Birthday dinner at a Daegu gopchang restaurant: Miso Gopchang Wolseong

A mother's birthday dinner at Miso Gopchang Wolseong in Daegu

Turns out mom actually loves beef gopchang (intestines) too..!?

True story!! Last weekend, for my mom's birthday, I took her to 'Miso Gopchang,' located in Wolseong-dong.

Open Mon–Sun from 5pm! (Open even on Chuseok!) There's no dedicated parking lot, so I parked on the street.

Just thinking about eating beef gopchang after so long got me pretty excited — it's been ages since I had grilled meat, hehe.

Right as we walked in, an ice cream machine and a nostalgic lottery-draw box caught my eye! You can already smell how much thought the owner put into this place.

The dining room was small and had a lovely antique vibe. We were hungry, so let's order already!!

They were running a paper lottery event. I tried my luck too — guess what I got? I'll tell you below, haha.

What makes Miso Gopchang Wolseong different

• Slaughtered the same day in Gunwi!
• Hand-trimmed in-house!
• Milk-aged milk-daechang (insanely nutty)
• A great variety of side vegetables!

I'm kind of a flavor connoisseur, you know... I'll get into the detailed tasting notes below!

What we ordered and what it cost: Miso assorted set for two and Gunwi doenjang rice

We ordered the Miso assorted set for two (₩25,000 per person) and the Gunwi rustic doenjang rice with rice wine (₩7,000). Since it comes pre-grilled, we waited a bit.

The menu even kindly explained the best order to eat everything in. As an introvert, I loved not having to ask questions!!

Apparently I was Miso Gopchang's 3,018th customer. That kind of attention to detail made me feel really looked after.

The free Tongyeong abalone clam soup and side dishes

While the gopchang was being pre-grilled, they brought out a Tongyeong abalone clam soup — and this was free?! Wow... it really made me crave a drink. Two whole abalones in there, and the broth was spicy and refreshing. I don't even drink soju but I wanted some. Haha.

There's also a dipping sauce for the gopchang scattered around the table. Spicy chili and sweet pineapple go into it, and the pairing with the gopchang is unreal. Heh.

Nicely fermented green onion kimchi — just grill it on the pan along with everything else.

Assorted pickles — honestly, these alone could get you through a serving or two of gopchang?!

Salt-oil sauce, wasabi, and whole grain mustard to bring out even more flavor in the gopchang.

The owner personally cleans the abalone in the clam soup for you. All we had to do was eat.

Dip the abalone in soy sauce and — yum — such a chewy, healthy bite! Feels like I'll have the energy to power through next week. Hehe.

The clam meat was pretty big too, chewy and tasted really fresh.

The paper lottery draw: we came 4th

While waiting for the gopchang, I did the paper lottery draw and got 4th place!! 4th place wins a free draft beer, but since I'd driven there, the owner promised to give it to me on my next visit. I'll keep this ticket safe. Hoho.

How the Miso assorted set and the milk-aged daechang taste

Finally, the full platter of gopchang arrived — the Miso assorted set for two.

There was a mountain of chives piled up — I wondered if we could finish it all, but once grilled and eaten together with the gopchang, it disappeared. Nothing's impossible!!

Since it comes pre-grilled, you just need to cook it a little more before eating.

They told us beef heart tastes best with a little whole grain mustard on top. It was really tender.

The owner grills everything deliciously for you, so all you have to do is focus on eating — so convenient.

Just look at this gopchang... so tender, packed full of the fatty interior, and so nutty. Makes you want a drink. Hahat.

We put some green onion kimchi on top too.

With plenty of wasabi and a bit of chili, the milk-daechang (milk-aged large intestine) just melts away — it's so soft it disappears in no time. The membrane wrapped around the chewy daechang was so tender. The daechang here is seriously something!!!

The Gunwi rustic doenjang rice my mother scraped clean

The rustic doenjang rice with rice wine had a bit of gopchang and a few clams mixed in. With plenty of napa cabbage and chives, somehow it didn't feel like eating something fatty was sabotaging my diet (as if I was ever really dieting). Miso Gopchang lets you get plenty of vegetables along with the meat! Grateful to be able to eat well and stay somewhat healthy at the same time, hehe.

Loads of tofu in there too. My mom really loved this doenjang rice — she scraped the bowl completely clean, haha. Bringing her here was totally worth it!

Potatoes pan-fried in the leftover fat! Absolutely delicious.

Finishing the meal with ice cream

Ending with ice cream completely washed away the lingering oiliness in my mouth. It had been a while since I'd had such a satisfying gopchang meal — make sure you order the milk-daechang as an add-on here. You'll probably want more. Heh. We'll be back, owner — wishing you great success!