Raw Beef

Mrs. Jang's Duh-gil Raw Beef
(장나힉 덕일 생고기)
Downtown, Daegu

Overview
The Good+ Two fresh choices
+ Great sauces
+ Side dishes are .....interesting
The Bad  - A little pricey
- Place is small and sometimes loud
Best for: groups, drinking, trying something new


Food
"What's in a name?  That which we call raw beef by any other name would taste as tender."


I think Shakespeare was trying to say that no matter the labels we invent, no matter the minor differences in preparation, raw beef is still going to be delicious.  Well, as long as the restaurant abides by beef-control regulations and doesn't poison us with deadly bacteria.  But don't worry about that here, the lady has a good reputation and credentials on the wall.   (Also on their wall is the 소 들어오는 날, or beef delivery date, so you can be sure of the freshness.)





So "what's in a name?"  At this restaurant formerly named 덕일구이, the 구이 ("fried") refers to the 3rd item on the menu, deep fried beef, or 소고기튀김 (see menu below).  The name was recently changed to honor the owner and chef, Mrs. Jang Na-hik (장나힉) and represent the main specialties.  So back to the point, these main meats, the top two items on the menu, and the source of Shakespeare's wisdom:  생고기 and 육회.  At first glance these star-crossed meats seem worlds apart.  But let's look deeper.  First name: 생 is Chinese for "raw" and 고기 is Korean for "meat." Second name: 육 is Chinese for "meat" and 회 is Korean for "raw."







Physical differences between the two are as superficial as family crescents and robe colors.  생고기 is slaughtered, sliced and served the same day.  It's slightly fresher and goes well with the garlic and pepper dip.  육회 is marinated and frozen for a day to help soften, or ripen it.  It's served with an egg yolk and pear slices.  Both are tender and delicious and equally worthy of sharing the name: Korean raw beef.







(Offered as a side dish are 천엽 and 생간.  The former is raw cow stomach, which has the look of a grey bath towel and the texture of an old rubber band .  The latter is raw cow liver, blobs of blood that dissolve in your mouth.  I found them as nasty as they sound.  Enjoy!)













Atmosphere

The place is small.  And it can be quiet, until a horde of med students arrive and begin competing in traditional Gyeongsangdo loud-talking.  As a small box with solid walls, the place doesn't have the best acoustics.  Also, it's not exactly a fancy or extraordinary place to hang out.  But the pricey raw beef serves as an fashionable source of 안주 (anjoo), meaning food eaten along with alcohol.  So it tends to be crowded with Soju drinkers at night.










Location

It's located near 반월당역 (Banwoldang Station), Downtown.  Walk out of Exit 10 and make an immediate left down the alley.  At the end it's across the street (Cell Phone Street) with a yellow sign.  It's behind an Olleh phone store with a narrow alley entrance on the right and a parking lot entrance on the left.

The address is 대구 중구 봉산동 25-7
See map













3 comments:

  1. Nice. I have been here for some years and still have not tried this. Looks good.

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  2. Hello.This article was extremely motivating, especially because I was searching for thoughts on this topic last Monday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the topic of raw beef or Shakespeare? Either way, glad I could help :)

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