Daega (大家), Korean BBQ restaurant in Myeongdong, Seoul
After successfully having Korean fried chicken at BHC chicken restaurant on our first night in Seoul, we gained the confidence to try having Korean BBQ for dinner the next evening. We were exploring Myeongdong and it was quite overwhelming, seeing the large crowds shopping there and the many food street stalls in the middle of the street. Out of the many restaurants that we could choose from, we choose Daega (大家), because there were large and clear pictures of the dishes on the menu on the walls and also, translation in Chinese. On the outside, we read that it was a grilled meat specialty store with 30 years of experience and they use white charcoal to grill the meat. It sounded and looked promising, so we went inside to check it out.
Since we never had Korean BBQ before, we were a bit shocked at the high prices that we saw on the menu. I don't know how much meat there normally is in a steak, but the high prices per 100 g of meat scared us off. We decided to order normal Korean dishes instead.
With our meal, we got four complimentary side dishes: kimchi, dried tofu strips, bean sprouts, and I don't exactly remember what the red strips are anymore (raw squid and crunchy vegetables with a sweet and not spicy sauce?), but I do know that I liked those the most. After some research, I figured out that it is called squid jeotgal.
Since we never had Korean BBQ before, we were a bit shocked at the high prices that we saw on the menu. I don't know how much meat there normally is in a steak, but the high prices per 100 g of meat scared us off. We decided to order normal Korean dishes instead.
Beef bibimbap 13,000 won
Two of our group ordered the beef bibimbap. It was the safest bet, as we all had eaten this before and we liked it. There were thinly sliced beef, assorted vegetables, nori strips, a raw yolk of an egg in the middle, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. You are supposed to eat beef bibimbap by mixing all the ingredients first. The heat from the bowl will make it taste similar to Chinese fried rice. It was very tasty!
Yukhoe (Raw beef bibimbap) 15,000 won
Another person also ordered bibimbap, but with raw strips of beef instead. After mixing the rice, the beef strips were heated a bit by the residual heat. The beef was really tender and full of flavor.
Galbitang (Beef short rib soup) 13,000 won
I wasn't feeling so good, so I ordered a hot bowl of Galbitang. It came with a metal bowl of white rice and a metal lid on top to keep it warm. I really liked the soup, as I love drinking the Chinese medicinal soups that my mother regularly makes. The flavor isn't as rich as those, but I could really taste the sweet beef flavor in the soup and the strong pepper flavor warmed my body up. The beef short ribs had large chunks of meat attached to the bone and although the meat was soft, there was still a bit of bite left in them. Inside the soup, there was also a small piece of ginseng, enoki mushrooms, spring onion, and dried red dates.
Haemul pajeon (Seafood pancake) 22,000 won
We got the haemul pajeon to share. I expected a lot of this, as I love savory pan-fried food and seafood, but it was rather disappointing. The pancake didn't really absorb the flavors of the ingredients and it was a bit lacking in flavor. I really had to dip it in the sauce to bring the flavors out. There were fresh pieces of mussels and squid in there, but I still think that the price is a bit on the high side.
Daega Korean BBQ restaurant
(Korean:대가 ) (Chinese: 大家 烤肉專門店)
서울시 중구 명동2가 32-2
(32-2 Myeongdong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul)
