Mullae clam shabu restaurant with a pond-style interior: Palmi Jogae

You know you have to eat shabu-shabu every now and then, right? I'd only ever had regular shabu, so I was excited to find this brand-new spot: Palmi Jogae Kalguksu (팔미 조개칼국수) in Mullae. Let me introduce a place where you can eat clam shabu-shabu!

Where is Palmi Jogae Kalguksu and how do you get there?

Palmi Jogae Kalguksu is an 11-minute walk from Mullae Station Exit 1, at 1 Dorim-ro 147-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul (1st floor). If you take a bus from the station, you'll get there even faster. There is no parking.

It's newly opened, so the exterior was really clean. The Palmi Jogae Kalguksu sign is big, so you can spot it easily. Outside there's a tank with clams, and the staff take clams straight from it. No need to worry about freshness here 👍🏻

Is Palmi Jogae Kalguksu good for family gatherings and groups?

The interior is tidy and neat, so it felt like a fitting restaurant for a family get-together. There's a room in the back that fits up to 8 people, so if you're coming as a group, I'd recommend booking ahead! The restroom is inside the restaurant too, which was convenient, haha.

Aprons are near the restroom, so take note if you need one! If you're coming with a baby, there are baby chairs, so no worries about seating.

I also took photos of the interior because it was so pretty. There's a small pond, which made it feel like a high-end Korean restaurant 🌷

Palmi Jogae Kalguksu menu and prices

The main dish at Palmi Jogae Kalguksu is shabu kalguksu (shabu-shabu with noodles). Weekday lunch and weekend/dinner prices differ, so keep that in mind. Every order includes kalguksu and abalone porridge, so the value is seriously good!! They also have fresh seafood, so seafood lovers should definitely come at least once.

They serve alcohol too, so it's a good place for a drink with your shabu-shabu. When I visited, there was an opening event with soju 1+1, and for writing a Naver review they gave one bottle of soju or beef brisket stir-fried with bean sprouts. Take part when there's a good event!

• Clam kalguksu set (weekend/dinner) ₩18,900 × 2

Palmi clam kalguksu dinner: welcome drink and dipping sauces

First, the welcome drink: a slurria (슬러리아) 🍷 It contains wine, so adults only! It's a chilled wine slush that was easy and light to drink.

Before the food arrives, they set out the sauces, and each person has a personal sauce dish to take portions into. The water is cold barley tea (boricha), not plain water, which I liked!

What comes on the platter: clams, pork, beef and abalone

Right after that, the clam kalguksu arrived, and the look of it is seriously grand, right?... 🤩 You cook everything in the broth in the middle.

There's a variety of vegetables, clams, mushrooms and meat, and the portion was really generous, which I loved!!!

The meat comes in two kinds: pork neck and beef brisket. You can order more if you run short, but the portion is big, so what comes by default is plenty.

There are scallops, hard clams and mussels too, which makes the broth refreshing. It feels like shabu-shabu cooked in clam soup! You can tell it's delicious even before tasting, right?!

They even give you one abalone per person!!! They're pretty plump, so it felt like a real health boost. If you came here on a boknal (the hottest days of summer), you'd feel properly fortified!? There are lots of mushrooms too, so mushroom lovers will be happy.

How to eat clam shabu-shabu: mussels first, minari only briefly

At Palmi Jogae Kalguksu you put the ingredients in and simmer them well, and if you add the mussels first, the broth gets really refreshing. Be sure to put all the mussels in at the very start!! And the minari (water dropwort) gets tough if it boils too long, so cook it just until done.

The ingredients were really fresh, so it was so delicious ♥️ It's hot, healthy food, so it felt restorative. The chili sauce was good, the wasabi soy sauce was good, and I ate in a daze, lol.

The clams were purged of sand too, so nothing gritty, and it really felt like eating clam soup, which I loved. The scallops especially were sweet and so tasty. I want to go again... 😂

And the abalone I saved for last was tender and really delicious!!

How were the kalguksu and abalone porridge to finish?

After finishing the shabu-shabu, of course you have to eat the kalguksu too. Noodles in that rich broth were totally flawless!! The stock comes out of all the ingredients, so it was the best kalguksu ever.

Geotjeori (fresh, lightly seasoned kimchi) comes with it too, and kalguksu just needs geotjeori. I was full, but I couldn't not eat it, lol.

And there's still more left?! Abalone porridge, and look at that color, amazing, right? The nutty richness of the abalone innards really hits!! It's abalone porridge, so I scraped the bottom of the bowl.

Even the dessert porridge was perfect. I strongly recommend Palmi Jogae Kalguksu as a Mullae Station favorite 💛