Mapo shabu-shabu restaurant for black pork: Shabu in Seoul

I recently visited Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch for a delicious shabu-shabu lunch at Mecenatpolis by Hapjeong Station. I had a lovely time enjoying tasty shabu-shabu in the neat, atmospheric restaurant.

Getting there from Hapjeong Station Exit 8

Mecenatpolis, connected to Exit 8 of Hapjeong Station, has a passage right beside the Exit 8 escalator. Follow the passage inside, then enter the building entrance with the Kyobo Book Centre sign to find it.

Walk along Kyobo Book Centre and Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch is beside the VIPS and Olive Young stores. It is also nice to head to Paul Bassett or browse Kyobo Book Centre after your meal.

Outdoor waiting and private-room reservations

At Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch, a popular shabu-shabu spot at Mecenatpolis in Hapjeong, there can be a wait at peak times. There were several chairs outside as well as cool drinks prepared for waiting guests.

You can reserve ahead through Naver Booking or Catchtable, so I recommend booking in advance if you plan to visit. Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch has just two private rooms: one for eight and one for ten. Groups of 6 to 10 can dine privately in a room. Since there are only two, make sure to reserve ahead if you want one.

A dining room with comfortable table spacing

I reserved the dining room the day before and visited at 2 p.m., after lunch hours, on a weekend, so it was comfortably relaxed. There were several tables for four in the dining area.

The dining room at Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong was pretty too, with nicely spaced tables and partitions that made for a comfortable meal.

There is a weekday break time, but none on weekends, so avoiding peak hours lets you enjoy your meal at a more leisurely pace.

Choosing the meat and broth

Here are the menu and prices at Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch. There are six main shabu-shabu choices: Grade 1 black pork belly and shoulder; Prime Angus chuck roll and boneless short rib; 1++ Korean beef bolar blade; and Black9 wagyu ribeye.

After choosing the meat, I chose from four broth flavors. Each table has a tablet, so ordering from the seat was easy. The two of us chose Grade 1 black pork shoulder and the restaurant’s best-selling clear mushroom broth that day.

They also sell set menus, and I heard you can receive gyōza by taking part in the Naver review event, so that may be worth trying.

I took a photo because it lists Shabu in Seoul’s side-menu options and broth varieties in detail.

Clear mushroom broth and black pork shoulder

The included vegetables were bean sprouts, napa cabbage, kabocha squash, enoki mushrooms, scallions, oyster mushrooms, and more, all neatly served in a wooden bowl.

Thinly sliced black pork shoulder arrived on two plates as well. With three shabu-shabu sauces, including chili and soy sauce, plus minced garlic and peppers, you can make your preferred sauce combination.

Cubed radish kimchi came as a side dish, and it was so clean-tasting and deeply flavorful that I asked for another serving so we could each have some. I brought the clear broth to a rolling boil, then cooked the fresh vegetables first.

I added the black pork shoulder to the bubbling shabu-shabu broth, cooked it quickly, and dipped it in the sauce. As expected, it was really delicious—such a satisfying shabu-shabu meal at Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch.

It was delicious dipped in the sauces and delicious with the cubed radish kimchi too. There was rice paper as well, so wrapping the shabu-shabu in it was another tasty option. The broth I sipped throughout was good too.

Free vegetable juk and payment discounts

After enjoying the shabu-shabu with all the vegetables and pork shoulder, you can have vegetable juk (rice porridge) for free as dessert. Order it at the kiosk and a staff member makes it right at the table; the vegetable juk, topped with seaweed flakes and sesame oil, was delicious too.

I finished with sweet, refreshing omija tea. Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch also accepts Naver Pay, and I heard that showing your receipt can get you 10% off at places including Paul Bassett.

After eating, I took the elevator out and saw a promotion saying that photographing the flyer above would get you free assorted fish balls. If you photograph the flyer posted in the Delight Square 1 elevator, it would be nice to receive the assorted fish balls too.