Duck baeksuk restaurant in Asan: Oneungi's mushroom shabu feast

Over the weekend, I went shopping at Costco in Cheonan with Mom and Dad! Whenever we go to Cheonan Costco, we eat somewhere around Cheonan or Asan first, and there are quite a few little gems in Asan—choosing is half the fun, haha.

I was frantically searching for Asan restaurants, wondering what to eat this time, when I found Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk (오능이샤브백숙)! Ta-da! As it happened, our family had let this summer's boknal, the traditional hottest days for restorative food, pass without even having samgyetang once...;;

I remembered Mom and Dad saying lately that their stamina was not what it used to be and that they tired easily. I thought it would be so nice to have a restorative meal together, so we settled on a hearty baeksuk (slow-simmered poultry soup) meal in Asan!

Reservations, parking, and hours

Before going, I made a Naver reservation for an early Saturday lunch. Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk is in Eumbong-myeon, Asan. It was not hard to find with navigation on, though there were quite a few restaurants along the road?

Just head in when you spot the yellow sign with “mushroom shabu baeksuk” written large across it!

A dedicated parking lot sits right in front of the restaurant, so no parking worries—approved! Things like this matter when you are taking your parents out for a meal, haha.

A spacious hall and private rooms perfect for parents

When you think of a baeksuk restaurant, you somehow imagine a slightly old-fashioned atmosphere, right? But Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk had a tidy, spacious hall with large windows, so it felt bright and comfortable overall. There were private rooms inside that looked great for group dinners or family gatherings, too. They even had a room decorated especially for parents’ birthdays, beautifully set up with the feel of a birthday table inside.

I noticed a parents’ birthday-table menu when making the Naver reservation, so for a parent’s birthday or family gathering, reserve it and bring only a cake—party preparations complete! That sort of feeling, haha.

Ordering the neungi mushroom duck shabu baeksuk

You know a place with confidence in one focused menu has a high chance of being good, right? Haha.

The menu is simple: neungi mushroom duck baeksuk, neungi mushroom chicken baeksuk, and neungi mushroom samgyetang. A baeksuk specialist with total confidence in baeksuk! Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk offers two styles, mushroom shabu baeksuk and nurungji baeksuk with scorched rice, and we reserved the neungi mushroom duck shabu baeksuk. Haha.

Baeksuk naturally takes time to cook, so if you simply walk in, you might have to wait quite a while. Since we reserved, though, the table was all set and everything was ready to eat right away, which I loved. Even though it was early on Saturday, lots of tables had already been set. I recommend making a Naver reservation for a weekend visit!

Side dishes and the self-serve bar

The basic side dishes were kkakdugi cubed radish kimchi, cabbage salad, seasoned pickled radish, broccoli, pickled onions, and mini jeon savory pancakes.

Everything was neatly prepared, and as we ate, I realized it was exactly the right combination to go with baeksuk.

You can comfortably help yourself to more side dishes at the self-serve bar. And here was the detail that really made it feel like a proper restorative meal!

There was one small ginseng root for each person. Mom, Dad, and I each had one before the baeksuk. It just makes you feel good somehow—like you are getting energized, haha.

A variety of mushrooms and tender duck baeksuk

The neungi mushroom duck shabu baeksuk came in a huge pot packed with duck, topped generously with scallions, garlic chives, and neungi mushrooms. The broth looked rich from its color alone—it already felt restorative just looking at it! The gentle aroma of neungi mushrooms rose up, joined by the deep scent unique to duck baeksuk, and my appetite instantly came alive.

Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk does not just serve baeksuk; its specialty is enjoying mushrooms alongside it as you would shabu-shabu. A separate platter held an incredible variety, from familiar enoki, king oyster, and oyster mushrooms to beech mushrooms, golden enoki, yellow oyster mushrooms, lion’s mane, and cordyceps. How did I know all their names, you ask? I looked them up because I was curious about what was there... haha. It felt like the mushrooms alone might restore your energy..😁

You simply dip the mushrooms briefly into the boiling broth to cook them. Each one had a different texture and slightly different aroma, so it was fun choosing what to eat.

The cooked mushrooms were even tastier with a little mustard sauce!

Time to properly dig into the duck! I picked up a drumstick to give Dad first, but Mom had already taken one, haha. Our whole family dislikes dry meat, so even when we eat chicken, chicken breast is always what gets left behind. Even at chicken baeksuk places that are supposed to be excellent, there has never been a time we did not leave the breast. But whether it is because this was duck, or because this place does it perfectly, even the breast meat at Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk was tender. There is a reason people come all the way to Asan looking for great baeksuk.

Mom, Dad, and I—three of us—finished every last bit. Seriously. That says it all about how tender the meat was! Haha. The meat was great, but the broth here was honestly crazy good. The hot, rich broth just soothed you right through; exaggerating a little, it felt like it even melted away every worry in the world. I wondered if this was paradise, I am telling you, haha. The staff checked on us and topped up the broth along the way, so we could enjoy it warm and plentiful until the end.

Neungi sticky-rice porridge cooked in the remaining broth

When we had nearly finished the mushrooms and duck, they brought out neungi sticky rice. You put this rice into the remaining broth and cook it like porridge. Do you know what it tastes like when you add sticky rice to broth deeply infused with mushroom and duck flavor?

You just have to try it.. haha. Mom and Dad said they were full and would have only one spoonful, but they kept eating, and I scraped up every last crispy bit stuck to the pot. After finishing the porridge, it really felt like I had eaten a proper restorative meal.

Cool sikhye sweet rice drink for dessert was the perfect finish! There was also warm neungi mushroom tea. It was my first time having a baeksuk restorative-food course with neungi mushroom duck baeksuk, mushroom shabu, and final neungi sticky-rice porridge. Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk was an Asan favorite where we could truly recharge over delicious duck baeksuk in a pleasant, clean restaurant!

Mom and Dad said it was good and delicious throughout the meal, and Dad in particular—who does not usually express much no matter what he eats—said he loved this place so much that he even took a business card.

That was the moment Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk firmly landed in my personal top three Asan restaurants for bringing your parents, haha. I recommend Oneungi Shabu Baeksuk to anyone looking for an Asan restaurant, an Asan baeksuk place to take their parents, or a hearty restorative meal among Eumbong’s restaurants!

The next time I reserve, I think I will spend ages deciding between the nurungji baeksuk and the mushroom shabu baeksuk. I want to eat both! Haha.