Yeonsu, Incheon shabu-shabu: clear-broth beef tendon lunch, Syabudaum

Here is a rundown of the ₩22,000 Australian Black Angus shabu-shabu with beef tendon, plus reservation and parking info.

What is the Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch lunch set like?

Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch (샤브다움 송도유원지점) is a shabu-shabu restaurant at 95 Cheongnyang-ro, Yeonsu, Incheon, and this time I had the Australian Black Angus lunch set (₩22,000 per person). I was looking for a good place near Songdo Amusement Park, and I booked through Naver Reservation for around 1:30 pm on a weekday Wednesday.

From salad to shabu-shabu, a meal and ice cream for dessert, it was a pretty filling lunch. There is parking in front of the restaurant, so it was easy to get to by car. It also fit nicely into the route if you're looking for lunch around Songdo Amusement Park.

• Location: 95 Cheongnyang-ro, Yeonsu, Incheon
• Parking: available
• Hours: daily 11:30-22:00
• Reservations: available (Naver Reservation)

Exterior, interior and waiting at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch

I visited around 1:30 pm on a weekday Wednesday and there was no wait. Maybe because the lunch peak had just passed, the whole place felt relaxed. Since I had booked through Naver Reservation, the table was already set when I arrived. You could probably get in without a reservation, but if you're going at lunchtime, booking ahead looked easier.

Inside, each table has a partition wall, so you aren't staring straight at the next table. I also saw a space at the back that can be used like a room. It looked fine for a meal with parents or a family gathering without it being too noisy.

That said, not every seat is a fully closed private room, and some tables are just divided by partition walls. If you want a private room, it's a good idea to check the seating type when you book.

Order: Australian Black Angus lunch set ₩22,000 (x2)

After booking through Naver Reservation, the table was set up like this when we arrived.

What's in the ₩22,000 Australian Black Angus lunch set?

At the time of my visit, the Syabudaum Australian Black Angus lunch set was ₩22,000 per person, and it runs in the order of salad, shabu-shabu, a meal and dessert. We ordered it for two.

The shabu-shabu comes with 80g of collagen-rich beef tendon (seuji), 150g of beef per person, and vegetables. For the meal you can pick fish cake udon or porridge. Dessert is butterfly ice cream.

The meat and vegetables are not refillable. Even so, having actually eaten it, I hardly felt it was too little for lunch. Big eaters might need an extra order, but by normal lunch standards it was a pretty filling set.

Salad and 3 sauces

First up in the lunch set were the salad, sauces and basic side dishes. The three sauces were soy, chili and sesame. The salad felt like a light appetizer. The dressing wasn't too heavy, so it was easy to eat before the shabu-shabu.

Clear broth vs. spicy broth

At Syabudaum you can choose between clear broth and spicy broth, and we went with clear. The clear broth was clean and mild rather than punchy.

It starts out light, then gets a little richer as you add meat and vegetables. When I put the udon in near the end, the flavor felt more settled than at the start, which I liked. If you're looking for shabu-shabu in Dongchun-dong and prefer a mild style over a strong broth, the clear broth seems a safe pick.

Vegetables and Black Angus portion

The vegetables came generously piled with bean sprouts, napa cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms and more. The big bowl was packed full, and my first thought on seeing it was that the set looked good.

The Australian Black Angus was sliced thin, so it was nice to cook shabu-shabu style. It wasn't overly fatty, and the beef flavor was moderate. The meat was listed as 150g per person, and with the salad, vegetables, tendon, udon and dessert too, it wasn't too little for lunch.

Why the beef tendon made the Syabudaum lunch set special

What stuck with me most in the Syabudaum lunch set was the beef tendon. You don't often get tendon in an ordinary shabu-shabu lunch, right?

A staff member put the tendon into the broth first, then placed each cooked piece on our small plates. They topped it with a little green onion and also told us how to eat it. The tendon has a chewy texture and felt like an appetizer before the real shabu-shabu began. I remember the texture more than any health benefits. That springy chew made it feel like this place's signature from the very first bite.

How was the staff service?

The service at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch was quite impressive too. A staff member put in the vegetables at the start, and after that we were free to eat as we liked.

