Mother-daughter lunch at a Daegu Korean restaurant: Hyangtaek Seongseo

A Kangchang Station Korean restaurant I visited with my mom for a proper, refined meal: Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch.

Hyangtaek Seongseo hours, closing days and location

Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch is open 11:00-20:00 with a break time from 15:30-17:00, closed Sundays. It's not on the Keimyung University east gate side with all the bars, but tucked into the quiet, calm main gate street.

• Hours 11:00 - 20:00
• Break time 15:30 - 17:00
• Closed Sundays

Being newly opened, the interior was clean and pleasant too — a Hosan-dong restaurant that even gets waits during peak mealtimes. Recommending this refined Korean restaurant, Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch.

The menu and the three dishes we ordered

This time at Hyangtaek Seongseo, we ordered three things: mackerel gondre rice, herring roe bibim noodles, and Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi. Here's the menu below.

Gyoni's order list Mackerel gondre rice Herring roe bibim noodles Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi

A Keimyung University restaurant with a thoughtful owner who put a 'how to eat this deliciously' card on every table. Write a receipt review and you get a free mushroom platter, like mushroom jeon (pan-fried mushrooms) — score!

At Hyangtaek Seongseo you get to taste clean, refined Korean food, and I liked that the menu had varieties I hadn't tasted at other places — a good Hosan-dong restaurant.

The gungchae jangajji (pickled stem vegetable) and jeotgal muchim (seasoned salted seafood) had a great crunchy texture, so good. The nutty gopchang gim (roasted seaweed) was also a nice point to eat alongside the rice bowl.

How spicy is the Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi?

Cheongsong-style chicken bulgogi is finely minced chicken with a springy texture, grilled with a clean, savory sauce. The spice level was much milder than Shin Ramyun, so even someone with low spice tolerance was fine.

It tasted like minced dakgalbi (grilled chicken) grilled up, with a slight charred aroma adding good flavor.

Juicy with every bite, and the sauce was just slightly salty, so it went really well with rice. The chicken bulgogi's spice level was much milder than Shin Ramyun, good enough for spice-sensitive eaters to enjoy.

It comes out as one big flat platter, like a Korean-style pizza, so I'd recommend ordering it as a side dish to share. Next time I visit I'm ordering the sweet galbi platter or mushroom platter.

What does the mackerel gondre rice taste like?

Hyangtaek's mackerel gondre rice is a refined rice bowl with cleanly grilled mackerel, fragrant gondre namul (dried thistle greens), and braised mushrooms all in one bowl. Aside from the braised mushrooms, the seasoning is quite mild.

A clean Korean rice spread with a big grilled mackerel fillet in the middle, surrounded by salty-sweet braised mushrooms and plenty of gondre.

The mushrooms' salty-sweet sauce, sesame seeds, scallions, and soft gondre filled the bowl generously. Aside from the mushrooms, the seasoning wasn't heavy, making for a clean, mild rice bowl.

No fishy smell typical of blue-backed fish, just a deep, clean savoriness — so good. The texture of the gondre meeting the softness of the mackerel made for great bites, at this Keimyung University east gate restaurant Hyangtaek.

The mackerel gondre rice is tasty on its own, but topping it with the jeotgal (salted seafood) that comes on the side is also incredible.

Hyangtaek's signature soy sauce is also not too salty, more on the sweet side, so dipping the seaweed in it adds a sweet-savory balance — great. Overall the food here isn't heavily seasoned, more mild throughout, and I liked that about Hyangtaek.

Herring roe bibim noodles: worth trying even if you dislike roe

Hyangtaek's herring roe bibim noodles is a mix of nutty perilla oil, poppy herring roe with a fun pop, salty grilled beef brisket, and plenty of perilla leaves. Even with a good amount of herring roe, there wasn't the usual saltiness of salted seafood.

The beef brisket is lightly salted and grilled fresh to order upon ordering, savory and nice. The herring roe sauce wasn't salty or fishy, but nutty and fresh — tasty, at this Keimyung University east gate restaurant.

The somyeon (thin wheat noodles) were boiled to a springy texture and piled high with herring roe sauce, so each bite bursts with fresh flavor — great. Even with quite a lot of herring roe, there wasn't the usual saltiness of jeotgal, which I liked.

The portion was pretty generous too, so for two people, ordering one rice dish plus this noodle dish and a side to share would work well.

Eating the salty, savory beef brisket with the herring roe sauce and noodles together in one bite gives a full nutty flavor. Honestly I'm not a big myeongran (pollock roe) fan but even I found it delicious, so those who do like it should love this without any complaints.

What to order next time, and how to get to Hyangtaek

Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch is 4 minutes from Kangchang Station and under 11 minutes from Keimyung University Station. The yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef mixed rice) with quality yukhoe and the spicy chamnamul (wild greens) squid rice bowl are also very popular.

Every menu item uses different flavors and ingredients, so it's a great Keimyung University main gate restaurant to visit often and work through the menu one dish at a time — recommend Hyangtaek.