Seongseo, Daegu Korean restaurant for herring roe noodles: Hyangtaek

Dinner at Hyangtaek in Seongseo after a maternity photo shoot

Let me introduce Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch, where my husband and I stopped for dinner last week after our maternity photo shoot. We were pretty drained after the shoot and craving something clean but filling, and it turned out Hyangtaek, a well-known Daegu restaurant, had just opened a new branch near Keimyung Seongseo campus!

I first tried Hyangtaek last year on a trip to Gyeongju, on Hwangnidan-gil street, and I thought it would be the perfect choice for dinner that night, so we went straight there!

Just as I'd hoped, the prices were reasonable and the food came out clean and tidy, so we ate happily, and the staff were really kind too, which made the whole experience even better. It's a good spot for Keimyung University students for lunch or dinner, and I'd also recommend it for a date — here's my review of Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch^-^!!

Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung Branch hours and location

⏰ Hours ⏰

• Mon–Sat 11:00–20:00 (closed every Sunday)
• Break time 15:30–17:00
• Last order 15:00, 19:30

Hyangtaek is located across from Keimyung University's Seongseo Campus main gate, near Mirinae Park, and they say the closest way to reach it is by crossing at the crosswalk on the main road by the Nammun student parking lot!

What the wood-toned dining room is like

Here's a look inside this Daegu restaurant near Keimyung. The clean wood-toned interior gives it a nice atmosphere, and being newly opened, it was pleasant and spotless.

We visited on a weekend evening a week before the semester started, so it was fairly quiet, but with its warm, cozy feel it's a comfortable place to sit and eat, and I imagine it'll get much busier once classes start~^^

On the table, the menu, utensils, paper cups and tissues were all neatly arranged.

Hyangtaek's menu and the weekday-only free mushroom pancake

[ Hyangtaek's menu ] Pursuing a healthy style of Korean food, Hyangtaek offers four rice dishes and one noodle dish, using fresh, healthy ingredients like mackerel, gondre (Korean thistle), eggplant, doenjang, yukhoe (beef tartare), chamnamul (aster greens), squid, and herring roe — nothing too spicy or heavy on the stomach.

On weekdays only, if you follow them on Naver you get a free mushroom pancake platter (hanpan beoseotjeon) from the side dish menu — I'd recommend joining in!

The origin labeling was also thorough, and since they aim to use healthy ingredients grown on Korean soil, most items are domestically sourced!

Side dishes at Hyangtaek and what the couple ordered

After we ordered, the side dishes came out first. They served gungchaeji (pickled stem lettuce), seasoned salted fish, gonggi seaweed, plus a warm doenjang soup.

🍚 Today's order 🍚 Mackerel gondre rice ₩14,000 / Herring roe bibim noodles ₩13,000

My husband picked both of today's dishes, and both came out in big bowls, generously packed with ingredients and beautifully plated — they looked delicious just from the presentation>_<

Mackerel gondre rice, 14,000 won: no fishy taste at all

Mackerel was the side dish everyone hated during my husband's military service because it smelled fishy, so he was curious how it would turn out here and ordered it haha

The mackerel was grilled nicely golden brown on the front, back, and sides 🐟

There was quite a generous amount of mackerel, and it flaked apart softly~ Following Hyangtaek's recommended way of eating it, I shredded the mackerel into small pieces, added their special sauce, and mixed it all together.

Enjoy the original flavor and aroma before adding the special sauce.

That's what was written, so I started with just a little, spooning up bites of rice and adding more bit by bit — those who like a milder taste would enjoy it plenty even without the sauce.

They said the rice is made with Sindongjin rice, and it was fluffy yet had a nice chewiness, and the mackerel wasn't fishy at all! The gondre greens were savory and fragrant, and every spoonful felt like eating a genuinely healthy meal.

It tasted even better paired with the gungchaeji and seasoned salted fish, and wrapping it with a bit of extra special sauce in the gonggi seaweed was absolutely delicious~ If it's this kind of healthy food, I feel like I could eat it every day!!

Herring roe bibim noodles, 13,000 won: perilla oil and perilla leaf

And then there was the truly charming herring roe bibim noodles (cheongeoal bibimmyeon). Dishes with herring roe aren't something you see very often~

I was drawn in by the name and ordered it, and the herring roe, seasoned in a red sauce, was piled on really generously.

The more you mix it, the more the nutty aroma of sesame oil rises up, and the red seasoning coated the noodles evenly so the sauce and noodles didn't feel separate — they blended together really nicely. Looking at these photos again, I want to eat it all over again — great in both looks and taste★

I really don't like fishy flavors, so I was a little worried the herring roe might smell fishy, but it wasn't fishy at all, and thanks to the perilla leaves, the overall taste was fresh and bright.

The sauce wasn't heavy or sticky, so it stayed clean in the mouth, and it paired really well with the savory beef brisket (u-samgyeop) too!

Not just the rice — wrapping this herring roe bibim noodles in gonggi seaweed was delicious too haha

My husband, happily mixing the last of the sauce into the leftover mackerel gondre rice haha

For anyone looking for a healthy, filling, and delicious Korean meal, I'd recommend this Korean restaurant near Keimyung Seongseo, Hyangtaek — another great meal today-♡