Cheongna Ruwon City shabu-shabu: 24,900-won weekday lunch at Shabuway

Today I'm bringing you my honest review of Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch, a Cheongna Ruwon City restaurant that's become a steady favorite in Gajeong-dong, Cheongna, and all of Seohae-gu for shabu-shabu. Let's see why people keep coming back.

Where is Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch, and where do you park?

Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch is on the 2nd floor of Ruwon Tower Plaza, 11 Yeomgok-ro 464beon-gil, Seohae-gu, Incheon, South Korea. Hours are 11:30–21:30, with a break time of 15:30–17:00 — but no break time on weekends and holidays. Parking is free for 2 hours in the building's underground lot, so it's easy to drive there.

Take the elevator up to the 2nd floor and you'll find the entrance. Honestly, there's no sign, so I wondered "is this really the entrance?" and walked a full loop around the floor — but yes, this is it.

There are restrooms on both sides of the elevator. Since Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch occupies the entire 2nd floor, the restrooms were kept spotlessly clean.

What is the dining room like inside Shabuway Ruwon City?

In the middle of Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch is a salad bar with fresh vegetables and a variety of side dishes that pair well with shabu-shabu. The place is seriously clean — totally gives off hotel-restaurant vibes, right?

The tables are spaced really far apart and there's plenty of room to move around, so it would be great for group gatherings or work dinners.

Finding such a quiet, clean atmosphere at a shabu-shabu restaurant is really something.

Shabuway Ruwon City menu and prices

At Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch, ordering a main dish gives you unlimited access to the salad bar. There's also a discount event running if you book via Naver Reservation and visit for weekday lunch, so definitely take advantage of it.

You can also choose your broth, and there's all-you-can-drink Hanmac draft beer too.

What the 24,900-won weekday lunch includes: meats and vegetables

What I ordered was the adult weekday lunch at 24,900 won. Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch uses premium cuts of meat.

In the fridge case, the meat and broth were laid out — the meat was thinly sliced, not frozen, and honestly the quality was really good. There's beef chuck, beef brisket, and pork neck, and the beef chuck in particular was excellent.

There's a wide variety of vegetables and mushrooms for shabu-shabu, too — bean sprouts, sweet pumpkin, wood ear mushrooms, they had it all.

There are also two kinds of kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), dumplings, rice cakes, and rice-wrap ingredients — everything you need, neatly arranged.

Sauce bar, rice paper and the self-serve porridge station

On one side there's a sauce corner, a rice paper corner, and a self-serve porridge station.

The sauces include soy sauce, chili, and sesame, and you can mix in minced garlic, chili, wasabi, and green onion for all kinds of combinations.

What is on the salad bar at Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch?

The side menu at Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch is honestly amazing — the bossam (boiled pork) was so tender that I ate way too much of it before even starting the shabu-shabu.

There's boneless fried chicken and sweet-and-sour pork that everyone loves, plus pizza, charcoal-grilled seasoned ribs, mala xiangguo, ratatouille, pad thai, salmon salad, caprese salad, fresh fruit for dessert, bread and soup, and even Cajun chicken salad — so many side dishes I nearly filled up before the shabu-shabu even arrived.

Drinks were also unlimited, and if you order the Hanmac draft beer refill, you can go get as much beer as you want too.

On top of that, there was plum juice and orange juice for dessert, plus ice cream and coffee — nothing missing.

The order to eat shabu-shabu and Vietnamese-style rice wraps

After grabbing sauces, rice-wrap ingredients, and side dishes from the salad bar, the meat, broth, and vegetables were already set on the table.

Let's toss the vegetables into the broth first, then add the meat.

Wrap the ingredients neatly in rice paper to make a nice little rice wrap, dip it in your sauce of choice, and pop it in your mouth — so good you can't even describe it.

How to finish with self-serve porridge at Shabuway

No dessert without porridge, right? The porridge corner at Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch only has rice, seaweed, and green onion, but I added chopped carrot on top. Make sure to drain off as much broth as possible, or it can end up too salty to eat.

I finished it off by cracking in an egg. It wouldn't be a lie to say I eat shabu-shabu just to get to this porridge.

Honest verdict on Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch

I got to enjoy really delicious shabu-shabu in a clean space with a quiet atmosphere. It was the best shabu-shabu restaurant I've been to, and it's now become my partner's favorite. If you visit this Cheongna Ruwon City restaurant, Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch, I think you'll end up a regular too. Why not visit once and enjoy the delicious shabu-shabu and the endless variety of dishes on the salad bar?