Family dinner at a Nowon shabu-shabu restaurant: Hana Shabu Shabu

Near Junggye Jump: Hana Shabu Shabu with a child

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Main Branch (하나샤브샤브 중계본점), a great Junggye-dong restaurant, is located beside Junggye Culture Park, home to the Nowon Astronomy and Space Science Museum.

It is less than five minutes from Junggye kids' café Jump, and there is so much for children to see nearby—parks, the science museum, and the Seoul Museum of Art, Nam-Seoul. Thanks to that location, the wait for this shabu-shabu spot is nonstop on weekends with families out for a meal.

Comfortable floor seating for a child

We chose a counter seat with floor seating and backrests, which felt comfortable for our child to sit in.

As soon as we sat down, they brought out a separate Pororo bowl and child-sized fork and spoon for our child. And honestly, what I remember most was the owner. Even though the dining room was so busy, they made the rounds and looked after every table. I have been to several shabu-shabu restaurants in Nowon, but there are fewer places than you might think where parents feel at ease when they bring a child. Hana Shabu Shabu was different.

Shabu-shabu and seiro-mushi menu options

The menu has two main paths: shabu-shabu, which you dip into broth, and seiro-mushi, steamed in a hinoki cypress steamer. They are priced the same, so you can simply choose what you prefer.

Each is then divided into basic, course, and premium options. The basic includes meat, vegetables, and udon noodles. The course adds a meal and dessert, while the premium adds marinated jumbo prawns to the course, so it felt a little like omakase for couples on a date.

Basic shabu-shabu dinner for three

We ordered three basic shabu-shabu dinners. Even the basic set included udon noodles, so there was no need to order another meal. Before really getting started, there is the fun and delicious performance of adding the house sauce over thinly sliced meat and grilling it—something I never get tired of watching.

Since the setup lets everyone take portions onto their own small plate, it is an easy shabu-shabu menu for a family meal in Junggye.

For the meat, you can choose A, a mix of brisket and sirloin, or B, which is sirloin only. We chose A.

The country-of-origin sign on the wall listed the meat as refrigerated beef from the United States. Perhaps because they slice it as soon as you order, the cut surfaces looked especially fresh and intact.

We ordered for three, and the plates came absolutely full. There were big portions of both meat and vegetables—I was genuinely surprised by the quantity. The vegetables alone included more than five kinds of mushrooms: enoki, bunapi, oyster, king oyster, and shiitake. A single tray was packed with bean sprouts, bok choy, napa cabbage, kabocha squash, lotus root, baby potatoes, quail eggs, and fried tofu too.

Hana Shabu Shabu Junggye Branch