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| - The place was filled with Asians--which is a VERY good sign.
There aren't many hot pot places in Pittsburgh, so Top Shabu-Shabu is VERY welcome to Pitt! The soft opening drew in a huge crowd, and it may have been overwhelming for the restaurant. It was a hectic day.
DECOR
The interior is very nicely decorated with pretty lighting. I can appreciate when a place doesn't have cheap Asian decorations. It's not that large inside, so it feels pretty intimate. Although it looked like they could've used a bigger place because of all the people who showed up the first day. The chairs are comfortable for the 2 hours you might be there enjoying/cooking your food/company. The way the tables work with the inlaid stoves/hot plates means that they're fixed, so the largest party they can accommodate at one table is 8. It's best to come as a party of 2; it has the least wait-time during the peak hours.
FOOD
The menu looks like a dim sum menu; I can't describe it any other way. The organization was easy to follow (broth, meats, seafood, veggies, etc.). I ordered the hot and spicy broth with fresh fish and lotus root add-ins. My whole party's broth and add-ins came out quickly after ordering. Each broth comes with a sampler plate of napa cabbage, glass noodles, and an egg. (I LOVE EGGS). They had a sauce counter near the middle of the restaurant, so we gathered about 10 or so sauce bowls at our table to share and try. Overall I really liked the food. The broth was authentic (i.e. not powder-based) with spices and full of flavor.
P.S.
Also I'd want to note that I liked the chopsticks-- too often restaurants have low quality chopsticks, and if I can't pick up my food easily because the chopsticks are flimsy or too square, that would negatively affect my experience.
I'd definitely come back again, with friends.
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