Last Updated on August 17, 2017 by Christine Kaaloa
What does a vegetarian do when they find Loving Hut vegetarian restaurants in Korea? They fall to their knees and thank the Korean Christian god!
A block and a half away from Kyodae subway stop and the Daegu National Education University, there it was– my first vegan restaurant in Daegu, Korea.
Loving Hut : Vegetarian restaurants in Korea
Table of Contents: Loving Hut: Vegetarian restaurants in Korea | Daegu
Entering the restaurant, it looked like spotless cafe. There was a cashier up front and white tables sprawled through the room. The atmosphere was bright, light and it felt healthy vs. the musky earthy scents you smell when you enter a Korean restaurant.
The Loving Hut restaurant is part of an international chain with locations in the U.S. around the world. It was founded by followers of Supreme Master Ching Hai, an advocate for vegetarian living.
The Loving Hut is actually a vegan restaurant and they have menus in English with pictures too! To look at a menu with both, pictures and dishes without veggie restrictions is enough to make you jump up and down and squeal like a little boy with excitement. I foresaw our year together like a marriage filled with healthy, tasty, vegetarian food. Life felt whole again.
I immediately posted this find to the Happy Cow online restaurant guide.
While I might easily have found vegetarian curried dishes at an Indian restaurant, the Loving Hut offers a small menu of Korean/Asian tofu, soy protein dishes and noodle dishes, such as Doenjang jigae (bean curd soup), Bibimbap, Jajangmyeon (Korean black noodled dish), Soon Doo bu jigae (spicy tofu soup), along with the standard sushi, veggie burger, salad and fries.
The foods are delicious and cheap with many dishes ranging from $3-5.
Soon Doo bu jigae (Spicy tofu stew) was something I had craved, but haven’t been able to have since I arrived into Korea, for one simple fact- I didn’t know what restaurants to look to to find it.
The dumplings and spring rolls were scrumptious enough to melt in my mouth and make me feel like all those long weeks of starvation were worth my wait.
While the restaurant decor lends itself to a stark white kitchen cafe that may look less than exciting, the food more than makes up for it.
You can buy vegetarian/soy products and frozen foods at Loving Hut
Vegetarian recipe books and soy protein packages are available for purchase there also. I like buying the frozen chicken nuggets and cooking them for dinner time.
Information
There’s two restaurants in Daegu, a few in Seoul (one in Itaewon, although that’s expensive) and Jeonju. Check the website for the locations, but there’s several.
Loving Hut (website)
1794-7, Daemyeong 2-dong
Daegu Nam-gu, Daegu South Korea
Phone: 053-622-7230
Price: $3-8 Cash only.
Food: Vegan-friendly, Korean, Asian, Western, Take-out
Hours of Operation: 10:30 AM ~ 8:30 PM ( First & third Sunday Closed)
Getting there: Take the Daegu National Education University subway stop and get off. Look for the exit that’s going to Daegu National Education University. It’s 2-3 blocks from the subway and you take a left. The restaurant is towards the end of the block, not far from the university gates.
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