Family shabu-shabu in Gimpo with gochujang and soy sauces: Homilwon

What is Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch?

Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch is a shabu-shabu and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) restaurant on Geolpo-ro in Gimpo, where you can enjoy shabu-shabu, kalguksu, and fried rice like a full course. I visited while looking for somewhere in Gimpo to have a family meal, maybe with parents. A lot of shabu-shabu places naturally lead into noodles or fried rice afterward, but what I liked about Homilwon was that the whole thing felt structured as a course from start to finish.

We ordered the Full Table Special that day. True to its name, it comes with a lot of everything, so I was already excited just watching dish after dish get set down on the table.

Is parking easy at Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu in Gimpo?

Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch has generous parking space for over 20 cars, so it was easy to visit by car. Parking stress before a meal even starts is a real thing, but Homilwon seemed like a good fit for family visits or gatherings with several people.

How does shabu-shabu with Gochon minari taste?

Homilwon's shabu-shabu apparently uses minari (water dropwort) sourced fresh every day from Gochon minari fields between March and October. Maybe that's why it tasted fresh and fragrant, with none of that limp, wilted texture.

Shabu-shabu is always fun because you cook the ingredients one by one in the broth. Once the pot started boiling and the vegetables went in, that fresh green aroma rose up and my appetite kicked right in. The minari especially changed the whole scent. When minari goes into shabu-shabu, its distinct fragrance seeps gently into the broth, and eaten with the meat it also cuts the greasiness, so I kept reaching for more.

Shabu-shabu beef: Australian chuck, TEYS No.7 grade S

Homilwon's shabu beef is apparently Australian chuck, TEYS No.7 grade S. Sliced thin as shabu meat should be, you just swirl it in the boiling broth briefly. Cooked just enough without overdoing it, it came out tender, not chewy. It wasn't overly fatty either — more on the lean side, which paired well with the vegetables. Dipping a piece into the sauce, the meat's clean flavor and the sauce's savoriness came together perfectly to my taste.

The great thing about shabu-shabu is that you can cook each ingredient exactly as much as you like. We started with vegetables to build up the broth's flavor, then added meat, and the broth seemed to deepen the longer it went. After eating a good amount of meat and vegetables, I was already pretty full — but that wasn't the end. The real fun at Homilwon was just getting started.

What is Homilwon's rye kalguksu with Hamyang rye flour like?

Homilwon's kalguksu was interesting in that it's not regular wheat noodles but rye kalguksu, made with rye flour grown in Hamyang, Gyeongnam. Since shabu-shabu leads into noodles and then fried rice, we ended up properly full all the way to the end.

As the noodles simmered away in the broth, you could see them getting more delicious as they soaked it up. Taking a bite, the noodles were chewy with the broth flavor well absorbed. Since this came after the shabu-shabu, the broth already carried the flavor of the meat and vegetables, so it tasted much richer and deeper than at the start. Even though I was already full, my chopsticks kept going once the noodles hit the broth.

Self-serve beef mushroom radish rice and the gochujang and soy sauces

Another thing I really liked at Homilwon was the beef mushroom radish rice. It's rice cooked with beef, mushrooms, and radish, and served unlimited at the self-serve bar. Shabu-shabu restaurants often have separate rice available, but rice mixed with beef, mushroom, and radish felt like a different thing entirely from plain white rice.

Maybe because of the radish, the rice itself felt light and moist, with a subtle savoriness from the meat and mushrooms. What caught my eye especially was that it's made with Gimpo Geumssal rice, the Chamdeurim variety. The grains held their shape without getting mushy, giving each spoonful good texture.

It was good eaten plain, but also went well paired with the shabu meat or vegetables. On top of that, Homilwon's signature sauces were there too — gochujang sauce and soy sauce, so you could pick according to your taste. The gochujang sauce had a deeper savory kick, while the soy sauce was cleaner, and I had fun switching between the two depending on what I was eating.

Why Homilwon works for family meals and dining with parents

Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch felt less like a spot for a quick single-menu meal and more like a place to sit and eat slowly with a group. For a family meal, it's easy to share one order among everyone, and visiting with parents felt comfortable too, since the shabu-shabu, kalguksu, and rice are all familiar, easygoing foods.

For family gatherings or group meals especially, a limited menu can mean clashing tastes, but Homilwon's range — from shabu-shabu to boiled pork, stir-fried octopus, kalguksu, and fried rice — was a real advantage.

Boiled pork and stir-fried jjukkumi with the Full Table Special

The Full Table Special adds boiled pork and stir-fried octopus on top of the shabu-shabu set, so the table was really packed. I was especially curious about the boiled pork since it's made by the owner, who's recognized as a master in the world food masters' boiled pork category. The meat wasn't dry at all — soft to bite into, with its own appeal separate from the shabu-shabu.

Served warm, the boiled pork was clean-tasting with a distinct meaty flavor, and I thought it'd be great for sharing among a group. The stir-fried octopus came with a spicy sauce, giving it a completely different flavor from the shabu-shabu.

When you've been eating soft, mild food for a while, you sometimes crave something spicy — and that's exactly when a bite of the stir-fried octopus brought my appetite right back. Between the shabu-shabu, kalguksu, rice, boiled pork, and octopus, the menu name 'Full Table' really fit.

Perilla oil fried rice and the dessert corner to finish

Homilwon's final course is fried rice made with perilla oil pressed fresh at a local mill. Even after finishing the shabu-shabu and kalguksu, there was still fried rice waiting. By then I was truly full, but the smell of it cooking made me want to eat again anyway.

As the fried rice cooked, the nutty aroma of perilla oil rose up strongly. That distinct, rich, nutty scent soaked into the rice, leaving a lingering savoriness with every spoonful. After the shabu-shabu broth and kalguksu, it could've felt heavy, but the fried rice was a different enough flavor that it went down more easily than expected. Going from shabu-shabu to kalguksu to fried rice, it really felt like a proper, complete meal.

Once you're full, there's also a dessert corner to enjoy. It had sanghwang mushroom tea brewed from domestic sanghwang mushrooms, savory misugaru (roasted grain powder), and premium caramel popcorn to choose from. I sometimes crave something sweet after a meal, and the caramel popcorn was perfect for picking at a piece at a time. Visiting with a kid, it also seemed nice to have dessert covered after the meal. With food flowing continuously from start to finish, the whole meal felt pretty relaxed.

Verdict: the Full Table Special at Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo

Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch wasn't just a shabu-shabu spot — it was a place where shabu-shabu leads naturally into kalguksu, rice, and fried rice in sequence. The Full Table Special in particular lived up to its name, arriving with the table completely packed, great for sharing among several people. Between the shabu vegetables and meat, the rye kalguksu, the beef mushroom radish rice, and the perilla oil fried rice, plus the boiled pork and stir-fried octopus on top, it was more than enough for one meal.

With such a wide range of food for the price, it seems like a good match for anyone searching for a great shabu-shabu restaurant in Gimpo, or looking for a spot for a family meal, a meal with parents, or a group gathering. What stuck with me most was the generous parking and how hearty the portions were overall, making it easy to visit with several people. If you want a filling meal that covers both shabu-shabu and kalguksu in one sitting in Gimpo, Homilwon Shabu Kalguksu Gimpo Main Branch is worth trying for a full-table spread. It's the kind of place where, even full, you keep eating all the way to the last bite of fried rice — that day, I really did eat a table full, true to its name.