Daegu Korean restaurant with rich soybean stew: Banwoldang Bujasikdang

Banwoldang Bujasikdang Main Branch location and dinner wait

The weather has definitely become cooler lately. It is such nice weather for getting out and for a post-work date, too. My wife Jin and I finished up at Danggeun and went on a dinner date, haha. We visited Banwoldang Bujasikdang (반월당부자식당), a place that anyone living in Daegu probably already knows, and had some delicious squid and pork stir-fry.

Banwoldang Bujasikdang has two locations, the Banwoldang Main Branch and the Suseong Branch. We went to the Banwoldang Main Branch!! It is at 13-13 Gwandukjeong-gil in Jung-gu. It is not far from Banwoldang Station, so it is easy to walk there. There is space for about three or four cars in front, so driving is possible, but parking is not plentiful, so I recommend walking! Or using a paid parking lot nearby.

We arrived at around 7 p.m., and it was already full with a wait! You can register on the Tabling machine at the entrance. The wait was not long, but there were three groups ahead of us, so my wife Jin and I sat quietly and waited. While waiting, I looked around inside and saw lots of autographs left by celebrities who had eaten there! That confirmed it was a good restaurant. They must be very popular, because they even sell meal kits separately?? I bet they taste just like the food at the restaurant?? It would be amazing to eat that comfortably at home!!

Ordering squid and pork stir-fry and Buja bibimbap

After waiting about 20 minutes, we went inside, and it was truly packed with diners. The two of us sat at a tiny table behind a pillar, haha. The main dishes were fire-grilled squid and pork stir-fry, fire-grilled Buja seokgalbi (marinated beef short ribs), fire-grilled squid stir-fry, and fire-grilled pork stir-fry. After thinking it over for a while, we ordered the fire-grilled squid and pork stir-fry to suit my wife Jin's taste. We also ordered one Buja bibimbap! The bibimbap looked tasty~

The side dishes arrived, with lots of seasoned vegetables. There were seasoned bean sprouts, seasoned seaweed, julienned radish salad, pickled onions, salad, and ssam (lettuce wraps). The seasoned bean sprouts and seasoned seaweed were especially delicious to me!! They were totally addictive side dishes!!! I got a few more servings, haha.

One advantage of Banwoldang Bujasikdang was being able to get unlimited lettuce. We could take as much as we wanted from the self-service bar beside us. There were sliced peppers there too, which was convenient. But be careful: if you get greedy and leave lettuce behind, the environmental charge is ₩100 million!! (You know I am joking, right?)

Nutty Buja bibimbap and fermented soybean paste stew

First up was the Buja bibimbap!!! It had shredded egg omelet, seaweed, julienned radish salad, lettuce, bean sprouts, and sesame oil. You just added as much gochujang (red chili paste) as you wanted and mixed it all up. It was wonderfully nutty and delicious! I did not used to like bibimbap, but I came to like it after having it as an in-flight meal last month...

Also, Banwoldang Bujasikdang's standout dish was the cheongguk doenjang-jjigae (fermented soybean paste and soybean paste stew)!! It was an intriguing stew that blends cheonggukjang and doenjang-jjigae. I like doenjang-jjigae but usually find cheonggukjang a little difficult to eat, yet this stew was really delicious. It was richer and more savory than regular soybean paste stew, I guess...? It tasted good enough that I wanted to pay extra for more ㅠㅠ. It would be so nice if they gave you a little more!!

Sizzling fire-grilled squid and pork stir-fry on a hot plate

At last, today's main dish arrived: Banwoldang Bujasikdang's squid and pork stir-fry!! It came cooked on a stone plate and was still sizzling right up until it reached us. The smoky aroma was incredible from the moment it arrived!! It looked bright red and so appetizing, too. And the taste after one bite~~ It had an intense fire-grilled aroma, just the right amount of heat, and truly delicious seasoning. The meat was tender, tasty, and free of any off smell, while the squid was not small and had a wonderfully springy texture. I could see why it is famous! It was the best pork stir-fry I have had recently!!

So we worked our way through the meat, squid, and rice, making lettuce wraps as we ate~ Having the peppers already cut definitely made the wraps easier to eat! The pork stir-fry, fermented soybean paste stew, and bibimbap all went so well together that we had a very satisfying meal. Thinking about it again while writing makes me want to eat it all over again... I had the seokgalbi instead of pork stir-fry once before, and that was really delicious too!! Personally, I recommend the seokgalbi as well, recommend recommend.