Sejong Korean restaurant with pajeon: Italy Shabu Kalguksu

When I’m craving a warm bowl of broth like this, shabu kalguksu is one of the first things that comes to mind. I heard there was a place in Eojin-dong, Sejong where you could enjoy proper shabu kalguksu at a good value, so I went to check it out.

Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch: location and parking

This is Italy Shabu Kalguksu Sejong Eojin Branch in Eojin-dong, Sejong. It is on the third floor of Taehan Press Center near the Sejong government complex, so it gets lots of office-worker visitors.

You can park in the building’s underground garage for free. No separate parking registration is needed.

A clean interior and a view from the windows

The interior was clean and spacious. It had the kind of atmosphere that would work nicely for office workers’ lunches or company dinners.

Even the view outside the windows was lovely. A restaurant that is clean and has a great view too! It naturally puts you in the mood for a meal.

Shabu kalguksu and the self-service bar

Italy Shabu Kalguksu specializes in shabu kalguksu, a hot pot finished with knife-cut noodles. You can choose either clear or spicy broth, and pajeon (Korean scallion pancake) is available as a side.

There is also a self-service bar, which was great for freely picking up more side dishes when needed. The selection, including kimchi, salad, and tteokbokki, was good too.

Italy six-ingredient shabu kalguksu and seafood pajeon

• Italy six-ingredient shabu kalguksu: beef chuck, handmade dumplings, potato ongsimi (chewy potato dumplings), assorted vegetables and mushrooms, house-made kalguksu noodles, and egg vegetable porridge
• Jeonju-style loaded seafood pajeon

I ordered the Italy six-ingredient shabu kalguksu and the Jeonju-style loaded seafood pajeon.

The kimchi—a basic marker of a good restaurant—was delicious too. Even the water felt a little special! From the basic side dishes to the mains, I could feel the care that had gone into every dish.

The ingredients for the noodles and porridge to finish the course were set out in advance. I heard the kalguksu noodles are made fresh in the restaurant that very day. So much care in even one serving of noodles, right?

Spicy-broth shabu with just the right kick

I started cooking the shabu. I chose spicy, and it had a pleasantly warming level of spice that was easy to enjoy.

There was so much to eat—mushrooms, dumplings, ongsimi, and vegetables—that every bite was fun.

After enjoying the shabu, I had the noodles and vegetable porridge as the full-course finish. Since the shabu was delicious, of course the noodles and porridge were delicious too. Maybe because the noodles were made fresh that day, they were incredibly chewy.

Crispy seafood pajeon and makgeolli

The pajeon I ordered came out right away too. The outside was so crisp that I kept eating it even though I was already full from the generous shabu course. The plump shrimp had a lovely bite as well.

At Italy Shabu Kalguksu, makgeolli (Korean rice wine) is provided when you order pajeon. Isn’t that such a nice service? The makgeolli and pajeon were a perfect pairing.

I don’t know why I only just found out about such a great restaurant while living in Sejong. The restaurant was so clean, and every dish was delicious—I want to rave about this place. Even the ice cream for dessert made it a perfect meal.

The owner gave me a stamp coupon. I think I’ll become a regular and fill it up in no time.