Thursday, January 28, 2010

Best Shabu For Your Buck! Shabu Shabu Edition Part 2


J-Town/Little Tokyo Adventure
    So last Sunday, my good friend Kelly and I went to spend some quality time together doing our favorite things- exploring and eating. I decided to take her to the Japanese Village Plaza for some Japanese Shabu Shabu since there's a lot to do in that little shopping center. If you recall in my previous extensive Shabu Shabu post, I said the best bang for your buck Shabu Shabu for me is the one Shabu Shabu House, which is located in this plaza at 127 Japanese Village Plaza Mall. Los Angeles, CA 90012. Only problem... well actually BIG problem about this place is that it's really small. Approximate wait time... 1-2 hours. This place in intense. No joke. The owner gets to his restaurant and leaves a clip board over an hour before it opens so that guests can begin signing in their names. You can also write a note on what kind of beef you would like. I like extra marbled. It melts in your mouth more.  Kelly and I got to Shabu Shabu House around 5 PM, 30 mins before they opened and our names were already on the second page! Luckily we were prepared and we ready to explore the plaza and walk around.

These are the things we entertained ourselves with while waiting to be called. Left is a picture of the Hello Kitty curtain thingy I wanted to buy for my future restaurant and right was a picture Totoro and Domo shirts. All are things I did not buy despite their cuteness because my mom would yell at me for being impractical. This picture will have to suffice.

Kelly was starting to get a little hungry so I suggested to get some mochi to munch on. $1 each.

We also went over to look at the ladies making these red bean custard pastries. They're our favorite. I took Kelly to eat this when she visited Hong Kong during the summer. On a side note, there are quite a few Chinese markets in the San Gabriel Valley that make these too!

We waited for maybe another 20 mins before we got seated. Not so bad actually. Fun fact: last time I came to this restaurant was with my lovely besties Weheb & Rna and we saw American Idol Reject William Hung and his family here. His mom was a total bi-atch and made quite a scene cause she was upset that she was waiting so long. She was complaining to me about how long she was in line for, which we didn't understand since we were there for way longer than this lady. It wasn't until William Hung and his dad came in that we found out rude lady was his mom. I knew she looked familiar. And once again Hong Kong gossip news is right. His mom IS really THAT  bad. Our night didn't end just with that entertainment, that same night in this restaurant, Weheb, Rna, & I witnessed a break up to be. Too funny and too long to post here but definitely a good story. Ask any of us we'll tell you.

Sadly, Kelly and I did not see anyone the night we went. And here's what we got.  A medium  order will absolutely fill you up. At lunch time, a medium is under $10. During dinner time, a medium order is $14. This is a really good deal considering how much food they give you and given the fact they give you free refills on rice. We both got 2 bowls of rice. As you can see they give you a lot of veggies, tofu, udon, and other noodles as well. Their sesame sauce and ponzu sauce are incredible. It's handmade fresh here.

And here's their other specialty which we didn't try. Their coffee is really good. Unfortunately, Kelly and I are both old grannies. We can't drink coffee past a certain hour or else we can't sleep the entire night. True Story.

Don't forget to head over to their bakery and get some of their Double Soft Raisin Bread. It's not just soft, it's double soft! It's really good. I don't like raisin bread and I still have to pick some up each time I go.

So if you ever want a place to have some good food, check out Shabu Shabu House. The food is cheap especially if you go during lunch and there's lots to do in the plaza. There's even a Nijiya Market there, which is one of my favorite Japanese markets. Although I enjoy Mongolian Hot Pot which you can get for as cheap at $7 if you go at the right time, I still think this place is the best deal because I like Japanese Shabu Shabu more. By the way, Kelly let me know that yesterday's L.A. Times' Food Section was on Shabu Shabu. I am such a trendsetter. Always one step ahead!

Happy Eatings!

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