Weekday lunch marinated prawn set at a Junggye-dong shabu-shabu: Hana

This is a genuine review.

I had a lunch appointment in Junggye-dong and was trying to figure out where to go, so I picked Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch, a place where you can enjoy hot broth and meat together. It was a weekday lunch so I wanted something that wouldn't feel too heavy but still a proper meal. This time I ordered the shabu-shabu lunch prawn sauce set course.

Being able to enjoy shabu-shabu — meat and vegetables cooked fresh right there — along with the prawn sauce, the setup was more substantial than I expected. If you're looking for somewhere in Junggye-dong to eat with parents or have a relaxed lunch with friends, this shabu-shabu spot is worth a look.

Inside Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch is a good pick when you're craving shabu-shabu in Junggye-dong. It's located at 29 Dongil-ro 203ga-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Brownstone Junggye 101-ho, South Korea.

Shabu-shabu is a dish with relatively few dislikes even when a group visits together, so it seems like a good option for family meals or gatherings. In particular, I liked that they have a weekday lunch menu that lets you enjoy a slightly more substantial lunch.

Walking into the restaurant, the overall atmosphere was clean and calm.

The tables were tidy, which made for a comfortable meal, and true to a shabu-shabu place using hot broth, the areas around the tables felt well managed too. Rather than a loud spot where you eat fast and leave, it had the kind of atmosphere where you can take your time and enjoy the food as each course arrives.

So I think this shabu-shabu spot in Junggye would also suit those looking for a place for lunch with parents or a gathering with acquaintances.

Ordering the weekday lunch with the marinated prawn set course

What I ordered that day was the shabu-shabu lunch prawn sauce set course. I liked that instead of just eating shabu-shabu on its own, the course flow let me enjoy a variety of flavors.

Above all, the appeal of shabu-shabu is being able to cook fresh vegetables and meat to your liking in broth bubbling right in front of you and eat it immediately. Once the broth started boiling, I put in the vegetables first and let them simmer thoroughly.

As the vegetables cooked, the broth naturally picked up sweetness and umami, and adding the meat one slice at a time and cooking it lightly really brought out its soft texture. Taking a spoonful of the hot broth along with the meat and vegetables made me feel warm all the way through! Even though it's a weekday lunch menu, it didn't feel like just a light plate to finish quickly — it felt like a proper meal, and I was glad I'd found this shabu-shabu spot in Junggye.

How the tender meat and vegetables cook in the broth

With shabu-shabu, the key to enjoying it is not overcooking the meat. Dipping the meat in the broth just until the color changes kept it tender rather than tough. Eating it together with vegetables that had soaked up the broth, the plainness of the meat paired well with the subtle sweetness of the vegetables.

Unlike dishes where you keep eating fatty meat, shabu-shabu also has the advantage of letting you naturally eat a lot of vegetables. Vegetables cooked in warm broth are easier to eat than raw ones, and alternating with the meat meant I didn't get tired of it even by the end. The broth also got richer the more ingredients went in, so I kept reaching for more.

Personally, when I look for a good shabu-shabu spot in Junggye, I care not just about the meat but the balance between broth and vegetables, and Hana Shabu Shabu had good overall balance, making it comfortable to enjoy.

What the daeha-jang marinated prawn set tastes like

The menu I was especially looking forward to this lunch was the prawn sauce set. After enjoying the warm, mild flavor of the shabu-shabu, adding the daeha-jang (marinated prawn sauce) brought a whole different kind of fun to the meal. The chewy texture unique to prawns paired well with the salty, umami sauce, and it also went great with rice.

If I'd just kept eating shabu-shabu, the flow of flavors might have felt repetitive, but adding the prawn sauce in the middle really woke up my appetite. Being able to enjoy the mild, warm shabu-shabu together with the umami-rich prawn sauce in one course was the charm of this meal. So if you usually like shabu-shabu but want something a bit different, the prawn sauce set course is worth choosing.

Why Hana Shabu Shabu works for a weekday lunch gathering

Having visited in person, I think Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch is a solid option for a weekday lunch gathering too. Above all, with shabu-shabu everyone can cook as much meat and vegetables as they want, which makes it easy to match each other's pace, and eating warm food naturally leads to conversation.

The restaurant's atmosphere is also fairly clean, so it seemed useful for various gatherings — lunch with friends, meals with parents, family outings. Using the weekday lunch also meant I could enjoy the course while eating lunch a bit more leisurely. If you're searching for a good shabu-shabu spot in Junggye and want more than just filling up — atmosphere and menu composition too — Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch is worth checking out.

Service at Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch

With a course meal, taste matters, but so does the meal flowing naturally without interruptions. At Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch, I could easily get whatever I needed during the meal, which let me enjoy the whole thing at a relaxed pace.

The restaurant was kept clean, and there wasn't much inconvenience while eating shabu-shabu, so it made for a comfortable lunch. Above all, being able to enjoy shabu-shabu together with prawn sauce on a weekday lunch made it feel a bit more special than an ordinary lunch.

Verdict on Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch

When you're craving something warm for lunch in Junggye-dong, shabu-shabu is a pretty safe bet. This visit to Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch, trying the weekday lunch shabu-shabu with the prawn sauce set course, gave me meat, vegetables, warm broth, and the special treat of prawn sauce all in one — a great combination.

This seems especially suited to those who prefer warm broth and mild meat over strong flavors, those looking for a comfortable place to eat with parents, and those trying to figure out a weekday lunch gathering spot in Junggye-dong. Being able to enjoy a change of pace with the prawn sauce rather than just one flavor of shabu-shabu the whole time was memorable too.

If you're looking for a good shabu-shabu spot in Junggye, try a relaxed weekday lunch at Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch. This was my writeup of a hearty weekday lunch visit in Junggye-dong, from hot broth to tender meat and vegetables to the flavorful prawn sauce.

Three-line summary

• Good shabu-shabu to enjoy for weekday lunch in Junggye-dong
• A varied course with shabu-shabu lunch + prawn sauce set
• Recommended for family meals, lunch with parents, or gatherings with friends