Seo-gu, Daegu BBQ restaurant for grill-your-own raw makchang: Daraewon

I've been craving makchang (grilled beef intestine) lately, so I went looking for good spots in Seo-gu, Daegu and ended up visiting Daraewon Makchang, which has been around since 1978! There are so many good restaurants in that part of Seo-gu that I had a hard time deciding, but I was in the mood for makchang so I went here. I'd walked past it before, so I was already kind of looking forward to it haha.

How much are the side menus at Daraewon Makchang?

At Daraewon Makchang, naengmyeon is ₩5,000, doenjang stew is ₩2,000, and ramyeon is ₩4,000. Such good prices! These days doenjang stew can cost ₩5,000–6,000 in a lot of places, which feels like a lot, but here you can order as many sides as you want without worrying.

Seating and atmosphere at Daraewon Makchang

Daraewon Makchang has indoor seating and also has group seating set up well.

The hall connected to the outdoors also has a nice vibe, so we sat there!

Why order pork belly at a makchang restaurant?

We ordered makchang and pork belly together that day. It's a makchang restaurant, but I'd seen reviews saying the pork belly here is genuinely delicious! So we ordered it along with the makchang... and it was a total win! The thick pork belly sprinkled with coarse salt was seriously so good.

Daraewon Makchang serves raw makchang you grill yourself

One serving of makchang + two servings of pork belly. Daraewon Makchang's makchang isn't pre-grilled — it comes out raw. Personally, I felt like it might've been a bit more convenient if it came pre-grilled haha! Even pre-grilled makchang needs a good amount of time on the grill, but raw makchang has to be cooked thoroughly from scratch, so it took quite a while.

We put the makchang and pork belly on the grill together! The makchang needed to be cooked through, so we kept flipping it slowly, and in the meantime we started on the pork belly — it was seriously so good.

What does the coarse-salt pork belly taste like?

The pork belly was so good I kept picking at it haha. Grilled to a nice golden brown, it was savory, and while waiting for the makchang to cook we happily worked through the pork belly! Wrapped in perilla leaves, wrapped in lettuce, or just eaten plain — it had a bit of fat so it never felt heavy, just savory and honestly so good 🥹

The makchang still needed more time, so we waited. Watching it turn golden brown on the grill made my mouth water all over again haha. The waiting is the hard part! But since we had pork belly to eat too, we kept going. Makes me want it again already.

How the raw makchang tastes once fully grilled

By now the makchang was cooked through! Once it was fully done, you could really feel that signature chewy texture, and it got more savory the more you chewed. If makchang is undercooked, the texture can be a little off-putting to eat, but slowly grilling it that day made it just right.

Makchang really has to be dipped in makjang sauce to taste its best! Dipping it lightly in salt is also nice and savory, and since the flavor changes with the sauce, I kept alternating between the two and just kept eating haha.

Personally, since it's raw makchang, I thought it would've been more convenient if it came pre-grilled, but eating the pork belly first while the makchang cooked turned out better than I expected. Slowly grilling the meat while chatting actually worked out well.

And the pork belly was so good that day, ordering it alongside the makchang was such a great, great, great choice! If you like makchang but also want to eat other meat with it, make sure to order pork belly too!!

Finishing with rice and 2,000 won doenjang stew

Rice and doenjang stew are a must! It was a spicy-and-refreshing kind of doenjang stew, nice and clean-tasting.

Who will like Daraewon Makchang in Seo-gu, Daegu?

If you search for good restaurants in Seo-gu, Daegu, plenty of makchang places come up, but if you're a makchang lover, Daraewon Makchang is worth checking out too! If you're used to pre-grilled makchang in particular, it's good to know going in that this is raw makchang, so it takes a bit longer to cook haha. I also thought at first that pre-grilled would be more convenient, but eating it slowly grilled turned out to be pretty good ^^ Above all, the makchang was tasty, but I was even more satisfied because the pork belly we ordered alongside it was so good too haha.

If you're looking for a place to eat makchang or pork belly in Seo-gu, Daegu, Daraewon Makchang is worth a try! It's the kind of place I think I'll remember whenever I'm craving makchang again :)