Dongtan Station buffet lunch for a toddler and aunt: Pyeonbaek Hoegwan

A few days ago my sister came to visit, so we took her 26-month-old toddler and headed to Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch! Pyeonbaek Hoegwan is a place where you start with cypress steam (편백찜) and work through a course of shabu-shabu, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) and porridge. Let's see how it tasted — and whether my little foodie princess ate well too, haha.

Location and parking at Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch

Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch is on the 2nd floor of Granvia Star. Parking is available in the building's own lot, which was spacious enough that we had no trouble finding a spot. You can also register your parking at the restaurant after your meal, so it was very convenient!

The weekday 1pm atmosphere and kids' café

The interior was clean overall and quite spacious. With lots of tables, it looked like a good spot for family gatherings or company dinners too. We arrived around 1pm, right at lunchtime, so there were quite a few other customers, haha. Off to one side there was a small kids' café where children could play for a bit.

Course 1: cypress steam — the owner explains if it's your first time

The first course was cypress steam! When we mentioned it was our first visit, the owner kindly explained how it all worked.

What's on the salad bar

Let's go straight to the salad bar! There was a fairly wide variety — tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), spaghetti, mukbap-style muk (acorn jelly), fried rice and more.

I piled my plate generously, haha. Oh, by the way! You're supposed to bring the shabu-shabu ingredients over when you actually start the shabu-shabu course — but since it was my first time, I didn't know that and scooped a huge pile the moment I got there, lol. While we were browsing the salad bar, the cypress steam finished cooking to perfection.

A delicious bite! Mm, you really can't go wrong with fresh spring rolls dipped in peanut and chili sauce, haha. With crunchy vegetables and meat together, it was even tastier!

My 26-month-old ate well too

My little foodie strikes again! From bread to fried rice to meat, she ate a bit of everything, haha. Wiggling her body and saying it was delicious~ She even dipped things into the sauce very neatly ❤️❤️❤️ Since the course was still long, we quickly moved on to round two: shabu-shabu!

Course 2: choosing your shabu-shabu broth

For shabu-shabu broth, you can pick between the basic katsuo (bonito) broth or a spicy broth, along with various other options like bone-broth mala or bone-broth tomato! We went with the basic broth.

The spicy broth was spicier than I expected — my mouth was tingling by the time I finished it, haha. Honestly, the mild katsuo broth suited my taste much better than the spicy one!

Skipping the kalguksu, finishing with porridge and a misugaru slush

We were already too full for the kalguksu, but! As Koreans, even when we're full, carbs have to go in somehow, haha. So for the finale we made a fried-rice-style porridge. Carbs win again!

The final dessert was a misugaru (roasted grain powder) slush! Our stomachs were already as full as they could get, but dessert always finds room somehow, haha. Personally, I love it when a restaurant has a dessert like this ready to go 💕

Air-conditioned kids' café, but the cleaning could improve

Before we left, I took a quick peek at the kids' café too! There was a separate air conditioner installed inside, so kids could play comfortably even on a hot day — that felt like a thoughtful touch, haha. That said, I did notice some spots that could have been cleaner ㅠㅠ Still, it looked good enough for kids to play a bit while the adults eat!

+ Also, on the day I visited, model Lee Hyun was there eating too! She was piling a whole bunch of peppers onto her plate at the salad bar and I thought, 'who's that tall person?' — turns out it was Lee Hyun!!! Seeing her in person, I was surprised at how small her face is and how much prettier she looks in real life, haha.

For ₩16,900 per person, we left satisfyingly full — from cypress steam to shabu-shabu to dessert.