Solo curry rice meal at Cafe Dongi, a Daemyeong-dong restaurant, Daegu

Stopped by for a simple meal at "Cafe Dongi Daemyeong Station Branch." What I ordered was the shoulder-cut Japanese curry rice and the mini tangsuyuk tasting portion. I was happy that single-portion orders are possible, and the food came out neat and tasted good too! You can get a full meal for under ₩10,000, and even a full Korean set meal for around ₩10,000-something. Group meals work here too, but it's especially great for solo dining!

Where is Cafe Dongi Daemyeong Station Branch, and what are its hours?

Cafe Dongi Daemyeong Station Branch 122 Daemyeongbokgae-ro 4-gil (Daemyeong-dong), Nam-gu, Daegu, South Korea Hours: 11:00 - 21:00 Break time: 15:00 - 16:30 Has group tables and solo seats Has baby chairs

It's close to Exit 4 of Daemyeong Station too, so it was easy to find! There's no dedicated parking area, so you'll need to park in the alley.

At the entrance they had cool hetgae tea (Korean raisin tree tea) set out. Nice touch from the owner, leaving it out for passersby too, not just customers...

How to order at Cafe Dongi, and side dishes for solo diners

Food is ordered via the tablet placed at each table. Several promotions were running. You get free lemonade for a receipt review! And signing up as a member gets you a coupon for a free mini tangsuyuk (usable on your next visit). I just went with the basics — shoulder-cut Japanese curry rice ₩9,900 and mini tangsuyuk ₩9,900.

The great thing about Cafe Dongi is that they have side menu items solo diners can actually order too. When you go alone, side dishes are often too much to order because of the portion size, but here the portions are small and cheap, which was great. I really wanted tangsuyuk and was so happy there was a tasting-size portion available...

The food came out pretty quickly. Both dishes I ordered were served at the same time!

Shoulder-cut Japanese curry rice, 9,900 won: how big is the portion?

Honestly, I wondered if ordering a Japanese dish at a Korean restaurant was the right call, but today I was craving the shoulder-cut Japanese curry rice, so I got it. The curry comes with seaweed soup and three side dishes.

First of all, the rice portion is massive... I have no idea how much they wanted to give me. There's quite a lot of shoulder meat in there too. Honestly the curry itself isn't bad at all — it has good flavor and tastes different from store-bought curry, so I enjoyed it.

Mini tangsuyuk tasting portion, 9,900 won

The tasting tangsuyuk comes with 2 pieces. Loved that they gave tongs and scissors so you can cut it up yourself.

About 4 rice cakes come with it too. The tangsuyuk was thick, warm and delicious. Freshly fried tangsuyuk can't really be bad... Honestly, seeing the size of the curry rice, I wondered if I'd ordered the tangsuyuk for nothing, but it was so good I finished it all.

Inside Cafe Dongi: solo window seats and group tables

The interior had a really clean design, with a bit of a café vibe to it.

There are group tables, so it looked good for company outings too! Plenty of 2-tops and 4-tops as well.

The window seats look good for one or two people eating. Perfect for solo dining too!

You can also get to the restroom directly from inside.

The free-refill self-serve bar: five-grain rice and fried egg

At Cafe Dongi you can help yourself to five-grain rice, water, fried egg and more. Unlimited refills!

Here you can get seasoned seaweed flakes, hetgae tea, and rice.

The five-grain rice here is the same rice that comes with your meal. If you run out while eating, just refill it! Though the initial serving is already generous...

This is the self-serve fried egg station.

Self-serve fried egg stations are often a bit neglected when you visit places, but Cafe Dongi's was clean even though it's self-service. Paper towels and disposable gloves are all provided, so tidy up after using it.

The plates for the fried eggs are underneath.

Having a sink there is such a nice detail — perfect for washing your hands before eating or after frying an egg if you feel a bit greasy.

Water comes from a filtered water dispenser, self-serve. Next to the dispenser there's also barley candy — also unlimited refills!

Is Cafe Dongi good with kids? Baby chairs and a kids' menu

Cafe Dongi is also a good spot to bring kids.

They have baby chairs available, so no worries about bringing kids along.

On top of that, you can get a kids' menu at an affordable price! It's made up entirely of dishes kids love, so little ones should eat well. I could tell the owner put a lot of thought into all sorts of details. A home-style restaurant I'd recommend to people living alone and to office workers nearby — Cafe Dongi. Recommended whenever you're craving home-cooked food or just want some Korean food!