# Beef shank hot pot after work with a coworker: Huhugwan, City Hall - By Nari (https://superchart.com/en/@filter-paper-mornings/) - Written Sep 9, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Jung-gu, Seoul - Sponsored: This post was written after receiving a complimentary meal as part of a paid on-site visit sponsorship. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@filter-paper-mornings/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@filter-paper-mornings/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/index.md) ## In short Huhugwan is a Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant on the 2nd floor near City Hall Station and Deoksugung Palace in Jung-gu, Seoul. After work, the writer and a coworker used a reservation made a week ahead to order beef shank hot pot with Chinese-style water dumplings and mian bao xia, finding the broth mildly spicy and not overwhelming. Even at 6:30pm on a weekday, most tables were already reserved, so booking ahead is a must. ## Good to know - **Location**: 2F, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (near City Hall Station and Deoksugung Palace) - **Ordering**: QR code ordering at the table - **Seating**: Bar table, window seats, group seating - **Reservations**: Most tables already reserved even at 6:30pm on a weekday — booking recommended - **What we ate**: Beef shank hot pot, Chinese-style water dumplings, mian bao xia (shrimp toast) - **Review event**: Naver review gets you a Qingdao draft beer or mini mian bao xia (per original post) *as written by the visitor on Sep 9, 2026* ![Featured photo from a visit to Huhugwan, a Chinese restaurant near City Hall Station](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-01-a0xbz-1200.webp) 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 ![Exterior of the building housing Huhugwan near Deoksugung Palace](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-02-39h6t-900.webp) 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! ![Stairs leading up to Huhugwan's 2nd floor with a Hong Kong-style poster](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-03-ms1u8-900.webp) ![Chinese restaurant poster on the wall beside the staircase](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-04-1acmk-900.webp) ## 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 ![Huhugwan's waiting area with red walls and yellow lighting](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-05-1uztu-900.webp) 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! ![Hong Kong-style interior of the main dining area at Huhugwan](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-06-z29nj-900.webp) 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! ![Pre-set reserved table at Huhugwan](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-07-3nt21-900.webp) 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!) ![Bar table at Huhugwan, good for solo drinking](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-08-1nplr-m-900.webp) There were window seats too (also reserved!) ![Reserved window seating at Huhugwan](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-09-5yhig-900.webp) 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! ![Group seating area at Huhugwan](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-10-1idgh-900.webp) ## 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! ![QR ordering sign attached to the table](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-11-il1us-900.webp) ## 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 ![Table setup for the beef shank hot pot at Huhugwan](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-12-anafe-900.webp) ![Beef shank hot pot with mushrooms and bok choy](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-13-1kqc9-m-900.webp) 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) ![A personal bowl scooped from the beef shank hot pot](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-14-1h9vo-900.webp) 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^~^ ![Chinese-style water dumplings ordered as a side](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-15-tpygy-900.webp) ### 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! ![Plate of Chinese-style water dumplings with cilantro removed](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-16-2te46-900.webp) 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) ![Mian bao xia served with sweet chili sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-17-3viuk-900.webp) 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!) ![Beef shank hot pot pot emptied down to the broth](https://img.superchart.com/images/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner-18-lir7o-900.webp) ## 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. ## Where it is - Huhugwan (후후관) - 2F, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 중구 서소문로11길 2 2층 - 37.5630265, 126.9731305 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%ED%9B%84%ED%9B%84%EA%B4%80/@37.5630265,126.9731305,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@filter-paper-mornings/huhuguan-sitcheong-beef-shank-hotpot-dinner/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt