Busan Korean restaurant for mackerel thistle rice: Hyangtaek

A polished Korean restaurant I want to recommend in Jeonpo

Maybe it’s just me, but when friends ask me to recommend a Korean restaurant in Seomyeon or Jeonpo, I can never think of one! Of course, there are plenty of delicious Korean places everywhere, but to recommend one to someone, I think it needs good food, a clean setting, and a nice atmosphere—and something a little more special than doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) or kimchi jjigae.

But!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A Korean restaurant that checks every single one of my boxes!!!!!! has appeared in Jeonpo, for real~~ This is the place!

The location is also very, very good. There’s a break time from 15:30–17:00, so definitely check before you go~⭐️

The restaurant is neat and the interior is pretty! It’s such an easy place to recommend to friends, right? Oh! When I went, there were lots of older diners too. Looking for somewhere to take your parents? Or your grandparents? Then I super, super recommend it!!!! There are loads of Western, Japanese, and Chinese restaurants in Seomyeon/Jeonpo, but finding Korean food is surprisingly hard, you know! I totally recommend Hyangtaek!

Ordering Spanish mackerel thistle rice, yukhoe bibimbap, and mushroom jeon

Here’s the menu! The dishes feel familiar but not quite ordinary. I loved the menu selections, including the side dishes. We ordered Spanish mackerel thistle rice, yukhoe bibimbap (rice mixed with raw beef), and a platter of mushroom jeon (Korean savory pancake)!

Hyangtaek started in Daegu, apparently. So there are several branches in Daegu! It started as a 7-pyeong restaurant, then opened branches in Daegu and now one in Jeonpo too—how could it not be delicious?~^^ There’s a first photo at the very back of the menu, and it just made the place seem trustworthy, fresh, and clean, haha~

There are even instructions for how to enjoy the food. I like reading things like this and following along, haha. They aren’t there for no reason! You should try it too, haha.

Hyangtaek also offers takeout and delivery, and the meals looked so nicely put together, like lunchboxes. I thought it would be really nice to order one whenever you need a lunchbox meal.

A neatly set Korean table

Ahh~~ Barley tea at a Korean restaurant is just so nice~~ The table is set out neatly first. Even the dishes are impeccably clean! You get sauce for the thistle rice, sauce for the mushroom jeon, sauce and an egg yolk for the yukhoe bibimbap, stem lettuce, seasoned salted seafood for mixing, roasted seaweed, and soybean paste soup. Actually, there aren’t as many banchan (side dishes) as at a typical Korean restaurant, but I liked that because it let me focus on the rice!

All the food has arrived.

Spanish mackerel thistle rice with a deep thistle aroma

First, the Spanish mackerel thistle rice. They said the mackerel was boneless, so it was incredibly easy to eat. I flaked it apart and mixed it right in with the rice.

And what made me think, wow, they use good thistle greens here, was the aroma. It’s different—really different. I love thistle rice, but it’s hard to find thistle greens with an aroma this deep. The thistle flavor is so prominent that the mackerel could almost seem mild, but I loved that gentle taste. I normally eat strongly seasoned food, yet this was so delicious even without being heavily seasoned.

Fresh yukhoe bibimbap with gentle seasoning

Next, the yukhoe bibimbap! First of all, the raw beef was so fresh, approved. It also had pear and bean sprouts, which gave it great texture. The yukhoe bibimbap sauce seemed homemade, and it was so delicious once I added it and mixed everything together.

The yukhoe bibimbap was also gently seasoned, yet even someone like me who likes bold flavors enjoyed it so much. Hyangtaek seems not to season things too strongly overall. It’s mild but lets the ingredients’ natural flavors shine! That made me think it would be even better to come here with my parents!

Crisp yet moist mushroom jeon worth ordering

And finally, the mushroom jeon. This little thing—what a gem. The edges are wonderfully crisp, while the inside is moist and holds all the mushrooms’ juices. But it isn’t soggy or slimy, and it has several kinds of mushrooms, not just one! It was my first time having mushroom jeon like this, and it was exactly my kind of food. If you like mushrooms, you absolutely have to order it!!!!

Owner, only empty bowls came back—without a grain of rice left~ Just kidding ^^ Anyway, I completely recommend Hyangtaek (향택), whether you want a Korean meal, a place to recommend to friends, or somewhere to bring your parents and older family members.