Daegu Korean restaurant with yeast-aged tangsuyuk: Cafe Dong-i

Fighting fire with fire 🌞 Another summer vacation in the Daeprica (Daegu's nickname for its brutal heat), following last year! Though this summer, Gimhae actually felt hotter than Daegu, so maybe that nickname is a bit outdated now.

Before checking into our accommodation, we decided to fill up first and stopped by Cafe Dong-i, a well-known spot in Sicheol, Daegu. It's a great-value restaurant in Sinmae Market, Daegu, so popular that there was a wait even in this heat. Friendly service, great taste, generous portions, and fair prices — here's my honest review of Cafe Dong-i Sicheol.

Where Cafe Dong-i Sicheol is and where to park

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol is on the first floor of a shopping arcade at 56 Sinmae-ro 16-gil, Suseong-gu, Daegu, South Korea, inside Sinmae Market. There's 1 hour of free parking support at the Sinmae Market public parking lot, so bringing a car isn't a hassle.

The Sinmae Market arcade also has a well-organized directory. It's a great place to browse the market and eat solo, and it's clearly popular for family meals with kids and dates too, thanks to its reasonable prices.

A Sicheol restaurant : a Sinmae Market restaurant Cafe Dong-i Sicheol Business hours

How long is the lunch wait at Cafe Dong-i Sicheol?

Cafe Dong-i is a popular lunch spot near Sinmae Station, and the wait started as soon as noon hit. Just as I started to feel a bit irritated in the scorching heat, they served up a cool glass of gyeolgae tea (hovenia tea) as a courtesy while we waited.

After about a 20-minute wait, we finally got seated.

Inside Cafe Dong-i Sicheol

There are about six 4-person tables, and everything is neatly and cutely arranged. Baby chairs are available too, making it convenient for family dining.

What I especially appreciated was that the restroom is inside the restaurant with a sink nearby — convenient. I guess it's placed near the self-bar because you'd want to wash up after handling eggs, given hygiene concerns.

The Cafe Dong-i self-serve bar: unlimited eggs and rice

Eggs and rice are provided unlimited. Unlimited rice at a rice restaurant — such a happy thing! Five-grain rice with gopchang gim (roasted seaweed) is such a nice touch. The service at Cafe Dong-i Sicheol really stands out.

In the back, there's also barley gangjeong (crispy barley snack) available to enjoy freely, and you can also buy some to take home.

While waiting for the food, we curbed our hunger with some fried eggs. Apparently they tasted even better because my 14-year-old fried them, haha.

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol menu and prices

Grilled jeyuk hanjeongsik set - 12,900 Dong-i grilled pork bulgogi set - 9,900 Beef brisket doenjang jjigae set - 10,500

Grilled jeyuk set meal, 12,900 won

This is Cafe Dong-i's popular grilled jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) hanjeongsik set. It comes with jeyuk bokkeum on a personal charcoal grill, plus doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) on the side.

Since it's on a personal grill, you can enjoy it warm all the way to the end — great for solo dining too. The smoky grilled jeyuk wasn't too spicy, so it was fine even for kids to eat.

It's delicious just as it is, but be sure to grab some gopchang gim from the self-bar. Wrapping the pork with rice in the seaweed made it taste even better — I practically inhaled it.

Beef brisket doenjang jjigae set meal, 10,500 won

The beef brisket doenjang jjigae set has a rustic doenjang base packed with beef brisket and tofu. Mixing it into the rice was heavenly. Thanks to it, I finished one bowl of rice and even refilled for another. 👏👏

Dong-i grilled pork bulgogi set meal, 9,900 won

This is what my spice-shy 14-year-old ordered — the Dong-i grilled pork bulgogi, sweet and salty, served with a generous serving of cabbage salad.

The Dong-i grilled pork bulgogi set comes with miyeokguk (seaweed soup), lightly seasoned and savory. When we needed a refill, the staff kindly topped it up right away.

Why you should add the yeast-aged tangsuyuk

The one dish you absolutely must order at Cafe Dong-i is the yeast-aged tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), and we chose the tasting portion. Ordering it alongside a set meal gets you a ₩1,000 discount, bringing it to 8,900 won. It's fermented for 72 hours with traditional rice yeast, so it's said to be rich in probiotics and amino acids, and gluten-free. Crispy and chewy on the outside — genuinely delicious.

The dessert drink from the review event was refreshing and sweet, absolutely perfect after the meal. The generous size made it even better.

Is Cafe Dong-i Sicheol worth the wait?

With fair prices and unlimited rice and fried eggs, Cafe Dong-i Sicheol is a great lunch spot near Sinmae Station, Daegu — a very successful first meal of our Daegu vacation.

With its variety of Korean dishes, Cafe Dong-i is a Sicheol, Daegu restaurant that's easy and affordable to eat at solo, and a Sinmae Market restaurant I'd wholeheartedly recommend.