Pyeongtaek shabu-shabu with spicy dagadi broth: Songdam Kalguksu

I like both kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup) and shabu-shabu, so I went looking for a place that does both at once, and ended up at [Songdam Kalguksu] in Pyeongtaek!

Honestly I had the flu plus some other stuff going on that day and just felt awful, so cooking dinner was the last thing I wanted to do 😭 I wanted something hot, so shabu-shabu it was ⭐️

Where is Songdam Kalguksu? Parking and opening hours

Songdam Kalguksu is at 129 Gangbyeon-ro, Anjung-eup, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, open Tue–Sun 09:00–21:00, closed Mondays. Parking is available, and they offer a takeout discount, group seating, separate men's/women's restrooms, high chairs, and packaging for takeout.

I'd heard this place stays steadily busy during meal times, and once I visited I could totally see why so many people come here!

There's a big parking area right in front of the restaurant, so no parking worries at all haha

Inside, the tables were spaced pretty generously and I saw a lot of families. It felt like a comfortable place to stop by for lunch or dinner without any pressure! I tried to keep other diners out of the interior shots.

Ordering beef shabu-shabu and asking for spicy dagadi

We ordered two servings of beef shabu-shabu at Songdam Kalguksu ✔️ (plus two more servings of beef added on). If you ask for it spicy when ordering, they bring out dagadi (chili paste condiment) on the side so you can adjust the heat to your taste, which I loved.

They even kindly write out how to eat it for the best flavor haha

Apparently Songdam Kalguksu's shabu village broth is made by simmering various seafood, hwangtae (dried pollack), vegetables, and sanghwang mushroom for a long time, and they use it as an all-purpose cooking broth.

The self-serve corner has broth, kimchi, garlic and cheongyang chili peppers, and they've got high chairs too.

Here's the two servings of beef shabu-shabu we ordered, plus the two extra beef plates haha We went ahead and added two more beef plates so we could really pig out!

A wonderfully full spread 🖤

Stirred the dagadi in first to make it spicy! Cold, please go away ㅠㅠ 🤒

Barley rice, woo-samgyeop beef slices and dumplings

At Songdam Kalguksu, barley rice came out along with the basic table setting, and it was nice to eat a spoonful before diving into the shabu-shabu properly. This part was delicious too ෆ⸒⸒

The vegetables were served generously and the beef came out neatly plated too. We put the vegetables into the bubbling broth first, cooked them, and then added the beef piece by piece — the meat was so tender it was easy to keep eating haha

It was woo-samgyeop (beef short plate) so it was super soft and delicious.

The dumplings were yum too 🖤

Glad we added extra meat haha eating it this generously was so good

House-made kalguksu with chives, then sulbbang to finish

After enjoying the shabu-shabu for a while, it was time for the kalguksu — you can't skip it 🤍

After enjoying plenty of meat and vegetables, all those flavors had already infused the broth, so adding the kalguksu noodles and cooking them in made everything taste so much deeper. The noodles are house-made and actually have chives mixed right into the dough! Incredibly chewy... ෆ

Sulbbang (steamed rice cake) was also part of the course, and it was a nice way to cleanse the palate at the end.

Who will enjoy Songdam Kalguksu in Anjung, Pyeongtaek

If you want to enjoy shabu-shabu and kalguksu together in Pyeongtaek, Songdam Kalguksu is worth a visit! Especially if you like spicy food, I'd recommend using the dagadi to adjust it to your taste 🫶

We started with two servings of beef shabu-shabu and ended up adding two more, that's how much we enjoyed it. If you're looking for a filling meal, Songdam Kalguksu in Pyeongtaek is a great place to warm up with shabu-shabu and kalguksu 🖤