Namwirye shabu-shabu buffet: pineapple rice paper wraps, Dadam

Lately I've been craving shabu-shabu, where you cook fresh vegetables and meat in warm broth. I looked for a good shabu-shabu place in Wirye and found Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch (다담샤브샤브&월남쌈 위례점), which has beef brisket and beef chuck, lots of shabu-shabu vegetables, and even rice paper wraps.

• Address: 305, 3F, G&G Plaza, 45 Wiryegwangjang-ro, Sugang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00

What's the atmosphere like at Dadam's Wirye branch?

Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch is a spacious, comfortable restaurant with roomy gaps between tables, and the big windows by the wall look out over Changgokcheon stream.

The tables are spaced out nicely, and each seat has a partition, so you eat in a reasonably separate space from the next table. There are seats for bigger groups too, so it works for a family meal or a get-together with friends.

The window seats let you eat while looking at the scenery around Changgokcheon. Nothing feels stuffy, and the open view makes the mood more relaxed. Shabu-shabu is a food you eat slowly, adding ingredients bit by bit, so a comfortable place to sit matters. With the wide seats and pleasant atmosphere, it suits a group well.

5% off with an Instagram Story

If you tag the restaurant and upload an Instagram Story, you get 5% off, so it's worth joining in to get the discount.

What's at the self-bar?

The self-bar has shabu-shabu vegetables, mushrooms, various add-in noodles and extras, sauces, fried rice ingredients, plus ice cream and coffee. The self-bar is the part worth noticing here, since you can pick whatever suits your taste.

Fresh, varied shabu-shabu vegetables

With shabu-shabu, vegetables matter as much as the meat. There's napa cabbage, bok choy and minari (water dropwort), along with several kinds of mushrooms and other things that go well in the pot. Load up on your favorites and put them in the broth, and the flavor they release makes the soup richer.

There are also dumplings, rice cakes, sujebi (hand-torn dough flakes) and other add-ins, so you can mix a lot of things besides beef and vegetables. Taste and texture change with what you put in, so picking what you want at the self-bar is half the fun.

Two kinds of beef: brisket and chuck

The beef comes in two cuts: usamgyeop (beef brisket) and umokshim (beef chuck). The brisket has a fair amount of fat, so it's soft and rich. Cook it briefly in the broth and you get a tender texture and a nutty, savory flavor that suits shabu-shabu. The chuck is leaner and lighter than the brisket. Alternating the two is fun because you can compare the different textures.

Finishing with fried rice, egg and a sweet dessert

Once you've had your fill of shabu-shabu, you have to eat right to the end, don't you? There are fried rice ingredients ready for finishing the meal.

With rice, egg, seaweed flakes and the rest, you can make fried rice or porridge. Using the broth that cooked the meat and vegetables adds their flavor, so the end of the meal is hearty too.

With ice cream and coffee on hand, you don't need to go to a café afterward for something sweet. Ice cream alone is fine, and with the coffee you can make an affogato. Soft, sweet ice cream with strong espresso gives a sweet-and-bitter mix that works well as a palate cleanser after the meal.

A range of sauces to suit your taste

The self-bar also has several sauces for shabu-shabu and rice paper wraps. The main ones are peanut sauce, chili sauce and soy sauce, so you can choose to taste. Go for peanut sauce if you like nutty flavors, chili sauce if you want spicy, sweet and tangy, and soy sauce if you want something clean and simple.

How much is it per person at Dadam's Wirye branch?

Adults (middle school and up) pay ₩21,900 per person, and prices differ by age, from adults down to elementary students and preschoolers.

• Adult (middle school and up): ₩21,900
• Elementary school (grades 1–6): ₩13,900
• Preschooler (ages 4–7): ₩8,000
• Infant or toddler (under 36 months): free

Trying the half clear, half spicy broth

We chose two broths here, clear and spicy, in a split pot. The clear broth is good for a light taste with napa cabbage, bean sprouts, mushrooms and other vegetables, and the spicy one adds a kick when you put in beef and vegetables.

How do you make the pineapple rice paper wraps?

Rice paper wraps (wolnamssam) are the one thing you have to have alongside the shabu-shabu here. We prepared the rice paper, then topped it with cooked beef and whatever vegetables we wanted, like carrot, cucumber and red cabbage, and added pineapple too, making them ourselves.

Put everything in and roll it up, and the chewy rice paper, crunchy vegetables and tender beef come together. Adding pineapple brings a sweet-tart note that goes well with the savory beef. Dip in peanut sauce for a nutty flavor, or add chili sauce for a spicy-tangy twist.

What the split-broth shabu-shabu was actually like

With the half clear, half spicy pot, one side is mild and the other is kicking, so it's easy to alternate depending on your mood. First I brought plenty of napa cabbage, bean sprouts, mushrooms and other favorites from the self-bar and put them in the broth. As the vegetables cooked, their flavor naturally went into the soup, and then I added the brisket and chuck one slice at a time, which made a filling meal.

The brisket is good for savory flavor and the chuck for a lighter bite, so alternating them was fun. Best of all, you can take as much as you like, not just meat but vegetables, mushrooms and all sorts of extras. You can add whatever runs low along the way, so it's easy to eat your fill. Switching between the clear and spicy broths got less tiresome than eating one flavor the whole time, and made the shabu-shabu more varied.

Finishing hearty with savory egg fried rice

After enjoying the shabu-shabu, you can make fried rice at the end. Fried rice ingredients and eggs are ready, so you can add what you like to finish the meal. It has a different charm from the shabu-shabu of meat and vegetables, and adding egg to the rice brings out a savory taste that makes a satisfying finish.

Sweet affogato from ice cream and coffee

After the meal, I tried the dessert corner too. With ice cream and coffee available, you can have a quick dessert after eating. What's especially appealing is that adding coffee to the ice cream makes an affogato.

Does Dadam's Wirye branch do takeout?

Self-packing takeout is available, and the minimum takeout order is ₩7,900. It's handy when it's hard to eat in or you want shabu-shabu comfortably at home. You get 2 basic broths + 2 sauces, then choose vegetables, meat, rice paper wrap ingredients and so on as you like and pay.

If you want a generous shabu-shabu and rice paper wrap meal in Wirye

At Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch, you can have all-you-can-eat vegetables, mushrooms, beef brisket and beef chuck, with rice paper wrap ingredients and sauces in good variety too. Choosing clear and spicy broths together, as we did, lets you alternate two flavors, and making your own rice paper wraps is fun. With fried rice ingredients, egg, ice cream and coffee as well, it's appealing that you can sort out the meal and dessert in one place.