Chungju shabu-shabu restaurant with mushroom broth noodles: Yeonsuok

With the mornings turning chilly lately, I found myself craving warm broth and vegetables, which led me to this shabu-shabu place in Chungju! Whenever the weather cools down, shabu-shabu always comes to mind as something easy on the stomach.

Where is Yeonsuok in Chungju? Hours and parking

Yeonsuok Chungju is located at 730-11 Yeonsu-dong, Chungju, Chungbuk, and it's open from 11:00 to 21:00. Lunch last order is 14:20, and the final last order is 20:20. It's closed every Tuesday.

🚐 There's a large parking lot in front of the restaurant, and parking is free

Yeonsuok's shabu-shabu broth is famous for being simmered with sanghwang mushroom (Phellinus linteus), giving it both a deep flavor and a clean finish.

Inside Yeonsuok: dining room and self-serve bibimbap bar

Overall, Yeonsuok has plenty of seating, so the space feels spacious and clean — great for family meals out or gatherings with friends.

With the wood-toned interior and potted plants scattered around, it even feels a bit like a fancier restaurant.

At the self-serve bar, you can make your own bibimbap (mixed rice bowl) with Yeonsuok's own barley rice and tricolor vegetables — bracken, carrot, and bean sprouts.

Yeonsuok's shabu kalguksu set for two: how spicy is the spicy broth?

We ordered the shabu kalguksu for two (comes with boiled pork), choosing the spicy broth over the clear one, and added 140g of beef plus extra vegetables! The spicy broth is about as spicy as Shin Ramyun, so even people who don't handle spice well can still enjoy it comfortably.

They also have squid and shrimp seafood pancake (haemul pajeon) — I'll have to try that next time!

Yeonsuok has 35 years of tradition and hand-kneads its dough using domestic Chungju rice, which makes the kalguksu noodles digest more easily than regular ones — and I really loved the chewy, springy texture.

How to eat shabu-shabu at Yeonsuok in the right order

• Once the broth is boiling, add the meat and vegetables
• While eating the cooked vegetables and meat, drop in the Chungju rice kalguksu noodles
• Finish it off by adding rice to the leftover broth for fried rice!!

What I loved most was being able to enjoy fresh vegetables, barley rice, Chungju rice kalguksu, and plenty of meat all in one meal — a satisfying, clean meal rather than something heavy or overly seasoned. It's a place I'd love to visit again.

The broth color came out a bit deep, but the spiciness wasn't harsh at all. Also, the longer it simmered, the more the flavors of the added vegetables and meat blended in, so the broth got richer and richer as we ate, melting in the mouth toward the end.

Yeonsuok's vegetable platter and side dishes

With the basic shabu-shabu order, you get two kinds of fresh mushrooms, minari (water celery), and bok choy — my husband and I love vegetables, so we added extra veggies and meat too. The side dishes are dried radish and kimchi.

Dipping the thin slices of meat briefly into the sanghwang mushroom broth and popping them in your mouth, they just melt. Eating them with the fresh vegetables makes for a light meal that doesn't sit heavy in the stomach — the kind of flavor that keeps you reaching for more.

The suyuk (boiled pork) for two that comes with the set

We tried the boiled pork for two with the dried radish, and the meat was tender with little fat and no gamey smell — the kind of flavor I keep thinking back to.

Finishing with Chungju rice kalguksu noodles and fried rice

Once the broth had simmered enough and taken on the vegetable stock flavor, we added the noodles made from Chungju rice — springy and chewy. Lately wheat noodles tend to leave my stomach feeling heavy, but this first bite was so good.

With the spicy broth as a base, finishing off with rice at the end completes a truly hearty meal — no extra side dishes needed, just eating it with the leftover meat left me incredibly full.

If you leave a Naver receipt review, you can choose a drink or a rice cracker as a little treat — worth the minute it takes for a palate cleanser on the way out.

Is Yeonsuok in Chungju worth a visit?💭

• ✔️ You can enjoy warm broth and fresh vegetables
• ✔️ Worth a visit if you're looking for a gentle, easy-on-the-stomach shabu-shabu place
• ✔️ Great value for the price