Dongdaemun shabu-shabu restaurant with kalguksu: Shabu Torang

One of my personal favorite foods is shabu-shabu 🥬 It’s so nice to eat because you get meat and vegetables together. Today I went to Shabu Torang, a Jang-an-dong shabu-shabu spot also known as a great place for solo dining in Dongdaemun! Actor Ryu Soo-young promotes it, and I’d been curious about it for ages, so in I went—swoosh!

It’s right on the main road, so it’s easy to find. I live nearby so I didn’t bring my car, but they said parking is available too, which is sooo nice! Those of you who usually get around by car can visit comfortably as well.

Shabu Torang’s Jang-an-dong entrance and solo-dining seats

Here’s the entrance to Shabu Torang, a shabu-shabu favorite around Janghanpyeong. Actor Ryu Soo-young is there to welcome you! Even the exterior is clean and neat—I like it.

There’s even a menu board on an X-banner at the entrance. Just glancing at it, the prices looked such good value that I was shocked right away… like, are these prices even real? After calming my surprised heart, let’s head in.

The seats are partitioned so everyone can eat on their own, so I highly recommend it for solo dining in Dongdaemun or near Janghanpyeong Station ✨ It looks like a great place to pop into after work before heading home, too.

Kiosk ordering and the pasta menu

You order from a kiosk at your seat. So convenient, right? Let’s start with the kiosk. I went with a friend, but each table has its own kiosk, so we ordered separately.

There are so many kinds of shabu-shabu and lots of toppings, plus—unusually for a shabu-shabu restaurant—they have pasta and risotto! And they’re ₩2,900 and ₩3,500;;; Isn’t that price incredible? You could have basic shabu-shabu and then pasta, honestly.

Before ordering, I especially noticed a Ryu Soo-young PICK! recommendation: spicy shabu-shabu plus cream pasta. They recommend it super strongly????? I considered trying it, but as I’ve said several times, I’m terrible with spicy food, so sadly I ordered something elseㅠㅠ People who love spice will probably enjoy it!

Our basic shabu and tomato shabu order

At Shabu Torang in Jang-an-dong, my friend and I ordered the following. Mine came to ₩15,900 and my friend’s was ₩16,900. With all that—haha—we added toppings and even pasta! It feels like amazing value for solo dining near Janghanpyeong Station or a solo meal at a Dongdaemun restaurant.

• Me: basic shabu, beef chuck, assorted toppings, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), and bunmoja (thick glass noodles)
• Friend: tomato broth, beef belly, assorted toppings, fish balls, and rosé pasta

How to cook the basic broth

This is the basic broth I ordered. As soon as it arrives, set it to level 5 and let it boil vigorously. Use the plus and minus buttons beside it to adjust it. Once it starts boiling, add the vegetables.

The prices are friendly, but there’s plenty of food overall, and the meat looks absolutely excellent!!!!!! I had a feeling I’d be full after finishing it all. Doesn’t that bubbling pot look so appetizing?

Would you like a bite??????? The combination with bean sprouts is just perfect. So insanely delicious.

Tomato broth and beef belly

This was my friend’s order! Maybe because it was beef belly, but the marbling? The fat seems a little more pronounced!!!! I’m going to try the beef belly next time too.

It was my first time trying tomato broth, so I was sooo excited!!!! I hear the tomato broth at Haidilao is that delicious. I’ll get my first experience of it at Shabu Torang first 🔥

Wow, the meat is huge, right?????????????? Meat, go into my friend’s mouth. The tomato broth feels like tomato sauce mixed into it.

Kalguksu and rosé pasta after shabu-shabu

Once we’d finished the shabu-shabu, we were going to try the kalguksu and pasta. Pasta at a shabu-shabu restaurant—what a fun experience. There are even clear instructions for how to make it.

Leave a little broth in the pot you used for shabu-shabu, then let it bubble away like this, and delicious pasta is complete 🍝 It was so tasty that it almost tasted like pasta from a specialty restaurant.

I really recommend Shabu Torang near Janghanpyeong! It’s such a great-value place in these high-cost times, so my friend and I decided we’d come back again 💫