Shabu kalguksu in Sejong whose broth never turns salty: Italy Shabu

This is not one of those everywhere-these-days "elephant diet" shabu places with unlimited vegetable refills. It politely declines the trend of filling your belly with leaves and competes on a heavyweight straight shot: the balance between the set and the seasoning. Let me coolly assess Italy Shabu Kalguksu (이태리샤브칼국수), a private-room restaurant in Eojin-dong, Sejong.

Italy Shabu Kalguksu Eojin Branch · 172 Jeoljae-ro, Sejong, Taehan Press Center 3F, Room 302 · 10:30-21:00 (weekdays until 15:00, until 21:00 on weekends only)

Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch: it's on the 3rd floor, so how is the place?

Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch is on the 3rd floor of Taehan Press Center, but the tables are spaced widely and it feels comfortable. My first thought while assessing it was the disadvantage of being on the 3rd floor. A non-franchise restaurant on the 3rd floor is clearly a minus in ordinary restaurant data: it's not easy to draw customers. But the moment you open the door, that disadvantage is offset by how pleasant the space is.

Room to breathe

The tables are spaced widely. You don't have to rub elbows with the next table or get squeezed into forced sharing like at busy-district restaurants around Gyeonggi-do. You get a space separated from other people's eyes and noise, so you can focus on the meal itself.

Hygiene check

Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch serves spoons and chopsticks in individual paper sleeves. That kind of hygiene obsession earns my trust too.

How much is Italy Shabu Kalguksu, and what comes in the course?

The price at Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch is ₩13,800 per person.

For Sejong prices and today's eating-out costs, that's a reasonable level that's quite friendly to office workers. The basics are beef chuck, handmade dumplings, potato ongsimi (potato dumplings) and a vegetable and mushroom platter, plus house-made kalguksu noodles and an egg and vegetable porridge to finish. A course put together with no gaps.

The barley rice that makes you worry about the owner's bank account

Italy Shabu Kalguksu has a self-serve barley rice corner with eolgari (young cabbage), and it's far too well made to call a freebie.

Before the main shabu-shabu was even boiling, I nearly fell to my knees at this barley rice corner. Eat it absent-mindedly and you'd never even see the shabu meat, finishing the full course on "barley rice belly." Honestly, at this quality I'm so worried about the owner's bank balance I can hardly sleep. Well, since my mouth is happy, I'll let the owner's bank account look the other way for a moment. (Sorry, boss. Heh heh 😎)

Does the shabu-shabu broth get salty as you eat?

The shabu-shabu broth at Italy Shabu Kalguksu keeps an exquisite saltiness from start to finish, with no need to add water or more broth. Once the barley rice has captured your stomach for round one, the main shabu-shabu arrives, and this is where the place's real magic begins.

Normally shabu-shabu broth reduces as you eat and turns salty. You know the hassle of catching the staff's eye and calling out "more broth, please," right? Italy Shabu Kalguksu is different. It's a meticulous "broth build-up" that the owner clearly designed in the kitchen with a salinity meter, timing it to the second. A ruthlessly smart "optimal broth design."

House-made kalguksu noodles

What deserves special attention is the texture of the noodles. The house-made noodles at Italy Shabu Kalguksu have their starch carefully controlled, so they don't sharply cloud the broth when they go in. The noodles don't soak up too much broth and turn salty, and the broth doesn't play separately from the noodles either.

The egg porridge finish

The moment the egg goes in and the broth turns thick and sticky, every grain of rice absorbs all of the broth's data. The rich, nutty flavor you get with the first spoonful is a "digestion-friendly full stop" that calmly pats down a stomach that has been racing through barley rice and kalguksu.

After finishing this porridge you realize it: because the seasoning of the broth was designed this way from start to finish, even the porridge's thickness could be perfect. This flow from shabu-shabu to porridge goes beyond a simply tasty meal. It is "a well-designed algorithm of gastronomy" itself.

Kimchi

The kimchi at Italy Shabu Kalguksu is geotjeori (fresh, unfermented kimchi) tossed together with chives and onions. The crunchy vegetable texture and spicy seasoning lock together with the mildly seasoned porridge for a tidy finishing data point.

A bonus that moves you: more than 10 kinds of ice cream

At Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch, there's a huge ice cream freezer at the front of the shop as you leave after paying. A save point that makes you doubt what the main business is. The moment you step out the door, a huge ice cream freezer is planted right there.

More than 10 kinds of ice cream is crossing the line.. If you're indecisive, an extra 5 minutes here is standard. It's undeniably a perfect finale that seals your stomach, scorched by hot broth, with cold, but be warned that it delays your exit by 5 minutes or more. Heh heh.

Final assessment report

I'll skip the long talk this time. This one photo of an empty bowl, licked so clean it needs no dish soap (?), is my final rating for Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch.