Daegu makchang restaurant with a 43,000 won combo platter: Bongja

Bongja Makchang is already a famous chain, and I'd been wanting to visit forever! 🥩 It's been featured on TV multiple times, so I went in with high expectations.

When I arrived, there were only two seats left, so I got lucky and sat down right away. By the time I finished eating and left, there were already people waiting.

After eating there myself, I totally got why it's so popular. Here's my review of Bongja Makchang, and it lived up to the hype!

What Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch looks like inside and out

Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch is a makchang and pork belly grill house at 49-1 Jongno, 1st floor, Jung-gu, Daegu. When I arrived, there were exactly two seats left.

Exterior

By the time I finished and headed out, a line was starting to form — I would've had to wait if I'd been just a bit later 😂

Interior

There are two more tables in the back too~ Just don't step backward when opening the door 😂

Bongja Makchang menu: what the 43,000 won Bongja Combo includes

Bongja Makchang has everything from combo platters to individual orders of makchang and pork belly. 🥩 If you want to try two things at once, the combo platter is the way to go. The Bongja Combo is 43,000 won, and there are other combo options to choose from too.

For sides, there's fried rice, naengmyeon, and doenjang jjigae, great for finishing off the meal after the meat, haha. You order everything through the tablet at your table!

We ordered the Bongja Combo (43,000 won)! 🥩 You get to pick your own combination for the combo, and we went with raw makchang and raw pork belly. You select the meat type on the tablet, then add extra items too.

Choose extras here!

They give you grilling instructions, so just follow along.

Grilling it nice and crispy!

Side dishes and the free steamed egg at Bongja Makchang

The basic side dishes at Bongja Makchang include shredded scallion, kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, pickled onion, and a dipping sauce for the meat. Plus cheongyang chili and garlic, great to eat alongside the makchang, haha.

The steamed egg is free! 😍 I always order steamed egg whenever I go to a grill house anyway, so having it come standard was such a treat, haha. It was soft and fluffy with cheese melted on top, and my spoon was already busy before the meat even arrived. It was so good I ended up ordering a second one later!

How do the raw makchang and pork belly in the Bongja Combo taste?

The Bongja Combo finally arrived! 🥩 The platter was loaded with raw makchang, raw pork belly, bracken fern, and mushrooms. The makchang especially was cut into easy bite-sized pieces, making it easy to grill. As the meat cooked, they grilled the bracken fern alongside it, already making my mouth water, haha. I'd wanted to try both makchang and pork belly, so ordering the combo was definitely the right call!

Watching the makchang sizzle away made me want to eat it right then 🤤 The surface turned golden brown with fat bubbling up, and even the sizzling sound was stirring up my appetite, haha. They grilled rice cakes and mushrooms alongside too, making the platter even more filling!

Once both the makchang and pork belly were nicely cooked, it was finally time to eat! 🤤 I picked up a piece of pork belly first — I could barely hold myself back waiting to taste it, haha.

Dipped it deep in the salted seafood sauce, one bite!

Makchang really has to be dipped deep in ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) to taste its best! 🤤 The ssamjang had plenty of cheongyang chili mixed in, adding spice to the savory makchang flavor, which I loved, haha. The nicely grilled makchang was crispy outside and chewy inside — so good — and eating it together with the pork belly, I couldn't stop.

Free self-serve ramyeon and bingsu at Bongja Makchang

The self-serve bar at Bongja Makchang has every kind of ramyeon (instant noodles), and of course it's free. Cooking your own ramyeon after finishing all the meat — what a concept, haha 🍜

You thought it ended with ramyeon? Haha, we ordered bingsu for dessert too! 🍧 And yes — that's free too, ha! Crispy cereal and red beans on top, a sweet finish after all that meat!

As we headed out after our satisfying meal, a line was already starting to form! Popular places really are different, haha.

Is Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch worth a visit?

I visited Bongja Makchang with high expectations since it's already a well-known chain! The raw makchang was crispy outside and chewy inside — delicious — and being able to have raw pork belly too made me glad I ordered the Bongja Combo, haha.

Getting the steamed egg for free was great too — it was so good I ordered it a second time. With ramyeon and bingsu on top, it was a very filling meal!

By the time I finished and left, there were already people waiting. I could totally see why it's so popular, and I'd love to come back whenever I'm craving makchang again. 😋