Dunsan-dong kaoyu for solo diners with tofu-skin noodles: Bantiannyao

My coworker's younger sibling loves kaoyu — the hotpot everyone calls the Haidilao of kaoyu! Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch, famous as a Dunsan-dong shabu-shabu spot, is a place I'd heard about for ages. Everyone else eats it with friends... I'm eating it alone.

How to find Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch in Dunsan-dong

Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch sits directly across from Galleria Timeworld WEST. If you get confused, just look for Zara. It's also a convenient stop for anyone hunting down Galleria-area restaurants.

Head into this building and go straight up to the 2nd floor. This is my first-ever kaoyu, so I'm so excited. Me, trying Daejeon Chinese-style kaoyu for the very first time...!

Clearly, I made it to Bantiannyao — a cute character greets you at the entrance. Since I'm about to eat something heavy, I took the stairs... call it a tiny gesture of conscience, haha.

Inside Bantiannyao: seats for solo diners and groups

Walking into Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch, my first thought was: this is spacious! And honestly, it kind of felt like being in China?! Daejeon Chinese kaoyu, crushing it. Traveling to China for just ₩40,000, haha.

There are group tables as well as two-person tables. Perfect if you're looking for a Dunsan-dong meetup spot or a Dunsan-dong date place. The restaurant is big and open enough for a solo company dinner too! Apparently private room bookings are possible, so if you're planning a group huoguo dinner at this Dunsan-dong favorite, it's worth asking.

The kaoyu menu is up on the wall. Everything looks so good, what am I supposed to do!!! I came intending to get mala kaoyu but other things keep catching my eye...

Swapping the two-person setting for a one-person setting

Before hitting the self bar, I sat down first! It was set for two, but staff switched it to a one-person setting (since I came alone, haha...). There are all kinds of SNS review events running — you'd be missing out if you don't join!

Ongoing events at Bantiannyao Kaoyu in Dunsan-dong

Bantiannyao Kaoyu's new menu item, mala garlic kaoyu! I seriously agonized between that and mala kaoyu. So what did I end up ordering~~~

What the ₩2,000 self bar includes

At Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch, adding ₩2,000 gets you unlimited access to the self bar — sauces, snacks, rice, rice paper, and soda!

Unlimited rice refills is amazing! Usually a rice refill costs at least ₩1,000 elsewhere...!

At this Daejeon kaoyu favorite, even hygiene items are unlimited! (floss, mouthwash, hair ties, etc.)

Soda is unlimited too (once you've added the ₩2,000 self bar fee). Draft beer is a separate ₩2,500.

Before heading back to my seat, I poured myself a drink~ and mixed up a sauce exactly how I like it, haha (oyster sauce, minced garlic, minced scallion, peanut sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and some green Sichuan pepper mala?). Eaten this way, it's pure bliss.

How to order kaoyu at Bantiannyao in 3 steps

• Choose your kaoyu flavor > I went with mala kaoyu >_<
• Choose your fish > only ningbo fish was available the day I visited
• Choose your noodles/add-ins > I picked soy-skin noodles! Noodles aren't mandatory

If I'd come with a friend... I think I would've piled on way more noodles and sides!!!!!!

What one solo diner ordered

Mala kaoyu with ningbo fish: the first bite

My mala kaoyu arrived! The visuals are insane..... the fish was way bigger than I expected too!

The moment I saw it, I thought, there's no way I finish even half of this. Honestly even writing this post is making my mouth water..... I got those noodles free through a follow-notification event >_<

Set the hourglass timer and wait, and a staff member preps the fish into easy-to-eat pieces for you. Like this! If they hadn't prepped it, I'd have had no idea how to even start eating it. Having it all prepped for me made me feel taken care of, and I loved that.

They gave me a big piece of the most tender part first! The second I ate it, I thought — wait, I'm really trying this for the first time now? I've been eating mala tang since 2018... but wow, kaoyu is just so, so good, I could cry.

I topped another big piece with chili and ate that too. I feel like there's no one who's tried this just once — you'll be hooked. An addictive kind of flavor.

Rice paper noodles and tofu-skin noodles

Remember the rice paper at the self bar! You can cut it up and turn it into noodles. It makes a chewy noodle almost like Chinese glass noodles or fensi. You can even wrap it like a Vietnamese spring roll, but that felt like too much effort so I skipped it...

After eating a bit, they added the soy-skin noodles (두유피) into the pot on the side for me. I never eat dried tofu skin (건두부) — soy-skin noodles all the way for me, haha. Eating them with the fish, I fully understood the hype around this Dunsan-dong huoguo/shabu-shabu favorite!

Is Bantiannyao Kaoyu worth it for solo dining?

At Bantiannyao Kaoyu Daejeon Branch you can even get Chinese ice cream for dessert! Perfect for cooling your mouth down after all that numbing spice.

A real, honest solo-dining photo from a Daejeon Chinese kaoyu spot... proof that I am, in fact, a woman of substance~~~ Next time I want to bring my boyfriend on a Daejeon date. Or come back with a friend and really go all out!