Yeosu shabu-shabu restaurant for rice paper wraps: Tongkeun Shabu

A restaurant review for the first time in ages! I went to Tongkeun Shabu, the Yeosu City Hall shabu-shabu spot every Yeosu local knows. When there are so many restaurants near City Hall that it is hard to choose, this is a safe shabu-shabu recommendation. They serve both lunch and dinner, so it should be good whenever you go.

Tongkeun Shabu near Yeosu City Hall: location and parking

It is near Yeosu City Hall! It is on the third floor of the Subway building across from the fire station. The sign is large, so it is not difficult to find.

There is a parking lot beside the commercial building. The entrance is open, but it was packed with cars, so I parked on the alley by Geobukseon Park. After filling up on shabu-shabu, walking a few laps around Geobukseon Park was just perfect ^0^ I recommend it for a date too~~~

At first you might wonder, where is the entrance? Go through the commercial-building entrance beside the pharmacy, walk alllll the way inside, and you will find the elevator. Head straight to the third floor. The entrance is on the left as soon as you get off.

Spacious interior and high chairs

It was busy when I first went in, but by the time I was leaving, dinner service was nearly over and there was no one around, so I eagerly photographed the interior. It is quite spacious with tons of tables, so it seems great for company dinners or group visits.

The restroom is inside too. When a restroom is outside the commercial building, going alone can feel scary and somehow a little unpleasant, so I liked that it was inside. They also have high chairs, so keep that in mind if you are bringing a baby! Each table is set with dishes, and you can sit wherever the staff directs you.

Tongkeun Shabu prices and self bar

• Weekdays: adult lunch ₩23,900 / adult dinner ₩26,900 / elementary school child ₩14,000 / preschool child ₩11,000
• Weekends and public holidays: adult ₩26,900 / elementary school child ₩14,000 / preschool child ₩11,000

Those are the prices, for reference~ Tongkeun Shabu has a self bar, so you can take what you like, but please only take as much as you can eat—do not leave too much food behind~~🙏🏻

What the self bar has, from vegetables to sauces

I happily ran over to the self bar hahaha. My heart was racing 💖

Vegetables for shabu-shabu and rice paper wraps

First, there are the basic shabu-shabu vegetables and side dishes. There are bok choy, mung bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and more, plus dumplings, rice cakes, and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) noodles to add. Just add what you like haha. The side dishes are napa cabbage kimchi and pickled onions.

There was no photo, but ingredients for rice paper wraps were also cut into easy-to-eat sizes: cucumber, perilla leaves, carrot, pineapple, onion, and so on! The thing I liked most was how fresh the vegetables were. Vegetables are especially important in shabu-shabu, so you naturally pay attention to freshness.

Sauces

There are three sauces: soy sauce with chili, chili sauce, and peanut sauce. I am firmly on Team Sauce and love dipping everything, so I took a little of each haha. Rice paper wraps can start to feel a little repetitive, but adding a chili at those moments makes them spicy and delicious 🌶️

Pork shoulder, beef brisket, and salad

For meat, there is pork shoulder and beef brisket. Some shabu-shabu restaurants with a self bar only have one meat option, so I liked being able to choose between two here.

I am going to eat it all..

Salads

How do you avoid gaining weight at a buffet? Make sure to eat vegetables too~ Vegetables do not make you gain weight. 😗 There are several fruits, including oranges and kiwi, along with salad and yukhoe (Korean beef tartare).

Hot food, including crispy chicken

There were so many kinds of hot food that I was drooling.. Fried rice, boneless fried chicken with sweet-potato fries, tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork), jjolmyeon (chewy spicy noodles), smoked duck, chicken feet, mala fried snacks, galbi, cream pasta, pizza, and more.

I have visited several times before, and Tongkeun Shabu is famous for its fried food. They fry things so wonderfully crisp, so please make sure to take some fried items.. Especially the chicken 🍗 Oh, and the staff keep an eye on things and refill them continuously. It was nice not having to worry about food running out!

Sushi station and other menu items

There is even a sushi station.. I was surprised that this was not some huge shabu-shabu restaurant, yet it had everything. There are not tons of sushi varieties, but there are squid, shrimp, and egg sushi, plus about four kinds of rolls. Since you have to eat the main shabu-shabu, this feels more than enough..

There is also simple mushroom soup, noodles, and ingredients for egg rice porridge. Shabu-shabu just would not be complete without porridge, you know.

Drinks and snacks

On one side there is water from the dispenser, various alcoholic drinks and beverages, plus coffee, ice cream, chocolate fondue, and more.

From rice paper wraps to porridge with the basic broth

I piled my plate up nicely, so shall we eat?

As expected from a fried-chicken favorite.. it was so crispy and delicious. Please refill the chicken several times.

When you sit down, they prepare basic rice paper and hot water, and you can choose your broth. You can even split the pot in half! I like the basic broth, so that is what I chose.

Add loads of vegetables and let the broth boil; once the vegetables seem nicely cooked, add the meat. The meat was in great condition too. I made tidy wraps, dipped them in sauce, and ate up haha.

Hot water for softening the rice paper is available on one side. Another thing I liked was that broth and rice paper were not only in one place; they were set out in several easy-to-reach spots, so refilling was convenient even though the restaurant is quite spacious.

Pour in the broth and eat endlessly~ Finish with kalguksu, then make rice porridge, and it is complete. I thought my stomach was going to burst..

Still, I could not skip ice cream and dessert, so I had some to cleanse my palate.

For reference, you can pay by card, bank transfer, or Yeosu Love Gift Certificate! They also had an event with amounts based on the number of times you have accumulated, so it seems very useful if you go often. I ate so, so well. I recommend Tongkeun Shabu when you want delicious shabu-shabu near Yeosu City Hall~