Daegu shabu-shabu lunch with cold soba and fried chicken: Shabu20

Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch: a rainy-day lunch with mom

Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch is an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and Vietnamese rice paper roll restaurant on the 1st floor of 79 Gonghang-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu. On Friday, September 18, 2026, it drizzled steadily from the morning in Daegu — perfect weather for hot broth.

Today's lunch pick: shabu-shabu! I'd made a reservation the day before at Shabu20 near Daegu Airport and went with my mom.

Arrived at 11:10 AM. There's a big lot right in front of the restaurant, so parking wasn't a worry — room for about 30 cars, apparently.

At Shabu20, literally everything is unlimited, including draft beer. There was also a Shasha event going on, so I scanned the QR code on the receipt and took part.

Inside Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch: seating and atmosphere

The Bokhyeon branch of Shabu20 was spacious and really clean. The seating wasn't cramped either, so it didn't feel stuffy — lots of families, friends, and couples come here, and by noon the place was packed.

What does the 80-minute lunch cost? 22,900 won with spicy and bonito broth

We went with the 80-minute lunch course at ₩22,900. You can choose two broths, and special broths are available for an extra charge. I picked spicy and bonito.

We settled into a comfortable spot near the window, then headed off to grab shabu-shabu ingredients.

What's on the self-service bar at Shabu20?

I go to Shabu20 often, but the Daegu Bokhyeon branch had the food laid out so neatly and prettily. There's plenty of fresh shabu-shabu vegetables and all kinds of rice paper roll ingredients too.

The meat corner for the shabu-shabu — beef and pork, both unlimited! Shabu20's meat in particular wasn't tough at all, really good.

The sauce corner for shabu-shabu and rice paper rolls also had a wide variety, so you can pick to your taste.

It's been a while since I came, and the sides have gotten more varied. Still, the fried chicken is number one, hands down! Don't forget to try both the soy sauce and seasoned versions.

Warm soup and umuchae (agar noodle salad) with soybean broth were perfect for settling the stomach before the meal. I think I went back for about three bowls of soup.

So glad they added cold soba! There's also porridge ingredients, fruit, and rice cakes. For noodle add-ins there's kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), rice noodles, and glass noodles.

It's great that Shabu20 even has unlimited draft beer. There's no shortage of drinks and even ice cream.

The order we ate everything in

We each brought back whatever we liked and set up a full spread. Piles of crown daisy and mung bean sprouts, so good.

Before the shabu-shabu even started boiling, we were hungry, so we made a rice paper roll with fried chicken inside and chomped down. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy — so tasty.

The salmon salad and fried chicken need no explanation. I tried the pad thai for the first time, and it was actually pretty good.

Once the shabu-shabu started boiling, we loaded it up with vegetables and meat, then wrapped it all in rice paper to eat.

It was also great dipped in the soy sauce mix loaded with wasabi, green onion, minced onion, and minced garlic.

The meat was thin and never tough, so soft it just kept disappearing.

Finishing with porridge and kalguksu noodles

Even full, porridge is non-negotiable. We made porridge with the bonito broth and added kalguksu noodles to the spicy broth.

Finished off with one more round of beef and soybean soup, then dessert to wrap things up! The rice cakes were genuinely chewy and delicious.

Would I go back to Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch?

With all the vegetables and meat you can eat, I come to Shabu20 often even by myself. My mom and I come here a lot too, and she likes that it doesn't feel heavy on the stomach afterward.

Being near the airport, it's also great for a hearty meal before a flight — I should come back once more before my trip to Vietnam this month. Got hit with a proper blood sugar spike today too. Ate well. Oink oink.