Daegu Korean restaurant with a chicken bulgogi side: Hyangtaek

I visited Hyangtaek Daebong Branch, near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station and Kim Kwang-seok Street in Daegu. Instead of the usual Korean restaurant menu, it's a spot near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station where you can try more unusual dishes like eggplant doenjang bowl (rice with eggplant and soybean paste) and mackerel gondre rice. Let me introduce the atmosphere and menu of Hyangtaek Daebong Branch, a great place for a filling meal in Daebong-dong!

How to walk from Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station to Hyangtaek Daebong Branch, and where to park

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch is a restaurant near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station, two minutes from Line 2. It looked like about 2 cars could park in front of the restaurant, but I parked at a nearby public parking lot instead.

Hyangtaek serves healthy dishes using local Korean ingredients, like hanpan galbi (grilled ribs platter), grilled deodeok and mushrooms, and hanpan mushroom platter. From the moment I arrived, it gave off the impression of a calm, comfortable restaurant for a relaxed meal.

During busy lunch hours, you can easily reserve through Tableing to cut down on wait time.

Inside Hyangtaek Daebong Branch: a warm wood-toned Korean dining room

Walking in, the atmosphere was warm and clean. I visited on a weekday lunch and the place was already full. The kitchen is open so you can see the cooking, and the restaurant is neatly kept, never cluttered.

Overall it's a quiet space good for a peaceful meal, whether you're eating alone or dining out with family.

What's on the menu at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch?

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch says it aims for clean, fresh Korean food using ingredients grown on Korean soil. I ordered the signature eggplant doenjang bowl and yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef mixed rice), plus a side of Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi.

A clean, simple Korean lunch near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station

The dishes I ordered came out neatly arranged in their bowls. Best of all, each hearty bowl combines several ingredients in one, so the meal is simple and easy.

The basic banchan served alongside the mains were clean too — gomchang gim, mixed jeotgal, gungchae pickles, and broth. There weren't tons of different side dishes, just enough to pair well with the mains, which I loved because it kept the table from feeling cluttered.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl: tear the eggplant along the grain, then mix

First I tried Hyangtaek Daebong Branch's signature eggplant doenjang bowl. At first I worried an eggplant bowl might be bland, but it turned out to have great umami from the eggplant and thick doenjang paste.

They told me to tear the eggplant along the grain before mixing. Tearing the moist, well-cooked eggplant released plenty of vegetable broth. To my taste it was even better than a meat-based rice dish, so if you're someone who normally likes eggplant, you'll be satisfied.

Topping the gomchang gim with mixed jeotgal gives you an even bolder, more varied flavor.

The kick of Hyangtaek Daebong Branch's eggplant doenjang bowl is the kelp vinegar. They say the sauce is inspired by mazesoba, and since I love the mazesoba-and-kelp-vinegar combo, it was delicious added to the eggplant bowl too! It's the secret trick for a rich, different flavor right when the bowl starts feeling a bit heavy.

Yukhoe bibimbap: add the sauce and yolk a little at a time

Next I tried the yukhoe bibimbap. Mixing the fresh raw beef, vegetables, rice and sauce together, I felt a completely different charm from the eggplant doenjang bowl. Rather than adding a lot of sauce right away, I'd recommend tasting as you go and adding more sauce and yolk along the way.

Yukhoe bibimbap is always delicious no matter when I eat it, so I finished the whole bowl! It was my first time wrapping yukhoe bibimbap in gomchang gim, and it was surprisingly good and different. If you want a hearty meal loaded with raw beef, this will satisfy you.

Is the Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi side worth adding?

Finally, the side dish I ordered — Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi. I remembered enjoying chicken bulgogi in Cheongsong, so I tried it here, and it paired perfectly with rice.

The seasoning soaked well into the chicken, with a chewy texture. Eating it in between bites of the eggplant doenjang bowl and yukhoe bibimbap made the overall flavor feel even richer.

This visit to Hyangtaek Daebong Branch left an impression as a Daegu sotbap (pot rice) restaurant with a menu that stands apart from other Korean restaurants. Like the eggplant doenjang bowl and yukhoe bibimbap I had, Hyangtaek Daebong Branch is a great place to visit on days you want a filling meal in one bowl.