Yeongjong buffet with free kalguksu and hot fries: Pyeonbaek Hoegwan

Today I want to introduce Pyeonbaek Hoegwan, an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu restaurant on Yeongjong Island, a great spot for a weekend or holiday trip near Seoul. Unlimited meat, unlimited vegetables, unlimited salad bar — and there's even a kids' zone, making it a great family dining spot to visit with children.

Where Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Main Branch is and what it costs

Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Main Branch is located at 8-11 Hanulbyeolbit-ro 65beon-gil, Units 202 and 203, Jung-gu, Incheon, South Korea. It's open daily from 11:00 to 22:00, with lunch time from 11:00 to 15:00 and no break time.

• All-you-can-eat SET dinner per person: 20,900 won (cypress steam + beef + shabu-shabu + rice-paper rolls + kalguksu + porridge + salad bar)
• Lunch: 17,900 won
• Toddlers (up to age 4): 7,900 won
• Children (elementary school): 12,900 won

The 20,900 won dinner price applies with the default katsuo + spicy half-and-half broth; switching to a different broth adds 1,000 won. Parking is available in the building's underground lot, shared with Kikle Pediatric Clinic.

Search "all-you-can-eat" on Yeongjong Island and Pyeonbaek Hoegwan comes up — a cypress steam and shabu-shabu/rice-paper roll buffet restaurant that's been on the internet and TV for its value and taste. Let's see if it lives up to that.

Four shabu broths at Pyeonbaek Hoegwan, seafood and spicy by default

Pyeonbaek Hoegwan on Yeongjong is the main branch, so I checked it out closely — and yes, there are four shabu broths: seafood, spicy, chicken, and bone marrow mala. The default is seafood and spicy; switching to chicken or bone marrow mala broth costs extra.

A big dining hall and a kids' playroom

The dining hall is spacious with plenty of seating — enough for a group dinner too.

And this playroom is exactly why Pyeonbaek Hoegwan is known as a go-to restaurant in Yeongjong's Haneul New Town and a favorite for family dining. There's a kids' zone, an indoor playground for children — mine headed straight there the moment we arrived.

Meanwhile, the parents got ready to eat. We went with the default broth.

First to arrive: cypress steam and the sauce combinations

The first thing to arrive at Pyeonbaek Hoegwan is this cypress steam. Beef brisket, various vegetables, dumplings, and shrimp steam gently inside a cypress wood steamer — light and delicious, need I say more?

On the table: chili sauce, peanut sauce, and ponzu with cheongyang chili pepper. Personally, I like to make my own ponzu-cheongyang chili sauce — grabbing cheongyang chilies and wasabi from the salad bar and mixing them into the ponzu sauce really cuts the richness of the meat while boosting the flavor.

What's on the salad bar at Pyeonbaek Hoegwan

Now let's look at the salad bar. There's a wide range of shabu-shabu ingredients — vegetables, dumplings, hand-torn dough (sujebi), and glass-like starch noodles (bunmoja). Plenty of rice-paper roll ingredients too, and unlimited ramyeon noodles for the pot.

Pork neck or beef brisket: which cut to pile on

And here's the most important part, right? Pork neck (mokshim) or beef brisket (usamgyeop). If you want something light, go for the pork neck; if you want something a bit richer and more tender, I recommend the beef brisket. It's all-you-can-eat, so just keep bringing back plates as you like.

The salad bar also has warm water for rice-paper rolls and rice for porridge, plus dinner rolls with strawberry jam — good for kids too.

Take the fries straight from the fryer

Next up, corn salad and fries. Strongly recommend grabbing the fries right when they come out — crispy, hot, and genuinely delicious. There's tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and soup too.

Shabu-shabu after the cypress steam, free kalguksu to finish

Once you finish the cypress steam, request your broth through the table-order system and staff will remove the cypress steamer and bring your chosen broth. Then just add the shabu-shabu ingredients and meat and enjoy. And for the finish, porridge is nice, but I recommend the kalguksu (knife-cut noodles). It's not on the salad bar — you order it separately — but it's free. Ask for however many servings you want and they'll bring it out; these noodles are genuinely delicious.

If you're heading to Yeongjong Island or planning a family meal out with the kids, keep Pyeonbaek Hoegwan on your list. Big eaters, and parents who want their kids to play happily while they eat in peace — nobody will be disappointed.