Chicken restaurant in Danyang market for fried garlic-topped

Back again for Danyang Gugyeong Market's black garlic food haha^^ When you go to Gugyeong Market, you'll notice people carrying around two things a lot: garlic bread, and dakgangjeong (Korean fried chicken)~ dakgangjeong is love♡ Popping those boneless fried chicken pieces into your mouth... you just can't resist. Dakgangjeong is already delicious, but I heard there's a place that adds tasty nurungji (crispy rice) into the mix too, so off I went. Danyang Gugyeong Market restaurant: Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong.

Location and wait time — fried the moment you order

31-1 Dojeon 4-gil, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk, open daily 10:00–20:00, parking at the public lot across the street. When I got to the storefront, there was no line. I'd read reviews saying there's over a 30-minute wait on weekends, so I was thrilled thinking wow, no line~ but that wasn't quite it. They don't sell pre-fried chicken — it's fried to order the moment you request it. My boyfriend and I waited about 40 minutes. You get a number and they tell you to come back in however many minutes, so you just return to the shop at that time. While waiting, we wandered around and shopped at other food stalls in the market, and the time flew by.

Tip: the black garlic salt bread I posted about yesterday is nearby too, and if you buy the salt bread after buying dakgangjeong you get a discount, so don't miss that either.

Original vs. double black garlic — taste-test before you choose

There are two dakgangjeong options — original nurungji dakgangjeong and double black garlic — and you can taste-test both before deciding. Black garlic dakgangjeong is something you can only get in Danyang, so should I go with that? Or is the original the classic pick? I agonized over it and ended up tasting both, and honestly both were delicious lol. I ordered the original nurungji dakgangjeong.

That gorgeous sizzling sound of chicken frying lol. Take a moment to enjoy it.

The nurungji isn't store-bought — it's made right in front of the shop

Here's the unusual part: Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong includes nurungji, but it's not pre-made, store-bought stuff.

They make it all by hand right out front. They shape it into cute round little pieces and grill it out to be nutty and crispy.

By the time we came back from looking around, our order was ready.

A bottle of black garlic makgeolli, sold only in Danyang

Looking at the display stand in front of the shop, another thing caught my eye — Danyang black garlic makgeolli (rice wine). Apparently it's a collaboration with Daegang Makgeolli, famous for once being served as a Blue House banquet wine, and it's only available in Danyang. It said it goes well with black garlic dakgangjeong, and even though I can barely drink, I had to bring this one home lol. It had a handle, so it was easy and convenient to carry around.

Opened it right in the car — piled with fried garlic topping

The second we got in the car, I couldn't resist the smell of dakgangjeong and opened it right away. Thin, fried garlic slices were piled all over the top of the chicken — doesn't it look delicious just from the visual?

One bite of dakgangjeong, one bite of nurungji, and even some burdock root. The burdock was chewy and tasty, though it was a bit disappointing there was only one piece. Still, there's the crispy nurungji to keep going for^^ I felt like I'd eat the whole thing if I kept picking at it, so I closed the lid and we set off.

Trying it straight from the fridge

By the time we got home it was too late in the evening, so I put it in the fridge. The box said it's even tastier once it's cooled down, but cooled and fridge-cold-then-eaten-straight-out are different things, right? I wondered what to do... and in the end just tried it straight out of the fridge.

One bite of dakgangjeong, one bite of nurungji, and some fries too. But wait, only one serving of fries? Give us more please. I've got a nose for it — I can always tell when fried chicken has that off smell after sitting for a while, and when that happens I can't eat a single bite. But this time, there was zero smell at all. Even after going into and out of the fridge, nothing got soggy — still crispy through and through.

Black garlic makgeolli and dakgangjeong — surprisingly good together

Since we were eating at home now, I opened up the black garlic makgeolli too. I can barely drink, but I've got to try new things lol. With makgeolli, do you shake it up first, or just pour the clear part on top? I went with just the clear part, poured out a little~. I worried the garlic aroma might be really strong, but it barely came through at all, so it was easy to drink without any hesitation. It had a clean, sweet taste and went down smoothly. You'd think dakgangjeong should be paired with beer, but surprisingly, it went really well with makgeolli too.

Dakgangjeong made with black garlic — Danyang's specialty garlic — paired with black garlic makgeolli you can only get in Danyang. If you're traveling around Danyang and looking for something to eat at Gugyeong Market, skip the ordinary dakgangjeong and go for Danyang Heukmaneul Nurungji Dakgangjeong, where you can enjoy it together with nurungji — highly recommend!!! And if you can't make it all the way to Danyang, delivery is available too, so just inquire with the store^^