Open-air grill house in Seo-gu, Daegu with soybean stew: Daraewon

The weather has been so nice lately. Did you know that outdoor tent dining (yajang) is only possible for a short window like this? A little later and it gets cold, and suddenly you're the type of person who just orders takeout to eat at home instead of sitting outside haha. Anyway, we went to Daraewon Makchang, a long-running restaurant in Seo-gu, Daegu! Not just makchang (grilled beef/pork intestine) — the pork belly was also delicious, and it was the perfect place to visit in weather like this. Let me introduce Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant 🖤

Daraewon Makchang at a glance

Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant, has both outdoor and indoor tables, so you can pick depending on your mood! And since they have plenty of other menu items besides makchang, it's a great spot even for people who don't like makchang.

Where Daraewon Makchang is, plus hours and parking

• 298 Pyeongni-ro, Seo-gu, Daegu, South Korea
• Daily 4:30 PM – 12:30 AM
• Closed on Chuseok holiday
• Gravel lot in front of the restaurant, parking available in front of KCC Paint

Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant, has apparently been in this exact spot since 1978! I used to pass by it all the time, and I was genuinely surprised to learn it's been 50 years! You can really feel the old-school charm just from the exterior. Staying in one spot for years — and 50 years at that!? That's basically a guaranteed good restaurant.

Open-air table or indoor table: which to choose

Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant, splits its tables between indoor and outdoor. This was the outdoor table! In some spots, instead of walls or windows, it's completely open to the outside, giving it that covered tent (yajang) vibe! Haha.

The indoor seating was spacious too, so it looks like you could easily fit a group there! For very hot or very cold days, indoor is the way to go!

True to a Daegu makchang restaurant, they sell both pork makchang and beef makchang. On top of that, there are plenty of other meat options, so it seems like a great choice even for people who aren't makchang lovers. The first order has to be 3 servings or more, but you can mix and match menu items!

Oh wait,,,, this looks like an apron but it's not an apron~,,,,, my boyfriend and I wondered if it was an apron and went to grab it, and the owner came running over haha, so embarrassed ㅠㅠ. Turns out it's something they treat carefully as a resource,,,,

Let me also show you the basic side dishes at Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant! Classic tasty side dishes for a makchang restaurant. They also came with lettuce wraps and jaeraegi (traditional radish kimchi)!

Two servings of pork belly grilled at an open-air table

We ordered 2 servings of pork belly at Daraewon Makchang, an outdoor tent BBQ restaurant in Daegu! It had score marks cut in, which made it look even more appetizing.

Not the Bermuda Triangle but the pork belly triangle — my boyfriend's secret grilling technique. He says this way the pork belly fat renders out and makes the vegetables taste better when grilled. Or so he says — really he was probably just hungry, Sam-yeong-i.....

The pork belly at Daraewon Makchang, an outdoor tent BBQ restaurant in Daegu, was grilling up nicely golden brown. Even looking at it now my mouth is watering.... The breeze was cool that day and the space in front was wide open, so the atmosphere was really, really great!!

We grilled the side-dish kimchi on the pan too and ate it with the pork belly! As you can see from the pork belly before grilling, the marbling of fat and meat was absolutely perfect, so it was delicious even just grilled plain ㅠㅠ My boyfriend and I both agreed that pork belly really is the best haha.

The pork belly at Daraewon Makchang, an outdoor tent BBQ restaurant in Daegu, wasn't the trendy fancy-cut style — it had that genuine old-school pork belly feel! Not thick-cut, but thinly sliced pork belly grilled and eaten with ssamjang (dipping sauce) — that classic delicious pork belly, you all know it ><

Raw pork makchang, 160g, served pre-grilled

Next up was the No. 1 menu item at Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant — raw pork makchang! This is 2 servings... Why is the portion so huge?? I checked the menu and it was 160g!! Haha. Even the portion size felt like the real deal at this old-school Daegu restaurant.

They brought out the 2 servings of raw makchang pre-grilled! Raw makchang normally takes forever to cook, right? But at Daraewon Makchang, a Daegu makchang restaurant, they pre-grill it for you, so you only need to finish cooking it briefly on the pan! You could tell right away it was packed with rich fat 💛 I really love makchang.... mouth watering, immediately cracked open a bottle of soju.

Seriously, you'll regret it if you don't go to this outdoor tent BBQ restaurant in Daegu now.... The breeze was so cool that even sitting right in front of the fire wasn't hot at all, and it just made me hungrier. Back to the food — the raw pork makchang at Daraewon Makchang was, as expected, amazing! Now I get why it's been popular for 50 years... not a trace of gamey smell, nutty and savory, bursting with juice, absolutely delicious.

Raw pork makchang can turn out chewy and tough if not done right, right? But here at Daraewon Makchang, it wasn't chewy at all! No gamey smell, soft, and just perfectly chewy in the good way. Eating it with the makchang sauce and chili peppers together was an absolutely perfect combo...

Ending with doenjang jjigae and yangpuni bibimbap

Another thing I was really looking forward to at Daraewon Makchang, an old-school Daegu restaurant, was the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and yangpuni bibimbap (mixed rice in a big bowl)! Look at how it looks ㅠㅠㅠ How could anyone see that bibimbap and not order it. I'm just not that strong-willed. Ordered immediately.

The doenjang jjigae at Daraewon Makchang is seriously insane.... (in a good way) Whether it's seafood broth or blue crab broth, it's so refreshing that it felt like it washed away even the alcohol from last month. It was genuinely so delicious and the broth so refreshing that my boyfriend and I actually talked about bottling it in paper cups to give to our moms for a taste test and ask for the recipe haha. Seriously, you have to try the doenjang jjigae......

They also happily mixed up the yangpuni bibimbap with yeolmu (young radish) and radish salad. You know how when bibimbap isn't mixing well, you add some doenjang (soybean paste)? Yeah, doenjang and bibimbap just inevitably go hand in hand. After mixing it, I fed my boyfriend a bite.

Hahaha, seriously, he looked like some home shopping channel model ㅠㅠ Was that spoonful really worth that much of a facial expression and head nod?

How's the dessert at Daraewon Makchang taste? Delicious. Truly delicious. As expected, Koreans really need their carbs.

When Daraewon Makchang is worth the trip

A Daegu makchang restaurant with 50 years of history!! We had a light dinner with a drink at Daraewon Makchang, and with its pojangmacha-like outdoor tent atmosphere, it's definitely a spot I'd recommend as an outdoor tent BBQ restaurant in Daegu! A place where the food was just as great as the spacious layout... This window for enjoying the yajang vibe won't last much longer, so make sure to stop by after a date at E-World or Duryu Park. I'd also recommend it in Seo-gu, Daegu for family dinners, company dinners, and group gatherings!