Parking help at a Daegu Korean restaurant: Hyangtaek Daebong Branch

Today's post is a partly self-funded review of Hyangtaek Daebong Branch, a well-known spot near Kim Kwang-seok Street and Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station in Daegu.

Where do you park at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch?

Parking at Hyangtaek near Gyeongbuk Uni Hospital Station in Daegu is available right in front for 2 cars. If there's no spot, you'll need to use a nearby alternative lot — but they said they provide parking support for that too. Daebong-dong is famously hard to park in, so honestly, this level of support is more than fair 👍🏻

Inside Hyangtaek Daebong Branch: seating and baby chairs

The inside of Hyangtaek is a single floor, arranged with 2- and 4-person tables. It had a calm, comfortable atmosphere that felt kind of healing, honestly! They also have baby chairs, so it's a good option for a family-with-kids meal in Daegu too. Two 4-person tables in the middle can be pushed together for up to 8 people, but since it's busy, if you're going as a group you should probably call ahead to check for space!

What is on the menu at Hyangtaek Daebong Branch?

Check the photos for Hyangtaek's menu near Kim Kwang-seok Street, Daegu. The menu was simple. Seeing that they don't have too many items made me feel like they're confident in what they make, which got me even more excited. The menu is centered on Korean food that's not too intense in flavor. Since it's also on the healthier side, it's easy to bring kids in Daegu here, and it works well for a meal with parents too. In fact, Hyangtaek gets a lot of customers visiting with their parents!

Before the food comes out, make sure to read Hyangtaek's own guide on how to eat it best — hahahaha

The set table and how fast the food arrives

I ordered what might be Hyangtaek's signature dishes: mackerel gondre rice and the eggplant doenjang rice bowl. Before the mains, Hyangtaek near Kim Kwang-seok Street brings out a mild miso doenjang soup and 2 side dishes. They also give you kelp vinegar, which apparently draws out umami — you drizzle it over the eggplant to taste. Since you choose your menu while waiting to be seated, the table is set almost as soon as you walk in. The main dish also came out within 5–10 minutes of entering, so I was able to start eating really quickly 👍🏻

Mackerel gondre rice (samchi gondrebap)

The mackerel was plump and firm-fleshed, which made it tasty. It's good to tear off a bit at a time and eat it together with the rice and gondre (dried aster greens). It wasn't seasoned heavily, so it was light but still delicious. I'm used to intense flavors like mala tang or tteokbokki and thought this might taste comparatively bland, but that wasn't the case at all, haha.

Eggplant doenjang rice bowl

The savory doenjang and the nutty eggplant blended into a bowl that was light yet deeply flavorful. It wasn't oily, so it was easy to eat without feeling heavy — a healthy rice bowl you wouldn't get tired of even eating every day!

I also tried eating it exactly the way Hyangtaek's 'how to eat it best' guide suggested, haha.

How to get the free weekday mushroom pancake

On weekdays, there's an event where you can get a free mushroom pancake (beoseotjeon) just for writing a Naver Place review, so it might be worth visiting on a weekday for that. Tearing off a piece of the crispy-outside, soft-inside mushroom pancake and dipping it in soy sauce is just the best..❤️

Is Hyangtaek Daebong Branch worth a visit?

Hyangtaek Daebong Branch is a memorable place — the space is clean and the light, not-too-heavy food is genuinely good. If you're near Kim Kwang-seok Street and want proper, well-made Korean food, I'd recommend giving Hyangtaek Daebong Branch a try :)