Daegu Korean restaurant for Spanish mackerel gondre rice: Hyangtaek

A Spanish mackerel gondre rice dinner in Daegu Jongno

A dinner date with my friend ahead of the weekend ^^ I’d been eating so much Western food lately that I was really craving Korean food >< haha So we went to Hyangtaek, a Daegu Jongno favorite I’d wanted to try for ages. Let me introduce Hyangtaek, a great spot in Daegu’s Jung-gu where I got to taste the lovely combination of Spanish mackerel and gondre (Korean thistle greens) in one generous bowl :)

Hyangtaek Jongno Branch location and hours

Hyangtaek Daegu Jongno Branch is at Unit 1, 19 Jungang-daero 77-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu. It is open daily from 11:00 to 20:00, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00. There is no parking, but they say you can use the Daegu Korea House parking lot (paid parking).

Hyangtaek, a rice-meal spot near Banwoldang, is right across from Starbucks Daegu Jongno Gotaek Branch. Have a hearty rice meal, then pop over to Starbucks for coffee—the route is perfect. There’s no better Dongseong-ro date course than this, haha.

Since 2022, Hyangtaek, a Daegu Jung-gu favorite, has grown from a tiny space of barely seven pyeong in Daegu’s Gyodong Market. Time upon time, touch upon touch, it has become natural, comforting Korean food for everyday life...

Inside Hyangtaek near Banwoldang is a cozy, long rectangular space, mostly filled with tables for two and four.

Ordering Hyangtaek’s best-selling Spanish mackerel gondre rice

There were tempting side dishes too, like Cheongsong-style spicy chicken bulgogi and grilled deodeok (bellflower root) with mushrooms, but we came in knowing what we wanted, so we ordered straight away. Spanish mackerel gondre rice for two ^^v It’s Hyangtaek’s best seller near Banwoldang, haha.

The basic side dishes arrived so neatly arranged. Each person gets miso doenjang-guk (soybean paste soup), seed jeotgal (salted seafood), mustard-green pickles, and gopchang-gim (crinkly roasted seaweed). We asked a staff member for more when we ran short, and they refilled them right away.

Spanish mackerel gondre rice ₩14,000 × 2 / Sprite ₩2,000

How to mix boneless Spanish mackerel and gondre rice

Hyangtaek’s Spanish mackerel gondre rice in Daegu Jongno first catches your eye with its tidy presentation. The rice comes topped with gondre, stir-fried mushrooms, chopped scallion, sesame seeds, and a nicely grilled piece of boneless Spanish mackerel.

To enjoy Hyangtaek’s dishes, shred the mackerel or eggplant into small pieces and mix it through, then add the house sauce and mix again. For an even tastier bite, have it with seed jeotgal or gopchang-gim!

The Spanish mackerel was nicely thick and boneless, so it was easy to eat. I tried a piece before shredding it, and above all, it had no fishy smell. It wasn’t salted either—just pure clean flavor.

Then you add the sauce and give it a good mix. The sauce was lightly sweet without being overpowering, so it paired really well with the mackerel and gondre ^^ It was amazing that fish and gondre worked so well together too, haha.

Hyangtaek’s Spanish mackerel gondre rice near Banwoldang is plenty delicious on its own, but it gets even better with seed jeotgal—or with the combo of gopchang-gim + seed jeotgal, haha.

A few spoonfuls of the slightly spicy miso doenjang-guk in between made everything feel so clean! Actually, we’d had gyukatsu from lunch that day, so I wondered whether we could finish dinner—but we completely cleared our bowls 😆 haha You can’t leave delicious food behind, right? >< haha

A filling meal without heavy seasoning

Hyangtaek, a Daegu Jung-gu favorite, was perfect for a filling bowl with a mild, understated flavor that wasn’t overpowering. Next time, I’m off to check off the eggplant doenjang rice bowl and herring roe bibim noodles!