Herbal-broth shabu-shabu near Seoul Botanic Park, Gangseo, ending in

Heading toward Yangcheon Hyanggyo, where to have lunch?

Hello, this is Edwood. Last Saturday, the recent heatwave had disappeared as if it had never happened, and a perfect early-autumn breeze rolled in. My wife happened to be selected for a fashion blogger campaign around Magok, so we set out together for a weekend outing. The clear, gorgeous weather outside the car window kept me in a great mood the whole ride over.

As the saying goes, even Mount Geumgang looks better after a meal — so from Friday night my wife and I spent a long time debating what to eat in Magok that would actually be worth talking about. After careful deliberation, we decided on shabu-shabu kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup) with its clean, warm broth for lunch, and fresh sashimi for dinner.

There were countless restaurants around the road to Yangcheon Hyanggyo, so choosing wasn't easy, but one place caught our eye right near my wife's campaign location — it checked every box. It was already known as a Seoul Botanic Park favorite for a filling meal.

The restaurant we'd booked and were visiting was called Yangcheon Shabu Son Kalguksu — a name that inspires confidence right from the start. It's a well-known Magok shabu-shabu specialist popular with people looking for a clean meal near Magok, so our expectations were high.

Lunchtime atmosphere and the herbal-medicine broth

The moment we opened the door and stepped inside, we couldn't help but be surprised. It was peak lunch hour, sure, but the spacious restaurant was already packed with so many people there was barely room to stand.

Seeing this, my wife and I instantly knew, before even tasting a bite, that this was a genuine local favorite and a hidden gem near Yangcheon Hyanggyo. Watching families and office workers of every age happily eating together only made our hungry stomachs growl louder.

What makes Yangcheon Shabu Son Kalguksu special is the broth. According to the signage, it's made fresh every day using a generous amount of various healthy herbal medicine ingredients, giving it a deep, rich flavor.

On top of that, the rice that comes standard isn't plain white rice but a colorful five-color rice, a unique touch that made us even more curious about the taste.

Order: basic set plus added beef and raw egg

To make sure we ate well, we ordered the basic Magok shabu-shabu set with an extra portion of beef, plus a fresh raw egg to add later when making the soft porridge at the end.

Soon, neat side dishes arrived along with the main dish. A large pot of healthy herbal broth was carefully served alongside a bright reddish strand of shabu meat, and the quality of the meat looked so good our expectations climbed even higher.

Most of all, we couldn't help but gasp at the overwhelming visual of bean sprouts piled so high on top of the pot they nearly spilled over. Just imagining how deep the flavor would get once the vegetables wilted into the broth made us happy.

Delicious and healthy flavor

Once the herbal broth and water started bubbling furiously, we dropped in the thinly sliced shabu meat, crisp bean sprouts, and fresh bok choy at just the right moment. The thin meat cooked quickly in the broth, and the subtle scent of herbal medicine drifting up was pleasantly enticing.

We picked up a generous chopstick-full of cooked meat and vegetables, dipped it into the restaurant's special wasabi sauce, and sent it straight into our mouths.

The sharp kick of wasabi, the tender meat, and the crunchy bean sprouts came together in harmony, filling our mouths with a healthy, clean flavor. It wasn't an artificial, seasoned taste but a deep, natural savoriness — even my picky wife gave it a thumbs up, repeatedly calling it a fantastic Seoul Botanic Park favorite.

House-made kimchi, refilled from a jar

Another star here that shouldn't be overlooked is the kimchi, made fresh in-house every day.

Each table has its own small jar you can refill as much as you like, whenever you like. It's a crunchy, spicy geotjeori (fresh-cut kimchi) style that paired perfectly with the clean shabu-shabu. The kimchi was so good that between the two of us, we nearly emptied the jar.

Egg porridge made with five-color rice and raw egg

After fishing out every last bit of the fresh shabu meat and vegetables, it was finally time for the five-color rice. We dropped the rice into the remaining rich broth and cracked in the two raw eggs we'd added earlier, stirring them together — and in the blink of an eye, a fragrant, delicious egg porridge was ready.

With the herbal medicine, beef, and vegetable essence fully dissolved into the broth, adding the egg brought it to the height of softness. There was nothing artificial or sharp about it — it was gentle on the stomach and filling, and we cleared the porridge completely. It gave a level of satisfaction that held up well against any other favorite near Yangcheon Hyanggyo.

Not the end yet — fresh plum tea

After scraping up every last spoonful of porridge and patting our full stomachs as we got up to leave, we noticed a special dessert corner set up for guests near the entrance, on the way to the register.

A cup of chilled plum tea after the meal was sweet yet refreshing, cleaning up the palate and pleasantly aiding digestion — the perfect final touch to our meal. This weekend lunch, light on the stomach yet deep in flavor, was a total success.

Among the many Magok shabu-shabu specialists my wife and I have visited recently, this one clearly stood out for its combination of taste, service, and healthiness — by far the most satisfying. Once the weather turns a bit colder, I'm 100% planning to come back for that hot broth.

If you're heading out to Magok or Seoul Botanic Park, I genuinely recommend stopping by this excellent Yangcheon Shabu Son Kalguksu.

Visit information

• Yangcheon Shabu Son Kalguksu, Magok Main Branch (visited August 2026)
• 1F 107, 108, Magok Botanic Park Plaza, 46 Magokdong-ro10-gil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 11:00–21:00 (as listed: closed every weekend)
• Card payment accepted
• Signature menu: shrimp poke salad and more