BROTH Shabu Shabu — Restaurant in Cerritos

Broth brother goes cuckoo for shabu!

I've never been too big on shabu shabu? Why? Because, I felt shabu's pricey for what you get. A few slices of meat, veggies & sauces to dip them in. When will someone open up an AYCE shabu shabu for a decent price?

Now! Broth Shabu Shabu opened up in Cerritos, with a very cost-effective lunch price of $15.95. The menu is the same for dinner, but with a higher price of $24.95. A veggie/noodle bar is present for customers to help themselves to various noodles & what not. I particularly enjoyed the black wood ear fungus. Choice of appetizers, meat & seafood are brought out by staff, only a set amount of each at a time. We were told they were out of salmon upon being seated, which was fine.

Appetizers- I've been on a seaweed salad fix, so I enjoyed three helpings of Broth's seaweed salad. The chicken karaage was another winner. The crispy pieces were fried just right, with a coating that was a tad on the salty side. The gyoza were good, too. They weren't soggy, like the packaged frozen type at home.

Broth- The pot has 2 compartments for broth, allowing for some variety. We went with miso & tonkotsu.

Meat- I mainly stuck with beef toro, ribeye, pork butt & lamb. The various cuts were sliced thin, allowing for easy cooking. The fat from the beef toro was meltingly sweet & provided wonderful flavor, both in & of itself & within the broth.

Seafood- I went with the blue crab, clams, mussels, baby squid, shrimp & fish balls. They all fared well with my tastebuds, with my inclination leaning toward the baby squid.

After both our broths starting running low, one of the staff brought kombu base for refilling. I notified him that we had miso & tonkotsu as our broths, to which he notified us that kombu is the base for all their broths & that's what is used for replenishment. So, the broths will basically ending up tasting the same by the end of your meal, is the drift of things.

Service was good. We were checked on repeatedly for meat requests, adjusting the cooking temperature etc. Ample seating, with booths, long tables with stools & bar seating. An outside patio is available, too.

Parking is at Plaza 183. Broth Shabu Shabu is tucked away on the left of Chuck E. Cheese.

Broth Shabu Shabu has filled the shabu shabu void that I've been missing. AYCE, w/o a major dip in quality & at a reasonable price. While I wouldn't recommend dining here for dinner, as it's the same menu at a higher cost, I strongly suggest coming here for lunch, as $15.95 is a tough to beat bargain for the likes of beef toro, blue crab & shrimp. I foresee Broth losing lots of money off of me ;p

Highly...

UPDATE: 5/24/22

So in this near post pandemic restaurants seem to have challenges hiring people to work.

Broth Shabu Shabu seems to be a hustling and bustling place.

But as with multiple other establishments, once popularity seems to rise, quality seems to take a dive. As is with, portions here at Broth. As customers, we are now down to 3 slices of paper thin meat for our broth, limited veggies, and the service was lackluster.

That's not even the kicker though. SOMEONE AT BROTH NEEDS TO be a QA manager, because giving out crumbs when to pass as Chicken Karage is no Bueno. I was actually, embarrassed to receive it and i would be embarrassed to even let that out of my kitchen.

After this incident, not sure if I'll be returning.

PREVIOUS: Lots of meat, lots of veggies, lots of broth. Service was....fair. I'm starting to notice a trend with some places and the waiters attempting to memorize every single order for multiple tables in one section. I'm not saying it cannot be done, but it would be much easier to write it down and everything correctly the first time. That way, customers won't have to ask multiple times for, let's say, rice or beer.

I like the fact that here at Broth, the broths are split. Being able to have a variety is always better. The all you can eat salad bar is a nice touch as well. The star of the show though, the meats. Ranging from a variety of seafood, swai fish and shrimp to thinly sliced beef. It's all you can eat. Unfortunately, there is no longer chicken on the menu.

Inside, there are lots of space and seating between tables and booths. However the tables are a little cramped with the broth bowls, veggie bowls, meat, beer, appetizers and REGULAR eating bowls.

I will return to Broth again. Hopefully the wait will be shorter and our next waiter/waitress will write down the...

I wish I had pictures, but also look doesn't matter much here. This place is Top Tier!!! Always a pleasure, always a treat, always insanely delicious!!! This is the best AYCE in Orange County and beyond. The meat is so full of taste that it doesn't even need any seasoning, I usually just "rinse" it in the simmering broth, so it's nice and medium rare, and then enjoy the flavorful piece (talking about flat iron here). Greens, veggies, mushrooms, see food are high quality!!! Always! And their sauces are genuinely the best!!! Service is exceptional! You can feel the team is tight, supportive, and having fun, which is why they are enjoying themselves and you enjoy them! Honestly, hat down to management of this place! Never saw anything similar to the friendly and joyful atmosphere this place has! Drinks are unique and very tasty. Because the place is so great there is a wait for walk ins. There's no reservation. But you can put your party on the wait list through Yelp remotely (you have to be not too far though to be able to do that, not sure exactly, but something like in a 20 miles radius), but then you have to come by and check in with a host in the next 15-20 min. Then you have to wait, depending on the line (nights and weekend days - usually minimum 40 min to 2 hours, Friday, Saturday night - 2-3 hours; but the actual time is usually less), when your table is ready you'll get a text and automatic call. There's a lot of stores around the area so there's options to kill time:) But trust me, it's totally worth it! I almost don't want to share this place as it...