Namyangju shabu-shabu restaurant with thin dumplings: Onjeongban

The day I wanted rolled dumplings in Byeollae

• Rolled dumplings with wrappers so thin you can barely notice them, packed full of filling
• A generous shabu-shabu spread with vegetables, beef, kalguksu noodles, and porridge
• Unlimited gondre rice that is easy to enjoy alongside shabu-shabu
• Parking and private rooms, making it great for a family meal
• Mango slush and puffed-rice snacks to take after the meal

After eating mostly seafood lately, I was craving something different today—shabu-shabu loaded with vegetables. I heard there was a great shabu-shabu place in Byeollae, and that its rolled dumplings were delicious too, so I went to check it out. This time, I visited Onjeongban Shabu Kalguksu Namyangju Byeollae Main Branch. I was looking forward to having shabu-shabu, kalguksu noodles, dumplings, and porridge all in one meal, and it was even more generous than I expected, which made me very happy.

What about parking and private rooms?

I came by car, and it was convenient because parking was available. You can park in front of or beside the restaurant, so I liked not having to stress about parking when going out to eat. Parking is quietly important when visiting with family, especially, and this made me think it would be a good option for anyone looking for a good restaurant in Byeollae.

Onjeongban, where you can enjoy a warm tableful of food

Onjeongban Shabu Kalguksu Namyangju Byeollae Main Branch describes itself as a shabu-kalguksu specialty restaurant that shares warmth between people through warm shabu broth and a lovingly prepared meal.

I visited on a weekday evening, and the restaurant was already full of diners. It felt like many local residents came here, and I saw quite a few families too. There are private rooms as well, so I think they would be nice for families wanting a slightly more private meal.

How to order and use the self-service bar

You can order easily using the tablet at each table. The basic rule is one order per person, and one order per person is required for elementary-school students and older. One thing I especially liked was that gondre rice and white rice are unlimited.

The menu is broadly made up of shabu kalguksu, shabu sujebi (hand-torn dough soup), and rolled-dumpling hot pot, and you can choose a set that suits what you want! There are also rolled-dumpling hot pot and self-service shabu sujebi options, so you can choose according to your taste.

Even if you order only the basic shabu kalguksu at Onjeongban Shabu Kalguksu Namyangju Byeollae Main Branch, it comes as a full assorted spread. It includes shabu vegetables, beef, kalguksu noodles, and ingredients for either porridge or fried rice, along with fresh kimchi and salad. You can also add shabu vegetables, beef, kalguksu noodles, sujebi, and rolled dumplings. Every menu item can also have its kalguksu noodles changed to self-service sujebi. The basic spread is so complete that I could see why people call this a good-value restaurant in Byeollae.

From gondre rice to fresh kimchi at the self-service bar

For extra side dishes or broth, just use the self-service bar. You can help yourself to gondre rice and white rice, as well as fresh kimchi, salad, and extra broth.

The gondre rice is fine on its own, but I found it tastier with a little sesame oil or perilla oil and their special sauce. I almost ate a whole bowl of rice before even starting the shabu-shabu. Chili sauce is available at the self-service bar too, so you can take as much as you need for dipping your shabu-shabu!

Handmade rolled-dumpling hot pot and spicy broth

We ordered the Onjeongban handmade rolled-dumpling hot pot for 2 and added one serving of shabu beef. Honestly, the basic spread alone was already quite generous without adding meat, but we wanted plenty of meat that day, so we added it. You can choose regular or spicy broth, and we ordered the spicy one because we wanted a punchier soup. If you usually like spicy, savory broth, I recommend the spicy broth. With unlimited rice on top of this spread, I could see why people looking for good value in Byeollae would like it.

Rolled dumplings with impressively thin wrappers

Once the shabu broth starts boiling, put the vegetables in first and cook them. After eating some vegetables, we added the rolled dumplings. Each serving comes with three dumplings, and we ordered half meat dumplings and half kimchi dumplings.

What I liked most while eating the dumplings was how incredibly thin the wrappers were. I usually prefer thin-skinned dumplings, like potato dumplings, over dumplings with thick flour wrappers, and these rolled dumplings felt like they hardly had any wrapper at all. Maybe because the wrappers were so thin, the filling felt packed in, and it was springy and substantial too. Both the meat and kimchi dumplings were delicious, so personally, I would recommend ordering half and half. If you love dumplings, this would be worth trying when you are looking for a dumpling restaurant in Byeollae.

Shabu beef with vegetables

We added shabu beef here and there as we ate. It was much softer and tastier when cooked just briefly rather than for too long. Wrapping the cooked beef with vegetables made it light, while the spicy kick of the broth kept me reaching for more. If you are debating whether to add meat, the basic amount is not bad, but I recommend adding about one serving if you love meat.

We also ordered extra fresh shabu vegetables

As we ate, the vegetables were so good that we ended up ordering more. There was a big assortment including minari (water parsley), bean sprouts, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms, so I think shabu-shabu lovers would be especially satisfied. My brother threw almost half the vegetables in at once because he wanted to cook them all together, but having the different vegetables cook together actually made the broth taste richer. If you love vegetables, this is a spread that will really fill you up.

Finishing with chewy kalguksu and porridge

Once you have eaten a good amount of shabu-shabu and dumplings, the next course is kalguksu. The rolled dumplings were truly delicious, but personally, I thought Onjeongban's kalguksu was especially good. The sujebi needed to be torn and added by hand, and I felt lazy that day and wanted kalguksu anyway, so I chose the noodles.

The noodles were a little different from regular kalguksu noodles—they were curly like ramyeon noodles. Perhaps because of that, they felt even bouncier and chewier. I was already fairly full, but somehow I kept eating the kalguksu.

Even after the kalguksu, of course I finished with porridge. We scooped out some of the broth, then added the porridge ingredients and made it. With minari, carrot, and seaweed flakes in it, it was even tastier than I expected. Add an egg too, and it is the perfect finish. After shabu-shabu → rolled dumplings → beef → kalguksu → porridge, I felt like I was going to burst. But the problem was that it was so good I kept eating.

Mango slush dessert to take on the way out

Another unexpectedly nice part of Onjeongban Shabu Kalguksu Namyangju Byeollae Main Branch was the dessert. When you finish your meal and leave, you can take slush and puffed-rice snacks with you. Dessert is not meant to be eaten inside the restaurant; it is for taking as you head out.

We made sure to take mango slush and puffed-rice snacks with us. We were really full, but the cold mango slush made everything feel nicely wrapped up. From rice through dessert, it was such a complete meal that I will remember it as a good-value restaurant in Byeollae.

I came here because I had been craving vegetable-filled shabu-shabu for the first time in a while, and I was satisfied because the menu was more varied and generous than I expected. The rolled dumplings, with their thin wrappers and filling packed inside, were especially memorable, and personally, I also really loved the chewy kalguksu. Parking is easy and it is a good place to visit with family, so I would like to come back next time I am craving shabu-shabu.