Hapjeong shabu-shabu with free photo-review gyoza: Shabu in Seoul

I visited Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch, a spot where you can enjoy a clean, proper shabu-shabu meal in Hapjeong! When you're looking for what to eat in Hapjeong, there are surprisingly a lot of shabu-shabu places, but this one felt a bit more refined and atmospheric than the usual all-you-can-eat spots, so I wanted to share it with anyone looking for shabu-shabu in Hapjeong!

Where is Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch, and where do you park?

Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch is on B2 of Delight Square 1, 14 World Cup-ro 1-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Hours are daily 11:00-22:00, with a break time of 15:00-17:00, and last order at 14:00 and 21:00. No break time on weekends!

For parking, use Delight Square Parking Lot 1. Since Delight Square has multiple parking lots, it can be confusing on your first visit, so even if you navigate straight to a parking lot, I'd recommend double-checking it's Parking Lot 1 before pulling in!

• Use Delight Square Parking Lot 1
• Up to 3 hours of parking support with dining

It's also close to Hapjeong Station Exit 8, so it's a convenient spot to reach by subway!

Inside Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch: clean and calm

The restaurant overall had a clean, modern feel. Compared to a typical shabu-shabu place, it felt a bit calmer and more put-together, so it seemed like a good spot for a meal with friends, a date, or a family dinner! Each table was set up so you could comfortably enjoy shabu-shabu, and the whole place felt pleasant.

It's not a super loud, bustling atmosphere but rather a comfortable place to sit and eat, so if you're looking for a clean restaurant among the Mapo Mecenatpolis restaurants near Hapjeong, this could be a good option too!

The sauces were really varied too — sesame dressing, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce with egg yolk, minced scallion and garlic, and more, so you could mix and match to your taste!

How much does it cost and how do you order?

Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch runs weekday lunch from around ₩20,000s and dinner from around ₩22,000s, with weekend visits priced at dinner rates! Prices change depending on which meat you choose, since it's structured that way.

How to order: pick your meat + broth! You choose the broth you want first, then choose the type of meat.

Four broths to choose from at Shabu in Seoul

• Clear mushroom
• Spicy mushroom
• Blue crab doenjang
• Sukiyaki
• Beef tomato (new)

Here's the important part! Choosing your broth doesn't just change the shabu-shabu itself — it also changes the final rice/noodle dish you get at the end.

• Clear mushroom → egg porridge
• Spicy mushroom → rose risotto
• Blue crab doenjang → doenjang rice roll
• Sukiyaki → yakisoba
• Beef tomato → tomato risotto

So rather than just picking your favorite broth, it's worth thinking about which finishing dish you want to eat too.

Sukiyaki broth with prime chuck flat and black pork neck

I went with sukiyaki broth 🤎 I was tempted by clear mushroom or spicy mushroom too, but that day I was craving something sweet-savory and salty, so sukiyaki it was! Honestly, part of the reason was that choosing sukiyaki meant yakisoba at the end.

There was a good variety of vegetables — bok choy, onion, rice cake, bean sprouts, sweet pumpkin, mushrooms, tofu, and more — and the broth was warm without being too sweet, so it was really enjoyable. You can also order more broth, so go ahead and add more! (As it reduces down, the sweetness and saltiness get stronger.)

I went back and forth but ended up trying two kinds of meat: prime beef chuck flat and black pork neck. Both went well with the sukiyaki broth, but personally I liked the prime chuck flat more! Since it's thinly sliced, it cooks quickly in the sukiyaki broth and turns out tender, and the sweet-savory broth really soaks into the meat nicely. The black pork neck was good too, mild and clean-tasting, but if I had to pick one again, it'd be the chuck flat! Tender really wins!!! In fact, I wanted more chuck flat partway through, so I ordered extra prime chuck flat haha

You can just dip it in sauce plain, but if you want a bit more of a spicy kick, I'd recommend adding garlic or scallion! Since the sukiyaki itself leans sweet-savory, adding a spicy touch here and there kept it from feeling repetitive. It's also fun to dip the meat and vegetables in different sauces, so try mixing combinations to your taste!!

Extra bean sprouts and bok choy

It wasn't just meat I added — as we ate, we ran low on vegetables too, so I separately ordered extra bean sprouts and bok choy. Since sukiyaki is a sweet-salty broth, personally I found it tastier to pile in bean sprouts and bok choy rather than just eating meat the whole time. Whatever's running low from the initial set can be ordered extra like this, so just add whatever meat or vegetables suit your taste as you go!!

Free gyoza from the photo-review event 🥟

And if you're visiting, be sure to check out the photo-review event! Write a photo review with a menu photo, at least three lines of review, and the required hashtags, show it to staff, and you get free gyoza — so we took part in the review event too and got gyoza to cook right in the sukiyaki!! The gyoza wasn't anything super special, more of a solid not-bad! Dropped into the broth and warmed through, they were nice to pick off one at a time.

Yakisoba to finish the sukiyaki broth 🍜

Once you've mostly finished the meat and vegetables, yakisoba comes out as the finishing dish that matches the sukiyaki broth. Staff cook it all for you, so it's easy to just sit back and eat — personally, the yakisoba had a sweet-salty, slightly rich flavor, and it was on the salty side. Eating it, I immediately thought a beer would go perfectly with this haha. Eaten on its own it might feel a little salty and rich, but as a side dish with beer it seems like it'd pair really well! And taking a sip of the sukiyaki broth between bites of yakisoba helped balance it out haha

Omija tea at the end of the meal

And once the meal's done, omija (five-flavor berry) tea comes out as a dessert drink. This was way tastier than I expected! It's sweet with a slight tang from the omija, so after finishing the shabu-shabu and yakisoba, it felt totally refreshing. Especially since the yakisoba at the end was a bit salty and rich, one sip of omija tea cleaned things right up — the pairing was really good.

It's not just meat and vegetables and done — the meal continues right through to a final dish matched to your chosen broth, so it really feels like a complete meal! Since each broth comes with a completely different finishing dish, I want to try a different broth next time! If you're looking for shabu-shabu in Hapjeong, or a clean place to eat among the Mapo Mecenatpolis restaurants, give Shabu in Seoul Hapjeong Branch a look :)