Jongno, Daegu makchang restaurant with self-serve fried rice: Bongja

Where is Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch, and how late is it open?

Location: 49-1 Jongno, Jung-gu, Daegu, 1st floor Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–02:00 Hours: Fri–Sun & Mon 16:00–02:00

Bongja Makchang started in Gyeongsan. It's such a popular chain that it's already crossed 150 branches nationwide. I visited the Daegu Jongno branch!

Every time I passed by there was always a wait, so I'd been curious. Even on a weekday evening, there was already a line.

Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch menu and prices

Signature menu

• Bongja mixed meat platter ₩43,000
• Bongja seasoned spicy makchang 300g ₩22,000
• Fluffy unlimited steamed egg — free
• 7 kinds of unlimited ramyeon — free
• Refreshing unlimited patbingsu (shaved ice dessert) — free
• Full plate + half plate ₩36,000
• Raw makchang half plate 250g ₩12,000
• Raw pork belly half plate 120g ₩12,000
• Bongja raw pork belly 300g+300g ₩43,000
• Bongja raw makchang 500g+500g ₩43,000
• Bongja raw pork neck 300g+300g ₩43,000
• Bongja seasoned spicy makchang 300g+300g ₩43,000
• Frozen pork belly half plate 150g ₩12,000
• Bongja woo samgyeop 400g+400g ₩43,000
• Draft beer ₩2,900
• Bongja spicy chicken feet ₩20,000
• Bongja honeycomb tripe skin ₩5,000
• Bongja kimchi noodle soup ₩7,000
• Bongja old-style tteokbokki ₩5,000

At Bongja Makchang, steamed egg, ramyeon, and patbingsu are given free to every guest. Overall the prices were affordable!

For side dishes they set out six kinds: kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, shredded green onion, ssamjang (dipping sauce), soybean powder, and pickled onion.

The Bongja mixed meat platter: raw makchang and pork belly for 43,000 won

We ordered the Bongja mixed meat platter — raw makchang and pork belly. It came with fernbrake, rice cake, mushrooms, and salted fermented shrimp. I'd expected a lot given the gram count, but it really was a big portion!

Kimchi is a must when grilling meat, but honestly I like fernbrake even more than kimchi 🫶 Since they gave us fernbrake alongside, I didn't bother grilling the kimchi separately!

Grilling away hard 🔥 Who could look at this and not want to eat it, seriously. This is where I started feeling the vibe of something seriously delicious.

They grilled the makchang carefully too, and it's starting to look more and more familiar — getting glossy and golden brown.

Both the makchang and pork belly are fully grilled now!

They gave us makjang (seasoned soybean paste dip) for the makchang and a salt-sesame oil dip for the pork belly, so we used both of those sauces.

Scooping out some shredded green onion and seasoned bean sprouts —

eat it together with the pork belly and — ah, wait, this isn't like me, but Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno is seriously so good, ah, I'll stop there.

You have to grill makchang until it's really crispy — that's when its true value shows. The mushrooms didn't burn either, and it might be the best-grilled makchang I've had — this could be a magazine cover.

The steamed egg they gave us on the house was also soft and fluffy — delicious.

How the self-serve bar works: 7 kinds of ramyeon you cook yourself

There's a self-serve bar off to the side of the restaurant that you can use freely.

The ramyeon options are: odongtong-myeon, Jin Ramyeon mild, Jin Ramyeon spicy, gan-jjamppong, jjajaroni, buldak bokkeum-myeon, and yeolramyeon. Side dishes at the bar include lettuce, pickled onion, radish wraps, kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and makjang. Basic sides and ramyeon are all set up and ready.

You fill water from the water dispenser according to the measuring cup guide, put water and noodles in a pot, and cook it yourself. I like it salty so I only filled it to about 430ml.

The ramyeon was insane — cooked so well, genuinely delicious.

Making fried rice from the self-serve rice balls at Bongja Makchang

We also ordered the self-serve rice balls. Since it's self-serve, the price was nice too — bring on all the self-serve options like this.

The Bongja Makchang fried rice is done!!!!! After eating meat, fried rice is a must.

Piled the leftover makchang on top and ate it together. The cold rice was fried up well without getting mushy, and with the kimchi and corn mixed in, the texture was great too. Need I say more — it was seriously delicious.

First visit verdict on Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch

After the meal, they gave us bingsu too, and even though I was already full, I scraped the bowl clean. This was my first visit to Bongja Makchang and it really improved my image of the brand. I think I'm going to become a regular... It's near Jungangno Station so the location is convenient, the store is clean, the self-serve bar is free to use, and on top of unlimited ramyeon they even give you patbingsu — visiting Bongja Makchang Daegu Jongno Branch, you won't regret it.