Daegu Jongno makchang grill, meat wrapped in two ramyeon: Bongja

Jongno in Daegu has plenty of meat restaurants and makchang (grilled pork large intestine) places that are great for group meals. Today I'm introducing one with a bit of character: Bongja Makchang (봉자막창)!

Where is Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch?

Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch (봉자막창 대구종로점) is a 4-minute walk from Jungangno Station, at the very end of the main alley in Jongno, Daegu. It's open from 16:00 to 02:00, with last order at 00:30.

It's a famous place that has been on TV a lot! And it's not just TV, word of mouth has made it popular too, so lots of people come here.

Bongja Makchang has been going since 1995, and I hear it has made a name for itself with things like a Taste Star Road selection and a #1 spot in a Korea consumer satisfaction brand ranking. So, with high expectations, let's go eat~!

Bongja Makchang menu and the platter set

The meats here are makchang, seasoned makchang, raw pork belly, raw pork neck, frozen pork belly and beef belly. If you order the platter (hanpan), you get one plate plus another plate, so two plates at a good price. We ordered raw makchang + raw pork belly as our platter.

How do you cook the self-bar ramyeon at Bongja Makchang?

One of Bongja Makchang's signatures is the self-bar ramyeon. After ordering, I looked around the self-bar and the ramyeon caught my eye! You just take it to your table and boil it yourself, and I loved that there were so many kinds.

You put water in a pot, carry it to your seat and boil it there. They even thoughtfully set out measuring cups.

For our first ramyeon we picked ganjjamppong (a stir-fry style spicy noodle). There's no place to pour out the water for stir-fry noodles, so you boil it down as it cooks and eat it that way!

Side dishes and unlimited steamed egg

The basic side dishes come with a variety of sauces and vegetables to go with the meat. The bean sprouts and kimchi are especially good grilled on the grill plate together. If you run out, grab more from the self-bar, and the big plus is that the steamed egg is unlimited too!

Grilling the raw makchang and raw pork belly platter

The meat platter has arrived! It's a big portion and looks great, so let's grill some right away.

They also give you bracken (gosari), which you put on the grill together. It goes surprisingly well with the meat.

Grill it until golden. Both the makchang and the pork belly pieces were really big and chunky.

When it's all golden brown, it looks so good it makes your mouth water!

Wrapping meat in ganjjamppong and Jin Ramen

I tried the ganjjamppong we boiled earlier at the self-bar together with the makchang and pork belly, and the combo is honestly the best. Dipping in sauce is tasty too, but wrapping the meat in the spicy ramyeon was way better~

Partway through, I added a plate of beef belly too. Such a mouth-watering look ❤️

While the meat grilled, we boiled the second ramyeon. This time we made a soup ramyeon with Jin Ramen Spicy.

Wrapping ramyeon in meat is sooo good. My friend is a ramyeon master so it was boiled really well, and when greasy meat meets fiery ramyeon, you get a combo you can inhale nonstop!

Doenjang stew to finish and patbingsu for dessert

At the end I wanted rice too, so we ordered Bongja Makchang's doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), and it turns out you boil this one at the table as well.

They even give you dessert after the meal! There's still one unlimited item left at the very end: patbingsu (shaved ice with sweet red beans). It tastes like old-fashioned patbingsu, with sweet condensed milk meeting red beans.

When we left, the staff sprayed us with Febreze and gave us candy. Tasty, generous portions, lots of different menu items and friendly staff too: that was Bongja Makchang, a Daegu makchang favorite.