Sinbong-dong shabu restaurant, beef course and porridge: Dongchundang

Today's an outing with my sisters. Even without my daughter along, I get to ride comfortably in my older sister's car. Not being able to drive myself has never been inconvenient for me.. I'm happy 😀 Big sister, second sister, and me — lunch for three sisters^^ We're heading to Dongchundang in Sinbong Oesik Town for the tofu sandwich shabu-shabu kalguksu that's famous in Sinbong-dong.

Where Dongchundang Sinbong Oesik Town Branch is, plus parking and hours

Dongchundang Sinbong Oesik Town Branch is on the 1st floor of 336 Sinbong 1-ro in Suji-gu, Yongin, inside Sinbong Oesik Town. The parking lot is huge so we parked with no trouble at all. Let's head into this Sinbong-dong favorite now.

Dongchundang Sinbong Oesik Town Branch's ▪️hours — Regular hours 10:00–21:00, last order 20:00 / Mon 10:00–15:00, last order 14:00 (closed Sept 24 for Chuseok) / Sept 25 10:00–21:00 / Sept 26 10:00–21:00.

Black sesame tea and self-serve soft ice cream at the entrance

We stepped inside. Right at the entrance there are healthy snacks like puffed corn and black sesame drinks. Oh! There's also self-serve soft ice cream.

You can pour yourself some black sesame tea — it's incredibly nutty. It might beat coffee as a dessert drink.

Oh my! At Dongchundang the makgeolli is unlimited refill 👍🏻

Anyway, we had to pick a table quickly. We came in at 1pm, just past the busiest lunch rush, so the usually packed dining room still had an open table good enough for photos.

This is the self-serve bar. Kimchi, broth, sauces, and more.

There's a receipt review event too, and I see an assorted-topping shabu-shabu menu.

We picked a good spot near the window. Every table has its own tablet ordering system, so you just sit and order. "One order per person is not required" 👍🏻

Dongchundang menu and prices

You can check the tablet, but it's easier to look at the paper menu first. ▪️Menu — Shabu Kalguksu ₩13,000 / Special assorted toppings ₩39,000 / Value assorted toppings ₩17,900 / Tofu sandwich (2 pieces) ₩5,000 / Whole octopus ₩19,000. There are also specialties like crispy bulgogi, flower mushroom dumplings, plus starters and topping menus.

There's a note for guests visiting Dongchundang, a Sinbong-dong favorite. Worth a read^^

Soy sauce and gochujang for mixing with the barley rice and yeolmu greens. They gave us water like this too, which felt much more hygienic.

How to use the self bar at Dongchundang

There are tips for the self-serve corner worth noting. There's cheongyang chili pepper and a spicy chili paste. Three sauces: soy sauce, chili sauce, and peanut ssamjang. Broth refills are free.

The tofu sandwich and shabu-kalguksu table spread

Our tofu sandwich shabu-shabu kalguksu order arrived. It looks great.

A bowl of barley rice came out too. You mix it in.

The full tofu sandwich shabu-kalguksu spread. Once we finish the shabu-shabu, we'll turn the leftover broth into porridge.

Add a spoonful of gochujang and mix it all up~

The 3 servings of beef we'll cook shabu-shabu style. The color of the meat looks great.

The spoon and chopsticks come out separately, nice and hygienic.

There's a crispy baby octopus dish, and if you have leftovers there's a self-packing station to take them home. The octopus is delicious too.

Unlimited makgeolli: a daytime drink with the meal

First we put the vegetables into the broth. Before really digging in, time to pour some makgeolli. Just one glass each~~ Not for the driver, only big sister and me haha.

Looked so refreshing. Second sister just mimed a toast since she was driving. Cheers!!!

How to eat Dongchundang's shabu-kalguksu in the right order

Dongchundang's tofu sandwich shabu-kalguksu, enjoyed the recommended way^^ I read the whole tip sheet and followed it exactly.

Meat wrapped in tofu made in-house at Dongchundang — this is the tofu sandwich. First time seeing a menu like this, quite fascinating.

Chili sauce and soy sauce.

It's starting to boil. Mushrooms, potatoes, minari (water celery), and all kinds of vegetables are in there.

My second sister, who's great at cooking, always takes care of everything when we eat 👍🏻

I love chili sauce, so I ate almost everything dipped in it.

There are round dumpling balls in there too, and they're delicious. Similar to mandu (dumplings), but the skin isn't made of flour.

Now we just keep eating happily, right?? 😆

I picked up a tofu sandwich. It's like fried tofu pouch. Even just the tofu wrapping around the meat filling is really, really good^^

I love minari so I added extra. And the potatoes — so delicious, with that satisfying starchy bite.

House-made noodles in spicy broth, then porridge to finish

As we were nearly done eating~~~ they poured in more spicy broth to add the kalguksu noodles. Now the chewy homemade noodles go in. Wow! The portion is huge.

The portion was so big we left a little of the noodles.. but ate the rest. Still had porridge left over though.

Second sister makes the porridge for us too.

She stirs in a raw egg too, until the broth reduces a bit. We ate it so happily.

Three women with a tofu sandwich shabu-kalguksu — the portion was so huge we had no choice but to leave this much! Of course, the delicious porridge, we finished every last bit~ every~~ bit.

Dessert at Dongchundang: black sesame tea and soft ice cream

On the way out after finishing our meal, I poured myself some black sesame tea, and my sisters even got soft ice cream 👍🏻 Sisters, I'm the one who recommended Dongchundang for today, and hearing you say it was really delicious makes me so happy. A fun day for three sisters at lunch, with the tasty menu at Dongchundang Sinbong Oesik Town Branch and a glass of daytime makgeolli 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