Shabu-shabu restaurant in Magok: jeongak cut and mazesoba at Okso Ban

Looking for a good place in Magok to take your elders for a family meal, or for a first date? Let me introduce Okso Ban (옥소반), where you can enjoy shabu-shabu and sukiyaki!

Where is Okso Ban Magok Main Branch, and where do you park?

Okso Ban Magok Main Branch is on the first floor of Leaders Square, in Building B, units 123 and 124. It's right near the entrance to the building's parking lot, so you'll go "Ah, this is it!" as you drive in. The lot is spacious, so even a beginner driver can park easily.

It's one building, but the layout splits it into Building A and Building B. Actually, I found that handy: there's a directory listing every shop name, so you find the store you want and see its unit number. Okso Ban is Building B, units 123 and 124!!

Take the Building B elevator to the first floor and you'll see Okso Ban's back door on your right. But I felt like going in through the front, so I went around outside, and the clean, brick-colored exterior caught my eye.

Menu descriptions, prices and the summer limited-time menu are posted outside with photos, which was nice to check.

Waiting and ordering at Okso Ban

There's a waiting zone at the entrance. You enter your details on a tablet and sit down, and a staff member comes to guide you. I also spotted a machine for slicing meat thin.

As soon as you're shown to your seat, you order on a tablet. As I mentioned, you can choose between sukiyaki and shabu-shabu! You also decide whether both meat and veggies are unlimited, or just the veggies. Since we came mainly to have shabu-shabu,

Unlimited meat and veggies vs. unlimited veggies: what's the difference in cuts?

I checked the prices and meat cuts for each unlimited option. If you pick unlimited meat and veggies, the jeongak cut that's on the unlimited-veggie menu isn't offered.

Something thoughtful: there are explanations of each meat cut, which ordinary diners might not know. Price aside, read them and pick a cut by the texture and flavor you usually like.

There are also limited-time items, side dishes and a variety of drinks, so order freely.

So we chose unlimited veggies with the jeongak cut, shabu-shabu in the easygoing beef broth, and decided to order a mazesoba too and eat them together!

Okso Ban's atmosphere and basic table setting

The colors inside and outside the restaurant are matched, giving it a unified feel, and maybe because of that the atmosphere felt really nice.

They set out side dishes, and the pickled tomatoes and pickles were so good. Each person gets their own small plate, plus a salad and 3 kinds of sauce. Just perfect.

How does the unlimited-veggie jeongak shabu-shabu taste?

The basic vegetables came together with the jeongak beef, and the colors of the meat and veggies together looked so good that it looked even tastier, hahaha

In they go!! You know the drill: veggies into the boiling broth first and let it bubble away! The broth that comes out of the vegetables is the real deal.

Staff kept walking around refilling empty plates and veggies, and the refilled veggies were just as fresh as the first batch. They keep bringing more until you say stop, so we basically never had to move and could focus purely on eating, which I loved. A quick search shows Okso Ban comes up as a good spot for important occasions, and the conversation never once stalled.

Why I'm glad we ordered the seasonal mazesoba

Okso Ban's seasonal menu item, mazesoba (brothless mixed noodles)! The toppings are fancy, right? haha They put plenty of minced meat on udon noodles. And I'm glad we ordered it, because we had porridge after finishing! The porridge was a little bland, but topped with the minced meat it was incredibly good, haha

You can't choose specific veggies for refills, but that actually has the upside of getting to taste a bit of everything. They also handled the broth refills on their own, so the soup never got too salty and we enjoyed it to the end!

How to eat with the 3 sauces

The 3 sauces at Okso Ban are a total kick too! It looks like plain chili sauce, but it goes so well with the veggies!! Chili for veggies, peanut sauce for meat! I absolutely love this combo, hahaha. Try mixing and matching to your own taste.

Abalone porridge and black tea to finish

For the shabu-shabu finish you can choose between kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) and abalone porridge! We chose the abalone porridge.

They scoop broth out of the emptied pot and mix it right there at the table. A real veteran, haha. With seaweed flakes and all kinds of chopped vegetables on top, the texture was great too.

They finish it with egg and made a really thick porridge. They even dish out small portions and set them in front of you! We had nothing to do ourselves. We bit into abalone quite often, too! Topped with the minced meat I mentioned, it got twice as tasty, haha

For the true dessert they serve black tea! It's tangy and the best palate cleanser, so the meal ended very satisfyingly.

Good to know before visiting Okso Ban Magok Main Branch

• Free parking in the Leaders Square lot is only 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Extra parking tickets are sold cheaply, so you can use those too.
• The back door is on the right of the Building B elevator on the first floor; the front door is around the outside of the building.

Whenever it rains we crave hot broth and want shabu-shabu, so if you're looking for a rich, savory soup dish, I recommend Okso Ban :)