All-you-can-eat shabu-shabu in Songdo: meat strategy at Sangsangcheom

At mala tang places, even if you start by taking just a little vegetables, meat, and glass noodles, you easily go over 25,000 won. Add guobaorou (crispy sweet-and-sour pork), and two people can blow through 70,000 won in no time, right?

And at those famous hot-pot chains, two people can spend 70,000 to 100,000 won without even getting full. But at Sangsangcheom, an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu spot in Songdo, every ingredient that goes into mala tang and beef...

...plus guobaorou, fruit, ice cream, desserts, and drinks were all included. We ate until we were bursting, and it was only 25,800 won per person.

Beef belly, beef foreleg, and lamb with absolutely no off smell were all unlimited, along with so many extra ingredients it felt like a food department store. My partner and I ate this for lunch, and I’m telling you, we were still too full to eat dinner that day!

Was parking at Songdo Triple Street easy?

You can park in the huge garage inside the building. You get five hours free as a basic benefit when using the restaurant, so after eating you can leisurely enjoy the bowling alley, shopping, and other things in Triple Street too. It made for a nice date course.

Finding the restaurant after parking

The building is quite large, so my partner and I wandered around for about six minutes. Take the escalator up to the first floor, then go outside rather than staying inside Building D. Once you reach the spot shown in the photo, you will see Sangsangcheom’s red sign.

How were the table spacing and room?

My partner and I found this place comfortable because the ceiling was very high and there was a lot of space between tables. At an all-you-can-eat restaurant, you need to keep getting up for food, and when seating is tight it is hard both to stand up and to walk around...

But there was plenty of room throughout, so we could eat comfortably even with people moving about. The tables were generous too, with plenty of space even after bringing back several plates of meat and vegetables at once.

It felt like a good space not only for a meal with your partner like ours, but also for friends, family, or a larger group gathering.

What is included for ₩25,800 per person?

The menu at Sangsangcheom, this Songdo all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu place, was simple. Some of you may think it is expensive, but I would say it holds its own in flavor against famous hot-pot restaurants while costing far less.

Two adults—my partner and I—visited for 51,800 won, with unlimited beef and lamb. That alone has to be a real advantage, doesn’t it?

Of course, not every ingredient was delicious, but if you choose well, I think you will find the value satisfying.

Which unlimited meats were best?

Beef belly, beef foreleg, and lamb shoulder are available as unlimited refills.

I loved being able to keep ordering high-quality meat that was savory, tender, and completely free of any smell, without feeling self-conscious.

I think the right move here is to eat lots of meat. The other things are decent too, but the meat quality is the best.

How did we choose the spicy red and mild white broths?

As you would expect from a good Songdo hot-pot restaurant, there were both spicy red broth and mild white broth. You can choose one, or get a half-and-half pot like this. But I honestly wondered why anyone would choose only one! It was nice that each person could eat according to their own taste.

My partner was trying hot pot for the first time and said, “The red broth feels a little intimidating~” So I told them, then just eat it with the white broth.

Vegetables and fish balls to suit your taste

There were so many vegetables that it was hard to photograph them all. Just choose what suits your taste. My partner and I had napa cabbage, bok choy, bean sprouts, lotus root, king oyster mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, kabocha squash, and enoki mushrooms.

There were lots of fish-ball-style items, like various fish cakes. Plenty of the sausages, rice cakes, and imitation crab were pleasantly chewy and tasty too, but if I came back...

I think it would be better value to skip them and keep refilling the meat. But my partner said, “It’s nice that you can eat such a variety here,” so I think you should simply pick according to your taste.

There were also plenty of pork offal items that would easily cost over 30,000 won if ordered individually, such as beef tendon, omasum, and tripe, along with seafood like shrimp, scallops, squid, blue crab, and webfoot octopus. Those are not really my taste, so I did not take any.

There were countless varieties of skewers too. We took quite a few and tried them, but the unlimited meat was such good quality that there was a slight comparison. Still, I liked that some were rolled with vegetables, making them easy to pick up and eat.

Can hot-pot beginners enjoy the sauces?

As someone without much hot-pot experience, I was a little overwhelmed by the sauces. My first thought was, “How am I supposed to eat this?”

So I saw that the biggest container was sesame sauce and just piled together sesame sauce, hoisin soy sauce, garlic, and Cheongyang chili peppers. My partner seemed to make a spicy sauce with chili oil.

But here is the surprising part: if you ask the staff, they will make you a foolproof combination. I was happy because I hear non-all-you-can-eat hot-pot places charge 3,500 won even to get sauce once, whereas here you can take it without hesitation. I loaded up the sesame sauce with Cheongyang chilies, and it was nutty but seriously spicy—nutty-spicy and so satisfying.

My partner kept eating it too, saying, “It’s delicious because it’s spicy.”

Fried food, fruit, and more for dessert

There were plenty of sides for dessert too: French fries, gim-mari (seaweed rolls), guobaorou, drinks, milk ice cream, watermelon, cherry tomatoes, oranges, passion fruit, and more. We somehow ate watermelon, oranges, and milk ice cream even though we were already bursting.

How to get the best value

To get the best value at Sangsangcheom, this Songdo shabu-shabu restaurant, I think you should target the beef and lamb first. I showed the chart earlier, but at other restaurants even 150 to 200 grams can cost a lot, whereas here you can order it without limit. That is a good deal, right?

The fish-ball items and skewers are tasty too, but personally I thought the meat quality was better, so skipping them may be the better deal.

I was satisfied because I could properly enjoy the sauces and broth flavors without getting overly stuffed.

Sangsangcheom was great for enjoying everything from meat to varied ingredients however you like, and the most satisfying part was being able to keep refilling beef belly, beef foreleg, and lamb. The wide table spacing also made it comfortable for a date with my partner, or for a gathering with friends or family. If you want both the fun of trying a variety of things and the value of unlimited meat, give it a visit.