Cold rice noodles at a Chilgok 3-jigu Vietnamese restaurant: Raichen

My appetite has been coming back lately and I've been gaining weight because of it... so in that spirit, I'm getting back into food blogging haha ><

I only got into Vietnamese food recently, but the more I eat it, the more surprisingly delicious it turns out to be? It has a totally different charm from what I usually eat, so it's fun trying one dish at a time.

I ended up staying at my parents' place in Daegu for a longer break this time, and I thought it'd be nice to introduce Mom and Dad to Vietnamese food. There happened to be a Vietnamese restaurant in the trendy Chilgok 3-jigu area, so I looked it up and thought, 'This place should work for my parents too!' We went together. Here's my review of Raichen Chilgok Branch!

Where is Raichen Chilgok Branch, and where can you park?

Raichen Chilgok Branch seems to be pretty well known around Chilgok 3-jigu. It's about a 3-minute walk from Palgeo Station and right on the ground floor across from Homeplus Chilgok! It's super accessible from the Dongcheon-dong area, so it's easy to find.

It feels great not just for family meals but also for meeting up with friends. There's no dedicated parking lot, but the Heat Town lot is free on weekdays, and the Statistics Office lot is recommended on weekends and holidays.

The inside is pretty too, right? By the way, we got there around 6:30, and by 7 it was almost full. There's also group seating, so I'd recommend booking ahead.

Ordering at Raichen Chilgok Branch: tablet menu and a Hanoi-born owner

At Raichen Chilgok Branch, you order using the tablet at each table.

Here's the menu! There are so many options it's hard to choose. I thought it seemed more varied than other places, and it turned out that's because the owner is a local from Hanoi, as I found out on the way out!

Studying up on how to eat the dishes properly while we waited

Grabbed a little palate cleanser from the self-serve bar beforehand

After about 10 minutes of chatting and waiting, all the food arrived at once.

Cold pho ₩13,000 / Banh xeo ₩15,500 / Jokbal-bap ₩13,000

Cold rice noodles, 13,000 won: halfway between pho and naengmyeon

What I was most curious about at Raichen Chilgok Branch was the cold pho. The look of it is already totally different from the usual hot pho, but when I tried it, it was strangely familiar and delicious.

It's somewhere between pho and naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles)?! Which means it's an impossible-to-dislike combination. The cold, clean broth with rice noodles is great for hot days, and above all, the broth itself was really delicious.

There's also a nice touch — charcoal-grilled meat served on the side. The meat, lightly smoky from the charcoal, is amazing paired with the pho. Eating a piece of meat first then a sip of broth is great, and eating the noodles with the meat together is great too!

The broth had that keep-drinking-it flavor, so I ended up finishing it completely. Beware of an empty bowl. Cold pho was new to me, so it felt a little unfamiliar at first, but it was more uniquely delicious than regular pho — a real specialty.

Banh xeo, 15,500 won: wrapped in dry rice paper, no soaking needed

Next up, banh xeo, which I was trying for the first time

It's a thin, crispy Vietnamese pancake, kind of like a Vietnamese-style buchimgae (savory pancake). It's packed with bean sprouts and shrimp inside. What's interesting about Raichen Chilgok Branch is that you wrap it in dry rice paper — rice paper that hasn't been dipped in water!

The way to eat it is simple too. Put lettuce, pickles, and crispy banh xeo on the rice paper, roll it up, and dip it in the nuoc mam sauce. The crispy texture of the banh xeo stays intact, and combined with the crunch of the lettuce and the tangy pickles, it was a better combination than I expected.

With the salty-sweet-tangy nuoc mam sauce on top, it really wakes up your appetite! Even my parents, trying it for the first time, kept making one wrap after another. They ate way more than I expected haha

Jokbal-bap, 13,000 won: the easiest dish for first-time diners

Lastly, jokbal-bap! As the name suggests, this is a dish of tender braised pig's trotter served with rice

The meat was so tender it was easy to eat. If I had to describe it, it was closer to the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture of dongpo-rou (braised pork belly), and it came with a spicy sauce that was perfect with rice.

The meat itself was delicious, but the sauce paired so well with the rice that I kept going back for more. It's a dish anyone new to Vietnamese food can enjoy without much difficulty. My parents especially love rice dishes, so they really enjoyed the jokbal-bap too.

How did the parents' first Vietnamese meal go?

Mission accomplished: Mom and Dad's introduction to Vietnamese food was a success. Honestly, I'd fallen for Vietnamese food myself this time and dragged my parents along. I was worried at first that it might not suit their taste, but they ate well across the board — cold pho, banh xeo, and jokbal-bap. Thanks to that, I got to enjoy the meal happily too. Love you, Mom and Dad.

Highly recommend this to anyone like me who's just getting into Vietnamese food and wants to try different dishes, or anyone who wants to take their parents somewhere different to eat. It's especially convenient being close to Palgeo Station and located in Chilgok 3-jigu. If you're looking for good pho in Chilgok 3-jigu or craving Vietnamese food, I recommend Raichen Chilgok Branch!

Raichen Chilgok Branch hours and parking details

• Address: 1F, Units 108-109, 30-23 Dongcheon-ro 23-gil, Buk-gu, Daegu
• Hours: Tue–Sun 11:00–21:15 (last order 20:30)
• Closed: Every Monday
• Parking: Roadside parking in front / Heat Town lot (free) / Statistics Office lot on weekends and holidays (free)
• Groups, reservations, takeout, and delivery available
• Daegu-ro Pay accepted