Daegu Korean restaurant for a family meal: Hyangtaek

I’m so glad we had our first meal of our Daegu trip here with our child. To start our Daegu trip, we headed to Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch, where everyone from children to adults can eat together. It is a Korean restaurant that was great for a family meal, with a neat interior and slightly unusual fusion Korean dishes.

A cozy fusion Korean restaurant that thoughtfully serves distinctive Korean dishes

Location and parking near Keimyung University Seongseo Campus

Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch is a lovely neighborhood restaurant tucked into a side street. If you take the subway, it is a four- to five-minute walk from Exit 5 of Gangchang Station on Line 2. By bus, get off at the “Across from Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital” stop and walk for around five minutes.

It is near Mirinae Park, opposite the main gate of Keimyung University’s Seongseo Campus, so it is easy to find if you know the area. They say it is particularly close if you cross the main-road crosswalk from the student parking lot by the campus’s south gate.

There is no dedicated parking for the restaurant if you are driving! When we arrived, plenty of cars were parked in front of the restaurant or on nearby side streets. We found an empty spot nearby, parked as discreetly as we could, and went in.

The surrounding alleys are not especially wide, though, so I would recommend taking public transportation and walking over rather than parking in the alley if you are not confident driving.

A comfortable interior for dining with a child

When we opened the door and went in, the whole place felt warm and cozy. It was neatly arranged without feeling overly formal like a typical Korean restaurant, so it was comfortable. We visited at weekend lunchtime and had a short wait because there were lots of diners, but tables turned over sooner than expected, so we did not wait long. The seating is mainly two- and four-person tables, with comfortable built-in sofa seating along one side. We came with our child and happened to get a sofa table, so we could eat comfortably.

The spacing between tables is not extremely wide, but when we visited, someone at another table was dining without trouble with a stroller. Even with a young baby, the layout did not seem like one where you would need to worry too much about a stroller. Its neat, relaxed atmosphere looked suitable not only for a family meal with a child, but also for a meal with parents or a Korean-food date near Keimyung University.

Spanish mackerel gondre rice and herring roe bibim noodles

Hyangtaek’s menu included dishes that are a little different from what you normally see at Korean restaurants, such as Spanish mackerel gondre rice, eggplant doenjang rice bowl, yukhoe bibimbap, chamnamul squid rice bowl, and herring roe bibim noodles.

The menu on the table included photos and brief descriptions, so choosing was not difficult even on a first visit. What we ordered Spanish mackerel gondre rice ₩14,000 Herring roe bibim noodles ₩13,000 Hanpan mushrooms ₩6,000

There were also instructions for how to enjoy the food, so we followed them as we ate.

There was also a weekday-only Naver receipt-review event offering complimentary hanpan mushrooms, so keep that in mind when you visit! The basic sides were miso soup, gungchae pickles, mixed salted seafood, and plenty of curly roasted seaweed. Each side arrived on an individual plate, which kept everything neat. Soy sauce for dipping the hanpan mushrooms and a special sauce for the Spanish mackerel gondre rice came separately too.

When we visited, there was an opening event offering hanpan galbi to the first guests, and we were lucky enough to receive it free of charge. With the hanpan galbi added to our order, the table ended up looking more generous than we expected.

Spanish mackerel gondre rice

This rice bowl comes with grilled Spanish mackerel, fragrant gondre (Korean thistle), and braised mushrooms. A thick, nicely browned piece of Spanish mackerel sat generously on top of the gondre rice. What I especially loved was that the bones had been neatly removed! Fish bones can make you nervous when feeding a child, but it was easy to serve this with peace of mind. We added the special sauce and mixed the shredded mackerel, gondre, and mushrooms together thoroughly.

The Spanish mackerel was mild without any fishiness, and the earthy gondre aroma came through gently. The seasoning was not strong either, making it a good, easy first meal.

It was tasty on its own, but it was even better wrapped in the curly roasted seaweed with a little mixed salted seafood.

Herring roe bibim noodles

These mixed noodles are made with nutty perilla oil, herring roe, grilled beef brisket, and fragrant perilla leaves. While the Spanish mackerel gondre rice was on the mild side, the herring roe bibim noodles were more appetite-whetting. Between the shredded perilla leaves and beef brisket were noodles scented with nutty perilla oil, topped generously with red herring roe seasoning. After mixing it well and taking a bite, the nuttiness of the perilla oil met the flavor of the beef brisket, while the little pops of herring roe made the texture fun. It looked quite spicy from the color, but it was less intense than expected, with a gentle heat that was easy to eat. The herring roe’s distinctive savory depth also kept my chopsticks coming back for more.

This went well with the curly roasted seaweed too. A bite of Spanish mackerel gondre rice followed by a chopstickful of herring roe bibim noodles gave us alternating mild and spicy-nutty flavors, so we did not get tired of it until the end. I was glad we ordered the two together.

How were the hanpan mushrooms and hanpan galbi?

Hanpan mushrooms

A mild, nutty pancake made by pan-frying an assortment of fragrant mushrooms until golden. It was golden on the outside while retaining a pleasantly chewy texture within. With each bite, the mushroom aroma spread gently, followed by a nutty flavor.

We ordered it to share with our child, but it was the adults who ate it more enthusiastically. 👀

Hanpan galbi

Moist grilled galbi with tender meat and a sweet soy-based marinade. The sweet-and-salty hanpan galbi we received as a complimentary dish was still juicy and had a subtle smoky flavor, so it was delicious.

It was the kind of rice-stealing dish that both children and adults could enjoy—I felt like I could finish a whole bowl of rice with this alone. For our child’s meal, I served mixed gondre rice along with bite-size hanpan galbi and hanpan mushrooms. Doha seemed to love it too and ate really well. (We used the child’s spoon we had brought, and used the paper cups on the table as small plates!)

When dining out with a child, I always worry about what they can eat, so it was reassuring to be able to serve rice, fish, galbi, and mushrooms—a nice variety.

Hyangtaek for our first meal in Daegu

Hyangtaek, which we chose for our first meal of the Daegu trip, was a good Seongseo restaurant for a relaxed family meal before moving on to the next part of our itinerary. The familiar Korean food was joined by slightly distinctive dishes, making it suitable for eating with a child. Most of all, I loved that we could begin the trip with a filling meal that did not feel burdensome.

• Anyone wanting mild Korean food with a child
• Anyone looking for a neat place for a family meal near Gangchang Station or Keimyung University
• Anyone curious about Korean dishes that are a little different, such as Spanish mackerel gondre rice
• Anyone wanting to enjoy mild rice alongside spicy, nutty bibim noodles

When you are craving neat, comforting Korean food near Keimyung University in Daegu, or want an easy meal with your child, I recommend Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch!