Daegu bar lunch with jumbo chili shrimp: Mirim Yangjang

A retro exterior in a Gyodong alley

As you walk through the alleys of Gyodong, you come across Mirim Yangjang Daegu, with an atmosphere a little different from that of an ordinary Chinese restaurant.

Its retro exterior feels like it could be tucked away in an alley somewhere in China or Hong Kong, so I was already curious about what food would come out before we even ate.

Gyodong itself is a great area to explore on foot, so it was nice to look around nearby before or after our meal too.

Peking ducks hanging in front of the kitchen

The first thing that caught my eye when we stepped inside was the kitchen at the back. Then I turned toward the front of it and found three beautifully browned roasted ducks hanging side by side. That made quite an impression.

Their glossy, golden-brown surface kept drawing my eye even before the food arrived.

Sweet-and-sour mung bean sprouts as a side

The banchan (Korean side dishes) are fairly simple, but the one I remembered was the pink-tinged sweet-and-sour mung bean sprout salad. At first, my attention was so fixed on the main dishes that I barely reached for it, but...

After a few pieces of Peking duck, I tried a bite in between. Its tangy flavor and crisp texture made my mouth feel remarkably refreshed. It was great to nibble on now and then when the duck's deep flavor lingered.

Peking duck and chili shrimp ordered for three at lunch

That day, two adults and one elementary-school child—three of us in all—came for lunch and ordered half a Peking duck (₩35,000) and chili shrimp (₩18,000).

Finally, the half Peking duck I had been most curious about arrived. Peking duck is said to take quite a long time to prepare, with drying and roasting involved.

Mirim Yangjang Daegu says that completing one duck involves at least 30 hours of drying and roasting.

On the plate, the skin and meat arrived neatly prepared, along with thin wheat pancakes, a special sauce, shredded scallions, and julienned cucumber for wrapping. But first, I tried the skin without wrapping it in anything.

Crisp yet richly fatty duck skin

Wanting to taste the deepest flavor of the Peking duck, I picked up a piece of skin by itself first. The first taste was far more intense than I expected. It felt as though the duck's flavor and aroma had been concentrated into that single piece of skin.

The surface was crisp, but as I chewed, the distinctive rich fattiness of duck fat came through as well.

So it was not simply “crispy duck skin.” It was crisp yet rich, nutty yet deeply full of that distinctive duck flavor. After one bite, I think I understood a little why the skin is considered so important in Peking duck.

After the skin, I tried the meat, and that was quite impressive too. Duck can feel a little dry or tough if it is not cooked well, but the meat here was surprisingly very tender.

It chewed easily along the grain without much effort, retaining its characteristic duck flavor but with less of that stiff, lingering feel in the mouth. I lightly dipped the thick pieces from the middle in the special sauce; its gentle sweetness and saltiness made the meat's flavor stand out even more. As we kept picking up piece after piece, the plate disappeared in no time.

The fun of wrapping it in thin wheat pancakes

Still, for me, Peking duck was most fun when wrapped in the thin wheat pancakes. Lay out one pancake, add duck meat, crisp skin, shredded scallions, and cucumber, then add the special sauce and roll it up.

In one bite, each component has a very clear role. The duck is nutty and rich, the cucumber is crisp and cool, the scallions bring a slight pungency, and the sauce ties it all together. The thin pancake makes all those ingredients easy to eat in one bite.

Large, springy chili shrimp

The second dish was chili shrimp. The first thought I had as soon as it arrived was, “Those shrimp are pretty big.”

When I picked one up, the shrimp had a much more definite presence than the chili shrimp I usually see at Chinese restaurants. One bite gave a bouncy, almost springing texture, and the freshness of the ingredient came through fully.

Rather than using an overly thick coating to make the shrimp look bigger, it was nice that you could really taste the plump shrimp inside.

When I think of chili shrimp, I first think of a sweet, spicy, intense sauce, but Mirim Yangjang Daegu's sauce was less overpowering than expected.

It was sweet and tangy, but not so strong that it covered the shrimp's flavor; the taste of the springy shrimp and the sauce's savoriness flowed together naturally.

Peking duck in Daegu's Gyodong

• A place in Daegu's Gyodong where you can try the less-common Peking duck
• Duck skin with a memorable crisp yet rich flavor
• Meat that was much more tender than expected
• A well-balanced combination of thin pancakes, sauce, shredded scallions, and cucumber
• Chili shrimp with a satisfyingly large, springy texture
• A crisp salad that unexpectedly went very well with the chili sauce

On a day when you want something a little different from the Chinese food you usually have in Gyodong, wrapping golden-roasted Peking duck in pancakes one by one could make for a nice lunch~!^^