Chimsan-dong Korean restaurant, weekday 2pm pork set: Cafe Dongyi

"Cafe Dongyi" is a place that's pretty famous in Daegu for Korean food, and there's always a wait, so I'd wanted to go but kept putting it off, ugh. This time I got a good chance to have lunch there, and it was so neat, such good value, and so tasty that I get why it's famous... let me introduce it right away!

• Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch
• 1757 Chimsan-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu
• 11:00–20:30
• Break time: yes

Where is Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch, and is there parking?

Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch is on the 1st floor of Dormitory Building E at Samsung Changjo Campus in Chimsan-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu. Parking is available, but you must register your car. Samsung Changjo Campus itself has tons of good restaurants and cafés inside.

The exterior of the store — it's a building covered in vines, so pretty, right? 🌿 The campus is big and the buildings all look similar so it can be tricky to find, but if you head from the campus's 'central plaza' toward the east dormitory building (the one covered in ivy), you'll find it easily!!

Inside Cafe Dongyi: interior and atmosphere

The inside was so clean and the atmosphere was really nice. The big glass windows let in a great view of the greenery outside, which I loved.

I went around 2pm, so most people had already finished eating, but on weekdays there can still be a wait during peak times.

You can also see the clean open kitchen. Even from a distance you can tell how careful they are about hygiene.

The free service bar, with fried eggs you cook yourself

Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch has a service bar with free, all-you-can-eat fried eggs, five-grain rice, a seasonal drink, barley candy, and seaweed...!!! Seriously amazing. You never run out of rice or side dishes, and you can even finish off dessert here — such great value!!!!

I tried making a fried egg myself at the self-serve bar, and the yolk came out perfectly soft haha. Adding a soft yolk to bibimbap is amazing, so make sure to cook one in advance!!!

Cafe Dongyi menu and prices

Prices at Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch start around ₩7,000. I figured a neat, hanjeongsik-style place like this would cost quite a bit, but the prices were so affordable, which was a nice surprise!?!? It's a crowd-pleasing Korean menu, and there's even a kids' set, so it seems like a great place to bring children too!

• Spicy pork bulgogi large set for two
• Zero-sugar cola

I wanted the famous tangsuyuk and the jeyuk both, and everything looked delicious, so I went with the large set! The portions and the lineup were both great.

What comes in the spicy pork large set for two

The pork bulgogi large set comes with jeyuk bokkeum, tangsuyuk, doenjang jjigae, siraegi bibimbap, and omija tea. You get to try all the best-menu dishes I'd been so curious about in one go — a set I totally recommend!!!

The portions were really generous, and the way the three dishes worked together was so, so good.

First off, the visuals on these main meat dishes are amazing. The jeyuk bokkeum arrived with a strong smoky char smell right away, and the yeast-aged tangsuyuk is said to be tastier than what you'd get at a Chinese restaurant. The portions were huge too!!!!

Siraegi bibimbap, mixed two different ways

For the siraegi bibimbap, I mixed one bowl with the seasoning sauce to make a gochujang bibimbap, and the other with doenjang jjigae to make a doenjang bibimbap. Both tasted really different, and both were so charming and so, so delicious, ugh. And the doenjang jjigae was so good it genuinely shocked me... the deep, savory flavor felt like eating grandma's homemade soybean paste. A taste you just can't get at a regular restaurant. Seriously so good.

Pro tip! Be sure to add the soft-yolk fried egg from the self-serve bar too!!!!

Pop that soft yolk and mix it in — it adds a rich, savory flavor that's amazing... The siraegi (dried radish greens) wasn't tough at all, so soft and delicious. Such a properly balanced bibimbap — it's been a while since I had one this good, ugh.

Jeyuk bokkeum with a deep charcoal-smoky flavor

The moist, deeply smoky jeyuk bokkeum was also really good. The pork had no off-smell, was so tender, and the spicy-sweet smoky sauce was rich — the kind of flavor anyone would like, one no Korean person could dislike, honestly. There were also plenty of crunchy vegetables mixed in, which I liked haha.

Make sure to put the meat on top of the bibimbap and eat it together. It's genuinely fainting-good...

Yeast-aged tangsuyuk and its four dipping sauces

The yeast-aged tangsuyuk made it obvious right away why it's so famous. It's supposedly gluten-free and flour-free, but it's crispy outside and juicy inside — amazing. The yeast seems to make it extra chewy, and the thin batter is really appealing. The meat, made with Jirisan black pork, was thick, tender, and so tasty, ugh.

For the tangsuyuk, they set you up with four dips: tangsuyuk sauce, salt, wasabi, and whole grain mustard! The sauce was sweet and delicious, and the salt, wasabi, and whole grain mustard were all surprisingly charming and tasty, ugh. It kind of cuts through the richness of the combo? Especially the whole grain mustard worked better than expected, so I kept dipping into it haha. So good, ugh. Definitely try all four sauces!!!!

Take the seaweed from the self-serve bar, wrap it around some white rice, and dip it in soy sauce! Both the seaweed and the rice itself are so good it's genuinely delicious haha.

Dessert at Cafe Dongyi: omija tea and barley candy

I poured myself some omija tea into a paper cup for dessert, and when I saw actual omija (schisandra berry) powder settle at the bottom, I realized this wasn't from a teabag — it's the real thing. No artificial taste, just so fragrant and delicious — I think parents would really appreciate this kind of thoughtful touch with omija tea haha.

Be sure to grab the barley candy from the self-serve bar too and have it with the omija tea haha. The tea helps digestion and the candy wraps up dessert — such a satisfying meal 🥹

Is the spicy pork set for two worth it?

• A go-to Korean restaurant in Chimsan-dong
• A neat, tidy restaurant that's great to bring parents to
• A popular restaurant in Buk-gu, Daegu
• A Korean restaurant with great value and solid fundamentals