Daegu pork soup restaurant with melt-soft suyuk for two: Don Gukbap

At Don Gukbap, a Buk-gu Office restaurant in Daegu, I had tender suyuk (boiled pork slices), deep, rich pork gukbap (pork and rice soup) and a clean-tasting suyuk janchi guksu (banquet noodles with boiled pork).

Where is Don Gukbap, and where do you park?

Don Gukbap is at 8 Oksan-ro 7-gil, Buk-gu, Daegu, about a 7-minute walk from Buk-gu Office Station. It sits in an alley, and there was room for about one car in front of the restaurant.

Don Gukbap menu and prices

All the gukbap dishes are ₩9,000, suyuk is ₩20,000 and the suyuk set meal is ₩12,000. There are grilled dishes too, so the menu is wide and I agonized over it for a while before ordering.

Meals

• Pork gukbap ₩9,000
• Sundae gukbap (blood sausage soup) ₩9,000
• Offal gukbap ₩9,000
• Spicy gukbap ₩9,000
• Suyuk set meal ₩12,000
• Suyuk ₩20,000

Grilled dishes

• Back meat, cheek and neck BBQ platter ₩4,000
• Raw pork belly ₩5,000

What we ordered

• 2 pork gukbap
• Suyuk
• Suyuk janchi guksu

Tables and the bone broth explanation

Every table has salt, pepper and paper cups ready. One wall has a written explanation about the broth.

It also said that a broth that doesn't set like acorn jelly when refrigerated isn't a rich bone broth. Because bones are full of collagen, it's normal for the broth to set like jelly in the fridge. Being told it was 100% bone broth made me excited even before the food came out.

Side dishes and the self-serve zone

The side dishes come out neatly, and the self-serve zone has tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and sundae, so you just take as much as you want.

The perilla leaf and green onion salad was nutty and tangy, so I kept reaching for it. The kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and kimchi were perfect with the gukbap too.

How tender is the ₩20,000 suyuk?

The ₩20,000 suyuk was so tender that the meat melted the moment I took a bite. The suyuk at Don Gukbap in Buk-gu Office, Daegu, was honestly crazy good. The portion was surprisingly generous too!!!

It was among the most tender, silky suyuk I've ever had. Number one for me!! My partner tried it and said it was the softest suyuk they'd ever eaten. They kept saying how delicious it was and kept eating.

It's great with just a little salted shrimp, and wrapped in a lettuce leaf it was so good I was happy, haha

How does the ₩9,000 pork gukbap broth taste?

Maybe because it's 100% bone broth, the pork gukbap was very clean yet deep, and it was loaded with ingredients. The meat was tender, and thin wheat noodles came along too, so I could enjoy those as well.

You can start with the clear broth as it is, then stir in the dadaegi (seasoning paste) when you want something spicy. Usually gukbap turns a bit heavy and muddy once you add dadaegi, but the pork gukbap at Don Gukbap had no heaviness at all. The broth stayed clean yet spicy, and I was very satisfied.

What is the suyuk janchi guksu?

Suyuk janchi guksu is banquet-style noodle soup with boiled pork in it. It sounded unusual so I ordered it, and the portion was huge. Maybe because of the suyuk, the broth was nutty and mild, and I kept going back for more.

It's a special dish worth ordering alongside the rest at Don Gukbap. The suyuk in the noodles was tender too, and I was happy with every single dish.

Since we ordered so much, the people at the next table were startled and asked, "Is that just for the two of you??!!" haha We don't eat much, but you know the feeling of wanting to try a bit of everything, right?! I'm really glad we ordered so many dishes ><

Overall verdict on Don Gukbap in Buk-gu, Daegu

• The 100% bone broth was deep and clean
• The suyuk was truly tender and the most impressive part
• The suyuk janchi guksu is a fun special dish to order alongside
• I loved that the self-serve bar has tteokbokki and sundae
• Recommended if you're looking for a gukbap restaurant in Buk-gu, Daegu

Don Gukbap satisfied me with both its deep, rich bone broth and its tender suyuk. The gukbap, the suyuk and the suyuk janchi guksu were all delicious, and I'd love to come back to this Buk-gu Office restaurant in Daegu.