Seoul Station shabu-shabu with four individual desserts: Yunseul

Yunseul on the first floor of Grand Central by Seoul Station

I went to the great shabu-shabu spot at Grand Central by Seoul Station that my friend recommended. Booking was easy through Catch Table! We arrived on a lovely weekend afternoon after taking in the pretty Han River.

• Grand Central 1F, 14 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul
• 1-minute walk from Seoul Station Exit 4
• Mon–Sun 11:00–21:00 / break time 15:00–17:00
• Last order 13:45 / 19:45
• Parking available / 2 hours free in the building

Yunseul is on Grand Central's first floor, and this building has all kinds of food and beverage brands from B3 up to the second floor. It was my first time here, and I really liked how easy the parking was and how tidy everything felt.

At Yunseul, you can have a light, wholesome shabu-shabu at lunch, or a spicy, refreshing jeongol (Korean hot pot) in the evening. Apparently, its name describes sparkling sunlight reflected on the West Sea and food gently swaying as shabu-shabu bubbles away!

A quiet window table with a reservation

Since we'd reserved ahead, we were shown straight to our table as soon as we arrived. It was just after break time, so the restaurant was still fairly empty. Even better because it was quiet (✿◡‿◡)

There were quite a lot of tables, too! Along the long straight aisle opposite the entrance were tables for four on one side and tables for six on the other, while further inside, rows and roooows of seats stretched out. It would be perfect for a group gathering or company dinner.

Our table was by the window overlooking the garden at the Grand Central entrance! The blue sky was a little bonus 😉

Set meals, sets, and evening jeongol

The menu has individual set meals, sets with extra side dishes, and jeongol available only in the evening.

We ordered four set meals and added the crispy shredded-radish jangjorim pancake as a side! Most shabu-shabu places only run clear broth or spicy broth, but Yunseul's Seoul Station branch has doenjang-naengi broth. No hesitation—straight to that choice!

Beef tendon salad and pickled cabbage banchan

Here were the basic table setting and banchan (Korean side dishes). The dressed beef tendon was such a treat. The essential shabu-shabu kimchi was delicious too, but the pickled cabbage was especially charming—pleasantly tangy and crisp, leaving your mouth feeling fresh.

The beef tendon salad had a pleasantly spicy dressing and such a chewy texture. It would be so good as a drinking snack too 😋

Doenjang shabu-shabu with naengi and minari

Ta-da ⭐ Our doenjang-naengi broth. I couldn't believe we could enjoy naengi (shepherd's purse) in this season, and there was a generous amount of it. It arrived already piled high with bean sprouts and minari (water parsley). Hurry up and boil!

There were generous vegetables—assorted mushrooms including wood ear, white wood ear, lion's mane, and oyster mushrooms, plus minari, bok choy, napa cabbage, and bean sprouts—along with kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) noodles and more minari. For the meat, we chose the standard pork neck and beef flat iron steak (+3.0).

There were three sauces—chili, peanut, and pickled chili—so each sauce gave the food a different flavor.

Once the broth looked like it was boiling nicely, we loaded it up with vegetables and mushrooms. Yunseul says all its cooking uses fresh ingredients delivered that day, and maybe that's why the vegetables were so fresh 👍

Swish the meat through the hot broth, wrap it with vegetables, then dip it in sauce. I just love places that give you shredded pickled chilies, haha. The pickled chili sauce was my number-one pick throughout the whole shabu-shabu meal 😋

And what comes next!? Time to add the kalguksu noodles! Sprinkle in fragrant minari, too. I wondered whether the doenjang broth might be too strongly seasoned, but not at allll. It has a subtle doenjang flavor, so even after adding noodles and reducing the broth, it never gets salty.

Four desserts chosen per person

The real last course!!! Dessert! Usually shabu-shabu dessert = juk (rice porridge), but at Yunseul you can choose not only gondre juk (rice porridge with Korean thistle), but also bulgogi kimchi fried rice, butter soy jangjorim rice (+2.0), or low-salt pollock roe crunchy cucumber rice (+3.0). And each person can choose separately!! Picking several to share means you get to enjoy more variety, which is great.

We chose two juks, bulgogi kimchi fried rice, and pollock roe cucumber rice! You cook the juk yourself like this,

The low-salt pollock roe crunchy cucumber rice and bulgogi kimchi fried rice came heaped in tiny stone pots. Even the dessert course was prepared with such care.

The mini rice dishes were loaded with ingredients too—nothing was skimped on. From the shabu-shabu broth through to the final dessert, it was such, such, such a satisfying meal. There are so many all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu places these days, but Yunseul seems just right for a relaxed, quiet meal! If you're looking for a Seoul Station shabu-shabu place for a gathering, or a peaceful date spot, I highly, highly recommend Yunseul 👍👍