A trip to the taste of Daejeon that doesn't dry even in the middle of winter
Among the words that can be comfortably added before the name of the city “Daejeon (Daejeon),†there is no shortage of words that can easily be added to the name of a city. To the southeast, the Gyeongbu Line runs through Daegu to Busan, and to the southwest, the Honam Line connecting Gwangju and Mokpo runs.
To the north, the administrative capital passes through Sejong City and continues to Seoul City. If you take the high-speed rail (KTX), you can get anywhere within an hour and a half. As far as transportation is concerned, it is the center of the Republic of Korea.
Originally, many people rumbled in and out of the traffic hub, then quickly disappeared after a short break. In most cases, the focus is flow instead of retention, and transit instead of settlement. As a result, <화개장터> like Cho Yeong-nam's song, which starts with “Crossing Gyeongsang-do and Jeolla-do,†it ends with “Everything there is, nothing is missing.†Daejeon's food is just like that. There are no local foods that have changed due to the regional characteristics of Satong Paldal. Instead, “a bowl of food that is as comfortable and inexpensive as flowing water has developed.†Here, there are also food from South Korean piranmin during the Korean War and food that keeps memories of the poor days in the midst of the hustle and bustle of “Departure from Daejeon at 00:50.†Fortunately, the menu that used to be boring in the past when hungry has now grown into a healthy food representative of Daejeon, attracting outsiders.
When you leave Seoul Station, trains to Daejeon are ready every 5 to 10 minutes. From Gangnam Express Bus Terminal, one bus departs from Daejeon Station or Yuseong every 10 to 20 minutes. It is said that you can easily use public transportation without making a reservation. On the other hand, since transportation is convenient, it also means that we can fill a lunch meal and make an appointment for dinner anywhere in our country, such as Seoul, Busan, and Goal.
After your husband goes to work and the kids go to school, you can meet them at Seoul Station around 10 o'clock and enjoy the luxury of a “lunch trip by train with a female high school student.†If you feel sorry for your family, you can put them together in a “Sungsimdang†shopping bag filled with tempura soboro on the way back. Couples who live apart from Busan and Mokpo can suggest a lightning date in the evening, have a drink together, get on a late-night honor bus, and make a comeback to their daily lives.
Even if it's not your final destination, Daejeon acts as a rest stop for a while on the way to and from the train. This is the case when you have to switch between the Gyeongbu Line, Honam Line, and Honam Line. It's also a good idea to put off your destination and stop by a famous restaurant in downtown Won (old) to soothe your stomach. Being able to take a break like this is another appeal of Daejeon, a transportation hub.
“Bibimbap in Jeonju, pork gukbap in Busan, octopus in Mokpo, then in Daejeon?†There are many people in Daejeon who are hesitant to ask these questions. It's only because the young people in Chungcheong-do did less publicity for themselves, as they said, “The middle one can't shave my hair,†and Daejeon also has a lot of famous restaurants that have surpassed 50 years of unique food, which is comparable to Taji. It's also a delightful city with the cheapest food prices among metropolitan cities, so even if you come from other places, you'll feel like you're being compensated for part of your transportation expenses. Here are a few restaurants you'd be disappointed to miss when you come to Daejeon.
1 Sonbatake rice
There are many rice cake shops near the Bukdaejeon Interchange on the Honam Expressway. They moved from Gujim Village, which was 2 to 3 minutes away by car in the early 1980s. Among them, the most famous place is Solbatmukbab. The chaimoku we're talking about here is an acorn cake dish called “muksabal†and “mukguksu.†Fill the acorns with a thick layer of jelly and roll them up in warm broth. It is eaten with broth made from anchovies, kelp, etc. and topped with finely chopped kimchi and seaweed as a garnish. It is said that kimchi contains the same ingredients for fun and side dishes, and is cooked more for funny. Finely chopped green peppers are also served, and they are also eaten with seasoning added to them. The unique texture and bitterness of acorn cake are combined with the soup to reveal the characteristics of simple yet rustic rural food. Chimoku (medium): 4,000 won; pickles: 10,000 won. Barley rice with various herbs costs 6,000 won. 042-935-5686
2 Sumikgowon cold noodles
It is a Pyongyang cold noodle specialty store steeped in the strong smell of soba, where a Vietnamese owner opened its doors when they retreated 1.4 years from Pyongyang and continued their business for the fourth generation. The noodles are slightly frizzy from coarsely ground buckwheat flour, but they are soft without being chewy. When I found the scissors, the employee said, “You can just eat them.†The noodle broth rejects beef and mixes the dongchimi broth with chicken broth called “chicken instead of pheasant.†Compared to broth from other places, it is much sweeter. Chicken is used instead of beef in Gomyeong-do. Water from boiled buckwheat comes out instead of broth. The main customers are displaced people and their descendants who remember the old taste of Pyongyang cold noodles. Watercress noodles cost 7,000 won per bowl, and bibim-naengmyeon costs 7,500 won. They are cheaper than cold noodle restaurants in Seoul, which cost around 10,000 won, but the taste is second to none. In winter, you can also enjoy pheasant cold noodles made with pheasant broth (12,000 won). 042-861-3287
3 Italian City
