat it: rice and jeotgal wrapped in gopchang gim

And the gopchang gim and jangajji (pickled sides) served alongside are really delicious. Hyangtaek recommends the tastiest way to eat it: put rice on a piece of gopchang gim, then top it with jeotgal.

Tear up the eggplant, then mix it all together with the ssamjang, chives, and — puffed rice? — really mix it all up! It's perfectly seasoned even eaten plain, but if it tastes a bit bland, adding the kelp vinegar that comes with it brings out a subtle tang and savoriness. For me, the ssamjang alone got the seasoning just right, so I wrapped it up like in the photo below.

You put jeotgal on top of the gopchang gim and eat it wrapped. This is the kick!!!! Last time I ate at Hyangtaek this wrap was so good that I went home and ordered gopchang gim and jeotgal to eat right away — but maybe it's because the rice was different, I just couldn't get that same flavor! So I'm back at Hyangtaek to taste it again haha. If every meal could be eaten like this, I don't think I'd ever get tired of it, three meals a day!

Add in the crispy-grilled shiitake mushroom pancake and the meal becomes perfectly hearty. If you're looking for a gentle, well-made bowl of tidy Korean food instead of an overly strong-flavored dining option, I recommend the rice bowls at Hyangtaek 👍🏻