Daegu Korean restaurant, holiday lunch without the queue: Hyangtaek

Why Hyangtaek Daebong Branch for a holiday lunch in Daegu?

The writer was in Daegu over the holiday, craved Korean food for lunch, and headed to Hyangtaek Daebong Branch (향택 대봉점), a rice spot near Kim Kwang-seok Street. It's also close to Dongseongno. Both the writer and their partner were happy with it, so this is a place they recommend with confidence.

Where is Hyangtaek Daebong Branch and where to park

The address is 17 Dalgubeol-daero 440-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea (1st floor). For parking, use the Kim Kwang-seok-gil public parking lot and the parking fee is deducted from your meal bill! The weather's been so nice lately that parking and strolling around was just perfect.

Saturday lunch queue: Hyangtaek main branch vs. Daebong Branch

At 12:00 on Saturday, the Hyangtaek main branch had 5+ teams waiting, but the Daebong Branch had no wait. Hyangtaek has quite a few branches in Daegu, including the main one, and when the writer checked for a Saturday lunch, the main branch had 5 or more teams in line.

When the writer arrived at 12:00, the Daebong Branch had no wait. On the way out around 12:30–12:40, there were 1–2 teams waiting. You can also join the queue remotely through Tabling and check the live wait status, so if you're visiting, check ahead and you can probably get in without waiting.

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch interior and restroom

The interior is clean, in white tones with touches of wood, so it feels fresh and comfortable! It seemed good for a date or a family meal, this rice spot on Kim Kwang-seok Street.

The restroom is outside the restaurant and unisex, but it was pleasant and tidy.

Here's how to eat it for the best flavor! Anyone interested?

Hyangtaek's dishes look like rice bowls (deopbap), but you mix them up and eat them. The gim (seaweed) and seasoned fermented seafood (bibim jeotgal) served alongside are the real kick!

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch menu and prices

Meals at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch run ₩13,000–14,000.

• Spanish mackerel gondre rice (삼치곤드레밥) ₩14,000
• Eggplant doenjang rice bowl ₩13,000
• Beef bulgogi rice bowl ₩14,000
• Yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef bibimbap) ₩14,000
• Herring roe bibim noodles (청어알비빔면) ₩13,000
• Chamnamul squid rice bowl ₩13,000

• Deodeok mushroom grill ₩9,000
• Hanpan galbi (ribs platter) ₩10,000
• Hanpan mushrooms ₩6,000
• Drinks ₩2,000 (sikhye, omija, sujeonggwa, Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Sprite)

What side dishes come with meals at Hyangtaek?

At Hyangtaek Daebong Branch you get pickled gungchae (stem lettuce), seasoned fermented seafood, the special sauce for the mackerel rice bowl, gim, and miso soup. You know how with these rice-bowl style Korean places, it feels a bit sad without anything to eat on the side? I'm a born-and-bred Korean, so I do feel let down when no side dishes show up, but the pickled gungchae and seasoned seafood work great as a kimchi substitute, and with the mackerel bowl's special sauce and the gim, the whole meal felt richer in both composition and taste.

And for those who can't eat rice without soup, the miso soup means nothing gets stuck in your throat~

Both dishes were served at the same time. One very happy blogger.

Hyangtaek Spanish mackerel gondre rice, eaten the recommended way

The Spanish mackerel gondre rice looks really, truly just like the photos, so pretty that the saying "food that looks good tastes good" came straight from my heart.

The grilled mackerel also comes with the bones already mostly removed, so it was easy to eat. Almost no bones!

Following the how-to-eat guide on the table, tear the grilled mackerel into small pieces and mix it in.

Method 1: no sauce, just the natural flavor of the ingredients

To taste the natural flavor as recommended, take a big spoonful of the rice bowl with no sauce, mixing the mackerel, gondre (thistle greens), mushrooms, sesame seeds and scallions thoroughly! I've been so used to strongly seasoned food lately that eating this mackerel bowl, where you can taste the ingredients themselves, felt like cleansing my tongue. No excessive umami, just a savory depth coming from the ingredients themselves, filling my mouth.

Method 2: wrapped in gopchang gim with seasoned jeotgal

Put the mackerel rice and the seasoned seafood on a piece of gim and yum. The umami of the gim and seafood added on top clearly made it deeper and richer. I could taste both the natural flavor and the deep, rich flavor, so every bite was happy. I hated watching it disappear at this rice spot on Kim Kwang-seok Street.

Hyangtaek herring roe bibim noodles: too salty or spicy?

For all the red look, Hyangtaek's herring roe bibim noodles (₩13,000) weren't salty or spicy, and there was almost no fishy taste. And the herring roe bibim noodles! I'm a Hangul lover who gets grumpy when a menu says "bibim soba", so I was so glad it said bibim noodles (bibimmyeon), okay?

There was more herring roe on top than I expected, so I worried it would be salty, but it wasn't salty at all, and despite the red look it isn't spicy or harsh. There's barely any fishiness. The reason I can't choose between the mackerel rice and the herring roe noodles is that eating them alternately never gets boring, and the two dishes really go well together~

Sharing an eating tip! Mixing the mackerel rice with the herring roe sauce was even tastier.

Is Hyangtaek Daebong Branch worth a return visit?

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch was a rice spot on Kim Kwang-seok Street where we scraped the kimchi clean to the bottom. My partner was so deeply satisfied they said they want to bring their parents and friends.

I kept saying "so good" for the first time in a while, too. When you crave Korean food but not overly strong seasoning, Hyangtaek delivers the ingredients' natural flavor and umami. It works as a date spot, with kids, or with parents, so a return visit is already booked.