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| - First shabu restaurant I have been to, but after popping in to see what it was all about, we decided to try it; $20 AYCE hot pot, why not?! The hostess explained how it worked to us very well & the service was excellent (staff refilled our drinks, added broth to our pot, and checked on us frequently). We went with the spicy broth, but had it refilled with the plain chicken broth. I agree that the broth was "plain", but I liked that we got to add as much (or as little) garlic, ginger, cilantro, green onions, lemon, and jalapeƱos as we wanted...so as we cooked the meats, shellfish, and vegetables, the broth got more flavorful along the way.
Chicken, shrimp, pork wontons, tofu, and liver servings were individually wrapped, as were the different noodle offerings and some of the vegetables. Sliced meats were portioned out in individual trays (beef, lamb, pork, pork belly). The rest were offered in bins for you to put as much, or as little, as you desired. Selections included: clams, mussels, squid, octopus, lobster, snow crab, fish ball, fish cake, fish (sole?), broccoli, baby bok choy, mushrooms, pumpkin, taro...there was more, but I can't recall them all.
They offer an assortment of sauces to dip your meats and veggies in: ponzu, BBQ (like hoisin, but lighter in flavor and texture), peanut (similar to satay dipping sauce), Thai (a little spicy with a little sweetness to it, really good for the octopus), and 1-2 more that I didn't try and can't remember...sorry.
Dinner comes with 3 appetizers per person. If you are a lamb lover, definitely pick the lamb chop for one of them (it was oh so yummy). You also get a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
While the option to sip on an Asian beer would have been nice, not having alcohol isn't a deal breaker for me. All in all, I give it a two thumbs up. We will definitely be back!
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