Namwirye shabu-shabu buffet: private rooms, takeout by 100g, Dadam

When you plan a family meal, a get-together or a quiet dinner, the first things you look for are a private space (a room) and a menu nobody dislikes. Recently I visited Dadam Shabu Shabu Kalguksu, known near Namwirye Station as a place that meets both conditions.

How do you get to Dadam Shabu Shabu Wirye Branch, and where do you park?

Dadam Shabu Shabu Wirye Branch is on the 3rd floor of G&G Plaza on Wiryegwangjang-ro, about a 5–7 minute walk from Namwirye Station on Subway Line 8. Being so close to the station, public transport access is good. But Wirye is a new town packed with commercial buildings and tangled signs, so on your first visit check the building name carefully so you don't get lost.

You can use the building's underground parking, and free parking time is provided with a meal. However, at weekend peak times (Saturday and Sunday evenings) the whole complex is crowded, the parking entrance gets congested and finding a spot can take a while, so walking there is recommended too.

Do you need to reserve a room at this Namwirye Station restaurant?

Using a room at Dadam Shabu Shabu Wirye Branch on a popular weekend evening requires a reservation in advance. If you walk in and ask for a room that day, there's a very high chance none is free, so for a group meal be sure to call and check.

Prices differ by weekday/weekend and by child/adult.

Private rooms of various sizes are set up along one side of the restaurant. The layout looks flexible, able to take anything from a small family of 4 to a group of 10 or more. With the door closed, most of the noise from the main hall is blocked, which suits quiet conversation or a family gathering.

What's on the Dadam Shabu Shabu menu?

The menu is built around beef shabu-shabu (thinly sliced meat swished in hot broth), with prices broken down by broth type and cut of meat (such as whether it's Korean beef).

Recommended for

• People who want to eat all the fresh vegetables they like
• A quiet family meal or a dinner with your parents
• People looking for a restaurant with private rooms near Wirye

Is it clean for an all-you-can-eat place?

Even though it's all-you-can-eat, Dadam Shabu Shabu Wirye Branch is remarkably clean. With so many people coming and going, some drop ingredients and sometimes items get mixed up, but staff tidy up constantly, so it stays neat.

How are the rice paper wrap vegetables and sauces?

The vegetables for the rice paper wraps (wolnamssam), which you can enjoy alongside the shabu-shabu, come from the buffet bar, and their freshness stood out most. Side vegetables like carrot, cucumber and cabbage hadn't wilted and kept a nicely crisp texture, giving a clean taste when wrapped in rice paper. The sauces are popular choices like chili and peanut, so they go down easily with no one disliking them.

How was the beef?

The beef comes out bright red and thinly sliced. It's served frozen, but the thawing was not bad and I couldn't detect any gamey smell from the meat itself. Because it's thin, it didn't turn tough when dipped briefly in the broth and chewed tender.

Dessert: affogato

You can pull an espresso and make an affogato, so even dessert is perfect!

How well is the buffet bar's produce kept?

What raises satisfaction at Dadam Shabu Shabu Wirye Branch is how well the buffet bar is maintained. At most all-you-can-eat places, ingredients go limp easily or get neglected when crowds arrive, but here napa cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, bean sprouts and many other ingredients were kept very fresh. They were cleanly washed and restocked with no wilted parts, and with fast turnover the overall condition was excellent. You can also take sauces to your own taste, which is convenient.

How much is Dadam Shabu Shabu's self-serve takeout?

At Dadam Shabu Shabu Wirye Branch, a set of 1 basic broth and 2 sauces is ₩3,000, and you can pack meat at ₩3,950 per 100g and vegetables at ₩1,950 per 100g by weight. The takeout service lets you enjoy the in-restaurant taste at home, and what's unusual is that it isn't a standard pre-made takeout or delivery order but a "self-serve takeout" system where customers fill containers with as much as they want.

• Basic set and choices: 1 basic broth and 2 sauces for ₩3,000. You can choose the broth from spicy, seafood or clear, and pick 2 sauces from chili, peanut and soy.
• Fact check: meat, vegetables, fried rice and so on are not included in the base set at all. You buy the broth set, then pick and pay for the rest from the add-on menu as much as you want. Meat is ₩3,950 per 100g and vegetables ₩1,950 per 100g by weight, and shabu fried rice (₩2,000) and raw egg (₩500) must be added separately.
• Rice paper wrap takeout: ₩12,000 includes 2 sauces and 10 sheets of rice paper. If you only run short of rice paper, you can add 10 sheets for ₩2,000.
• Order conditions and packaging fee: the minimum order is ₩7,900. You pick the ingredients yourself in the restaurant and then pay; packing in a container costs ₩1,000 extra, while a plastic bag costs nothing (₩0).

I had a great meal at Dadam Shabu Shabu, from the wraps all the way to the ice cream.