Mala broth split with pork neck at a Yeosu shabu-shabu buffet

I went to Tongkeun Shabu in Yeosu on a weekday evening!

We ordered the pork neck and beef brisket all-you-can-eat and went with a split broth. I was going to just stick with the plain broth, but since adding ₩4,000 got us mala too, we went half plain, half mala. A mala lover's choice!

Parking and the atmosphere

We drove and parked in the external lot next to the building. After parking and heading up, the inside was really spacious~~

There were plenty of tables and the staff were all friendly, so we started the meal in a good mood.

Is the ₩4,000 mala broth upgrade worth it?

We ate one side of the split pot plain and the other side mala! The plain broth was just okay for my taste, but the mala broth was spicy and way better. It felt less like eating shabu-shabu and more like putting meat into mala tang (spicy numbing soup) haha. If you usually like mala, adding ₩4,000 seems worth trying.

Ordering the mala broth came with its own separate ingredients too — fuzhu (dried tofu skin), Chinese glass noodles, wood ear mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and dried tofu! Adding the pork neck or beef brisket to this and boiling it really felt like eating mala tang. I personally liked that it wasn't just the broth flavor changing — you get to eat these extra ingredients along with it.

Pork neck and beef brisket buffet, plus the veggie corner

We picked the pork neck and beef brisket all-you-can-eat. There were also vegetables to eat with the meat, and the vegetables were nice and fresh, which was great. Since you can eat both plain and mala broth at once, it was also good for switching back and forth depending on your mood.

There was a veggie corner with all kinds of vegetables prepared to eat with the meat. When I went, the vegetables looked fresh, and it was easy to just grab as much as you wanted. Loading the shabu-shabu with plenty of vegetables and cooking them together with the pork neck and beef brisket — yeah, that combo never gets old haha.

The meat was tender and tasty, but for me, dipping it in peanut sauce was the best fit. Eating it with the nutty sauce made it more delicious than the meat on its own.

What's on the salad bar side dishes?

One of the things I liked about Tongkeun Shabu in Yeosu was the side dishes. You're not just eating meat and vegetables the whole time — there was sweet and sour pork, sushi, pasta, fried rice, chicken, pizza, and so much more. With all these options to choose from, there was barely any time to get tired of the shabu-shabu. There were several kinds of drinks prepared too.

Of everything I tried, sweet and sour pork and pizza were the best. The pizza was a bit hard when I had a slice that had been sitting out a while. But once I got a fresh one, it was nutty and delicious haha. So the pizza was definitely better fresh out!

Save room if you want to make it to the noodles

I originally wanted to finish by adding kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) to the broth at the end. But between the meat, vegetables, and all the sides I kept grabbing, my stomach was already completely full lol. In the end I couldn't manage the noodles. If you're looking for an all-you-can-eat spot in Yeosu, I'd say don't go in thinking only about the meat — better to save some room for the sides too...

• Address: 25 Mangma-ro, 3rd floor, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:30 - 22:00 (last order 20:30)
• Parking: External lot next to the building
• Order: Pork neck & beef brisket all-you-can-eat, half plain / half mala broth
• Mala broth: ₩4,000 extra