A slightly playful trade name is strange. Again, this is a fusion restaurant opened by graduates of the Faculty of Food and Cooking at Wusong University in Daejeon. The trade name means making new pasta using Korean ingredients. They create new and creative dishes using all of their experience and cooking-related certifications that have won awards at various domestic and international cooking competitions. The signature menu is Italian city (10,900 won), which is the same as the company name. The seafood and vegetables were used to sharpen the broth and rolled up the pasta. Green onions, seaweed, and eggs cooked using molecular cooking techniques are added as garnishes. The highlight of this menu is the rice cake hidden under the pasta. I feel like eating Korean noodles and Italian pasta and finishing with Chinese food, nurungjitang. Marbled black sesame salad (13,900 won) and yuzu gorgonzola pizza (15,900 won) are also date menus ordered by couples. 042-485-0950
4. Daesun Kalguksu
The reputation of “Daejeon Station Garak Guksu†faded during the days of local trains, but in the high-speed train era, people called “Daejeon Kalguksu,†there are so many kishimen restaurants in the alleys of Daejeon city. Among them, the place that the citizens of Daejeon claim to be the best is Daesun Kalguksu. Kishimkal noodles (6,000 won), which have a rich broth that has been used for generations and have a mild flavor, are also excellent, but the bibimkal noodles (6500 won), which have the flavor of homemade gochujang, are a delicacy. It was mixed with a sauce containing gochujang, soy sauce, and sesame oil, but the characteristic is that the red color is not dark. Furthermore, since the kishimen noodles taken from hot water are rubbed, the warmth that hits the tongue is strangely felt. Pork stew (30,000 won for large, 20,000 won for beef) is also a must-have menu before eating kishimen noodles. Even though I don't know what to put in and how it was cooked, the chewiness and tender flesh of the pork skin is really wrapped in my mouth. 042-471-0316
5 Crown Restaurant
“Business hours are from 12 noon to 2 p.m. They say “I'm off every Sunday,†and they hand out license tags from 11:30, and if they run out of ingredients, they don't accept customers. It's a very proud business, and you might think they sell amazing food, but the menu is bean sprout rice. Bean sprout rice refers to rice that is eaten by putting bean sprouts to cook rice and later grating it with seasoned soy sauce. Kakuteki, miso soup, and sauce are often served as side dishes, and many people make yukhoe (9,000 won for large, 6,000 won for small) and eat it as bibimbap with yukhoe sprouts. The best way to enjoy yukhoe bibimbap is not to rub the bean sprouts and yukgai all at once, but to rub only the bean sprouts and then put the yukhoe little by little on a spoon like a side dish. It's a small house in Samseong-dong's printing alley, but it's easy to find if you look for the cool smell of bean sprouts nearby. 042-672-7520
6 Bong Yi Hoteok
The people of Daejeon are proud to say, “If Busan has a seed hotteok, Daejeon has a bong hotteok.†What was sold at the Maninsan Rest Area, located in front of the Chubu Tunnel on the border between Daejeon and Geumsan in Chungnam, became famous and made its way into Daejeon Station. The contents are not loud or unusual in appearance. It's a memory of eating even my fingers because the honey water that flowed down was too much. However, Bong Yi Hoteok doesn't use a commercial dough mixer for dough. They use their own blending technology to mix gravity powder, corn starch, and glutinous rice, and then age them for 24 hours to use. It contains a high percentage of glutinous rice, so it is crispy on the outside and has a rich flavor on the inside. Hotteok beef is also slightly different. The characteristic is that nuts, such as peanuts, are crushed into small pieces and are savory, but the viscosity of the sugar water increases and it does not flow well. 1,000 won for one. 010-2883-7716
7 Sacsimdang
A bakery with 60 years of tradition that has conquered the whole country with its tempura soboro. Today, it's not just a bakery, but a landmark and number one souvenir shop in Daejeon. In particular, at the branch in Daejeon Station, there is a scene where customers line up all day long to buy bread from this place. It's also the most popular shopping bag in the hands of KTX passengers. The tempura soboro, which costs 1,500 won per piece, is made by putting domestic red bean paste in the bread dough and deep-frying it. It is an addictive bread that combines the sweet flavor of azuki beans, the crunchy flavor of soboro, and the savory flavor of tempura. Since 1956, when they opened a small steamed bread shop in front of Daejeon Station, they have been so warm that leftover bread has been distributed to visitors in front of the station for the second generation. It was also selected as one of the must-see restaurants in Korea by the “Michelin Guide (Green)â€, the world's most prestigious travel information magazine. Pantalong leek bread, which is as popular as tempura soboro, is 1,800 won. 1588-8069
8 My Restaurant
It's a place where you can find a food called “duruchigi,†which is very unfamiliar to the Tajians. It was originally seasoned with boiled squid, clams, and octopus, but it's similar to a stir-fried dish. This restaurant specializes in tofu topping made with a variety of condiments that include red pepper powder on tofu. The white softness of tofu is hidden in the red spiciness. Tofu is so soft that it's easy to give up chopsticks early and use a spoon like sundubu. It's great as a snack, but if you add rice and grate it, you can replace a meal. Two or three adults can have a cup of soju for a 10,000 won dish. Organ soup (7,000 won) is also popular as a meal menu. 042-223-5083