Jang-an-dong shabu-shabu bar seats and assorted toppings: Shabu Torang

Solo one-pot shabu-shabu in Jang-an-dong: what is Shabu Torang?

I heard there was a value-for-money solo shabu-shabu restaurant in Jang-an-dong, Dongdaemun, where you can eat comfortably alone but still get great bang for your buck, so I went to check it out.

Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch lets you enjoy beef and vegetables shabu-shabu style for just ₩7,900 per person, which makes it a popular spot for both lunch and dinner. Let me walk you through the prices, menu and atmosphere in detail.

• Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch
• Address: 146 Janghan-ro, 1st floor, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 11am to 10pm
• Parking: a lot exists but it's small, room for only 1–2 cars

Actor Ryu Soo-young, popular from Pun-storang (a cooking variety show), is the brand's model, and there are waiting chairs set up by the entrance so you can wait comfortably if there's a line.

Parking and how to get to Shabu Torang

There's a parking lot behind the store, but it's small — room for only about 1–2 cars. The restaurant sits right on the main road in Jang-an-dong, just 1 minute's walk from a bus stop, so I came by public transit.

After finishing the shabu-shabu, you can make a variety of finishing dishes — cream pasta, cream risotto, rosé pasta, rosé tteokbokki, cream Buldak, cream mala pasta and more.

Bar seats for eating alone, and what the restaurant looks like

I visited around 5pm on a weekday, and it was already buzzing with early dinner guests. Inside, there's a bar seat and each table has its own personal induction burner, so eating alone feels completely natural and comfortable.

There are solo, 2-person and 4-person tables, so plenty of people were genuinely eating alone — and it also looked great for a date or for friends who each want to pick their own broth.

There's a bar table set up on one side, making solo dining comfortable. As a solo shabu-shabu spot, you can enjoy it without any pressure.

There's also a thoughtful basket under the table, handy for storing your belongings.

The restroom is located outside the store in the building, so you'll need to step outside.

There were detailed instructions for making finishing dishes like egg porridge, pasta and risotto after the shabu-shabu. For pasta and risotto, you should leave half a ladle of broth; for egg porridge, two ladles.

Shabu Torang Jang-an menu and prices

Shabu Torang shabu-shabu is ₩7,900, spicy is ₩8,700, and mala, tomato and sukiyaki are ₩8,900 each. Broth tteokbokki, cream pasta and risotto are ₩2,900; rosé pasta, risotto and tteokbokki are ₩3,500. Adding meat is ₩3,800, meat plus vegetables is ₩4,000, egg porridge and kalguksu are ₩1,500, assorted toppings are ₩3,000, and glass noodles, dumplings, fish balls and sujebi (hand-torn noodles) are ₩1,500. You can add all kinds of ingredients to make the shabu-shabu as hearty as you like.

The ₩7,900 shabu-shabu comes with meat and vegetables as standard. For meat, you can choose beef short plate, beef chuck, or chicken breast. Toppings like assorted toppings, sujebi, kalguksu and egg porridge need to be added separately to enjoy as a finish.

• Shabu Torang shabu-shabu ₩7,900
• Spicy shabu-shabu ₩8,900
• Assorted toppings ₩3,000
• Meat + vegetables add-on ₩4,000
• Cream pasta ₩2,900
• Rosé tteokbokki ₩3,500

There's a tablet order system at each table, so ordering and payment were easy to handle in one go. Soy sauce, chili sauce and peanut sauce were on the table, ready whenever I wanted them.

They're also running an event where you get a free soda for writing a Naver receipt review, so it's worth joining in and enjoying it alongside the shabu-shabu.

Spicy shabu-shabu, 8,700 won with 90g beef chuck

Ordering the spicy shabu-shabu gets you a basic broth with a separate seasoning sauce on the side. I chose beef chuck for the meat, and got 90g of it. The beef quality was good.

The standard vegetables, mushrooms, rice cake sticks and one fish ball came included.

These are the extra vegetables and beef I added. The portions were generous for the price, so it felt like good value.

This is the cream pasta I ordered as an extra. You make it yourself at the end. It came with flying fish roe, pasta noodles, sauce and bacon.

Basic 7,900 won shabu-shabu with assorted toppings added

I added assorted toppings to the ₩7,900 shabu-shabu set. The assorted toppings included glass noodles, rice cake sticks, dumplings, fish balls and fish cake.

The vegetables and mushrooms were fresh.

I added rosé tteokbokki, which is great to enjoy as a finishing dish.

They simmered the vegetables and mushrooms in the basic broth for me. As it's solo shabu-shabu, it was easy and comfortable to enjoy.

Once the vegetables were cooked through, they added in toppings like glass noodles, rice cakes and dumplings.

The beef chuck wasn't tough at all — it was tender, and the quality was good. It paired well with all the vegetables. The broth was clean and refreshing.

For the spicy shabu-shabu, they stirred the seasoning sauce into the basic broth.

I cooked vegetables, mushrooms and beef in the spicy broth as shabu-shabu. The broth was spicy and rich — it would also work well as a hangover-curing meal.

Soy sauce, peanut sauce and chili sauce were on the table to enjoy to your taste. Dipping into the nutty peanut sauce worked really well.

Rose tteokbokki as a finishing dish

I made rosé tteokbokki with the basic broth. There were plenty of rice cake sticks, so it made a filling finish. Leaving just the right amount of broth to keep it thick and rich made it delicious. There was plenty of sauce, so I got to properly enjoy the rosé flavor.

Cream pasta as a finishing dish

Cream pasta pairs really well with the spicy broth, so I made it myself. The spicy broth and cream sauce went together deliciously. The chewy noodle texture was a nice touch, and it was so nutty and savory I kept going back for more.

Is Shabu Torang Jang-an worth it? Final verdict

With 5 broth types — spicy, mala, tomato, sukiyaki and basic — there was plenty to choose from based on preference. The basic shabu-shabu at ₩7,900 felt like an honest price given today's cost of living.

Being able to add glass noodles, rice cake sticks, dumplings, kalguksu, sujebi and more meant I could customize it my own way. Since it's one pot per person, it's also great for solo dining. I left full and satisfied.

Getting to finish off the beef shabu-shabu by making risotto, pasta or tteokbokki was a memorable, novel experience.

After eating there, I could see why it's such a popular restaurant in Jang-an-dong, Dongdaemun. Try it out for a solo meal or a date. The parking lot is small, so I'd recommend visiting by public transit or on foot.