Anyang shabu-shabu revisit: bossam wrapped in pickles, Ppongip Sarang

Ppongip Sarang Anyang Arts Park branch (뽕잎사랑 안양예술공원점): I went for the shabu-shabu, fell for the bossam (boiled pork wraps), and now I'm going back again.

I kept thinking about the bossam and the spicy shabu-shabu, so I returned to Ppongip Sarang, which I'd saved as my go-to Anyang shabu-shabu spot, haha.

Expectations were high the second time, and this time I totally fell for the pickle combo.

Ppongip Sarang Anyang Arts Park branch: location, hours and parking

Ppongip Sarang Anyang Arts Park branch is at 4 Yesulgongwon-ro 154beon-gil, Manan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi, and is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00. You can park next to the restaurant.

• 📍 4 Yesulgongwon-ro 154beon-gil, Manan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi
• 🚶 150 m on foot from the Anyang Arts Park entrance, in front of the FamilyMart across from the white arched footbridge
• ⏰ Daily 11:00–21:00
• 🅿️ Parking available next to the restaurant

Is Ppongip Sarang spacious inside? The weekday evening vibe

The restaurant has plenty of seats, and there is a separate room for 20 or more, with group bookings said to be possible for up to 50. When I went around 6:30 on a weekday evening, it wasn't crowded, so I could eat in peace.

At the entrance there's a standing sign showing the shabu-shabu menu at a glance, next to a group reservation notice. A separate room for 20+, up to 50 people, so if you're looking for a place for a gathering, take note.

I arrived around 6:30 on a weekday evening; there weren't many guests, and a company dinner was in full swing in the back. If you want shabu-shabu in Anyang on a weekday evening, it's a relaxed time to go. The seating is generous, so even with the group seats full it didn't feel crowded, and they even had baby chairs ready.

On one side there's a self-bar, and plum tea is ready for dessert. One cup after the meal and your mouth is refreshed.

Ppongip Sarang shabu-shabu menu and prices

Shabu-shabu at Ppongip Sarang runs from ₩13,900 for mulberry beef shabu-shabu up to the ₩25,900 full table set. All prices are per person, with a minimum order of 2 servings. There's a wide range, from beef, mushroom and seafood shabu to bossam sets.

• Mulberry beef shabu-shabu: ₩13,900
• Mushroom special shabu-shabu: ₩15,900
• Special beef shabu-shabu: ₩15,900
• Ppongip Sarang Special: ₩16,900
• Seafood shabu-shabu: ₩18,900
• Assorted shabu-shabu: ₩19,900
• Shabu + bossam set: ₩19,900
• Ppongip Sarang full table set: ₩25,900

There are also separate extras, like mulberry-leaf bossam on its own, budae-jjigae (army stew), and specials such as octopus and abalone.

My revisit pick: the Ppongip Sarang Special

We ordered the Ppongip Sarang Special, ₩16,900 × 2 people (beef shabu + mulberry-leaf bossam + mushrooms and vegetables + kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) + fried rice). It was the same last time, and since it gives you shabu and bossam in one go, we picked it again without thinking, haha.

The table has soy sauce and chili sauce, and instructions for making the mulberry fried rice are printed there too, so I read through them one by one while waiting for the food.

What does the Ppongip Sarang Special spread look like?

The Special arrives all at once: side dishes, broth, a vegetable plate, shabu-shabu meat, mulberry-leaf kalguksu, and the fried rice ingredients. You can choose between clear broth and spicy broth.

Side dishes: napa cabbage kimchi, cabbage salad, and radish pickles.

We chose the spicy broth, so it came out red. The vegetable plate had bok choy, napa cabbage and mushrooms, plus fried tofu pouches, kimchi dumplings, fish cake and rice cakes. Just looking at it was filling. The shabu-shabu meat, mulberry-leaf kalguksu and fried rice ingredients all come at once too.

Bossam with pickles or radish kimchi: which goes better?

The mulberry-leaf bossam comes sprinkled with mulberry-leaf powder, with radish kimchi and pickles on the side. I alternated between both, and my personal top pick was the pickle combo.

Mulberry-leaf powder is sprinkled over the bossam, with radish kimchi and pickles beside it. While the broth boils, attack the bossam first! The pork was tender and well cooked with no off smell at all, so it was clean and soft from the first bite 😋

One bite with the radish kimchi, another wrapped in the pickles. The flavors are completely different, so alternating means you never get tired of it. My personal top pick is the pickle combo 👍 It's a shabu-shabu place, yet the bossam is this good, and that's the biggest reason I came back to this Anyang shabu-shabu spot.

Spicy-broth shabu-shabu and the sauces

Once the broth boils, put in the vegetables and mushrooms first, then add the meat when it's bubbling and cook it just briefly.

The soy sauce doesn't overpower the vegetables and meat, so the ingredients' own flavor shines, while the chili sauce is sweet and pairs perfectly with shabu-shabu. Going back and forth between the two sauces, the meat vanished in no time, haha.

Picking among toppings like kimchi dumplings, fish cake, fried tofu pouches and rice cakes was fun too.

Finishing with mulberry kalguksu and fried rice

The Special goes shabu-shabu first, then mulberry-leaf kalguksu, and finally fried rice. Before the noodles, you can fetch broth from the self-bar to refill.

After eating plenty, I brought broth from the self-bar to refill, then dropped in the noodles! Maybe because it's mulberry-leaf kalguksu, I felt healthier somehow, and the noodles were chewy and slurped down easily.

Last comes the fried rice, after ladling out the broth. It's mild and not salty, with an egg fried rice feel, so as always the fried rice finish is the truth 🍚

3-line summary

• Ppongip Sarang Anyang Arts Park branch, revisited as an Anyang shabu-shabu pick: a full table of shabu-shabu plus bossam
• Ppongip Sarang Special is ₩16,900 per person: beef shabu + mulberry-leaf bossam + kalguksu + fried rice
• If you're looking for a restaurant near Anyang Arts Park, I recommend spicy broth with the bossam and pickle combo

FAQ

Do I have to make the fried rice myself at Ppongip Sarang?

Per the table instructions, ladle out the broth leaving only 2/3 of a ladle, stir-fry on induction level 6 for 20 seconds, then turn it up to level 8 and wait 10 seconds, and it's done. It also said to press the bell if it's hard.

What comes with the mulberry-leaf bossam?

Radish kimchi and pickles come with it. The two flavors are clearly different, so it's nice to alternate, and we liked the pickles better.

What if the broth runs low when adding the kalguksu?

You can bring broth from the self-bar to refill, so I filled it up generously before adding the noodles.

Wrap-up: would I go back to Ppongip Sarang Anyang Arts Park branch?

For anyone looking for shabu-shabu in Anyang, Ppongip Sarang Anyang Arts Park branch was worth going to twice with no regrets. The course runs from shabu-shabu to bossam, kalguksu and fried rice, so two people can eat their fill, and with so many seats it looked like a good fit for company dinners and family gatherings too.

It was especially good for a quiet weekday-evening shabu-shabu in Anyang. I'll stop by again whenever I crave shabu-shabu near Anyang Arts Park, and it's a place that can't be left off any Anyang Arts Park restaurant list.