Shabu-shabu lunch in Ongnyeon-dong: a first taste of tendon, Syabudaum

Looking for a shabu-shabu course in Ongnyeon-dong that's more than just meat?

Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch is an Ongnyeon-dong shabu-shabu restaurant where a course runs from appetizer to dessert. On a weekday lunch or weekend dinner, you've probably searched for "somewhere that isn't the usual shabu-shabu where you fish out a few pieces of meat and you're done, but neat and upscale, where you're treated to a proper course from appetizer to dessert," haha. I love hot, clear broth with fresh vegetables and meat, so I've been to a lot of places around Songdo and Ongnyeon-dong ❤️

Honestly, a lot of shabu-shabu places have a busy buffet-style self-serve bar, so you keep walking back and forth and the conversation gets interrupted, and the meat can be dry enough that you get tired of it after a few bites! And when the parking lot is tiny and you circle the alleys sweating before you even go in, your mood is already ruined ㅠㅠ

So I found a real Ongnyeon-dong lunch spot with dedicated parking right in front for 5+ cars, and a full course: fresh vegetables and tender meat, chewy beef tendon, crispy fried eggplant, upscale carpaccio, a hearty meal (udon/porridge), and an ice cream dessert topped with homemade cookie 👏

It's Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch (샤브다움 송도유원지점), a premium shabu-shabu course restaurant at 95 Cheongnyang-ro, Ongnyeon-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 1st floor! I'll share my honest review, from the real mukbang moment when my friend, who had never eaten beef tendon in her life, took one bite and said "Wow, tendon is this chewy and delicious?!" and couldn't stop raving, to the soft porridge and homemade dessert! haha

Where is Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch, and is there parking?

Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch is at 95 Cheongnyang-ro, Ongnyeon-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 1st floor, and the dedicated spot right in front fits 5 or more cars. So you don't get lost when making plans, here are the key location and parking details first!

• Name: Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch (샤브다움 송도유원지점)
• Address: 95 Cheongnyang-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon (Ongnyeon-dong), 1st floor
• How to find it: On the main road near the old Songdo Amusement Park rotary and the Cheongnyangsan entrance. It's a neat standalone storefront on the ground floor of the Cheongnyang-ro main road, near Ramada Songdo and Songdo Galbi, so it catches your eye right away even on a first visit. It's also a perfect stop before or after the Incheon Landing Operation Memorial Hall or a walk on the Cheongnyangsan trail, hahaha
• Parking tip (big plus!): Dedicated parking right in front of the shop fits 5 or more cars comfortably! Parking is tight around Songdo Amusement Park, but at Syabudaum there's zero parking stress even if you drive ❤️
• Space: Upscale, tidy, private mood; good for gatherings and company dinners too

What is the atmosphere like at Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch?

Inside Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch, soft warm lighting and wood interiors give it a calm, hotel-dining feel. I parked easily in the wide space out front, opened the door, and was greeted by an elegant wood interior!

It doesn't feel like a noisy restaurant where the smell sticks to your clothes; it has a neat, calm mood, like a Japanese ryokan or a fine-dining restaurant. The tables are spaced widely, so you can chat comfortably without worrying about people around you! The tables, induction burners and tableware were all spotless, without a speck of grease or stain, so I felt well treated from the first impression ❤️

The staff greeted us warmly from the moment we opened the door and explained the course so clearly and kindly that I felt at ease the whole time haha

Course starters: carpaccio and fried eggplant

When you order the Syabudaum course, carpaccio and fried eggplant come out first as appetizers, before the shabu-shabu. A line of upscale dishes you'd never imagine at a shabu-shabu place came out, and my friend and I just stared wide-eyed, hahaha

Fresh, light carpaccio

Fresh ingredients came with a tangy, mellow special dressing, and the moment I took a bite it woke up my whole mouth and really got my appetite going 👏

Fried eggplant, crispy outside and tender inside

I bit into the freshly fried, steaming eggplant... wow! With a crisp crunch, the eggplant's sweet, juicy flavor came rushing over my mouth like a wave 😭❤️

Even people who don't like eggplant would fall for it; this fried dish rivals a high-end Chinese restaurant haha

Main shabu-shabu: vegetables, beef and beef tendon

The main plate at Syabudaum came with a basket of vegetables like bok choy, napa cabbage and mushrooms, plus beef and big pieces of seuji (beef tendon). A pot of deep, clear broth was set on the induction burner in the middle of the table, and then the incredibly generous main plate arrived 👏

A basket of vegetables, green and fresh as if just picked, beef with beautiful pink marbling, and big pieces of plump, white, tender-boiled tendon filled the plate, hahaha

When the broth bubbled, I put in plenty of vegetables first, then swished the meat and tendon to cook them and tried them...

Melt-in-your-mouth beef

The juices melted into the clear broth, and the meat had zero toughness and melted softly on my tongue ❤️

How did my friend react to her first beef tendon?

My friend, who tried tendon for the first time at Syabudaum, was completely won over by its chewy, nutty texture. She said she'd never eaten this cut in her life, hahaha. At first she hesitated, worried it would be like cartilage or fat, but the moment she dipped a well-cooked piece in the special sauce and put it in her mouth, her eyes went wide and she couldn't stop exclaiming "Wow... crazy! Tendon is this chewy and nutty?!" 👏

With its jelly-like springiness and deep savory flavor that burst out the more you chewed, my friend fell totally in love with tendon and fished out every last piece haha

Udon or porridge: which meal to pick at Syabudaum?

For the meal part of the Syabudaum course you can choose udon or porridge, and we chose porridge. After stuffing ourselves with meat, tendon and vegetables, we craved porridge simmered softly in the richly infused beef broth.

A staff member ladled out just the right amount of leftover broth from the pot, then added rice, vegetables and beaten egg and stirred it slowly and carefully until the porridge was done!

The broth had reduced down with the vegetable juices and the deep flavor of beef and tendon, and with the nutty richness of egg added, the first spoonful warmed and soothed my stomach ❤️ Even though I was so full, I couldn't stop the spoon and scraped the bottom of the pot; it was the best finish haha

Dessert: ice cream topped with cookies baked in-house

The last part of the Syabudaum course is vanilla ice cream in a glass bowl sprinkled with crumble cookie. When the meal ended, ice cream in a pretty glass bowl was served as the final course!

It wasn't just a scoop of store-bought ice cream. Crispy crumble cookie was generously sprinkled over the cool, sweet vanilla ice cream, and the owner explained that "this cookie topping is a homemade cookie baked carefully in the shop," hahaha

The homemade cookie topping crunched along with the cold ice cream, and a rich buttery flavor lingered, sweetly and cleanly tidying up the warmth left in my mouth ❤️ It was so well made it could rival a dessert café, and I sincerely admired it down to the last spoonful haha

Who is Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch best for?

If you're near Ongnyeon-dong, Songdo Amusement Park or Cheongnyangsan in Incheon and want a relaxed meal that treats you like a course dinner, not a plain, light shabu-shabu, with fresh meat, vegetables and tendon, crispy fried eggplant, carpaccio, hearty porridge and cookie ice cream, definitely visit Syabudaum Songdo Amusement Park Branch at 95 Cheongnyang-ro, 1st floor! hahaha The moment you pair well-cooked tendon and meat with rich broth, the day's fatigue melts away and you'll feel real happiness! Highly recommended haha