Wirye shabu-shabu restaurant lunch set for two, ₩29,800: Daonjeong

On hungry days, on bloated days, on days when skipping a meal feels wrong but eating feels like it'll sit heavy — shabu-shabu is exactly right for that!

Why Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu is the shabu-shabu name in Wirye

Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu is a shabu-shabu and hand-cut kalguksu (noodle) restaurant at Room 210, Building A, Woosung Tram Tower in Wirye. I was thinking it'd be nice to have shabu-shabu when my Wirye food-expert friend texted saying let's go to Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu. Apparently it's a Wirye must-eat...

I made a reservation through Naver the day before,

The lunch menu that came up showed only the Wando maesaengi pancake table setting. 'That's odd, is lunch really just this?' I thought as I looked at the photo, but it looked so fresh and green I was already looking forward to lunch the next day.

Where Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu is and when it opens

• Address: 경기 성남시 수정구 위례광장로 310 우성트램타워 A동 210호
• Hours: Monday, Wednesday–Sunday 11:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Closed: Every Tuesday

My friend, happy to see me, asked how I didn't know that when it comes to Wirye shabu-shabu, it's Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu... Apparently it used to be somewhere else in Wirye, but moved to Woosung Tram Tower when it expanded — explained like a true Wirye food expert.

How do you order at Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu?

At Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu you order through a smart order tablet on the table. The owner came over and explained the menu on the tablet and how to order.

Step 1: Choose your shabu-shabu

Wando kelp shabu, heavy on mushroom, mung bean sprout, and especially minari vs Onjeong shabu, with mushroom, mung bean sprout, bok choy, minari, and fish cake skewer

Step 2: Choose your pancake

(Since we went at lunch, it's a bit different from the photo above, but boiled pork, kalguksu, and fried rice are all included regardless.) You just choose your shabu-shabu set + minari pancake vs maesaengi pancake.

In short, choose between the minari-heavy shabu vs the shabu with fish cake skewer, then choose minari pancake vs maesaengi pancake.

We decided on two orders of the Onjeong Shabu boiled pork set, with the fish cake skewer shabu and minari pancake. And when I saw you could also choose your broth — clear, spicy, doenjang, perilla seed — I thought, 'Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu is really thoughtful about the details.'

It's ordinary shabu-shabu at heart, but taking separate orders for the ingredients and even the broth, so every guest can build their own version — I thought, 'The word of mouth about this being a Wirye shabu-shabu must-eat doesn't come from nowhere.'

How to eat the Daonjeong shabu set properly

Alright, now that the order is in, it's time to really enjoy it.

How do you cook it? How many minutes? They must get these questions a lot, because right on the table there's a 'how to properly enjoy it' guide spelled out clearly, so you don't have to ask and wait for answers one by one. There really is a reason this place runs as a Wirye shabu-shabu must-eat.

Turn the heat down to 6 once the broth boils

Once the broth starts boiling, it apparently boils over easily. So once it boils, turn the heat down to 6.

Beef and vegetables with sesame oil and the house soy sauce

Along with the shabu-shabu, boiled pork and minari pancake also come out.

The boiled pork comes with a nice touch of cabbage and a secret sauce, which makes it even better, + the minari pancake is really, really good.

After the shabu-shabu, boiled pork and pancake, move on to the noodles

Once you've eaten through all that, you can't skip the kalguksu that gives Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu its reputation for Wirye kalguksu. This is when you add the noodles, and it settles once and for all the endless debate over whether noodles are overcooked or undercooked!

They give you a 5-minute hourglass. When those 5 minutes run out, boil for exactly 5 minutes, and the noodles come out perfectly cooked.

The final course: pollack roe turmeric barley rice

Once the noodles are done, is that it? No! With low-sodium pollack roe and turmeric barley rice, you can adjust the broth and finish with rice or porridge.

And to think two people can enjoy all of this for under ₩30,000!

They're running a review event too, and I heard they're open over the Chuseok holiday, so if you want a delicious shabu-shabu set that keeps going and going without really ending, come try Daonjeong Shabu Son Kalguksu.