Yeongjong hot pot restaurant with unlimited beef: Pyeonpyeonjip

If you're really into shabu-shabu, you've probably been to Pyeonpyeonjip at some point. I eat shabu-shabu pretty often myself, and I'd been to the Yeongjong Sky City branch before and ate until I was hilariously stuffed — so this time I went back through Superchart.

I visited at the awkward hour of 4pm on a weekday, so it was empty and I got to eat in peace. Today I'll give an honest rundown for anyone looking for all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu in Yeongjong Sky City.

Where is Pyeonpyeonjip Yeongjong Sky City branch? Hours and parking

• Location: 17 Haneulbyeolbit-ro 65beon-gil, Yeongjong-gu, Incheon, South Korea, 3rd floor
• Hours: weekday 11:30–23:00 (last order 22:00) / weekend 11:30–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Parking: on-site building parking (about 30 spaces)
• Restroom: in the hallway outside the store
• Dog-friendly, kids zone available

The whole place was kept clean and tidy, which made it feel comfortable for a family meal and easygoing enough to bring kids along.

All-you-can-eat hot pot prices and broth choices at Pyeonpyeonjip

Weekday lunch is ₩18,500, and weekday dinner / weekends / holidays are ₩21,500.

At this price you get hedwood-steamed pork, shabu-shabu, and all-you-can-eat meat and vegetables — really good value. You can also split the broth half and half.

• Seafood broth + sukiyaki
• Seafood broth + mala
• Seafood broth + spicy seafood broth

We went with seafood broth + sukiyaki. I usually get mala, but I got a little greedy this time. Midway through, I thought — what if I add spicy seafood broth as a refill so we can try three flavors? So that's what we ordered (more on how that turned out later...). And the hedwood steam comes with one refill.

Drinks, alcohol and even dog treats at Pyeonpyeonjip

The drink selection was more varied than I expected. They had non-alcoholic beer, plus pomegranate, grapefruit, and peach ade. Soju, beer, and highballs were all available too, and there was even a Pororo drink for kids — I could see why so many families come here.

The most surprising thing was that they sell dog treats. I guess that makes sense since it's a dog-friendly place.

12 minutes for the hinoki-steamed pork, plus self-bar sides while you wait

At Pyeonpyeonjip, the first thing they bring you when you sit down is the hedwood steam. It takes about 12 minutes to steam, but grabbing food from the self-serve bar makes the time fly by.

(Wait, why is time going so slowly!) The side menu was actually pretty varied.

Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), bulgogi, bread, shrimp chips, corn salad, sweet pumpkin salad, and more (corn salad and pumpkin salad were over by the fresh spring roll ingredients). There were plenty of easy snacks to nibble on, so the wait didn't feel boring at all — mostly because I got hungry and ate the tteokbokki. It was good.

The meat: woosamgyeop and chadolbagi, with farm-direct vegetables

There are two kinds of meat: woosamgyeop and chadolbagi. They even show you which pairings go well together.

Both are all-you-can-eat.

The vegetables were fresh too. Mung bean sprouts, napa cabbage, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, pine mushrooms, and on top of that, sweet potato rice cake, cheese rice cake, dumpling soup dough, dumplings, fried tofu skin, sausage, kalguksu noodles, ramen noodles, and porridge ingredients were all available. The fresh spring roll ingredients were varied too.

Cabbage, cucumber, carrot, onion, bell pepper, perilla leaves — it was fun mixing and matching to taste. A sign said the vegetables come straight from Seona's organic farm in Yeoju, Gyeonggi. The meat also didn't feel like scraps — on my way out after the meal, I heard a staff member actually trimming meat by hand, which made me trust it even more.

How to stack the vegetables for the best-tasting pot

I put a bit of thought into how I stack my vegetables when eating shabu-shabu.

I lay the bean sprouts down first, then bok choy on top, then mushrooms, and finally cover it with cabbage. Putting things in that reverse order means everything cooks at about the same time, cutting down on waiting.

I got half woosamgyeop and half chadolbagi for the meat. By the time you gather all this, the hedwood steam should be fully cooked!!!!!

My favorite combo is cabbage + bean sprouts + enoki mushroom + meat. Meat eaten together with vegetables just tastes best to me.

There was so much meat in the hedwood steam that I ate some of it as-is and dropped the rest into the shabu-shabu broth for a second round of enjoyment.

Peanut sauce and chili sauce are set out at the table, and there's soy sauce over by the drinks corner. I personally love Pyeonpyeonjip's soy sauce. Whichever branch I go to, not just this one in Yeongjong, their soy sauce is always the best. It goes great with both the meat and the vegetables.

Between the two of us we ate about 4 plates of meat and 3 plates of vegetables — I felt like I was going to burst.

I usually love finishing with kalguksu noodles and porridge at the end, but this time there was absolutely no room left, so I gave up on that. 👍👍👍 That's how thoroughly we enjoyed the meat and vegetables.

Sukiyaki vs seafood vs spicy seafood broth: which tastes best?

The sukiyaki had a subtle bonito flake aroma with a slightly sweet, Japanese-style feel. The seafood broth, on the other hand, was cleaner and lighter, more like a Korean-style broth.

Then we carried out our plan halfway through: add spicy seafood broth to try a third flavor! I expected a red spicy broth, but it wasn't red — it tasted more like a sharp broth spiked with cheongyang chili peppers. Not quite what I expected, but it cut through the richness nicely, letting us enjoy the meal deliciously right to the end.

Self-serve drink corner and free broth refills

The self-serve drink corner had Pepsi, Sprite, zero-sugar sodas, Tom's, and even Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew isn't at that many places, so I was happy to see it.

For broth refills, there's no need to call a staff member — you just grab more from the fridge yourself and pour it in. That was pretty convenient too.

Inside Pyeonpyeonjip: kids zone and dog-friendly seating

Overall the restaurant is clean and fairly spacious. The tables also had generous spacing between them.

There's a separate kids zone where children can play, which made it seem like a solid choice for family gatherings. Dogs are welcome too, and given that they even sell dog treats, it seems like a lot of customers bring their pets along.

What disappointed me at Pyeonpyeonjip

If I had to pick one drawback, it's that you can choose mala broth, but there aren't any mala hot pot-style ingredients to go with it. If they had things like beef tripe, fish balls, or dried tofu — ingredients commonly found in mala tang — choosing the mala broth would be a lot more fun. It's plenty tasty as is, but if a few more ingredients like that were added, I think it would push this place to a level where I'd personally call it the number one all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu spot.

Is Pyeonpyeonjip a good spot for a family gathering in Yeongjong Sky City?

I've eaten shabu-shabu at a lot of places, and getting this quality at ₩18,500 for weekday lunch is genuinely satisfying. With the hedwood steam included, both meat and vegetables all-you-can-eat, broth you can customize to taste, a clean restaurant, and both a kids zone and dog-friendly seating, it's also a good spot to visit with family.

I'd especially recommend it for weekday lunch, and the dinner price still feels like solid value. If you're looking for all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu in Yeongjong Sky City, or trying to figure out a spot for a family gathering, this place is worth a visit.