Banwoldang Daegu Korean restaurant for an early dinner: Hyangtaek

I went to Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch on Jongno for an early dinner with a friend :) I've been craving Korean food lately and wanted a neat, well-put-together meal, so this was the spot I picked in Jongno! 😆

Where is Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch, and what are its hours?

• 📍 19 Jungang-daero 77-gil, 1st floor, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea
• ⏰ Daily 11:00 - 20:00
• Break time 15:30 - 17:00
• Last order 15:00 / 19:30
• 🚗 No dedicated parking lot

Inside Hyangtaek: a dining room under the original hanok roof

Hyangtaek had that hanok (traditional Korean house) feel right from the entrance

Once inside, the space had kept the hanok roof structure exactly as it was, which caught my eye right away. A lot of places do a hanok-style makeover these days, but seeing the actual roof frame gave Hyangtaek its own distinct atmosphere

The calm mood combined with the clean interior design meant I personally liked the inside even more than the exterior

It seemed like a good spot to eat with a friend, but also fine for a meal with your parents or even a date 😊

Barley tea

Once we sat down, they brought us water — turned out it was barley tea! I'm always secretly happy when a restaurant serves barley tea instead of plain water haha... The barley aroma was pretty strong too, so I was already enjoying it before the food even arrived 😆 I don't usually drink much water, but the tea was so toasty and comforting that I kept sipping it while we waited for the food haha

What two of us ordered: yukhoe bibimbap and Spanish mackerel gondre rice

Looking over the menu, my friend picked the mackerel gondre rice (Spanish mackerel with gondre, a mountain vegetable) and I went with the yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef mixed rice).

There were also new menu items — grilled deodeok with mushrooms and Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi — and looking at the lineup, I thought it'd be nice to come back with my parents next time 😊 With ingredients like deodeok and mushrooms that older folks tend to love, it seemed like a solid option for a family meal too.

After ordering, they set out the side dishes along with the sauce for the mackerel gondre rice, and the gochujang (red chili paste) and egg yolk for the yukhoe bibimbap

Best of all, they kindly explained how to eat each dish step by step, so we started the meal in a really good mood :)

While chatting with my friend, the food we'd been waiting for finally showed up! Both bowls had the ingredients laid out so neatly that we grabbed our phones for photos the second they arrived haha

Yukhoe bibimbap at Hyangtaek: mixed with pear and bean sprouts

The yukhoe bibimbap I ordered looked fresh from the yukhoe alone, so my expectations went up just from the visuals ✨

After mixing in the sauce and egg yolk evenly and taking a bite, the yukhoe had a texture that was soft yet still had a satisfying chew.

Underneath the lettuce and yukhoe there was also pear and bean sprouts, and eating them all together added a nice crunchy texture.

In particular, the pear's refreshing sweetness plus the bean sprouts' crunch made it a different experience from eating the yukhoe alone. Even with so many different ingredients mixed in, none of them fought for attention — everything worked together so well that I kept going back for more.

Spanish mackerel gondre rice: how strong is the aroma?

I also got a bite of my friend's mackerel gondre rice

There was a generous amount of gondre in it, so the aroma really came through, and it paired well with the mild mackerel.

From what I could see, the mackerel and gondre were topped with green onion, mushrooms, and sesame seeds, giving it a neat, well-arranged look too.

Given it's a fish-and-greens combo, I expected something mild, but the distinct gondre aroma really came through and stuck with me more than I'd expected.

It was tasty on its own, but wrapping it in the seaweed (gim) that came as a side dish added a nutty flavor and gave it a whole different feel! I also liked scooping just the right amount of rice onto the seaweed for a single bite. Both the yukhoe bibimbap and the mackerel gondre rice had their own charm, so it was great that we each ordered one and shared 👍🏻 From the hanok atmosphere to the food lineup to the owner's kind explanations, Hyangtaek left us with a genuinely good meal.

After the meal: walking to Starbucks Jongno Gotaek Branch across the street

Watching the owner patiently explain the menu to other guests too made me appreciate the hospitality even more haha. Right out front there's also a hanok-style Starbucks Jongno Gotaek Branch, so the flow from a filling Korean meal straight into a coffee spot felt really convenient! It's a great course — a hearty Korean meal followed by coffee and conversation — so I think it'd be a good place to come back to whenever I have plans with a friend in Jongno 👍🏻

Next time, I want to come back with my parents and try the new menu items I was curious about :)

If you're looking for a Korean restaurant in Jongno with a good atmosphere or a neat, well-put-together meal in the Jung-gu, Daegu area, give Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch a try 🍋