Red broth shabu-kalguksu, double noodle refill in Gogidong, Yongin

We loved Choi's Family Shabu in Apgujeong — now we found this in Suji

Ever since we were dating, we've loved Choi's Family Shabu-shabu (최가네 샤브샤브) in Apgujeong Rodeo and eaten there often. The wait was always rough, but it was good enough that we kept going back. These days we live in Bundang so we only make it there occasionally, but back in the day we went constantly..!

This time, though, we found a shabu-shabu kalguksu place in Suji that's honestly on par with, maybe even better than, Choi's Family. It's Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu!!

Location and parking at Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu Gogidong Branch

First, the location. We visited Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu Gogidong Branch. It's near the famous Sanuiro Gogodeungeo (mackerel restaurant) haha. This whole area is a restaurant row packed with good places! You'll definitely need a car.

Arrived at the restaurant

A shabu-shabu kalguksu place named after a person

Parking might be a little tight..?!

Inside the restaurant. There are quite a lot of seats, so even if there's a wait, it moves fast.

Ordering red broth for two, plus added sirloin and kalguksu noodles

We sat down. Ordering was by kiosk!

Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu offers a clear broth and a red broth, and we went straight for the red shabu-kalguksu, two servings, no hesitation! Since we thought the meat portion might be a little short, we also added sirloin, and since we're kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) fans, we added extra noodles too.

How to eat it is also clearly written out.

The menu board again.

There's even a separate noodle room like this. Making the noodles fresh in-house, no wonder it's good..

Red broth loaded with minari and sirloin shabu-shabu

After a short wait, the shabu-kalguksu arrived first. The red broth was packed with minari (Korean watercress), mushrooms and other vegetables, and just visually it was exactly my style...!

The sirloin quality was quite good. It really felt fresh

A whole heap of fragrant minari~

Once the broth starts boiling, you cook the vegetables a bit first, then drop the sirloin in piece by piece. The best part of shabu-shabu is definitely not overcooking the meat — just a quick dip and eat right away haha.

Dipping the meat in the red broth and eating it together with minari was a great combo. The minari especially worked really well. Red broth can feel heavy on its own, but the minari's aroma made it feel cleaner and lighter to eat. Meat + minari + mushroom together — there's no way that combination isn't delicious lol.

After the meat, the real start: kalguksu time

Once we'd eaten a fair amount of meat, it was finally time for the kalguksu we'd been waiting for! Honestly the shabu-shabu itself is great, but personally I feel like this is where a second beginning kicks in haha.

With the meat and vegetables simmering the whole time, the broth was already fully flavored, so adding the kalguksu noodles gave a totally different feel from the first taste of the broth. We put the noodles in, waited for the broth to bubble back up, and took a bite — the noodles were pretty chewy.

The red broth soaked into the noodles just right, so the kalguksu after the shabu-shabu was definitely better than eating plain kalguksu on its own...! At first we thought about just sticking with the basic kalguksu, but we ended up adding extra noodles too — if you like kalguksu, I'd recommend the noodle add-on. Especially once the broth reduced down a bit, the noodles picked up an even richer coating of it and it was delicious.

The kalguksu was so good we added even more noodles on top..haha

Cleared the finishing fried rice too

They stir-fry the finishing fried rice for you too.

The fried rice had the kalguksu broth mixed in, so it was a savory-umami explosion, all cleared!!

Red broth over clear broth, and I'd come back again

Personally I prefer a spicy, hearty broth over a clear one, so the red shabu-kalguksu we chose this time really hit the spot. It'd be especially perfect on a day you're craving something hot and spicy.

If you're near Gogidong looking for a good shabu-shabu or kalguksu spot, Yun Ujae Shabu Kalguksu Gogidong Branch is worth a visit! Next time I go, I'll probably order the red one again too haha.

On the way home, grabbed a pudding at the Pangyo Hyundai Department Store too~