Daegu shabu-shabu with a tteokbokki and fried chicken bar: Shabu20

When I wanted a filling meal in Bokhyeon-dong, Daegu, I paid a visit to Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch.

Where is Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch, and what are the hours?

📍 Location 79 Gonghang-ro, 1st floor, Buk-gu, Daegu (Bokhyeon-dong san 44-6, Buk-gu, Daegu) ⏰ Hours Daily 11:00–22:00 Last order 20:50

Inside Shabu20: seating and atmosphere

Walking inside, the restaurant was bigger and cleaner than I expected! The wood tones mixed with a modern feel made for a comfortable place to eat, haha. The tables were split into several sections, and the salad bar sat right in the middle, so it was easy to go back and forth for food.

It's built mostly around 4-person tables, so it looked good for visiting with friends or as a family. Since the restaurant is spacious, there were a lot of group customers too.

Half katsuobushi, half spicy broth

At Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch I ordered the broth as half katsuobushi and half spicy. There were also detailed instructions on how to enjoy shabu-shabu even better — even first-time visitors could follow along easily.

What's on the self-serve bar: vegetables, pasta, tteokbokki and fried chicken

What I liked best about Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch was, as always, the variety at the self-serve bar. From vegetables for the shabu-shabu to all sorts of side dishes, there was plenty to pick according to your taste.

There's something fun about adding vegetables as you go — I liked being able to grab as much napa cabbage, bok choy, and other vegetables as I wanted.

I visit Shabu20 fairly often, but this was my first time at the Daegu Bokhyeon branch. Honestly, the self-serve bar was the cleanest and tidiest one I've seen.

The self-serve bar's side dishes were laid out so you could snack in between bites of shabu-shabu, haha. What I especially liked was that they had things you don't usually see at a shabu-shabu place, like pasta, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and fried chicken — something for both kids and adults, haha haha.

• Pasta — the noodles and sauce blended well, soft and light enough that I kept going back for more
• Tteokbokki — chewy rice cakes coated in a sweet-spicy sauce, good as a between-course snack, haha
• Fried chicken — crispy outside, moist inside, with a sweet glaze; a nice treat between rounds of shabu-shabu ➰

There were plenty of other side dishes too, which made the meal feel a lot more filling than just shabu-shabu alone.

Unlimited beef and pork, plus Vietnamese rice paper rolls

The core of Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch is really the unlimited meat, haha. You can bring over as much beef and pork as you want and cook it shabu-shabu style.

The freshness of the meat was excellent 👏 It's better to bring over just what you'll eat right away rather than piling on a lot at once, and cook it in the broth as you go.

Wrapping various vegetables in rice paper gives you a totally different way to enjoy the meal alongside the shabu-shabu.

Rolling the meat and vegetables together into rice paper rolls turned out to be more filling than I expected, haha.

Sauces at Shabu20: soy, sweet-and-sour and spicy

There was also a range of sauces to make the shabu-shabu even better! From a basic soy-based sauce to a sweet-and-sour one and a spicy one, it was nice being able to choose based on my taste.

Finishing with ice cream

After eating my fill of shabu-shabu and side dishes, I finished things off cleanly with ice cream 🍦 The sweet, cold ice cream after the meal was refreshing, haha. Getting to enjoy a hearty meal and dessert in one visit made it even more satisfying ✨

Is there parking at Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch?

For anyone visiting by car, parking is also available, which made the visit easy! There's space to park around the restaurant, so driving over isn't much of a hassle, haha.

Easy parking is a real plus, especially when visiting as a family or with a large group. It can get busy during meal times, so I'd recommend visiting with some time to spare :)

Overall, the restaurant was clean and the food selection varied, making it a good pick whenever I'm craving shabu-shabu. I especially liked being able to choose from vegetables, meat, rice paper rolls, side dishes, and dessert all according to my taste 〰️