Jang-an-dong shabu-shabu side platter, peach oolong-ade: Shabu Torang

These days the mornings and evenings have gotten pretty cool, right? There's one dish that weirdly comes to mind whenever that happens — bubbling, simmering shabu-shabu! 🍲 Dip the meat quickly, eat it with vegetables, take a spoonful of the hot broth, and somehow your body and mind both feel warmer.

So this time I went to Jang-an-dong for shabu-shabu, to Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch. And it turns out this place does solo shabu-shabu. ❤️

• 👉 One basic broth!
• 👉 One spicy broth!
• 👉 And a mixed side platter too!

Since there were two of us, we split them and got to pick according to our own taste — that was fun. 😋

Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch / Address: 146 Janghan-ro, 1st floor, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul / Hours: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

There's a dedicated parking lot behind the building. A lot of restaurants in Jang-an-dong are hard to park at, so sometimes I take public transit, but today I zipped over by car. 😀

Where is Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch, and what are the hours?

Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch is located at 146 Janghan-ro, 1st floor, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. It sits right on a main road, so it wasn't hard to find, and it was a great spot to stop by while looking for a place to eat in Jang-an-dong.

The restaurant is open daily from 11 AM to 10 PM, with last order at 9 PM. What I really liked was the solo induction system — everyone can choose their own broth. "I'll have basic." "I want spicy!" With opinions split like that, nobody has to give anything up. 😂

Clean, right? Actor Ryu Su-young is smiling there. It feels like he's whispering, "Welcome, this place is good."

There's a bit of a wait at this place. It's a popular restaurant 😀

Easy for solo diners and for two at Shabu Torang

Stepping inside, the whole space felt clean and bright.

Best of all, each table has its own solo induction burner, so it looked easy to eat comfortably even alone. There really are single seats and bar-style seating, and since ordering is done via tablet at every seat, you don't need to keep calling a staff member over.

For someone like me who takes forever to pick a menu, the tablet ordering system was pretty convenient. 😆

Our order: basic broth, spicy broth and the mixed side platter

What we chose that day was one basic shabu-shabu, one spicy shabu-shabu! And we also ordered the mixed side platter. Since there were two of us, we could enjoy different broths — one clean, one fiery!

The combo was great from the start. Once we put vegetables and mushrooms into the shabu-shabu pot and it started bubbling away, my appetite slowly started kicking in.

With shabu-shabu, the waiting is always the hardest part.

It's simmering deliciously right in front of you, but you have to wait until it's time to add the meat. 😂

For the spicy version, the broth itself is the basic one, but they give you a spicy sauce on the side. Just add as much as suits your taste.

We put the ingredients in one by one

And waited some more. 😀 Cook, cook, cook 😀 😀 😀

We fished out the vegetables first to eat. Now that everything's cooked, it's time to really dig in 😀

Meat dipped in the sauce is insanely tasty 💕 So good 💕

Shabu Torang's fried tofu pouches are so cute 💕

What comes in the mixed side platter?

This time we skipped the kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) or porridge and ordered the mixed side platter instead — shabu-shabu really is fun for adding different things. The mixed side platter had tteokbokki rice cake, thick Chinese glass noodles (I think?), dumplings, and premium fish cake, so there was fun in picking and choosing what to eat.

As the vegetables and mushrooms cook in the broth, the flavor of the soup deepens more and more, and if you dip the meat in briefly and pull it out as soon as it's cooked, you get to enjoy it nice and tender. I personally don't like cooking my meat too long in shabu-shabu, so I repeated the routine: dunk → jiggle a bit → pull out and dip in sauce. 😆

Basic broth vs spicy broth: how the two compared

The basic broth had a clean flavor, so it was easy to enjoy the pure taste of shabu-shabu. It was also nice how the broth's flavor got deeper the more vegetables and meat we added. The spicy broth, on the other hand, lived up to its name with a fiery kick that really got your appetite going!

Personally, if you want something clean, go basic; if you're craving something fiery and intense, go spicy! I don't think you can go wrong either way. If you're visiting with someone else, I'd recommend ordering the basic + spicy combo like we did, so you can taste both.

The dipping sauces at Shabu Torang

Shabu-shabu wouldn't feel complete without the sauce. Fishing out meat and vegetables and dunking them in the sauce brought out a whole different flavor. In particular, dipping mushrooms or vegetables along with the meat gave a variety of textures, so my chopsticks kept going back for more.

At some point I thought, "Wow, we've eaten a lot, haven't we?"... but looking at the pot, there was still plenty left. 😂 With the mixed side platter added on top, it was definitely a filling meal.

Another strength of Shabu Torang is being able to pick and mix whatever menu you want. There are several broth options — basic, spicy, mala, tomato, and more — and you can add meat or side ingredients to your taste, so the combination can be totally different depending on who's eating. So it's a great place to enjoy solo, eating as much as you like, or with someone else, each picking a different broth.

And there's a pasta menu too.

There's also a sukiyaki menu, so next time I'm going to try that. 😀 😀 😀

Honest verdict after eating at Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch

This time trying the basic + spicy shabu-shabu + mixed side platter combo at Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch was, overall, a satisfying meal. What I liked most was that with everyone using their own solo induction burner, there's no need to worry even if broth preferences differ, and the tablet ordering system was convenient too.

And shabu-shabu's real strength is being able to combine as much meat and vegetables as you want. Personally, next time I'd like to try a different broth besides the basic or spicy I had this time. 😋

If you're in Jang-an-dong looking for a clean shabu-shabu meal, or a solo shabu-shabu spot that's good for eating alone, give Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch a try! If you have decision paralysis like me... just go basic + spicy. 😂 Ordering both makes the dilemma disappear.

I almost forgot one menu item... peach oolong-ade 💕 Seems like it's a new product. It's delicious ^^ Recommended 😀

Shabu Torang Jang-an Direct Branch at a glance

• 📍 Address: 146 Janghan-ro, 1st floor, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00
• 🕘 Last order: 21:00
• 🍲 Menu: Shabu-shabu, spicy/mala/tomato shabu-shabu, and more
• 🪑 Features: Solo induction burners, tablet ordering, solo dining friendly

※ Business hours and store details may change, so it's best to check before visiting.

Thanks for the meal today.