Ruwon City shabu-shabu with salmon salad refills and parking: Shabuway

Any extra charges were paid for by the writer personally.

I'm the type who would jump out of bed at the mention of shabu-shabu or a shabu buffet — I go that often. After visiting so many shabu buffets, I thought my standards had gotten pretty high, but this place blew me away enough that I've taken my family, friends, and even my partner here. Let me introduce Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch, known as a must-visit restaurant in Cheongna's Ruwon City.

Where is Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch, and where do you park?

Shabuway Ruwon City Cheongna Branch is on the 2nd floor of Ruwon Top Plaza near Gajeong Station, so it's really easy to find. And parking matters a lot to a lot of people, right?

The building has a well-run in-house parking lot, so getting there is easy, and when it's full you can park at Ace Tower right in front of the building. They even support 2 hours of parking, so you can eat at a leisurely pace and head out without stress. For anyone driving, this parking support is a huge plus!

₩18,000 weekday lunch special and all-you-can-eat meat

Shabuway has a pretty wide range of menu options. If you visit on a weekday for lunch, there's a great-value lunch special for ₩18,000. If you want a set amount of meat plus an unlimited salad bar, this lunch special is a good, budget-friendly choice.

Today we went all in on meat, so we chose the all-you-can-eat meat menu. For the broth, we picked two: the basic mushroom broth and a spicy, sharp one — and I highly recommend this combo. It has that deep, rich broth flavor everyone can love, no matter their taste.

Inside Shabuway: hall, private rooms and high chairs

Walking inside, the hall is huge and comfortable. There are group tables and private rooms too, making it perfect for a family meal or a gathering. The whole place is kept clean and well-managed, and the staff greet you so warmly that I feel good every time I visit. *There are also plenty of baby chairs.

What made me fall for Shabuway is really the meat quality. At buffet-style or all-you-can-eat shabu places, the meat is sometimes dry or has an off smell, so I usually don't expect much — but this place is genuinely top-tier. There's a meat fridge kept neat and clean on one side of the restaurant!

Best pick at the salad bar: salmon salad

A salad bar that's a delight for the eyes and the mouth! All kinds of salads and hot foods fill it up. Everything on the salad bar tastes so good, there's nothing you'd want to skip.

Among them, the item that completely won me over was the salmon salad. It's so popular that it runs out fast, but they keep refilling it right away — and if you let it sit a bit so it softens slightly, it's absolutely delicious! It's generously packed with salmon, and I lost count of how many times I went back for more.

Rice wrap ingredients are set up on both sides too, so you can just grab whichever's closer — that convenience is all built in at Shabuway. The salad bar's range of items catering to different age groups' tastes was really impressive.

Unlimited draft beer, desserts and the self-serve porridge corner

And here's another huge perk — unlimited draft beer. (Let's not mention how much this made my dad happy, haha.) The cold, crisp draft beer pairs perfectly with the delicious shabu-shabu.

On top of that, there's chocolate, plum tea, juice and more desserts neatly set out, so it was double the enjoyment — good to look at and good to eat.

All the vegetables were crisp and fresh, so dunking them into the shabu broth still gave you that freshness, and there's also a self-serve porridge corner so you can finish off your meal with a satisfying bowl of porridge after enjoying the shabu-shabu.

Three prime-grade meats: the pork neck is the standout

After loading up at the salad bar, this is what gets set on your table. Staff bring out the first round of the 3 meat types and vegetables, and after that you just grab what you need from the salad bar yourself.

Shabuway serves unlimited prime-grade American beef, the top grade available, so the quality is clearly a cut above.

I especially love the pork neck — there's not a hint of dryness, and the ratio of lean meat to fat is perfect, so it's clean-tasting yet melts in your mouth. Genuinely delicious!

Shiitake mushroom broth or spicy broth? Half and half wins

The clean, deep-flavored mushroom broth blended with the sweetness of the vegetables for a purely refreshing taste, while the sharp, appetite-boosting spicy broth grew richer the longer it simmered. Dipping the three fresh meat types into the simmering broth and pulling them out quickly gave a tender, soft texture that filled my mouth.

Rich half-and-half broth, tender prime-grade meat in three types, plenty of parking, friendly service, and the draft beer perk — everything lines up perfectly here. If you want a hearty, satisfying shabu-shabu meal, be sure to visit Shabuway, a Cheongna Ruwon City favorite. Like me, you'll become a regular.