Flat-noodle shabu kalguksu in Munhyeon-dong, Busan: Yunujae

We added 140g of extra sirloin on top of the red broth set for two. Total for both of us: ₩30,000.

With that much meat, you'd think the sirloin would be the thing I remembered most. But once I'd eaten my way through the whole meal, something else stuck with me.

Minari (water dropwort) and mushrooms go in, the sirloin cooks in that broth, and then house-made kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) noodles go into the same broth — and the whole flow of the meal changes. By the time you reach the fried rice at the end, it's a pretty long meal.

So instead of just writing about the meat, this post is mostly about why the kalguksu ended up being the more memorable part.

Parking at Yunujae: 2 hours free, so driving was fine

Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu is on the 1st floor of Daerim Munhyeon City Plaza, 26 Suyeong-ro, Nam-gu, Busan. The sign is visible from the main road, so it wasn't hard to find.

If you're driving, you can use the building's basement level 1 mall parking lot. Per the most recent signage, 2 hours are free, which was plenty of time to work through shabu shabu, then kalguksu, then fried rice at a leisurely pace.

The most recently posted hours are 11:00-20:50, with a break time of 15:00-16:30 and last order at 20:00. It's worth double-checking hours on the map on the day you go.

What 11,000 won per person covers: kalguksu and fried rice included

Looking at the menu, both the red broth and white broth at Yunujae are ₩11,000 per person. Going by price alone you'd expect maybe one pot of shabu shabu, but the actual set is a bit different.

70g of sirloin, vegetables and mushrooms, house-made kalguksu noodles, and fried rice all come as standard.

The red broth comes in regular or spicy. We went with red broth regular spice for two and just added extra sirloin. Seafood pajeon (savory pancake) was on the menu too, but this time we decided to focus on finishing the shabu kalguksu itself rather than ordering everything.

The dipping sauce: soy sauce 2, wasabi 1

The table even has the sauce ratio written out for you: soy sauce 2 to wasabi 1.

Mixing it in that ratio and dipping the meat and minari together mellows out the red broth's flavor a bit. Having the sauce and dishware already set out on the table also kept the meal moving without interruption.

Adding 140g of sirloin for 8,000 won

The basic set for two already comes with 140g of sirloin, and we added another 140g on top (₩8,000). What arrives on the plate is a pretty generous portion.

If two people want to lean heavier on meat, the extra 140g works well. But since kalguksu and fried rice are still coming later in this meal, going all-in on meat from the start can make the ending feel like a lot.

The red broth only gets going once the vegetables go in

We started by loading in plenty of minari and mushrooms. As the vegetables wilted, the broth deepened gradually, and adding the meat after that worked much better.

I expected the red broth to be sharply spicy, but it wasn't the kind that hits you with pure heat. It's closer to a bone-broth-based shabu shabu broth that changes character as you keep adding vegetables and meat.

The meat was better pulled out as soon as it was lightly cooked, rather than left to sit in the broth. And eating it alongside minari and mushrooms was noticeably better than eating the sirloin on its own.

Once we'd finished off the extra meat, I thought, 'okay, we're basically done' — but that turned out to be where this place actually got interesting.

Why the kalguksu beat the beef at Yunujae

At most shabu shabu restaurants, the kalguksu at the end is just something to fill you up. But at Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu, the noodles themselves are different.

It's not just thin strands — flat noodles are mixed in too, and the thickness varies slightly, like they were shaped by hand. Dropping these noodles into the red broth, now full of meat and vegetable flavor, gave a really good sense of the broth clinging to the noodles.

I'd originally assumed the extra 140g of meat would be the main event, but honestly, this kalguksu is the reason I'd think of this place again.

After the kalguksu, there's still fried rice to come

By the time you finish the kalguksu, you're pretty full. But then fried rice arrives. Frying rice in the leftover broth makes for an ending that feels totally different from the shabu shabu you started with.

At this point, you can't really think of the ₩11,000 per person as just 'the price of shabu shabu with 70g of meat.' It's the price of meat, noodles, and rice, all in one.

The noodles really are cut in-house

There's a dedicated noodle-making area visible in one part of the restaurant. It's not just a menu label saying 'house-made noodles' — you can actually see the space where the noodles are handled, which was pretty impressive. Looking back at the kalguksu photos, it makes sense why the noodle shapes aren't uniform.

Red broth or white broth on a first visit?

This time we went with red broth, regular spice. Given the flow of shabu shabu followed by kalguksu, I think I'd choose red broth again if I went back.

Would I go back to Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu?

On meat alone, there are plenty of other shabu shabu restaurants to compare this to. But when you factor in the house-made kalguksu and fried rice that follow, Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu has a reason to stick in your memory.

Even after adding 140g of extra meat this time, what I thought about most at the end was the noodles.

FAQ

How much is shabu kalguksu at Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu?

Both red and white broth are currently ₩11,000 per person.

How much does the extra 140g of sirloin cost?

Currently ₩8,000.

Is there parking at Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu?

You can use the B1 mall parking lot at Daerim Munhyeon City Plaza, with 2 hours free per recent signage.

Where in Busan is Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu?

1st floor, units 158-161, Daerim Munhyeon City Plaza, 26 Suyeong-ro, Nam-gu, Busan, South Korea.

Do the kalguksu and fried rice cost extra?

No. Both the house-made kalguksu and fried rice are included in the basic shabu kalguksu set.

Is the red broth very spicy?

The regular spice we had this time was closer to a hearty shabu shabu broth built on bone broth with vegetable and meat flavor added, rather than one that hits you with pure heat.

Bottom line

At Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu in Munhyeon-dong, we added 140g of extra meat, but it was the house-made kalguksu and fried rice at the end of the meal that stuck with me most.