Nowon shabu-shabu brazier dinner with a 7-year-old: Hana Shabu Shabu

Sometimes you head out for a family meal without expecting much, and then

We really picked a good place today!

is exactly what you end up saying. A few days ago I took my wife and our 7-year-old to Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch (하나샤브샤브 중계본점), a shabu-shabu restaurant in Junggye, and it gave me exactly that feeling.

I found it while looking for food that is gentle but warms and settles the stomach. It was far better than I expected, so I came home and wrote this up to share.

Where to park at Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch

The restaurant offers 2 hours of free registration in the building's underground car park. When you go out with a child, the first things you think about are the route and the facilities, so I could park and go up without any parking stress. I think it's a nice setup for a relaxed family drive and meal.

Atmosphere and seating

The restaurant is cozy and upscale, decorated in warm wood tones. That was the first thing I noticed when I opened the door, and it felt like a place where you'd stay comfortable through the whole meal.

There's also a distinctive, long bar table that would suit a date, and a space at the back that works for get-togethers, so it looked roomy enough for families too.

I heard that "Hana" in the name means "flower" in Japanese, and true to that meaning, careful, heartfelt touches show up all around the space.

How is the dinner shabu-shabu for two served?

We went in the evening and ordered the dinner shabu-shabu for two. While we waited, a crunchy cabbage salad topped with nutty peanut sauce came out first, just right for whetting the appetite.

Next, the broth was set up on a brazier on the table. It's not an ordinary burner but a neat brazier, and it felt like we were being treated to something special, which I liked.

Vegetable platter with 7 kinds of mushrooms

When the main ingredients arrived, I couldn't help exclaiming. Napa cabbage, bok choy and bean sprouts, plus a generous seven kinds of mushrooms, kabocha squash, tofu pouches (yubu jumeoni), fish cake and more. The vegetable lineup was really full.

Chilled US Black Angus beef

The restaurant says it uses chilled US Black Angus, and the freshness of the meat's color was obvious even to the eye, which convinced me they care a lot about quality.

How were the broth and the three sauces?

Hana's traditional signature broth was deep in flavor yet finished very cleanly, which I loved. I added the ingredients once the brazier broth came to a boil and tasted it: not harsh, but with a deep savory richness that left my stomach feeling soothed.

There were three sauces: yuzu ponzu, chili and sesame. Swapping between them to taste meant we never got bored.

Is Hana Shabu Shabu good for dining with a 7-year-old?

The meat portion of the dinner shabu-shabu was much more generous than I'd expected, and the whole family got properly full, which impressed me. Our kid had already eaten at kindergarten, but liked the broth and meat so much that he kept the spoon in hand and wolfed it down again. I was amazed!

Kids' tastes are so honest, so watching him eat well made me happy. If you keep reaching for more even when you're full, that's a real good restaurant, right?

Smoky grilled brisket on the house

Midway through the meal, the owner brought out flame-grilled brisket full of smoky aroma as a freebie, and it was a wonderful treat.

The subtle smokiness and tender texture were so good that it went down happily even though I was already full.

Verdict: Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye for a family dinner

A spacious, tidy space, easy parking and a generous, high-quality spread: it has everything, so high satisfaction was almost guaranteed. If you're near Junggye looking for neat, filling shabu-shabu or cypress steam (seiro-mushi) food, I don't think you'd regret a visit to Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch.

I think it's a perfect place to share a warm meal and make happy memories with friends, a partner or family.