Weekend wait and staff-cut flat noodles at a Yongin shabu-kalguksu

For the weekend, I went out for a family meal at a Dongcheon-dong restaurant.

Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu Gogidong Branch hours and parking

This is Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu, a Dongcheon-dong restaurant, a Gogidong restaurant. 🍜 There's a parking space out front. 📆On weekdays it's open from 11am to 8:50pm. Break time is from 3pm to 4:30pm. ⏰On weekends it's the same hours, 11am to 8:50pm, but there's no break time, so you can visit anytime on weekends.

How does the weekend wait work?

We visited on a weekend and, true to its reputation as a Dongcheon-dong hotspot, there was a wait. There was a separate customer waiting room where you could sit and wait!! You could even check the waiting status.

You register your wait through the CatchTable app at the entrance, fill out an order form, and submit it at the counter.

Because orders go in quickly, the food comes out fast too!!!! It arrives almost as soon as you sit down~~ You have to order one menu per person, and choose between seafood broth and beef bone broth. You also have to choose spicy, medium, or mild~~ I liked that you can customize the taste and choices per person like this.

Self-serve corner and pancake takeout containers

There was a self-serve corner set up. It had fresh kimchi, diced radish kimchi, and extra broth. And there were takeout containers for the pancake too, so if you have leftover pajeon (savory pancake) you can pack it up.~~

48-hour hand-kneaded noodles, foot-kneading method

This is a place that makes noodles using the traditional foot-kneading method. They knead the dough by foot, and it goes through a 48-hour, two-day process — noodles made with real care.

Menu and how to eat

This is the menu board at Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu Gogidong Branch, where we went for a Dongcheon-dong, Gogidong family meal. For the shabu kalguksu, you can choose between white broth and red broth.

Each table has instructions on how to eat the kalguksu (knife-cut noodles). First, before the broth boils, you put in about half the meat so the broth gets a meaty flavor. Then once it's boiling, add more meat, vegetables, and the flat kalguksu noodles~~ Each table has soy sauce, a timer, rubber bands, and wasabi.

What's in the ₩11,500 shabu kalguksu

Shabu kalguksu is ₩11,500 per person, and it comes with sirloin, hand-made kalguksu noodles, vegetables, mushrooms, and fried rice!!! You can also choose flat kalguksu and regular kalguksu half and half, and we chose half flat noodles and half regular noodles!!

We ordered shabu kalguksu for 3, ₩34,500, and crispy seafood pancake, ₩16,000. There's a lot of minari (water dropwort) in the broth so it's refreshing!!! We chose the red broth, and it wasn't spicy at all — just a mild, savory heat, so even people who can't handle spicy food can eat it easily.

Staff cut the flat kalguksu noodles for us

I didn't know how to eat the flat kalguksu noodles, so I asked a staff member, and they said that's actually what you're supposed to call them over for... They cut them into even lengths for us right at the table.

I liked that you could eat a generous amount of meat for around ₩10,000-something per person!!! The meat is tender, so it's even easier to eat. It doesn't have any fishy taste, and it's soft, not chewy.

Personally, I liked the flat kalguksu noodles even more than the regular ones!!! Since they're made with the foot-kneading method, they're so much chewier. The fresh kimchi was also fresh and spicy, so it went great with everything...!!!!!

And don't even get me started on the regular kalguksu~~~ the noodles were incredibly chewy, it caught me by surprise. After adding extra broth, if you feel like the slight spiciness is fading ~~~ you can ask the staff and they'll add more chili powder for you. They said the broth itself gets its flavor from chili powder, not from a spicy paste base.

Crispy seafood pancake, ₩16,000

The pajeon at Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu, where we went for a Gogidong family meal, is really unique and appealing. You don't taste much flour, and the outside seems to be made with a really crispy frying powder...!! Maybe that's why the outside is so crunchy.

The seafood is plump and fresh too~~ all the pancake ingredients are fresh, which makes it even tastier...!! It's appealing and delicious, though it wasn't easy to cut it into a pretty shape. But as long as it tastes good, that's what matters!!! I'll call this a certified Dongcheon-dong restaurant~~~

Finishing with self-cooked fried rice

The fried rice is also self-serve, cooked by you at the table. It has a slightly nutty, spicy kimchi fried rice feel~~~

It was a satisfying, filling meal...! Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu Gogidong Branch is a Dongcheon-dong restaurant, so if you're looking for a Dongcheon-dong family meal spot or a Gogi-ri family meal spot ~~ it's worth a visit at least once!!