Shabu-shabu in Hwaseong with beef and fried rice: Deungchon

You know those weekday evenings when you really, truly do not want to cook... So I thought long and hard about what I was craving. I have always loved shabu-shabu where you get the full course: spicy broth, meat, kalguksu noodles, and fried rice!

Not long ago, I went to Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu in Dongtan Gran Passage around 7:30 on a Sunday evening, only to hear the thunderbolt-like words, “We’re sold out of ingredients~.” I had to turn around right at the door. ㅠㅠ That disappointment lingered for days, so this time I played it safe and tried again at 7 p.m. on Tuesday!

I called ahead to ask whether we could still eat, just in case I made another wasted trip, then rushed over. Thankfully, perhaps because it was a little past the weekday dinner rush, parking was easy and there were plenty of seats inside, so we could settle in comfortably.

Even if you come on the weekend, there is no need to stress about parking at all! If the building’s commercial parking lot is full, use the public lot right in front of the restaurant. The public lot gives you the first hour and a half free, so you can eat without worrying about parking fees.

House-made kimchi with Korean ingredients

The first thought I had when I walked in was, “Wow, this is so neat and clean.” The banner straight ahead also grabbed my attention! It said they make kimchi in-house every day using Korean-grown napa cabbage and chili powder.

Honestly, so many restaurants use Chinese kimchi these days that I often do not even touch it with my chopsticks. Here, though, I tried a bite of the kimchi side dish and immediately relaxed, then kept helping myself. Maybe because it is made in-house, it tasted distinctly better. I even finished the whole bowl they gave us!!

Should you always add beef at Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu?

Here is a ★ordering tip★ for first-timers!

Look closely at the menu: the base menu is ₩10,000 per person, with a minimum order of two portions. Fried rice and kalguksu are both included, but the “shabu beef” is not!

I cannot imagine shabu-shabu without meat. Adding beef is essential! You need to add the 180 g shabu beef for ₩10,000 to enjoy shabu-shabu properly. You can also choose vegetable toppings at the kiosk. I like having both mung bean sprouts and minari (water dropwort), so I chose half-and-half. You can load up on only one if you prefer, so choose carefully to suit your taste!

We ordered two portions of spicy mushroom kalguksu for ₩20,000, beef for ₩10,000, and self-serve rice balls for ₩4,000.

Spicy broth and self-serve rice balls for kids

If you order mushroom shabu kalguksu without the extra meat, this is exactly what you get minus the beef. So you have to add it, right? Haha.

Our family chose the spicy version, but even after rinsing the meat and vegetables in water, it was too spicy for my seven-year-old son. So we had no choice but to order rice balls separately for him. Keep that in mind if you are going with children!

But for me, a complete lightweight with spicy food, this spicy broth was absolutely perfect! It was not the kind of spicy that makes you pant; it was somewhere right between Jin Ramen Mild and Spicy. It had just enough savory heat to hit my taste perfectly.

At first, all the vegetables arrive in the pot at once. Once it starts boiling, broth can splash everywhere, so be sure to put on one of the disposable aprons hanging on the wall~!! Once it begins to boil, it is best to turn the induction cooktop down to level 2 or 3 right away.

Gentle broth and fresh kalguksu noodles

Once the broth came to a boil, we dipped plenty of meat and vegetables into the special sauce made with soy sauce and wasabi. At spicy hot-pot restaurants, a harsh salty flavor usually hits you immediately, but here neither the broth nor sauce was overpowering or salty, so everything went down so smoothly! It had a clean, savory flavor I could eat endlessly without getting tired of.

After we had mostly finished the vegetables and meat, we added the included kalguksu and dumplings for round two. The noodles were thick, so they needed to boil a little longer than I expected. Once fully cooked, they were not those thin, cheap noodles that snap apart; they were delicious fresh noodles, wonderfully chewy and springy with none of that floury smell!

The owner told us directly!! Many places use cheap noodles, but this place orders fresh noodles especially for the restaurant~~!!

And another thing that surprised me! The owner just grabbed the handle of the boiling pot barehanded to adjust the heat. I looked over in shock, and somehow, even while everything was bubbling away, the handle did not get hot at all!! Such an interesting pot, and I loved that it was safe without a burn risk.^^

Nutty fried rice that even my child loved

Once you have cleared the kalguksu, it is time for shabu-shabu’s grand finale: fried rice!!! The owner ladles the remaining broth and ingredients into another bowl, then takes the pot and rice into the kitchen to fry it over high heat.

The fried rice arrived, and because the whole pot had been used for frying this time, the owner put an adorable silicone handle cover on one side, saying it was hot. This fried rice was genuinely next-level delicious. The owner happened to be in front of us while I was eating, and without thinking I gave a thumbs-up, hahaha. I told them, “It’s seriously so good!” Haha.

The rich egg aroma hit first, followed by the fresh scent of chopped minari. Even though I was full, I could not stop my spoon. Our little one, who had been eating only plain rice balls because the broth was spicy, took a bite and said the fried rice was not spicy at all and was so nutty, then scooped up several more bites! Scraping the pot until there is a hole in it is the rule!!!! 😆😆

Hygiene care: even sauce and water containers are washed daily

The food was great, but there is another reason I completely fell for this restaurant: hygiene. At most shabu-shabu restaurants, the soy sauce and mustard containers on the table can have open lids or feel sticky, which makes you hesitant to touch them, right? Here, every sauce container was tightly closed and incredibly clean. That is why I was taking photos.

Just as I was admiring them, around 8 p.m. the owner asked, “If you are finished with the sauces, may I take the containers to wash them?” Then they gathered the sauce containers from every table in one place.

I asked, “You wash all of these containers?” They said that every single day!!!!! they collect every sauce container and run them through the dishwasher, and empty and thoroughly wash the water jugs too. Wow... I was genuinely amazed... All that behind-the-scenes effort is why the ingredients had sold out so early on that weekend evening. With such careful attention to even the smallest hygiene detail, how could the food not be delicious?!

Gran Passage-only dishes and a weekday student event

According to the owner, only this branch has spicy freshwater shrimp soup and spicy mushroom kalguksu with fish roe and pollock roe. It is a chain, but having appealing, distinctive dishes unique to this branch seems like a huge advantage. Next time, I am definitely trying either the roe version or shrimp soup~

When we left after our meal, I noticed celebrity autographs above the sign. It is always packed, whether on weekday evenings or weekends, so I guess even famous people recognize it and come looking for this truly excellent restaurant.

Let me share the event notice posted by the elevator, too. Students who visit on weekdays and take a photo of the restaurant receive fish balls on the house. Since a weekend visit could mean a wasted trip because ingredients run out, I recommend a weekday visit even more strongly so you can get this benefit too!

A post-meal walk at Dongtan Lake Park

Another reason I recommend this restaurant is its perfect location! After filling up, a great walking route for digestion unfolds right in front of you.

After our happy meal, we moved the car to the Dongtan Lake Park parking tower right across the way, parked, and took a leisurely 30-minute walk around the lake. It was neither hot nor cold, and walking off our full bellies while looking at the lovely night view was the perfect healing end to the day. It is such a great route: delicious food for your mouth, then a feel-good walk, all in one!

Weekday visit: final verdict

After eating here myself, I immediately understood why it does so well that even weekday evenings make it hard to find an empty seat, and why ingredients run out so quickly on weekends. Immaculate hygiene, deep flavor without being overpowering, and the owner’s kind, detailed service! Go when you are craving a warm bowl of broth~!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