Late lunch with no wait at a Jeonpo-dong Korean restaurant: Hyangtaek

Hyangtaek, a Jeonpo-dong Korean restaurant that's tidy and generous — a lunch I really enjoyed

Hyangtaek, famous around Gyeongju and Daegu, actually has a branch in Jeonpo-dong too haha. I'd been curious about it for a while, and hearing there was one in Jeonpo-dong meant it kept catching my eye whenever I passed by.

This time I visited a bit after lunchtime, and luckily I got in right away with no waiting~~ There are so many hot spots in Jeonpo-dong these days that I was a little worried about waiting, but the timing worked out well.

Inside Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch: is it a good place to meet a friend?

The interior at Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch is clean and well put together overall. It's more calm than noisy, so it felt like a good spot to make plans with a friend or acquaintance.

The tables were set nicely, and when the food came out, each dish was plated neatly — it looked great.

And something that oddly stuck with me was the water haha. The water here is good!! Just plain water, but it was somehow tasty, so I kept drinking it throughout the meal.

Samchi gondre-bap: add the sauce and wrap it in gim (dried seaweed)

The dishes I ordered at Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch that day were mackerel thistle rice, eggplant doenjang rice bowl, and a whole mushroom plate. Ordering several dishes to share was great since each of us got to enjoy different flavors.

I tried the mackerel thistle rice first, and the combination of gondeure (thistle greens rice) and mackerel worked better together than I expected. They give you a separate sauce — it's absolutely a special treat, so make sure to add it!! The umami is out of this world.

The mackerel was mild and paired well with the rice, and wrapping it in seaweed instead of just eating the rice plain made it even tastier.

Put rice and mackerel-rice on a sheet of seaweed, add a bit of the side dishes that come with it, and it's so good! Each side dish paired well with the food, so it was fun mixing and matching them.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl and whole mushroom platter: are the portions generous?

The eggplant doenjang rice bowl was delicious too. The eggplant and doenjang (soybean paste) seasoning blended so well with the rice that my spoon kept going in more than I expected.

It wasn't an intensely strong flavor, more of a comfortable taste to eat with rice, so it wasn't heavy at all.

The whole mushroom plate we also ordered came out generously portioned, great for sharing. Having all three dishes together meant each one tasted different, so it never got boring, and with the side dishes added, the meal felt pretty substantial.

Above all, the portions were more generous than I expected. These days, some of the prettier restaurants in Jeonpo-dong have great atmosphere but disappointing portions — here the amount was solid too, which I liked.

Looking for good-value Korean food in Jeonpo-dong?

And you really, really have to try the whole mushroom plate! Crispy outside, tender inside — genuinely delicious haha.

Eating it together with rice is an amazing combo!!! It should be on Hyangtaek's must-order list haha. The mushroom plate is great.

And if you like rice-based dishes, picking one menu item each and sharing them together sounds like a great idea too. The staff were all kind, so I felt comfortable the whole time I was eating.

Parking at Hyangtaek Jeonpo Branch

For parking, I used the paid parking lot behind the restaurant (not sponsored). Parking in Jeonpo-dong is always a little stressful, but it was so nice that it was only a 3-minute walk from Hyangtaek!

It was great to be able to experience Hyangtaek, famous in Gyeongju and Daegu, in Jeonpo-dong too, and after trying it myself, I understood why so many people seek it out haha.

With a clean interior, neatly plated food, and generous portions, it was a good spot for a lunch date with a friend. If you're looking for a Jeonpo-dong restaurant that's filling without being too heavy, Hyangtaek is worth a visit. I'm planning to go back next time to try other dishes on the menu~~ haha