Junggye-dong shabu-shabu, quiet morning seiro-mushi: Hana Shabu Shabu

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch: Junggye-dong or Hagye Station?

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch is a shabu-shabu and seiro-mushi place in unit 101 of the Brownstone Junggye building. I'd been to this Junggye-dong favorite once before — honestly, despite the name, it's a bit closer to Hagye Station than Junggye-dong!

It's inside the Brownstone Junggye building, right next to Geonyoung Department Store, so it's one of those spots locals seem to visit often? Weekends especially bring long waits, so definitely make a reservation before you go!

It was so good last time that I decided to go again with my parenting buddy to celebrate her move!

Hi, Hana Shabu Shabu~ Looking around this building, this place clearly has the most polished look. They've been running here quite a while, and it shows.

Private room, counter seats or hall tables: what seating does Hana Shabu Shabu have?

Just past the entrance of Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch there's also a room? that fits two four-person tables. Great for a big family gathering or when two households want to eat together comfortably. A friend of mine actually came with a stroller and got seated in this room for a relaxed meal.

And there are counter seats too~ The vibe of these chairs is so good that my husband and I once said we'd come for dinner just the two of us... but then a baby happened.... and now I'm not exactly free to wander around in the evenings...^ㅠ Still, I got to sit at these counter seats this time with my friend, so I'll take it..^^

And in the main hall there are also facing tables for two. If there are two or more of you, eating at these tables is definitely more comfortable.

I personally loved these chairs (hahaha)

Why order the seiro-mushi basic instead of shabu-shabu?

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch has both shabu-shabu and seiro-mushi (cypress box steam), so I started debating which to get...

Lunch does come with slightly less meat than dinner! After going back and forth, I picked seiro-mushi. Why? Because there are plenty of shabu-shabu places around, but not many good cypress-steam spots, and honestly none I've tried elsewhere taste as good as this one..haha. So, seiro-mushi it was!

And we went with the basic set~ Neither my friend nor I eat that much, and finishing a meal plus dessert felt like too much, so basic seemed right — and sure enough!! The sheer volume of vegetables alone left us completely full haha

A morning visit after daycare drop-off, when the restaurant is quiet

Honestly, I went early that day right after daycare drop-off, before the crowds arrived, so I got to take store photos in peace as a blogger... hahahaha

While waiting for my friend to arrive, I got some reading in..^^

Once you order, you can see the owner slicing the meat in the back! Same as last time — the owner is genuinely so kind and takes good care of guests...!!! Really fun to chat with too hahaha

Beef tataki from the receipt photo review, plus the starter salad

Leave a Naver receipt photo review at Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch and you get free beef tataki — this is seriously, seriously good...haha. Everyone should do it!

The salad served while you wait for the menu to get ready~ who knew cabbage salad could taste this good.

There are three sauces to dip the vegetables in: yuzu ponzu, chili sauce, and sesame sauce — I mostly go for the chili and sesame..^^

And then the seiro-mushi arrived! This Junggye-dong favorite really loads you up on vegetables — the lid wouldn't even close all the way. Can you see it? hahahaha

Wait for the hourglass timer to run out and it's done! Once it's ready, the staff bring it down themselves, but we were too impatient and flipped it down ourselves... haha, so the owner ended up doing it for us.

While waiting for the cypress steam, we snacked on beef tataki... grilled directly over open flame right in front of us, which somehow made it taste even better..>? The topping had a slightly spicy kick that added great umami. Making me hungry just writing this;

Seiro-mushi basic for two: how much vegetable and meat do you get?

The cypress steam box, opened once the time was up~ Such a huge variety of vegetables ㅠ I want more already...

It's so hot and delicious that the steam simply won't clear from my camera lens... hahahaha ㅠㅠㅠ Bean sprouts line the bottom, topped with napa cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, lotus root, fish cake and all kinds of other vegetables—

Eating vegetables well isn't always easy (?) but at Hana Shabu it's effortless (hahahahaha)

And then the tray below is packed with meat...! Loads of it haha. Just like above, there's a thick bed of bean sprouts underneath the meat too, so you get plenty of sprouts infused with the meat's aroma.

The part where two of us hit our limit... the portions are seriously huge.

Taking photos of good food multiple times...haha. Plenty of meat, plenty of vegetables, and since everything steams together, the vegetables pick up a bit of the meat's flavor too, making it even more delicious!

Good.. and since you're not eating many carbs but filling up on fiber and protein, this is a great point for anyone managing their blood sugar too...^^ (aside from the sauces)

Personally I also loved how many different kinds of mushrooms were packed in — a delicious healthy meal haha

And finally... the beef tataki we got as a service treat... thank you, owner... see you again