Daegu Vietnamese restaurant, native chef's trotter rice: Raichen

I was craving cold rice noodles, so I went to Raichen Chilgok Branch (라이첸 칠곡점), a really famous pho spot in Chilgok 3-jigu. Let me introduce it right away~

Raichen Chilgok Branch location and parking

Raichen Chilgok Branch is right behind Chilgok Homeplus, so it's easy to find! It's also known as a go-to near Palgeo Station: get off at Palgeo Station on Line 3 and it's within 10 minutes on foot, or within 5 minutes from a nearby bus stop, so access is great haha.

If you drive, use the Heat Town parking lot (free) on weekdays and the Statistics Office parking lot (free) on weekends and holidays. You can also park in empty spots along the nearby roadside, so it's easy for drivers too!

You can even check the menu outside before you go in, which I liked haha.

Inside Raichen Chilgok Branch and the self-serve bar

Inside, the wood-tone interior and warm lighting made it feel like being in Vietnam and very comfortable! It was kept clean all around, which is nice for a meal, and there's group seating too, so it would work well for get-togethers or family visits.

Side dishes are self-serve, so you just help yourself at the bar. Handy haha.

Raichen Chilgok Branch menu and how to order

At Raichen, a Vietnamese chef makes every dish, and the menu is mostly Vietnamese with plenty of variety. Besides the signature pho, there are rice bowls, fried rice, banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich), banh xeo (crispy Vietnamese savory pancake) and side dishes, so there are lots of choices haha.

You order from your seat by table order, and right now if you join the Naver receipt review event you get either 3 shrimp balls or a coconut juice, so definitely join in!!!!!!

What I ordered: cold rice noodles, pork trotter rice and banh xeo!!!! It all came out as a hearty spread. Great looking, right?

Cold rice noodles for someone who only eats hot pho

The cold rice noodles at Raichen Chilgok Branch come in a tangy-sweet, clean-tasting cold broth with charcoal-grilled pork, and they were perfect for hot weather!! Honestly I'd only ever had hot pho, so I worried it might be hit or miss, but there was no need to worry.

The cold broth was impressively tangy-sweet and clean, and the noodles were springy yet soft and slid right down haha. Eaten with the charcoal-grilled pork that comes with it, the flavor doubled and I really enjoyed it haha.

Raichen Chilgok Branch banh xeo: how crispy?

The banh xeo at Raichen Chilgok Branch had shrimp, meat and bean sprouts packed inside a thin, crisply cooked shell. It looked great, and the first bite had a really good crunch!!!!!

The nutty flavor was amazing, and wrapping it in lettuce with pickles and dipping it in the sauce added a fragrant, tangy-sweet note. JMT (Korean slang for "insanely delicious")!!!!!!! Eating banh xeo, I felt like, is this really Vietnam~~~?

First time trying pork trotter rice: how was Raichen's?

The pork trotter rice (jokbal-bap) at Raichen Chilgok Branch is tender, odor-free boiled pork trotter topped with a sweet-salty special sauce and eaten with rice. It was my first time having it and the dish I was most looking forward to, and it beat my expectations..!!!

The trotter had no gamey or funky smell at all and was boiled so soft that the meat came apart easily. The sweet-salty special sauce soaked into it and went really well with the rice!!!! The hot chili cut the richness, so I never got tired of it and enjoyed it to the end. I get why it's a popular dish.

Summary in one line

I seriously stuffed myself with a full meal lol. If you're looking for good Vietnamese food in Chilgok, I highly recommend Raichen Chilgok Branch!!!! Next time I plan to go back for hot pho and the trotter rice again haha.