Late-night salt-grilled makchang in Anjirang, Daegu: Gopchang119

When you think of Daegu, you think of makchang, right? And when you think of makchang, the famous Anjirang Gopchang Alley comes to mind. I was trying to figure out what to eat as a late-night snack, so I went to Gopchang119 in Anjirang, Daemyeong-dong. Bottom line: I found a new favorite restaurant that I'm super, super happy with. Sound like an exaggeration? I'm dead serious.

Where Gopchang119 Anjirang Branch is and when it opens

Gopchang119 Anjirang Branch Location: 20-2 Daemyeong-ro 36-gil, 1st floor, Nam-gu, Daegu, South Korea Hours: Tue–Sun 16:00–23:30 Last order: 23:00 Closed: every Monday

Gopchang119 Anjirang Branch sits right in the center of Anjirang Gopchang Alley. Walk a little way in from the alley entrance and you'll find it easily. The place was big, spacious, and clean.

Gopchang119 events: free cheese fried rice for Naver followers

These were posted on the wall — for some reason, once I photographed them, they came out looking like they were shot in a movie theater, haha. Gopchang119 runs a bunch of different events:

• Write a review and get a drink or alcohol of your choice
• Follow on Naver and get a cheese fried rice on the house
• 2,000 won off for takeout orders

Personally I think the second one is a total steal. Make sure you set up the follow and get that cheese fried rice — honestly, getting this for free doesn't seem right.

The self-serve bar has small plates, sauce bowls, perilla leaves, pickled radish, vinegared garlic, and sauces ready to go. But when we sat down at our table, they gave us everything with the basic setup anyway, so we never actually needed to use the self-serve bar.

Gopchang119 menu and prices

Gopchang119's signature menu: Al-gopchang (small intestine with egg roe) ₩15,000 Vegetable gopchang ₩12,000 Salt-grilled makchang ₩15,000 Main menu: Al-gopchang ₩15,000 Vegetable gopchang ₩15,000 Salt-grilled makchang ₩15,000 Salt-grilled chicken neck meat ₩12,000 Beef gopchang hot pot ₩30,000 Set menus: A SET (vegetable gopchang + al-gopchang) B SET (vegetable gopchang x2 + al-gopchang) C SET (vegetable gopchang x2 + al-gopchang x2) Sides: Snow cheese fried rice ₩5,000 Fried rice ₩3,000 Extra glass noodles ₩3,000 Extra snow cheese ₩3,000 Drinks: Soju/beer ₩5,000 Cheongha ₩6,000 Draft beer ₩5,000 Soft drinks ₩2,000

This place must be popular — delivery orders kept coming in nonstop the whole time. I think I met every delivery rider in Daegu that night.

Side dishes at Gopchang119, down to perilla leaves with the stems trimmed

Once we sat down, they brought out side dishes and bean sprout soup. And here's the shocking part — the stems on the perilla leaves had all been trimmed off! I personally never bother pulling those off myself, but you know how some people pick off the stem part while eating? This is the first place I've seen that pays this much attention even to the perilla leaves. Shockingly thoughtful. And I wasn't expecting much from the vinegared garlic, but eating it alongside the gopchang and makchang was such a great pairing. I ordered two portions of salt-grilled makchang and one portion of al-gopchang.

How does salt-grilled makchang for two actually taste?

First up, the star of the show: salt-grilled makchang. It comes with makchang, onion, cabbage, and perilla leaves. But you guys.

You guys. This is insane. It's seriously, seriously good. I took a photo and then took one bite — and wow, I knew right then and there that I was going to become a regular here. It's genuinely delicious. I can't even put it into words. It's genuinely, genuinely delicious.

The cabbage gives it great texture, and since it's salt-grilled, it's seasoned with just salt — but the savory depth is incredible, and eating the makchang's texture and nutty flavor together with the cabbage adds this crunchy element on top. I really hope everyone who loves drinking tries this, and everyone who loves makchang tries this too. I usually like plain grilled makchang, but this opened up a whole new world for me. This was the day my second life as a makchang lover began. Gopchang119's makchang is a different kind of sickness — and I'm still sick with it as I write this.

Genuinely delicious. It's the best possible late-night snack. I ate it once that day and now every time I get hungry at night, this is the only thing I can think of. I normally love spicy, red-seasoned food — I'm the type who only goes for the red stuff without fail. So the fact that something seasoned with nothing but salt could taste this good is honestly shocking to me. T_T

It's not even regular pork belly or Korean beef, but... makchang is usually eaten with ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste), right? This one is delicious just on its own, no sauce needed at all...

Wrapping it in a perilla leaf like this — insanely good. You'd think it wouldn't pack much of a punch flavor-wise, right? Wrong... the seasoning is strong and the umami is out of control. And if you're a beer lover? You could easily go through ten bottles per person.

Snow cheese fried rice stirred with al-gopchang

We also ordered the cheese fried rice — we specifically ordered it so we could mix the al-gopchang into the rice, so we asked them to stir-fry the al-gopchang together with the fried rice. Right in front of us, they torched an absolutely insane amount of cheese until it melted... Just set up the follow and they'll straight up give you this for free, seriously. The portion size is no joke either.

Look at that cheese dripping down... how is anyone supposed to resist eating this fried rice...

What to order at Gopchang119 in Anjirang

Just look at this fried rice before you go... I want to come back just for this fried rice alone, T_T. How can something this good be a mere side dish? If you asked me to pick just one signature menu item, I honestly couldn't choose. But eat the makchang, and eat the fried rice too. The most popular item is the vegetable gopchang, but personally, the salt-grilled makchang blew my mind. Please make sure to try the salt-grilled makchang and the cheese fried rice together... I think I'll be ordering this as takeout often from now on. Spread out a mat at Duryu Park, crack open a can of beer with a piece of makchang, and you're already fully charged with romance. This was a meal so delicious I was sad to watch it disappear — Gopchang119 Anjirang Branch, a gopchang restaurant worth loving in Daegu. Ten out of ten stars.