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| - I saw this place on Facebook after they did their soft opening and wanted to give them a try. Decided to go there on a Friday night for dinner with a few friends, party of 3. For a new place and dinner time rush i expected a wait, but waited for about 45 minutes before a table opened up. This is the sort of place that people take their time eating and after their meal is done sit around to shoot-the-shit with one another. It is nice that they take your name and your number so that you can do whatever business you might have and they'll call you to come back for your table.
The atmosphere was actually pretty nice. It was nicer than I expected, but definitely louder as it's more of a social event/gathering type meal. Lots of conversations buzzing about. I did like the interior design it was more modern with wood accents. The tables are large and spacious so theres enough room for all that you order and you're not on top of one another while eating.
Their menu was very easy to read, broken down by categories like appetizers, meats, veggies, etc... and surprisingly more variety than I expected. Each item is individual yet they do offer combination platters for meats and veggies. I would recommend/suggest to the restaurant on giving the option of what items customers want in the combination plates rather than having a set dish.
I've had shabu shabu in places like Philadelphia and New York, but this is the first time I've ever seen individual hot pots rather than one large family-style meal. Although not very traditional, I think it's pretty clever especially in a city like Pittsburgh where 'family style' meals might not be the 'norm'. Everyone can customize to their own tastes and preferences. I would agree with other yelpers and say that individual dishes does make it more expensive to dine here, even if you share the meats & veggies.
Everything came out at once rather than waves which was nice. Each seat had it's own burner to keep the pot warms and you could control the temperature on a 1-5 scale. The broth of the hot pot was definitely on the bland side in my opinion, but it was made with real ingredients that you could still see in your individual dishes ( garlic, onion, ginger, etc). There is a condiment table towards the center of the restaurant that has a variety of sauces for extra flavoring. I personally did not partake, but imagine the additional sauces would improve the flavor.
We wanted to try the KBBQ, but ended up only getting the pork belly - which was pretty darn good in my opinion. In addition to the individual place burners, there is a larger one in the middle that houses a hot plate grill. When you order the BBQ they'll bring a platter of your meat of choice with onions, garlic, and peppers. The pork also came w/ a sauce and basting brush for grilling. I like that this is a actual grill your own foods rather than kitchen prepped. Fresher and hotter - better to taste. I would definitely come back to try their other meats for BBQ if the pork belly was any indication of their other meats.
The waiters, waitresses, and bus boys were very attentive and gave great customer service. Since it was our first time there we asked a lot of questions and our waitress answered them all and gave us her recommendations. She was very helpful - don't forget to tip the wait staff!
Overall was a decent experience. I didn't expect to get something I would get in other cities with larger Asian populations, but it was pretty decent. I would come back and try a second time so I can get a better feel of their menu. Since they're still pretty new I'm sure they're working out the kinks. We were told that next week they would have their liquor license as well, which I think would improve the experience. Nothing like a nice beer/drink with your bbq or hot pot.
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