Weekend 7pm waiting time for red-broth shabu kalguksu in Busan

As the hot weather slowly fades and cool autumn rolls in, I've already been craving soup dishes in the evening 🤤

So I'm here to recommend a good-value Munhyeon-dong restaurant that everyone — kids and adults alike — will love for a meal out: Yunujae Shabu Kalguksu!! Shabu-shabu meat + kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) + fried rice — that combo is just too good.

Yunujae Munhyeon Shabu Kalguksu

Hours and parking

Open daily 11:00–20:50, with a break time from 15:00–16:30, and last order at 20:00.

🅿️ Park in the underground lot at Daerim City Plaza and they'll give you a 2-hour free parking voucher (just make sure to ask after your meal!)

How long is the wait on a weekend at 7pm?

I went around 7pm on a weekend and there was a wait. I guess with the weather cooling down, this place is seriously popular. Just write your name on the waiting list and sit outside to wait!

Inside, it was already almost completely full... but I think I only waited about 10–20 minutes!!

Red broth vs. white broth, tablet ordering

You order from the tablet on the table. There's the red one and the white one — I went with the red broth. Shabu-shabu always tastes better a little spicy to me. The white one looked good for kids!

Right next to it were a soy sauce dish, paper cups, soy sauce and wasabi.

Eating order guide

• Before the broth boils, put all the meat in at once, then once it starts boiling, lower the induction heat to 5 and dip in sauce with vegetables
• After finishing the meat, add the kalguksu noodles and once the broth boils again, set the induction to 6 and boil for 5 minutes

One thing I liked about Munhyeon-dong's Yunujae Shabu Kalguksu — the pot handle for the kalguksu doesn't get hot ヾ(´∀｀)ﾉﾞ

Self-serve broth, kimchi, kkakdugi

The self-serve bar has broth, kimchi and kkakdugi — just help yourself~~ You can also choose spicy or regular broth for refills!

How does the red shabu (regular spice) taste?

I ordered the red shabu (regular spice). Shabu-shabu just isn't complete without kalguksu and fried rice. Since it's induction, there's no open flame so it doesn't get hot ~! Can't avoid the smoke though...

They load the shabu-shabu with a ton of meat. The visual is insane.

Once the meat is cooked, dip it cleanly in the soy sauce + wasabi first. So so good...

The meat isn't tough at all, it's so tender! The broth is a bit spicy-tangy, with the pungent kick of garlic spreading like a jolt that wakes up your appetite.

The natural sweetness of the vegetables layers with the savory fat seeping out of the meat to create a rich, dense depth of flavor.

Tender, chewy beef and crisp minari (water dropwort) and mushrooms soak up the broth, so every bite bursts with rich juices in your mouth?!

And the crunchy, well-fermented kkakdugi is such a fantastic pairing — you have to try it 🤤

House-made noodles

Munhyeon-dong's Yunujae Shabu Kalguksu makes its own noodles in-house, developed after a long period of research!

When you boil the house-made kalguksu noodles in broth infused with the essence of meat and vegetables, the starch from the noodles dissolves into it, making the broth thicker and even deeper!

The noodles are springy and chewy, so slurping them down was so so good!

It's also good eaten with the well-fermented kimchi, and there's sujebi (hand-torn dough flakes) in there too, so you can feel the chewy texture even more~~!

It was so good I actually debated whether to order more — the kalguksu was perfect 🤤

The highlight is the fried rice

The highlight, fried rice!!! ヾ(´∀｀)ﾉﾞ There was a lot of finely chopped kimchi so the texture was great to chew on. I would've regretted it if I hadn't ordered it.

Scraping up the fried rice that's slightly stuck to the pot adds crispiness and nuttiness on top — nothing better,,,

I scraped the pot completely clean haha..

Who should go here

Located in Munhyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, Yunujae Shabu Kalguksu guarantees great taste at a reasonable, good-value price. They say they only use US Choice-grade chuck flap and Australian S-grade beef that hasn't been sitting long since slaughter, so the meat has no off smell and isn't tough. It's also a place where you can taste house-made kalguksu noodles produced in-house!

I'd recommend it for a family meal out or a couples' date, and since baby chairs are available, it's also perfect for visiting with kids. If you're looking for a good kalguksu restaurant near Munhyeon-dong in Busan, I really recommend Yunujae Shabu Kalguksu.