Shabu-shabu buffet lunch with Mom in Cheomdan, Gwangju: Shabu20

A lunch spot in Cheomdan: Shabu20 Gwangju's all-you-can-eat shabu is a place I'd go back to, for sure!

Where do you park at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan?

Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan offers 2 hours of parking, with Verhill surface parking and a parking tower (floors 1–7) that holds 200 cars. As a self-proclaimed munching master, I have to tell you shabu-shabu is one of my all-time favorite foods! It's great in summer, great in winter~ it tastes good and makes you feel healthy too, so shabu-shabu is my number one🧡

With all-you-can-eat you stay a good while, so easy parking matters, and Shabu20 Cheomdan fits that need perfectly with 2 hours of parking! You can park in the Verhill surface lot, and the parking tower (floors 1–7) takes 200 cars, so you can eat as much as you like without worrying about parking~

Why I went back to Shabu20 Cheomdan for lunch with Mom

Of the places I've been to lately, for food and service, Shabu20 Cheomdan is a shabu buffet with high-quality wrap vegetables and meat alike, so I came back! With Onnuri gift vouchers, Bukkeu Money, Sangsaeng, the high-oil-price support fund and a receipt review event, the already reasonable price becomes a real bargain, which really shines in these days of high prices⭐

Half-and-half broth: spicy and katsuobushi

Once you sit down at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan, a staff member explains how it works, and you can pick a half-and-half broth. A friendly staff member walks you through it when you first sit, but it was my second visit, so I skipped the explanation! I chose spicy and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) for the half-and-half broth💗 The first pot comes with the broth, then you fill a vegetable bowl with vegetables for the broth and use the rice paper and salad bar😊

Is Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan spacious inside?

I came to Shabu20 for a Cheomdan lunch, and the ceilings are high, the tables are big and the spacing is wide. As I felt last time too, the interior is clean and ideal! Because of the kind of menu it is, the tables are big and spaced widely so you can eat without any discomfort, which means lots of groups and families can visit.

What's on the all-you-can-eat sauce bar and salad bar

The sauce bar at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan has more than 10 sauces at a glance, including wasabi, peanut, chili, Shabu20 chili, soy sauce, garlic and sesame-oil dip. Personally, when there are this many sauces I struggle to decide, but the combinations for each sauce are written out helpfully!

One problem with all-you-can-eat is that over time the taste and freshness drop compared with opening days, but even coming back after a few months, I wanted to return to Shabu20 Cheomdan~

Vegetables for rice paper wraps

The wrap vegetables at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan include sprouts, cucumber, carrot, onion, perilla leaves, pineapple and cabbage, all finely julienned! If you tried to prep all this at home, it would mean ingredient management and lots of labor, and you can't just casually do that..ㅠ That's why I can't help but come to Shabu20 Cheomdan.

Salad bar pick: homemade chicken gangjeong

The dish at the Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan salad bar that amazed me last time too is this chicken gangjeong (crispy sweet-glazed fried chicken), you know? Both the spicy-sweet and soy flavors are delicious! It's good enough for a chicken gangjeong specialty shop, and once you take a bite you want to keep going, but I held back to save room for the shabu-shabu.

A staff member told me why it's so good: every menu item is homemade, apparently? Honestly it's tastier than your average bad wedding buffet...👍🏻 The basics of each dish are solid, so it'd be good to come with anyone, young or old.

How good is the beef at Shabu20 Cheomdan?

The most important thing at a shabu-shabu buffet is the meat quality, and the meat at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan is said to be better than hanwoo (Korean beef)! I heard that straight from the owner haha

After the meal, my mother had a chance to chat with the owner, and the two of them bonded over the idea that good food starts with good ingredients haha

Beef and vegetable shabu-shabu in the half-and-half broth

After a diligent lap around the salad bar, it was time to properly eat, vegetables into the broth first!

I brought a generous load of my usual favorites: napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, bok choy, bean sprouts, wood ear mushrooms and more, and I already felt full🫶 Just from the look of it, the rosy-red beef was clearly top grade wherever I looked~

The butcher corner at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan has pork and beef, but Mom and I are beef-only people for shabu-shabu, so we picked only beef! It's sliced thin so it's easy to eat in one go, and the freshness is top-notch too💓

While the broth simmers with all sorts of vegetables, I tucked into the chicken gangjeong, stir-fried sundae (Korean blood sausage) and takoyaki I'd stacked up from the salad bar, and soon it was bubbling!

Just like this💕 Even looking back, it was so tasty I want to eat it again😭

I put sauce-loaded meat into rice paper, packed in my favorite wrap vegetables and rolled up a wrap. What do you think? Even one bite is already filling, right?

Dessert and takeaway at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan

Desserts at Shabu20 Gwangju Cheomdan include kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), porridge, ice cream and coffee. I should have had the kalguksu and porridge, but I was so busy eating meat that I was full and went straight to ice cream🏃‍♀️

I was going to make an affogato, but I don't drink coffee, so I got ice cream and a cappuccino separately❣️

I don't think many all-you-can-eat places tell you that you can take coffee and ice cream to go ㅠㅠ Even this is amazing, right? Shabu20 Cheomdan was my number one shabu buffet in Gwangju that I'd want to visit again🩷