Yongin shabu-kalguksu with hourglass-timed flat noodles: Yun Ujae

If you want delicious kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) in Gogi-ri, I highly recommend today's Yongin spot, Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu!

Catch Table waitlist: do you wait if you arrive at opening on a weekday?

Truly a proper local favorite, they have a Catch Table waitlist kiosk right at the entrance of this Gogi-ri favorite, Yun Ujae.

If you register and fill out your order form ahead of time, the food comes out faster — personally I found that very satisfying. It felt like a place that really thinks about customer convenience and needs. Luckily we went on a weekday, right at opening, so we didn't have to wait at all haha.

What comes with shabu kalguksu at 11,500 won per person?

The biggest strength here is flavor and value! For just ₩11,500 per person, you get sirloin, vegetables, mushrooms, their own homemade kalguksu noodles, and even fried rice — really the best deal. We ordered the shabu kalguksu for two, red broth, mild spice, and since the friend I went with really loves meat, we added another 140g of sirloin.

There were so many customers inside that I couldn't get a proper wide shot. That alone tells you how famous and proven this restaurant already is.

Main hall or private room, and tableware rinsed in boiling water

There's a big hall like this, and rooms tucked in various corners inside. We ate in a room today. The clean, breezy interior of this shabu kalguksu place made the whole meal feel even better. The servers and the owner were really kind too.

I actually came here on my friend's recommendation, and she said this exact thing is why she loves it so much. They serve the dishware after sterilizing it in hot water like this — you can tell a lot about a place from one small detail like that. Seeing how careful they are about cleanliness made me like this place even more, and honestly it made me feel like I could eat with more peace of mind.

Finally, the delicious red mushroom kalguksu arrived with minari (water dropwort). Even with so many customers, the food came out fast!

The 140g sirloin add-on: how good is the beef?

The fried rice and kalguksu noodles came out together too. This is the 140g of sirloin I added, and what I really liked here is that the meat quality is genuinely good!

Usually when you go for shabu kalguksu, the meat is either rock-hard frozen or just doesn't look that great quality-wise, but here, the bright red color alone is fantastic! The meat clearly looked high quality, and I wanted to give that a lot of credit. When I go with my kid, I tend to order extra meat and eat a lot of it — in those cases, it's so much better to be feeding them meat that looks this fresh, clean, and delicious :) So I really wanted to give this a perfect score. It lived up to its reputation as a Yongin restaurant known for excellent meat quality.

The right order for eating shabu kalguksu at Yun Ujae

Here's how to eat Yun Ujae kalguksu properly. It said you should add about half the meat before the broth boils, and once it starts boiling, tear off the homemade flat noodles one sheet at a time and add them in. Since it was a weekday, the owner himself came over and tore off the flat kalguksu noodles and laid them on top of the broth for us haha.

There's an hourglass next to the table, and he told us it's ready to eat after about 6 minutes. Scoop out and enjoy the noodles, then finish with fried rice cooked however you like — that's it! Now let's dig in.

Once the broth started boiling, we put the meat in right away and started eating that first. That's when the owner came over and laid the delicious kalguksu noodles on top. He tears the flat noodles off piece by piece and piles them onto the broth like this. I'd never seen anything like this, so it was really fascinating! He piled a generous amount on top of the noodles like this.

He said once you boil it down like this, it's really delicious wrapped up together with the meat and vegetables.

With the hourglass right there, we could keep an eye on the time and eat comfortably. The wide flat noodles were bubbling away, slowly cooking through.

Flat noodles boiled 6–7 minutes, used as a wrap

After boiling for about 6–7 minutes, the flat noodles turned wonderfully delicious. I stretched one out — it was great to eat as is, but I wanted to try wrapping it up like they explained!

I wrapped meat, minari, and mushroom together and dipped it in the sauce — the soy-based sauce here wasn't too salty at all, just perfectly seasoned. I'd never had kalguksu like this before, and this style was really, really good. It felt new and delicious, which made the whole meal even more fun.

Broth refills and kimchi at the self-serve bar

There was also a self-serve bar where you could refill the broth. Fresh kimchi and diced radish kimchi were both neatly laid out too.

There seemed to be so much meat, but it must have been that delicious because we finished all of it. Wrapped in noodles, eaten plain, dipped in sauce — it disappeared so fast. The meat was really tasty and tender too, which made it go down even more easily.

Regular kalguksu noodles too: what house-made noodles taste like

After finishing all the flat noodles, we added a bit more broth and put in the regular kalguksu noodles we're all familiar with, boiling them down again. Being known for homemade noodles, they really were chewy and delicious. Honestly, at these shabu kalguksu places I usually prefer the shabu and the porridge more than the kalguksu itself. But here, the noodles weren't too thick and were genuinely delicious. And it's not just the noodles — the broth's umami flavor was really good too, so personally it was a very satisfying meal.

Can't skip the fried rice, right? Eaten with the nicely reduced broth, it was absolutely delicious.

Finishing off with the carb course properly made it such a happy meal.

You could really tell the noodles were made using the traditional foot-kneading method and had gone through a proper aging process — they were so chewy, never breaking apart, and had none of that heavy, floury smell. I actually don't like store-bought noodles much because they taste too floury when eaten plain. Places that make their own noodles really are the best haha. And with such reasonable prices, I'm thinking of coming back next time with my baby and trying the clear broth version — that sounds delicious too.

Opening hours and break time

Here are the business hours for this Gogi-ri favorite, Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu. On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, they're open from 11:10 AM to 8:50 PM, with last order at 8:00 PM. There's no break time on weekends or holidays, but on weekdays there's a break from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM. On weekdays, lunch last order is 3:00 PM and dinner last order is 8:00 PM. They said they might close early if ingredients run out, so especially for weekend dinners, it's a good idea to call ahead.

Where do you park?

There are parking spaces right in front of the restaurant, but if they're full, roadside parking (excluding school zones) isn't enforced during weekday lunch hours (11:30 AM to 2:00 PM). On weekends or holidays, parking is possible across the street as long as there's no event at the daycare center there. Just in case, it might be more convenient to call the restaurant ahead of your visit.

This was a truly satisfying meal at Yun Ujae, my new favorite in Gogi-ri. The shabu kalguksu broth was deep and refreshing, and especially the homemade flat noodles were absolutely the best — so good that next time I want to order extra flat noodles. I'm definitely planning to come back with my baby and family soon. ❤️