Hapjeong shabu-shabu with blue crab miso broth: Shabu in Seoul

On a weekday evening, after a tiring day, my friend and I headed to Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch for a delicious meal to shake off the fatigue.

How to walk to Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch from Hapjeong Station

Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch is a Hapjeong shabu-shabu specialist located on B2 of Delight Square 1. It's near Hapjeong Station and Mecenatpolis, so it was really convenient to reach by public transit.

I got the chance to visit through a sponsorship, and honestly, from the atmosphere to the food quality, it exceeded my expectations — the kind of place that's perfect for a meetup after work.

How ordering works: pick your meat, broth and finishing dish

Unlike a typical shabu-shabu place, the biggest appeal of Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch is that you can carefully pick the meat, broth, and even the dessert meal to suit your taste.

For meat, there's tender prime Angus chuck flat or eye of round, and black pork belly with an outstanding nutty flavor — all premium options to choose from.

The broth choices are just as varied: clear mushroom, spicy mushroom, crab miso, and sukiyaki. If you like a clean, light flavor, I'd recommend the clear mushroom broth.

On the other hand, if you want to try something more unique and deep in flavor, the crab miso broth or the salty-sweet sukiyaki broth are great alternatives.

Which finishing dish comes with each broth?

What's most fun is that the dessert meal you get changes depending on which broth you chose!

Clear mushroom broth comes with savory egg porridge, spicy mushroom with rose risotto, sukiyaki with yakisoba, and the crab miso broth we chose comes with a comforting doenjang-mari-bap (miso rice porridge) — it really feels like enjoying a course meal all the way to the end.

Prime Angus chuck eye roll shabu set for two with blue crab miso broth

We ordered the prime Angus chuck flat and eye of round shabu set for two, paired with crab miso broth. After ordering, the neatly arranged spread of vegetables, mushrooms, glass noodles, and buncheonsal (sweet potato starch noodles) was really generous.

We put the visibly fresh vegetables into the bubbling crab miso broth first to let the flavor deepen.

Lightly swishing the beautifully colored prime Angus eye of round in the broth — where the savory miso was pleasantly laced with cool crab flavor — gave us a bite that was clean yet burst with the meat's distinct nutty richness.

Dipping the well-cooked vegetables and the springy buncheonsal and glass noodles lightly into the sauce was also a lot of fun.

Doenjang-mari-bap: the finale to the blue crab miso broth

After scooping out all the shabu-shabu ingredients, it was finally time for the dessert we'd been waiting for — doenjang-mari-bap! Simmering rice in the miso broth, now rich with crab, vegetable, and meat flavors, made for a deep, savory bowl that instantly soothed the stomach.

Even though I was already full, it was satisfying enough that I scraped up every last spoonful.

From classic, light shabu-shabu to a refined crab miso broth course, this Hapjeong shabu-shabu specialist let us enjoy a thoughtfully prepared meal in an upscale interior.

If you're looking for a delicious catch-up with a friend after work or a date course that won't fail, stop by Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch near Mecenatpolis in Hapjeong and build your own perfect shabu combination! 🍲✨