Korean restaurant lunch waitlist and free galbi platter: Hyangtaek

I heard that an already-popular rice place near my house had reopened nearby, so my husband and I went out lunch-hunting.

Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch: location and hours

• 332m from Exit 5, Gangchang Station, Line 2
• 🕑 Hours 11:00 - 20:00
• 15:30 - 17:00 break time
• Last order 15:00, 19:30
• Closed every Sunday
• 🅿️ Street parking available nearby (no lot)
• ✔️ Note: there's a wait at lunchtime

Hyangtaek is located in the alley across from the south gate student parking lot at Keimyung University in Seongseo, Daegu. It was already a well-known name, so this Seongseo branch has a lot to live up to.

How busy was the weekday lunch wait?

You could really feel the popularity — by lunchtime the place was completely packed. A weekday-lunch-wait level of popular, confirmed!! The staff were pretty handsome too, so maybe that's why so many female students come in haha 🤭

Menu and order

Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch's signature dishes are mackerel gondre rice and eggplant doenjang rice bowl! The side dishes — grilled deodeok mushrooms and the galbi platter — are also considered signature items. I love gondre rice (dried gondre greens rice) so much, so I was extra happy to find it here. We ordered generously: mackerel gondre rice for 14,000 won, herring roe bibim noodles for 13,000 won (a dish whose look and name were both new to us), and grilled deodeok mushrooms for 9,000 won, since we're a couple who loves Korean food 🐽

Wooden spoons and paper cups on the table. They brought out a chilled bottle of water first — and even the water was that nutty, tasty kind, almost like corn tea.

A full table, neat and well-set 💛

How to eat at Hyangtaek

• 1. Mix the toppings evenly into the rice or noodles. For the mackerel or eggplant, tear it into small pieces before mixing. The domestic mackerel is hand-prepared and may still have small bones! Enjoy the natural flavor and aroma before adding the special sauce.
• 2. Pair it with gopchang gim (crispy seasoned seaweed) and bibim jeotgal (seasoned salted seafood).
• 3. Add the special sauce for a whole different flavor. Using all of it can make the dish quite salty, so add it gradually according to how much rice is left. The kelp vinegar in the eggplant doenjang rice bowl was inspired by Japanese mazesoba and gives it a distinctive charm.

A thick piece of grilled mackerel with soft, fragrant gondre greens, braised mushrooms, scallions, and a generous scatter of toasted sesame seeds on top of the mackerel gondre rice, plus the special sauce.

Instead of the usual seasoning sauce in the center, this one is piled high with red herring roe — the herring roe bibim noodles. With thin wheat noodles, perilla leaves, grilled beef brisket, and fragrant perilla oil on top, the aroma was incredible.

Why an unordered galbi platter showed up

Then a dish we hadn't ordered arrived, so I said, "Wait, we didn't order this..." and they told us it was a grand-opening treat!!!! A free 10,000-won galbi platter, just like that! Everyone, hurry over and enjoy it while it lasts 💕

Grilled deodeok mushrooms. Fragrant deodeok (bellflower root) and mushrooms in a spicy-sweet sauce — a healthy specialty.

How lovely to find such clean, tidy Korean food this close to home! The pickled gungchae (stem lettuce), bibim jeotgal, and soy-broth soup were all clean-tasting and delicious too!

Very thick, moist grilled mackerel. And the galbi platter — tender ribs coated in a sweet soy glaze, moist all the way through.

A bite of mackerel gondre rice, then a hit of the spicy-sweet deodeok for a change of pace! The soy-broth soup was clean and refreshing!

What the mackerel gondre rice and herring roe bibim noodles tasted like

Tear the mackerel into small pieces, mix in the special sauce, and it's exactly the flavor I love! Mild but the kind that suddenly wakes up your appetite — the mackerel gondre rice is a full-on must-recommend dish! The bibim noodles loaded with herring roe were also great — mix the noodles, brisket, and perilla leaves evenly, pile on the roe, and it's not too spicy but has that perfect popping texture! Fully approved as a Seongseo rice-place must-visit.

Following the eating instructions, we wrapped bites in the gopchang gim too — completely delicious. We scraped the free galbi platter clean as well, both of us nearly bursting haha. We left having thoroughly settled our lunch 🐽

Good for lunch or group meals

With the freshly-opened, clean and tidy interior, plus a mix of 2-top and 4-top tables, Hyangtaek Seongseo Keimyung University Branch was a good pick for both a solo lunch and a group meal. If you're after a delicious, well-set meal, this place is a full recommendation!