Tag Archives: shabu-shabu

SHABUZEN, cheap and cheerful shabu-shabu

by Bianca

Back from the holidays !. Time to update this blog and what better way to fight this cold weather than with some delicious and cheap shabu-shabu at Shabuzen.

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This cozy restaurant is located in the 2nd basement of the Ginza Core buildingon the Ginza main street. They have another restaurant on the 2nd floor with regular tables but the one in the basement is more interesting. The shabu-shabu is served bar style, You have your own steamed pot to dip your beef and vegetables in.

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There are some lunch sets in the 1300 yen to 3300 yen range and they have an english menu. I usually take the Beef lunch which costs 1680 yen and consists of a big plate of meat and some vegetables.

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You mix your own sauces and your beef and vegetables is accompanied by a hot bowl of rice. The taste to be honest is not exactly spectacular, but for the price, it certainly is a cheap and cheerful meal.

SHABUZEN. Ginza Core Building Basement 2. Ginza Chuo Dori. Phone 03-3571-1717

Price: $

Some sake, some beef, some hot broth and the best sesame sauce ever…

by Bianca

 

What better way to spend a chilly winter evening than to dine on some tasty shabu-shabu or Japanese hot-pot. Our restaurant of choice this time was IMAFUKU in Shirokane who had just opened it’s doors to the public on January 23, 2012.

Imafuku's facade

We found out about this restaurant from its sister restaurant Jumbo which we frequently visit for their excellent yakiniku. I was excited about our dinner, Jumbo has some excellent beef and I was expecting the same from Imafuku.

The design of the restaurant was clean and simple in a very Japanese way.

The interior

The meat for our shabu-shabu was put on display for all to see.

We were whisked into one of their private rooms on the second floor where we chose some sake to accompany our dinner. The waitress then came back with a tray filled with an assortment of sake glasses for us to pick from.

The assortment of sake glasses

Our choices

The menu was in Japanese and we were lucky to have someone who could read Japanese with us. We chose the most extensive set menu which set us back around 10,500 yen per person.

The first appetizer to arrive was a small glass of sea urchin over a potato puree with some vegetables on the side. Both were delicious.

The sea urchin and veggies

Then came the raw food platter which did include some raw heart and some intestines. I ate everything but the intestines and thought that it tasted pretty good.

The raw food platter

And then came time for what we were waiting for….the shabu-shabu

The hot shabu-shabu broth

What I noticed to be different from other shabu-shabu restaurants was the clear yellowish ponzu sauce instead of the usual dark one. It tasted a little different but had the same acidic taste of ponzu.

The clear ponzu sauce and the sesame sauce

The first plate to arrive was the tongue which we were to dip into the broth only for a few seconds and retrieve while it was still pink in color. It tasted really good.

The plate of tongue

Then came the meat platter with 5 different kinds of meat from different parts of the cow, along with some vegetables.

The meat platter and the vegetables

I found what made this shabu-shabu dinner to be excellent instead of just simply good was the sesame sauce. It was the best I’ve ever tried. A little bit sweeter than what I’m used to but absolutely delicious. I used it for all my dips including the vegetables which I usually dip into the ponzu sauce.

To end things, you had the choice of some noodles or rice. We chose the noodles and were told to eat half in the broth and the other half dipped into the sesame sauce. Simply heavenly.

the noodles

There was a choice of panacotta, ice cream or sorbet for desert. All were delicious.

This is a restaurant I would definitely recommend you to try. And before I end things I just have to share this cute little picture with you….

A little carrot cow

IMAFUKU address : 1-12-19 Shirokane,minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel : 0354202914

Dining in NINJA style…

by Bianca

I always have fun whenever I come to this theme restaurant and I love bringing guests here. Young or old, they always enjoy themselves. It’s a place where food and entertainment are packaged in style. Ninja Style.

Upon entering it’s somewhat dark and cryptic entrance, you will be greeted by the host and your own Ninja master who will appear seemingly out of nowhere and will guide you on your ninja training path. You have to complete this course before even thinking about feasting on any food. I will spare the details as to not take the surprise out of the experience.

The dining area looks like an old, dark, Japanese village with fake torches hanging on its walls. Once in a while you might be able to see a ninja perched on one of the rocks. You’ll then be guided through their cobbled streets into one of their “houses” which will be your private dining area for the evening. The menu comes in a ninja scroll that will be skillfully opened by your ninja waiter and you have a choice of some pre-set menus or a la carte meals. I suggest to try one of the courses for your first visit as it contains some fun food full of surprises, hence the name “surprise” course. Dining with ninjas of course does not come cheap and some reviews have complained about how expensive the food is. You can check their menu at http://www.ninjakasaka.com. There is a translation including their prices. I find the shabu-shabu course here to be extremely delicious. Dinner might take a while though so you will need to set aside a minimum of 2 hours of your time. A ninja magician will enter your domain before desert and put on a little magic show that I always find amusing.

If you only have a few days in Tokyo and are looking to sample the best of Japanese food then this might not be the place for you. If money is not an issue, if you have kids or if you are simply looking for a little fun, ninja style, then this place is definitely worth a visit.

NINJA AKASAKA. 2-14-3 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku. Phone: 03-5157-3936

ONYASAI shabu-shabu : Roppongi

by Bianca

I wonder why I haven’t stumbled upon this shabu-shabu restaurant any sooner. It seems to be very popular and has branches in Roppongi, Shibuya and Meguro. But everything at its own time, right?

 

Unlike other traditional shabu-shabu houses, Onyasai serves four types of soup bases to boil your meat and vegetables in : spicy (like Tom yam), soy, sukiyaki and clear (with seaweed). You are allowed 2 choices of soup base. I tried the spicy and clear soup base. The spicy one was absolutely delicious.

A friend also suggested that we order a la carte instead of all-you-can-eat as they serve better beef, so we ordered some vegetables, and their best beef which comes in orders of 2 and costs about 980 yen. I think I finished 4 huge pieces by myself. The minced chicken is also a must.

We ordered some noodles at the end and ate it with the broth that now tasted absolutely delightful with all the fat from our beef now swimming in it.

My verdict for this establishment : will definitely be back. In fact, I’m sure it will become one of my favorite places. Food is good, the prices reasonable and Oh and they open late, till midnight on weekdays and till 4 am on weekends. Pretty cool, right ?

Price : $$

ONYASAI

3rd floor, Kondo Bldg 2, 7-13-16 Roppongi

03-5775-5081