Yongsan shabu-shabu restaurant with sukiyaki: Shabu in Seoul

I often head to Samgakji or Sinyongsan for dates, and today I thought I’d introduce Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch (샤브인서울 신용산본점), a shabu-shabu place near Samgakji Station that is also well known as a great restaurant near the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan—perfect for lunch :) Of all the shabu-shabu places I’ve tried in Seoul, this one still stands out to me for its clean finish and the wonderful quality of everything from the vegetables to the meat!

Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch: location and hours

It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. You can park in front of the restaurant, so if you are driving, it may be a good idea to check for a space before coming!

Shabu in Seoul is a shabu-shabu specialist located close to Exit 3 of Samgakji Station. Come out of Exit 3 and walk for about five minutes or so—you’ll spot it right away :0

Among the great eateries on Yongridan-gil, Shabu in Seoul is hard to fault: excellent food, excellent service, and even a spotless interior.

The tables are separated by partitions, and the slightly dim lighting makes the atmosphere feel even more special, so it would be suitable for a blind date too :) The restaurant is spacious, with separate restrooms for men and women! Overall, it felt very comfortable and pleasant~

We reserved for 7:30 p.m. and were shown to our table. When we arrived, the waiting line was already so long, so if you are planning to visit Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch, I recommend making a reservation beforehand!

Sauces and the Prime Angus chuck flap shabu set

Once we sat down, all the tableware was neatly laid out. In particular, three sauces were lined up so tidily in glass jars.

There was minced garlic and chopped chili beside the sauce jars, so you can add as much as you like and make your sauce more punchy to suit your taste. We ordered the Prime Angus chuck flap shabu set for two.

Not long after ordering, a full spread of Prime-grade Angus chuck flap shabu arrived, with tender meat and a deep beefy aroma in lovely balance~ They also brought a sweet-and-tangy pickle side dish, and this little thing~ was so refreshing when I picked at it between bites of shabu-shabu!

They also brought us an egg each for dipping, and more than anything, you could really feel how fresh the accompanying vegetables and mushrooms were...!

The set was generously packed with minari (water dropwort), lotus root, napa cabbage, bok choy, onion, kabocha squash, bean sprouts, scallions, grilled tofu, and rice paper. At this level of quality for a Samgakji meal, I feel like I’d want to come here for lunch every day...!

A different finishing dish for each broth

What made Shabu in Seoul’s shabu-shabu special compared with other places was that you can choose your broth when ordering, and the finishing dish changes according to the broth you choose...! I had always thought the only possible shabu-shabu finish was porridge...!

• Clear mushroom broth: egg porridge
• Spicy mushroom broth: rosé risotto
• Sukiyaki: yakisoba
• Crab soybean-paste broth: doenjang mari-bap (rice rolled in soybean-paste broth)

Keep in mind that the final dish changes with the broth~ We chose the most classic option, sukiyaki.

The Prime Angus chuck flap we ordered—wow... the meat looked so gorgeous. The thinly sliced chuck flap really got my appetite going...! You can order other cuts too, but we went exclusively with chuck flap!

Okay, with delicious shabu-shabu right in front of us, it was time to dig in right away~★

First, we popped whichever ingredients we wanted into the bubbling broth~ There were even these cute panda-shaped glass noodles(?) among the ingredients. So cute >.<

The induction burner was so powerful...! Before long, the shabu-shabu was bubbling away!! Bubble, bubble!!! Just from the smell, I could understand why Shabu in Seoul Yongsan Main Branch has so many people. I had only smelled it, yet my mouth was already watering like crazy~~

Once the ingredients we added were bubbling away, we briefly cooked the chuck flap, then dunked it deeply in sauce with the vegetables—and all I could say was, “What is this flavor?!”

We also ordered an extra serving of noodles to have along the way, and the kalguksu noodles... you absolutely have to add them! Haha, they were so chewy and delicious.

Sukiyaki-finish yakisoba and omija tea

If you order a finishing dish separately, they serve omija tea along with its preparation, and wow... it is the ultimate palate cleanser...! I really recommend trying it for the final finish :) Since our broth was sukiyaki, when we ordered the finishing dish, a staff member quickly made yakisoba for us.

And the yakisoba too... it was so delicious. Maybe it was because it tasted like the yakisoba I had eaten in Japan...! It is a shabu-shabu favorite, but I totally agree it is a yakisoba favorite too! If you are looking for a meal around Samgakji Station or a good lunch near the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, I hope you will definitely visit Shabu in Seoul, known for shabu-shabu that is easy on the stomach and good for you~