Solo lunch at a Daegu restaurant: butter garlic shrimp, Rama & Bavana

Today, after finishing my move, I was heading to Daegu for laser hair removal, so I looked for somewhere to get a good brunch-lunch in. I've barely eaten Indian food lately, so while searching for an Indian restaurant, I spotted "Since 2004" and thought, this has to be good — and ran straight over. That's Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch :)

Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch: hours and how to find it

Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch, a curry restaurant near Suseong Lake in Daegu, is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30–21:20! Break time is 15:00–16:30 and last order is 20:30! It's right near Suseong Square!

Luckily there's a big standing sign pointing the way, so you won't miss it. I'd heard the place was started by two people, Rama and Bavana, both from India. As someone who loves authentic seasoning, I couldn't help but get excited :) Even though I showed up a bit after lunch hour, there were still quite a few customers! The view of Suseong Lake, the prices, and the parking situation all make this a great spot to stop by.

Parking at Rama & Bavana near Suseong Lake: free lot on site

When you think of Suseong Lake... parking can definitely be a worry. Luckily Rama & Bavana has a well-equipped free parking lot, so you can just park and come in!

Inside Rama & Bavana, and arriving before the 15:00 break

This photo was taken right before I left..! Sure enough, by the time I was heading out around 2pm, a lot of people had cleared out. Even so, new customers kept coming in... Since it's just the two of them cooking, the food actually comes out pretty quickly, so I think coming in with an hour left before break time wouldn't be a problem at all.

Curry usually leans heavily on coriander, turmeric, and cumin, in that order. At the curry restaurants I usually go to, the flavor tends to be intense — 35% coriander, 30% turmeric, 15% cumin. (Plus 8% chili powder, garlic, and so on thrown in generously, while boldly skipping cream or butter.) I wondered what the curry here would be like... but somehow I had a feeling it'd be milder. A lot of older customers were eating here — the main customer base skewed noticeably older.

You can choose either salad or French fries as a side! Most people seem to go for the salad! The salad here is subtly delicious, I'd recommend it!

What I ordered: phad phong curry ₩20,000 and butter garlic shrimp ₩25,000

I ordered two dishes: phad phong curry (₩20,000) and butter garlic shrimp (₩25,000). Phad phong curry basically means crab (phu) stir-fried (phad) in curry sauce :) If you have a shellfish allergy, please skip this one! Right after I ordered, an older gentleman at another table said the naan and shrimp curry here were great. For a second I thought he was talking to me, but he was actually talking to his companion — I kind of felt scolded for no reason haha. Anyway, I waited for my dishes with a mix of nerves and excitement.

Only pickles come out as a side dish, well-cured. Honestly, side dishes don't really matter much at an Indian restaurant, so I didn't think much of it.

Wow, the portions are huge. I'd skipped breakfast and came in with high appetite firepower, and I barely managed to finish — both dishes are seriously generous. The menu photos make them look small, so you might be surprised when they actually arrive. One dish per person is plenty. I only managed to finish it all because I'd had a couple of exhausting days and my appetite was running at 1.5x... The real bonus here is being able to eat with a view of Suseong Lake. All the reservation seats are positioned to look straight out at the lake ^^; If you're coming here, I really recommend booking a seat near the lake and enjoying the great view with your meal.

The ingredients were all impressively large in size and the portions huge — if the taste held up too, this would be perfect. Let me go through each dish!

How does the butter garlic shrimp (₩25,000) at Rama & Bavana taste?

There was a generous amount of salad, with butter garlic and rice underneath. Almost every country except Korea and Japan usually uses basmati rice (Indica rice), which is so low in stickiness it practically flies away if you blow on it — but surprisingly, this place uses Korean-variety rice! Since Korean rice is easier to eat without getting your hands messy, I thought it was a good choice.

I couldn't quite tell what the salad dressing was, but wow, it hit that perfect balance — not too salty, not too sweet, not too heavy. It went well with both the beans and the leafy greens, and the pickled green beans mixed in gave it a tangy-sweet kick that kept it from getting monotonous. The butter garlic shrimp wasn't as heavy on butter or garlic flavor as I expected. If anything, the shrimp's own natural saltiness stood out more — overall the seasoning was mild across the board. Because of that, the pickles' presence stood out more, and the sweetness from the pineapple really came through too, making it a dish where you could genuinely enjoy the ingredients themselves!

And the big chunky shrimp had that satisfying snap when you bit in... that's where it ended... The portion is generous, it feels healthy to eat, and I get why this dish is marked Best on the menu. A lot of places overdo it with strong chili powder, too much paprika powder, or overpowering garlic — but here, the cooking of the ingredients is basically flawless, and while the seasoning isn't strong, the balance between ingredients and seasoning lands perfectly mild, so I don't think anyone could dislike it. I expected Indian food to have quite a strong aroma, but it wasn't strong at all — anyone can eat it comfortably, making it a safe dish to share!

Rama & Bavana phad phong curry (₩20,000): crab body meat only

Next up was phad phong curry! Usually this comes with a ton of crab shell (organs included) and awkward-to-eat claws... but I liked that here they cook it using only the easy-to-eat body meat! There are two styles of phad phong curry — the intense garlic/chili-oil-based version, and a version softened with cream or butter — and this place went with the latter. It really felt like they were minimizing the chance anyone would dislike it, rather than flexing authentic Indian intensity!

Wow, first off, the crab meat... there was a ton of it and it tasted really good! Honestly, when eating phad phong curry, I usually care more about the sauce flavor than the crab itself, but here the crab was genuinely delicious... bb There was no fishy or overly salty taste at all, just plump, plentiful meat, so it was fun to eat with your hands! Maybe not ideal for a first date, but since they give you sanitary gloves, you can eat it cleanly!

The shrimp were fantastic as always, and the sauce had a hint of what seemed like butter flavor coming through strongly! The egg was also nicely fluffy, and the taste was that classic chicken curry masala flavor. Definitely not a cheap-tasting curry — plenty of turmeric went in, but that heavy, bitter edge was smoothed out beautifully. It was truly a gold-balance curry! This had a mild enough taste that even kids could eat it, and I'd definitely order it again!

Verdict: is Rama & Bavana okay if you dislike strong spices?

Felt like discovering a great neighborhood spot...! It has a warm, cozy feel, generous portions, and the flavor is truly mild through and through. It's not overly elaborate — it's the kind of healthy taste you could eat often without getting sick of it, like a meal a parent makes for their kid, and I loved that about it :) I've been to a lot of Indian restaurants, but Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch felt like it used quality spices while really smoothing out their downsides — making it very approachable even for people who aren't great with Indian food!

And just the fact that there's good parking infrastructure near Suseong Lake makes me want to come back whenever I'm out at the lake! Highly recommend it if you want to eat Indian food in a healthy way by Suseong Lake! This post is my subjective review, so it may differ from your own taste, but I hope it's a helpful reference for your choice!