Beef shank hot pot after work with a coworker: Huhugwan, City Hall

A place I booked a week in advance to go to for dinner with a coworker after work on a weekday!

Huhugwan

That day my mental state was completely wrecked from morning until clock-out, and my coworker considerately offered to push it to another day, but I said I needed the healing and that we'd already reserved, so we had to go! Long story short, this is my real review of Huhugwan, a Deoksugung-area gem where I went with my coworker and ate and healed on a rough day!

Getting to Huhugwan near City Hall Station and Deoksugung

On a recent weekday, I rushed out of work (genuinely fled the school like I was escaping a chain gang), took one bus straight to the City Hall Station area, and found the building after diligently following the map! For reference, it's near Deoksugung Palace!

Huhugwan, this great Chinese restaurant, is on the 2nd floor, so you have to climb these stairs — and there's a poster with total Hong Kong vibes on the wall beside the staircase!

A Hong Kong-style atmosphere and seating

Once you climb the stairs and step inside, there's a waiting area — and here too, red walls with yellow lighting on, giving off total Hong Kong energy O.O

Pass the waiting area and step into the main space, and there's even more Hong Kong-style interior everywhere! It genuinely feels like you've landed in Hong Kong!

A staff member came out and greeted us kindly, and when asked if we'd reserved, I proudly (?) said yes! Our table was already set up in advance!

Next to where we sat there was also a bar table where you could drink solo or as a pair! (There was actually someone drinking alone when we arrived!)

There were window seats too (also reserved!)

This is the group seating area, and this was reserved too! For reference, we arrived at 6:30pm that day and there were reserved tables everywhere! Definitely make a reservation before you go! And since it's such a genuinely popular spot, the place fills up with customers faster than you'd think!

Why QR ordering at the table was so convenient

Oh! And the really nice thing was that you order via a QR code stuck to the table! Total China vibes! You don't have to flag down a staff member (hard for an introvert — you have to keep making eye contact until they notice you), so it was super, super convenient!

So how does the beef shank hot pot taste?

What we ordered that day was the beef shank hot pot!!! I originally planned to get the Huhuchuan (mala hot pot), but while browsing the menu I switched to the beef shank hot pot haha

The beef shank hot pot finally arrived, packed with plenty of meat plus mushrooms and bok choy and more. I ladled out a bowl and gave it to my senior coworker who'd also had a rough day (social nicety?? no no, just manners haha)

And one for me too!! This was actually my first time trying beef shank hot pot, and the beef broth, rich with meaty umami, paired with the vegetables and a bite of meat was so, so good! All the stress from that day just disappeared^~^

The sides we paired it with — Chinese-style water dumplings and mian bao xia

And we also ordered a side to go with the beef shank hot pot! That was none other than Chinese-style water dumplings!! China really is the best for dumplings... jiaozi, baozi, all of it. I actually don't like cilantro so I picked it all out, shoo shoo — cilantro tastes like soap to me (not that I've ever eaten soap haha) (even when I studied abroad in China I was always shouting bu yao xiangcai!!) Please respect that some of us just can't do cilantro!

And one more thing!! This is the mian bao xia, with a thick shrimp patty (?) inside and a crispy fried exterior — genuinely delicious, and the sauce was sweet chili, which was such a great combo!! (I'm the type who adds sweet chili at Subway too)

Chatting away, we cleaned out the whole hot pot! The broth wasn't overly intense either, just the right amount of mala flavor (as someone who's studied in China, I'm giving this a full pass, perfect score!)

Good to know before you go

Oh right, if you take part in the Naver review event they give you a Qingdao draft beer (32ml) or a mini mian bao xia, so definitely join in!!

+ Oh, and this is something I really wanted to mention — the peanuts they serve as a side dish here are seriously so good!! Not regular peanuts at all, they've got a bit of sugar coating on the outside, and out of every peanut I've ever eaten (including ones from other Chinese restaurants), these are the best,,! I told my coworker I wanted to bring whoever makes these home and have them just make peanuts all day, and they looked shocked,,haha (I meant it,,? maybe that's a scary thing to say haha) Anyway, who knew there was such a great restaurant near City Hall,,! I'm so jealous of people who work around City Hall (trying to act young lol)

A City Hall Station gem, Huhugwan!! Perfect for an evening visit after checking out Deoksugung Palace.