Halu Shabu Shabu

What is Shabu Shabu? That is a question I had when I saw the sign for this restaurant, the sign showed raw meat and declared "all you can eat". Interesting I thought, I had to call on a lunch pal that would be able to help me tackle this new food challenge.

Shabu Shabu is a form of Japanese food. Translated it means "Hot Pot", in the 13th century hungry Mongol soldiers used this type of cooking to efficiently feed many troops and conserve food resources. The concept of the "Hot Pot" spread throughout Asia and now many other ethnic groups have their own version.

We were seated quickly by the restaurants only server. She took our drink order, as she sat us. She returned ready to take our order, we ordered the all you can eat lunch special. Before you could say "Shabu Shabu" she was back with a large pot of hot water. Each table has a heating element in the middle of it. She placed the pot on the the electric burner and turned it to high (there is a digital box under the table that controls the heat). Next she brought us a plate of thinly sliced beef, a plate of thinly sliced pork, a bowl of rice, a plate with assorted vegetables, fish balls, mushrooms, tofu, and last a square bowl of "Satay" sauce used for dipping.



We were definitely surprised at the amount of food that was in front of us. Nothing to do but scoop it all into the pot. Gary M. took over all the cooking duties, as I was busy snapping pics.


Also, we found it odd that there was a mysterious green chunk of what looked like seaweed floating in the pot. We asked our server if you could eat it, she said, "Nobody does, but you can if you want". I wasn't excited to eat it, it looked more like green pork rinds. It's actually wasn't very flavorful, not sure why it was even in the water to begin with.


Once the meat is dropped into the boiling water, it cooks almost instantly, you can literally watch the pink disappear. As soon as the meat was set in the hot pot, our server brought another two plates of meat and the other "assorted" plate was delivered, we didn't even have to ask. This was done 4 more times, before we had to ask that she STOP bringing us more food. They aren't shy about giving you all you can eat. Honestly, I had all I could eat and another plate more.


The meat was tender and surprisingly flavorful. The fishballs were like an amalgum of scallops pressed into a ball, tasty but weird, two or three and that was enough. The vegetables, and tofu were a fun addition, but after two plates, we focused on just the meat. For me the surprise VIP of the hot pot was the mushrooms. They were very "meaty" in texture and flavor, pairing perfectly with the other proteins. Each time we dipped into the Satay sauce we were puzzled as to what it actually was. We probed the server, who with only 4 tables, but multiple plates to carry was not interested in chit chat, not un-friendly, just efficient.

Is Shabu Shabu something that I will find myself craving? Most likely not, certainly this type of meal is an event and can be fun with a large crowd I'm sure. My guess, twice a year, just for the novelty. Also, quite a bargain, all you can eat for only $9.99.

You can visit Halu Shabu Shabu online at:

http://halushabushabu.com/about.html

Or in person at:

4288 Dublin Blvd. #110
Dublin, CA 94568