Hapjeong shabu-shabu with kiri mochi and a meat refill: Shabu in Seoul

I'm Meokdalpaeng (the food snail)!🐌 When you think of a healthy yet refined restaurant meal, Vietnamese rice paper rolls and shabu-shabu are classics! But when a place nails the atmosphere AND the taste, that's just perfect👏🏻🤎

While hunting for good restaurants near Mecenatpolis in Hapjeong, I found a place I was so satisfied with that I have to share it. If you're looking for a Hapjeong shabu-shabu spot, I recommend this one without hesitation!

Where is Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch, and is there parking?

📍Location: 14 World Cup-ro 1-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Delight Square 1, basement level 2 — that's exactly where Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch is! From Hapjeong Station, head toward Exit 8 and you'll pass Kyobo Bookstore — just keep going straight in from there.

🚘If you're driving, using the Delight Square 1 parking lot gets you 3 hours of parking support. The exterior is so clean and polished that it really catches your eye.

There was refreshing omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) set out in front of the shop, perfect for a cup while waiting or after your meal. Having drinks ready ahead of time is next-level thoughtful..!

What kind of restaurant is Shabu in Seoul?

Shabu in Seoul is a premium shabu-shabu dining spot that studies the optimal thickness and aging of each cut of meat — from 1++ Hanwoo, prime Angus, and Black Nine Wagyu to grade-1 black pork. I've been to countless shabu-shabu restaurants, but I haven't seen one this thoughtful and well-composed.

With premium meat and a full finishing course meal, it's a complete package — if you're looking for a refined Hapjeong restaurant, this will satisfy you.

Roomy table seating even for a party of two

The interior combines white and wood tones for a warm yet clean feel. The soft lighting even gave it a somewhat upscale vibe!🩶 Plus, all the tables are quite spacious, so even with just two of us it felt roomy and comfortable.

There's even a coat rack near the entrance, perfect for hanging your outerwear. But honestly, the tables themselves are so wide that just setting things beside you was totally fine too.

A refined Hapjeong shabu-shabu spot that nails the taste too

Five broths and the finishing dish that comes with each

The table settings were already prepared when we sat down. Even giving each person their own tongs shows how thoughtful this place is!

You can choose between clear mushroom, spicy mushroom, blue crab doenjang, sukiyaki, and beef tomato broth — and the finishing dish changes depending on which broth you pick!🍚

• ✔️Clear mushroom → egg porridge
• ✔️Spicy mushroom → rose risotto
• ✔️Blue crab doenjang → doenjang rice roll
• ✔️Sukiyaki → yakisoba
• ✔️Beef tomato → tomato risotto

You can also do a half-and-half broth for an extra charge.

Vegetables come out generously by default, but you can also add side menu items if you need more.

Sauce combinations that make Shabu in Seoul even better

Sesame sauce / chili sauce / sesame paste sauce / cheongyang chili peppers / minced garlic — usually you only get sauces, so getting fresh chili and garlic too already feels like the place is touched by heaven🥹💛

• ✔️Sesame sauce + minced garlic + cheongyang chili
• ✔️Chili sauce + cheongyang chili
• ✔️Sesame paste sauce + minced garlic

I recommend these combos!

Prime Angus chuck flat in the spicy mushroom broth

The prime Angus chuck flat has rich marbling and deep umami flavor that comes alive as prime-grade Angus. Even at a glance, the color was vivid and you could tell it was quality meat. The marbling scattered throughout looked so delicious🥹

Vegetables, bean sprouts, mushrooms, kiri mochi, panda konjac noodles, rice paper — a hearty spread of side ingredients all comes out in one basket. None of the vegetables were wilted; they were all fresh.

We ordered the spicy broth🧡 Apparently it's made by adding spiciness to a broth simmered with various natural ingredients including shiitake mushroom. The moment the broth arrived, I took a sip and was surprised by how spicy yet deep the vegetable-based flavor was🫢

Add a handful of mushrooms and vegetables to the broth, and once it's bubbling away, drop in as much meat as you want to eat right then-!😋 The meat is thin so it cooks quickly — that's the beauty of shabu-shabu🤎

The quality of the meat here was really something..! Not only was it not tough, it melted in my mouth the moment I ate it,,🤎 This is a shabu-shabu place with serious pride in its meat, so you can trust it! And dipping it in the sesame sauce made the umami flavor insane! The mild mushrooms and vegetables came alive with a sweet flavor when dipped in the chili sauce. Genuinely so delicious.

Rice paper wraps, kiri mochi and panda konjac noodles

The rice paper is also served, perfect for eating together! You can wrap it up like Vietnamese rice paper rolls, filling it with lots of vegetables, or if you're lazy like me, just dip it straight into the pot👍🏻 When eating it wrap-style, the sesame paste sauce goes best! The savory sauce pairs so well with the vegetables and the chewy paper💛

The bouncy, chewy panda konjac noodles and kiri mochi were also dense and soft — such a great texture!🐼🖤

Good enough to order a meat refill when already full

It's been a while since I've had shabu-shabu with meat this good, so I added an extra order🥩 Thinking about the finishing meal, it made more sense not to, but the meat was so delicious it made me order more🤤

Delicious wrapped in lettuce too.. honestly it's good no matter how you eat it😋 One side dish they served was yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), and it's tangy, sweet, and refreshing — taking a bite midway through the meal resets your palate perfectly💚

Rose risotto and omija tea: the finishing course in Hapjeong

Usually when you finish shabu-shabu, you think of porridge or kalguksu (noodle soup), not risotto, right?! It's already surprising that there's a finishing dish matched to the broth, but the staff cooked it fresh from scratch right in front of us, so it felt less like a finishing course and more like a whole separate dish✨

The risotto, made with shrimp, cheese, oil, and various ingredients, was shockingly good — good enough to rival a decent Western restaurant! Creamy but surprisingly not heavy, so my spoon kept going back for more. Carbs really are unbeatable😍 Eating it alongside broth I'd set aside earlier was paradise,,💛

The shabu-shabu itself was so good that I finished the entire broth, and then I scraped the risotto bowl clean too😋

They even gave us omija tea for dessert..🩷 Sweet and tangy, it was the perfect palate cleanser to finish the meal. If you're looking for a Hapjeong Station restaurant that nails everything from shabu-shabu to rice paper wraps to dessert, I recommend Shabu in Seoul!