Dongtan cypress-steam restaurant, two rounds vs Suwon: Pyeonbaek

How the Dongtan branch differs from the Suwon branch

Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch is a cypress-steam and shabu-shabu restaurant on the 2nd floor of Granvia Star near Dongtan Station, and this was a revisit. If you love cypress steam, you've probably heard of Pyeonbaek Hoegwan!

I went back to the Dongtan branch among the several branches out there! Actually, right before this, I had already been to another branch in Suwon. There's a reason I never wrote a post about that one on my blog... I figured since it's a chain, it would taste similar to the Dongtan branch, but nope? The taste and scent were completely different from the Dongtan branch ㅜㅠㅠ The cypress steamer must have been old because there was no cypress scent at all, and the salad bar food and meat quality were also a bit lacking... I went expecting it to be as good as the Dongtan branch and was seriously disappointed ㅜㅠㅠ

So this time I made a point of going all the way back to the Dongtan branch.

The seats were spacious and the tables well spaced, so it looked great for both families and group dinners.

How strong is the cypress scent in the steamed dish?

At Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch, the cypress steamer gets set up as soon as you order. That day the cypress scent felt especially strong, so I enjoyed the fragrance the whole time I ate the cypress steam. Haha.

If you love cypress steam, you know that gentle woody scent needs to be really rich, right? When you open the lid, the cypress scent rises up with the warm steam, and from that moment my appetite completely kicked in.

The cypress steam comes with meat and bean sprouts together — pick them up together and dip in the soy sauce, and it's clean-tasting yet moist and delicious. Unlike oil-grilled meat, steaming it makes it not heavy at all, and eating it with the bean sprouts kept my chopsticks going.

Rice-paper wrap fillings at the self-bar too

The rice-paper wrap ingredients are also generously stocked at the salad bar, so make sure to grab plenty!

Wrapping the moist, tender meat in rice paper with the crunch of the vegetables made it incredibly delicious, haha.

Why two rounds of cypress steam were worth ordering

At Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch that day, I ended up eating cypress steam twice without even meaning to. I didn't plan on a second serving from the start, but after finishing the first one, it was so much better than expected that I went for another round, haha. Even the second serving had the exact same generous spread and flavor — no drop-off at all! After the cypress steam, straight into hot shabu-shabu.

Building your own shabu-shabu from the self-bar

It's not a place where you just eat cypress steam and call it done — being able to enjoy shabu-shabu as well is a huge plus.

I loved being able to bring over whatever vegetables and mushrooms I wanted from the self-bar. Adding meat too and letting it simmer gave a totally different feel from the cypress steam.

I'm the type who loads up on vegetables for shabu-shabu, so I picked out a bunch of things from the self-bar. Eating the cypress steam clean and simple, then the shabu-shabu with its warm broth, I loved being able to enjoy both menus in one sitting!

The surprise hit: rice tteokbokki at the self-bar

The self-bar has all sorts of good side dishes. But there was an unexpected discovery at the self-bar! There was one dish I genuinely loved that day.

It was the rice tteokbokki! Honestly, since it's tteokbokki at a shabu-shabu restaurant's self-bar, I didn't expect much at first. But after one bite, it was so much better than expected that I went back for it several times. Being made with rice tteok, the chewy texture was great and the seasoning suited my taste perfectly.

Eating a bit of tteokbokki here and there in between the cypress steam and shabu-shabu turned out to go surprisingly well together. Self-bar dishes like this are fun to nibble on little by little between the main dishes.

By that point, having eaten cypress steam twice, plus shabu-shabu, plus tteokbokki, I was starting to get full. I originally wanted to also make kalguksu and juk, but I was already so full there was no room left ㅜㅠㅠ To finish it off, nutty-sweet misugaru!

Wait, why is this so rich? Totally thick and nutty like the ones sold at cafés, haha.

Is Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch worth a return visit?

From cypress steam to shabu-shabu, rice-paper wraps, various side dishes, and dessert, it was a truly hearty full meal that day. Overall, I felt Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch is less a place for just one dish and more a place to slowly enjoy a variety of foods. Especially if you love cypress steam like I do, you'll be even more satisfied being able to fully experience the cypress scent.

Since I'd been to another branch in Suwon, I could naturally notice the difference between branches on this visit. Personally, the cypress scent at the Dongtan branch felt especially strong, and the cypress steam itself was so good that I ate it twice! And the rice tteokbokki at the self-bar, which I didn't expect at all, was really delicious too.

If you love cypress steam, or if you want to enjoy shabu-shabu and rice-paper wraps in one sitting, Pyeonbaek Hoegwan Dongtan Branch is worth stopping by when eating near Dongtan Station. I think if I visit again, I'll probably end up eating two servings of cypress steam again too. :)