Weekend family kalguksu with free parking in Sangam: Deungchon

Today's post is a review of Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Sangam Branch, a spot that's really popular with office workers in Sangam. Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu is a famous chain to begin with, and since the price, portion size, and taste are all solid, it's a popular lunch choice for people working nearby.

Hours and parking info

• Hours 11:00 - 21:30
• Break time 15:30 - 17:00
• Open until 21:00 on weekends, break time 4pm-5pm
• Parking: 1 hour free in the basement lot
• 3 hours free if entering after 18:30
• 3 hours free parking on weekends and holidays

When you're getting around by car, parking is really important, so having free parking available made it easy to visit without any hassle. Especially with 3 hours free on Saturdays and Sundays, it's a great place to visit by car for a family meal.

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Sangam Branch is located on the 2nd floor.

Fully booked even after 1pm on a weekend

I visited after 1pm on a weekend, a bit past lunchtime, thinking there wouldn't be many people, but it was almost completely full. The photo above was taken on our way out after finishing our meal.

The building interior was clean, and the restaurant itself was very tidy and pleasant.

I took a seat further inside,

and ordering is done conveniently via tablet.

What we ordered and how much

We ordered two servings of spicy mushroom kalguksu at ₩11,000 each, plus shabu beef for ₩11,000, totaling ₩33,000.

When you order the spicy kalguksu, vegetables (minari, mushrooms, potatoes), noodles, and fried rice all come included, so there's no need to order the noodles and fried rice separately later.

How to eat it for the best taste

• Once it starts boiling it overflows quickly, so set the heat to level 5
• Mix wasabi and soy sauce to make a dipping sauce for the vegetables and beef
• Cook the noodles at heat level 5 for 5 minutes (stir well)
• Once the noodles are cooked, lower the heat to level 1
• Ask the staff for the fried rice

After ordering, the noodles, fried rice, and kimchi come out first.

As soon as I saw it I thought the portion looked pretty big and wondered if we could finish both servings, but once we actually started eating, it all went in just fine.

Even without adding extra shabu beef, the portion is definitely not small. When you need the fried rice later, just tell the staff and they'll fry it up separately and bring it to you.

Being a kalguksu place, the kimchi itself was also delicious,

and I liked that the noodles didn't need to be cooked forever like the noodles at old-school shabu-shabu restaurants.

Is it worth adding shabu beef?

Shabu beef isn't essential, but since whether there's meat in it or not changes the taste of the broth, I'd recommend getting it if you can.

Also, here they have soy sauce and wasabi sauce separately, so you can mix your own ratio to taste. I just eyeballed it and made a reasonable blend.

The pairing of minari and spicy broth

The minari came out in a really generous amount. Spicy broth pairs better with minari shabu-shabu than perilla or clear broth.

At first, before it boils, you raise the heat to level 9.

Restaurants using minari as a main ingredient have been getting popular lately, and it's clear why once you taste it — the aroma and crisp texture are really good.

Once it starts boiling, add the shabu beef too.

Shabu-shabu cooks quickly, so put it in once it starts boiling and eat it together with the minari once the meat is cooked. Eaten right at that point, the minari stays appropriately crisp while its aroma is still well preserved.

Above all, since it's a combination of meat and vegetables, there's no uncomfortable or heavy feeling afterward — it felt like eating something healthy!

Since the minari came out in a generous amount from the start, we were able to enjoy plenty of minari and meat.

There are so many office workers around Sangam DMC that restaurants basically can't survive unless the price, portion, and service are all good — which is probably why the restaurants in the Sangam area seem to consistently have good value and good taste.

Timing for adding the noodles

Since it was just the two of us guys eating and chatting, I thought we'd eat slowly, but we ended up going through it faster than expected. We put the noodles in pretty quickly.

At first you need to stir so the noodles don't stick together or to the bottom of the pot.

After about 4-5 minutes they turn slightly soft but still with a bit of chew, so check in between and once they look done, lower the heat to 1-2 and fish out the noodles.

I liked that the noodles weren't on the thick side.

Fried rice cooked by the staff

Once we'd eaten a good amount of the kalguksu, we asked the staff for fried rice, and they scoop the remaining broth and ingredients to one side of the pot and take the pot away to make the fried rice for you.

It was convenient not having to do it ourselves.

It's a somewhat fluffy style of fried rice, so it's tasty even on its own, but

if you want it with a bit more seasoning, I'd recommend adding a little of the spicy broth like I did.

A day where we thoroughly enjoyed minari, meat, kalguksu noodles, and fried rice. As a famous chain, the taste was definitely reliable, and since free parking makes visiting so convenient, I'd recommend Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Sangam Branch if you're planning to eat near Sangam or DMC.