They even asked first before adding minced garlic or green onion to the sauce. It's a small thing, but I really liked it. They also refilled the sauce for us now and then, and it never felt pushy. They looked after us naturally at just the right moments, which was comfortable.

The 3 sauces: what to dip in what

Each of the three sauces, soy, chili and sesame, had its own appeal. Personally, soy went best with the beef overall, chili was good with chewy things like the tendon and fish cake, and sesame had a nutty flavor that worked when dipping meat and vegetables together.

The meat cooks fast, so there's no long wait. Dipping it in sauce after a quick swish in the clear broth made it a light lunch.

The Black Angus was sliced thin and tender. With soy sauce it tasted clean, and with sesame sauce it was a bit nuttier. It's not a meat-only set, and I liked that the vegetables were plentiful too. Eating bean sprouts, napa cabbage, bok choy and mushrooms together made the meal nicely balanced.

If you go expecting refill-style shabu-shabu you may feel differently, but as a ₩22,000 lunch set it was plenty filling by my standards.

Finishing the meal: fish cake udon or porridge?

For the meal part of the Syabudaum lunch set you can choose fish cake udon or porridge. We had already eaten a fair amount of meat and vegetables, so porridge seemed a bit heavy and I went with the udon.

The udon noodles and fish cake come together, and the staff put those in for us too. The noodles were chewy, and the fish cake came in a variety of kinds, so it worked well as the final dish. The clear broth had also deepened in flavor after the meat and vegetables went in, so it went well with the udon.

If I had to name one small letdown, it's that there was only one fish cake skewer. Among close friends you can just share, but at a less casual meal you might end up having to defer to each other.

Dessert: butterfly ice cream

The lunch set ended with butterfly ice cream. A thin baked butterfly-shaped cookie sat on top, so it looked pretty too. The ice cream was topped with red bean, a nutty powder and puffed rice. The cookie in particular was nuttier than I expected and stuck in my memory.

With dessert sorted right after the shabu-shabu, the lunch course felt quite complete. The dessert didn't feel like filler; it looked good enough that I wanted to take another photo of it.

Receipt review event at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch

At the time of my visit, a receipt review event was posted at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch. It said 2 kinds of vegetables from that day's market auction would be provided, but event details can change over time, so check on site.

FAQ

How much is the lunch set at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch?

At the time of my visit, the Australian Black Angus lunch set was ₩22,000 per person. It included salad, beef tendon, 150g of beef, vegetables, fish cake udon or porridge, and butterfly ice cream.

Is the meat and vegetables all-you-can-eat in the Syabudaum lunch set?

No, it wasn't all-you-can-eat. Still, with 150g of beef per person plus tendon, vegetables, udon and dessert, I hardly felt it was too little for lunch.

How do parking and reservations work at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch?

There are dedicated parking spaces in front of the restaurant, and when they were full we were told to use the Ramada rear parking lot, free for 3 hours. You can book through Naver Reservation, and at lunchtime it's easier to book ahead.

One-line summary: Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch lets you eat everything from salad to beef tendon shabu-shabu, fish cake udon and butterfly ice cream in a ₩22,000 Australian Black Angus lunch set. It isn't all-you-can-eat, but it was a filling lunch, and the tendon and friendly service stood out.

Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch lunch: overall verdict

Syabudaum near Songdo Amusement Park in Incheon was a good place to have shabu-shabu, a meal and dessert all at once with the ₩22,000 lunch set. At 1:30 pm on a weekday Wednesday there was no wait, and after booking through Naver Reservation the table was already set, which was convenient. The tendon and the staff's friendly service especially stood out.

With partition-wall tables and a room space, it also looked fine for eating with parents or as a quiet lunch gathering spot. The meat and vegetables aren't all-you-can-eat, but 150g of beef per person plus vegetables, udon and dessert made the lunch set clearly substantial.

If you want a fully private room, check the seating type when you book, and note that the udon option comes with just one fish cake skewer for two people. Hours, prices and menu are as of my visit and may change. If you're looking for a calm shabu-shabu place in Dongchun-dong near Songdo Amusement Park, it's worth a casual look.

What about you: do you prefer your shabu-shabu broth clear or spicy?

Parking at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch

Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch has dedicated parking spaces in front of the restaurant. When they're full, the notice said you can use the Ramada rear parking lot free for 3 hours.