Daegu shabu-shabu buffet with no wait on a rainy night: Shabu20

It had suddenly turned cold and rainy, and I was craving something hot and brothy, so I headed to Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch (샤브20 대구복현점), a well-known spot in Bokhyeon-dong! Beef, pork, vegetables, rice paper wraps and all kinds of side dishes, and it's all-you-can-eat, so I stuffed myself :) This is my honest review after trying it myself. (Partly paid out of pocket, marked #내돈내산)

Prices and opening hours at Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon

Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch costs ₩22,900 for weekday lunch and ₩26,900 on weekends and holidays. It is open 11:00–22:00, with last order at 20:50.

• Weekday lunch ₩22,900
• Weekends and holidays ₩26,900
• Broths other than the basic ones cost extra

Parking and waiting at Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon

Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch is on the road from Bokhyeon Five-way Intersection toward Gonghang Bridge! The parking lot is fairly large.

There's space for more than 30 cars in front of the restaurant, and there are several public parking lots nearby too, so parking is relaxed!

There's usually a wait, so you can reserve through Catch Table (a Korean reservation app), but I deliberately went late in the evening and got seated right away!

What's the inside of Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon like?

The restaurant is big too. It seats up to 190 people, so it looks great for family meals, group gatherings and company dinners :) It also has floor-to-ceiling windows, so the whole place feels bright and open!

They have children's tableware and high chairs too, so keep that in mind if you're coming with kids!

All-you-can-eat beef and pork

The biggest strength of Shabu20 is, of course, the unlimited meat! You can take as much beef and pork as you like.

You can take as much beef and pork as you want :) and the meat quality is really good! One catch: you can only bring 3 plates at a time~~

What's on the self-bar?

The self-bar at Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch had salad, chicken gangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken), dotori-muk (acorn jelly), cream pasta, mala rosé tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes in a creamy sauce), fried rice and more. The self-bar quality was better than I expected, which surprised me!

There was a wider variety than I expected, from salad to chicken gangjeong, dotori-muk, cream pasta, mala rosé tteokbokki and fried rice, and my favorite was the chicken gangjeong!

Rice paper wrap vegetable and sauce corner

There's also a vegetable corner for rice paper wraps (Vietnamese-style summer rolls) to go with the shabu-shabu. Pick the vegetables you like, then wrap them up with a sauce that suits your taste. So good! One of the nice things about shabu-shabu is that you naturally end up eating lots of vegetables, not just meat :)

Self-serve porridge corner

There's a self-serve porridge corner for the one thing you can't skip at the end of shabu-shabu. Once you've had enough meat and vegetables, add rice or noodles to the leftover broth however you like :)

Drinks and unlimited draft beer

The drink corner had all sorts of drinks, so you can pick whatever you like!

And that's not all: the draft beer is unlimited! Great news for beer lovers haha

Shabu-shabu in half bonito, half spicy broth

I ordered half bonito (katsuobushi, dried fish flakes) broth and half spicy broth. Both are basic broths, so there was no extra charge!

Once the broth starts to simmer, throw in plenty of the vegetables you want and let it bubble away :) The meat is sliced very thin, so it cooked in no time! Personally, I recommend eating the beef first :)

Well-cooked meat is delicious on its own, but I like it best as a rice paper wrap!

Put vegetables on the rice paper, add the shabu-shabu meat, dip it in a sauce you like, and you're done! Shabu-shabu especially makes you eat lots of vegetables without trying, which I love haha

Finishing with self-serve porridge, and a place to return to when it gets colder

I was already totally full from the buffet... but skipping the porridge after shabu-shabu would be such a shame! So I ate right to the end and left with a really tasty, filling meal! Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch is somewhere I'd like to visit once more when the weather gets colder :)