Sunday mother-daughter lunch, eggplant doenjang bowl: Hyangtaek

On a Sunday, my daughter and I went looking for a good restaurant near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station and ended up at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch (향택 대봉점). I used to borrow English picture books from the Daegu Jung-gu Children's English Library nearby, and I'd always passed this restaurant on the way — I'd been wanting to try it.

While browsing Naver Maps, a unique menu item caught my eye: 'mackerel gondre rice.' "Would mackerel and gondre (dried wild greens) really go well together?" I wondered, and got off at Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station on Line 2 to find out.

Location, parking, and hours at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch

The address is 17 Dalgubeol-daero 440-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, on the 1st floor.

It's open from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with a break time from 3:30 to 5:00 PM.

There are a few parking spots in front of the restaurant, but not many, so if it's full, nearby public parking is a good backup. The restroom is outside the restaurant, to the left.

A warm, tidy dining room

The exterior was clean and unfussy. Inside, wood-toned tables and chairs that would look right at home in a house, plus soft lighting, created a comfortable atmosphere. On one side stood a large traditional hearth, and I could see the kitchen at work through an open kitchen setup. It was a great restaurant near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station for a calm lunch with my daughter.

Main menu and prices

• Mackerel gondre rice — ₩14,000
• Eggplant doenjang rice bowl — ₩13,000
• Yukhoe bibimbap — ₩14,000
• Herring roe bibim noodles — ₩13,000
• Wild sesame leaf and squid rice bowl — ₩13,000

Mackerel gondre rice, 14,000 won — what does it taste like?

I ordered the mackerel gondre rice, and my daughter ordered the eggplant doenjang rice bowl.

The table looked neat with gungchae jangajji (pickled stem lettuce), gonjjaru gim (crispy seasoned laver), jeotgal (salted seafood), and warm doenjang soup served alongside.

The mackerel gondre rice came with a generous portion of thick mackerel, gondre, green onion, and sesame seeds.

The mackerel was soft, and the bones were barely noticeable, so it was easy to eat. Mashing the mackerel slightly and mixing it into the gondre brought out much more nuttiness than eating the fish and rice separately.

Wrapping a bite in the crispy laver I love, with a bit of jeotgal or pickle on top, added an extra salty edge. I've been trying to eat more protein lately, and this felt less like health food and more like a delicious treat — which made it even more satisfying.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl, 13,000 won — even for eggplant skeptics?

I also tried my daughter's eggplant doenjang rice bowl. Soft eggplant with bits of minced meat mixed in, and the savory depth of doenjang (fermented soybean paste) supporting it in the background.

No single ingredient overpowered the others, and the eggplant flavor itself didn't stand out too strongly.

I thought even someone who doesn't usually enjoy eggplant might want to try this once. My daughter, who doesn't normally eat doenjang dishes at home, ate it happily and said,

If this were in our neighborhood, I'd come here all the time.

That reminded me once again that cooking technique matters just as much as the ingredients themselves.

Next time, the grilled mushroom platter

I heard that if you leave a Naver receipt review on a weekday, you get a free grilled mushroom platter. Since I visited on a Sunday, I wasn't able to take advantage of it, which was a little disappointing. Next time I'd like to stop by on a weekday and try the mushrooms too.

My initial doubt about whether mackerel and gondre would go together disappeared after the first bite. It was a warm meal where the clean mackerel, fragrant gondre, and savory seasoning all came together nicely.

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch was a restaurant near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station I'd want to return to whenever I'm craving a tidy, home-style Korean meal with family.