Nabemono Shabu Shabu — Restaurant in Alhambra

Nice little shabu shabu restaurant in downtown Alhambra. They were still practicing social distancing, but was able to be seated within 5 minutes. Overall, about 15 tables and about 10 seats at the center bar. Was immediately greeted and placed on the short waitlist.

Ordered several appetizers from the edamame, karaage, curry fries, squid leg karaage, and garlic wings. Took a little longer than expected to place my order, but once ordered, the appetizes arrived pretty quickly. All the appetizers were good, but my favorites were the squid leg karaage and curry fries. Gyoza, karaage, and garlic wings were good, but what you would expect from an authentic Japanese restaurant.

For the shabu shabu, it is a 3 step process of choosing your protein, choosing your broth, and choosing your carbs. The proteins were a nice mix of beef, pork, chicken, lamb, duck, and seafood. They allowed you to do a combination of 2 different proteins. The broths were a variety of soy based, miso, and tomato types. The carbs were choices between types of rice and noodles. I opted for the beef & seafood protein, creamy pork bone broth, and udon noodles. All the ingredients were fresh and plentiful. I cooked the food, so won't criticize the cooking...

Overall, nice authentic shabu shabu restaurant. Service and food were good with a nice...

Following a friend's recommendation, I went ahead and ordered a large portion of short ribs for both my girlfriend and me. While the meat was decent, it was really the sesame sauce and garlic that elevated the experience. I might opt for a less expensive cut on my next visit.

However, while the food delivered on its promise, the service had a few hiccups. Upon entering, we were seated at the bar and kind of left to our own devices. Ordering through toast on my phone (which I personally dislike) was a bit impersonal for me. I'm more a fan of actual menus and some interaction with the staff.

Luckily, our food and water arrived pretty quickly, but the staff's attention to our table was minimal until we'd finished our food. A staff member did eventually come around to check if we wanted more soup, which left me puzzled because why would we need more soup when we were out of meat and veggies?

It wasn't until we were leaving that my friend mentioned we could actually get more veggies at no additional cost. I was surprised that no one mentioned this at the start or checked in during our meal, given how quickly we devoured...

A friend mentioned eating at this shabu shabu place recently and we decided to try it since the sauces are said to be really good. I ordered a large size of the beef belly with house konbu broth. It was very satisfying and filling. The appetizers are made really fresh. The shrimp balls, karaage, and gyoza are top notch. The fried foods are really hot since they're that fresh so be careful not to burn your tongue. The sesame and ponzu sauces really make the shabu shabu stuff taste even more better. I normally don't use sauces but these ones are on a different level of deliciousness. The place is very clean and the service is one of the best I've seen. The ordering system is very convenient where you can just order from your phone and start your own tab. This is definitely one restaurant I'd...