Ulsan shabu buffet, weekend for two with veggie broth: Shabre Garden

I came away totally satisfied from Shabre Garden The Black, an Ulsan Nam-gu shabu-shabu spot near Gongeoptap, in Yaeum-dong by Suam Market's raw fish center. Why does Ulsan have so many great restaurants?! Friendly, clean and delicious, three things doing a beatbox together, and that's Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch!

Where is Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch is at 14 Suam-ro 128beon-gil, 4-dong, 2nd floor, Nam-gu, Ulsan, on the 2nd floor of Medical Plaza by Suam Market's raw fish center. It's a 5-minute drive from Ulsan Grand Park, Seonamho Lake Park and Ulsan Gongeoptap.

• Hours: daily, opens at 11:00 and closes at 21:00
• Break time: 15:00 to 17:00
• Parking available (2 hours covered at the Suam raw fish center parking lot)

Shabre Garden The Black sits on the 2nd floor of the medical building near Suam Market's raw fish center. The Black is a high-end premium line, one step up from the regular Shabre Garden.

How much does Shabre Garden The Black cost?

At Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch, the two of us ate at the weekend adult price of ₩31,900 each. Prices vary by time of day and age, as below.

• Weekday lunch (adult): ₩24,900
• Weekday dinner (adult): ₩29,900
• Weekend/holiday (adult): ₩31,900
• Elementary school child: ₩16,900
• Preschooler (36 months to age 6): ₩8,900
• 35 months and under: free

I love shabu-shabu and eat it often, and I think I've found a proper place this time! Premium shabu-shabu and high-level sushi dining, all unlimited in one spot. I was really satisfied: from the spacious, pleasant interior to the overall quality of the food, nothing was lacking, and I felt happy the whole meal at Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch.

What's in the Shabre Garden The Black salad bar?

Besides shabu-shabu and sushi, Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch has a hotel-style dining salad bar with around 50 items. You can tell they put as much care into the sides as into the main menu.

Starting with fresh, crunchy salad, then assorted fried items crispy outside and moist inside, plus all kinds of warm dishes. Just walking one lap around the buffet line fills you up (?) Staff keep refilling before things run out, hot and fresh, so you can always get the dishes at their best.

A big plus was the wide range of sauces, so you can mix and match flavors to your own taste.

It's a shabu-shabu specialist, but is the sushi any good?

What surprised me was that even though Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch is a shabu-shabu specialist, you can enjoy high-quality sushi too! It's on another level from the half-hearted sushi at ordinary buffets.

A skilled chef makes the sushi with fresh fish, and the amount of rice and the thickness of the fish were in perfect balance. From live-fish sushi to salmon, shrimp and rolls, a wide range of popular types kept being refilled, so it felt like having a course meal at a fine Japanese restaurant. The warm shabu-shabu broth and the fresh, clean taste of sushi go together surprisingly well, and alternating between them was a lot of fun.

What does the Shabre Garden The Black dessert bar offer?

The dessert bar at Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch has sodas and soft drinks, ice cream, and bingsu (shaved ice) with toppings you add yourself. The dessert bar is well run too, a proper finish to the meal.

No matter how full I am, I can't just walk past a dessert area. Sodas and soft drinks for a cool, clean palate cleanser are the basics, and then sweet, smooth ice cream and shaved ice with whatever toppings you like!! Finishing a hot shabu-shabu with something cold and sweet is perfect, and the owner clearly knows it!!!! It felt like a perfect course that wins over kids' favorites and adult tastes alike.

Which half-and-half broth combination was best?

Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch offers half-and-half broth, so we chose vegetable broth and jjamppong broth. Both were tasty, but the vegetable broth, the shabu-shabu basic, was the best.

I think the heart of shabu-shabu is a deep, rich broth and the freshness of the meat and vegetables, and the basics were really solid here. From the first sip of broth, you could fully tell it had been simmered with care for a long time, with deep flavor. The beef that goes with it looked fresh from the color alone, and the vegetables, mushrooms and noodles at the buffet were as crisp as if just prepared.

Quickly blanch fresh ingredients in the hot broth and dip them in various sauces, and the light taste and deep savoriness spread through your mouth. Not harsh, yet comforting to the stomach, the true essence of shabu-shabu.

Is Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch worth going back to?

Ahh,,, it was really good,,,,👍🩷 I ate so many vegetables I won't think about them for a while, but Shabre Garden The Black has a bewitching charm that made me crave it again the next day, apparently haha. Shabre Garden The Black Ulsan Nam-gu Branch, a shabu-shabu favorite near Gongeoptap in Yaeum-dong, Ulsan: totally satisfied.