Anyone else enjoy shabu shabu?

It's been cold and rainy the past month here in Los Angeles. So my girlfriend and I drove to the Little Tokyo area near downtown Los Angeles for shabu shabu. Kagaya restaurant is inside the Honda Plaza and is a fairly small place. I'm glad I made reservations, otherwise it would have been a 2 hour wait.



The best seats are at the counter where you can see Chef Masato "Masa" Kagaya expertly prepare the dishes for the restaurant. Most other places focuses just on the shabu shabu, but Kagaya is unique in that it's part of the set menu instead of being the primary meal. Dinner includes two appetizers, a soup course, then the shabu shabu, udon or rice porridge (zosui) and dessert.

The other difference is the price, as it's approx 3x or more than other places. This is because Kagaya serves USDA prime beef, or Japanese wagyu imported from Miyazaki, Japan. They also offer a mixed prime beef and seafood combo. Since this was the first time visiting we decided on the USDA prime beef.


Our first appetizer was fresh sashimi kampachi (yellowtail):



The kampachi was served with thinly sliced onions, chives, and caviar with a ponzu sauce. It was delicious. Here's a closeup pic:



Next was our soup:



The soup was made with a tender piece of monkfish and sliced scallions:



Our second appetizer was a steamed Chilean seabass. The sauce was interesting, it had a slightly sweet and sour taste but was very good:



It was great watching Chef Masa taking orders and preparing each dish right in front of us:



And then we were served the shabu shabu course. We had two dipping sauces, the one on the left was a peanut sauce, and on the right was ponzu:



Our USDA prime beef, thinly sliced and perfectly marbled:



Also included with the shabu shabu was a plate of fresh veggies like napa cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves, shitake mushrooms, green onions, tofu and vermicelli noodles:



Once we finished the shabu shabu, the chef gave us a small dish of home made pickles. We were given a choice of the udon or rice, so we asked to try both. My pot was heated up and the udon noodles were added:



In my girlfriends pot was the rice to make the porridge. The chef added sliced red ginger, parsley and eggs. I thought both were good, but if I had to select one I would pick the udon:



Here's a closeup of the rice porridge (zosui):



And a closeup of the udon:



There were several options for dessert and we chose the apple tart and famous banana pie. the apple tart was delicious:



But the banana pie with vanilla ice cream was awesome. The flavors and textures of dessert was incredibly scrumptious:



Overall, I really liked our dinner at Kagaya. It's expensive compared to other places, but the quality is much higher and they offer a complete meal. I would definitely go back and try the wagyu beef.

Regards,
ED-209

Thank You,

S

.

.

hard to believe it's a point and shoot!



I've tried the wagyu shabu shabu (I was the guest of a very generous Purist; it was $99 per person!) and it is excellent, though possibly a bit "excessive" because unless you like your beef rare, the soup boils away most of the marbling. And those who care more about my good health than I do (otherwise, they'd have the burden of taking care of me! ) keep scooping out the "froth" ...

By the way, since this is ThePuristS after all, just so sushi newbie's don't get confused, kampachi is yellowtail, but should be distinguished from hamachi (which should further be distinguished between fresh hamachi from japan and frozen hamachi from elsewhere...which is confused even more because nearly all sushi grade fish today is frozen at some point in its capture and processing.)

Kampachi (or sometimes kanpachi) is typically translated as amberjack, and tends to have a more firm texture, slightly less oily taste, than hamachi.

I personally like all the variations of yellowtail, but do feel they are different enough that some might clearly prefer one to another. I like kampachi and fresh Japanese hamachi (typically younger yellowtail) best.

Thanks for the pic and introduction; great, now the waits go to three hours!



TM

"A Purist does not believe in gilt by association. Respect, AND disdain, have to be earned..."

we'll make our OWN party!



Kampai!

"A Purist does not believe in gilt by association. Respect, AND disdain, have to be earned..."

I love shabu-shabu! I used to wait over 2 hrs for dinner at Shabu-Shabu house in Little Tokyo (across from Kagaya). Your yummy post led me to have shabu-shabu lunch today

Regards,
ATM

Hi ATM,
Shabu Shabu House must be really good if you have to wait over 2 hours. I haven't been there (because no one takes me to Shabu Shabu House LOL) but I heard that they do not take reservations. And if you're not around when they call your name you get put into the back of the line and have to wait even longer.
So if you were to rank Shabu Shabu House, Kagaya, Swish, Cocary, and Mr. Shabu, which one is the best?

Regards,
ED-209

Hi ED-209,

Yes, if you want to try Shabu Shabu House, you need to be there by 10:40 AM, to be seated at 11:30 AM. For dinner, the line "dies down" a bit, you don't have to wait 2 hours anymore, typically 1 1/2 hour would be sufficient . And you're right, you have to be present when Mr. Yoshi (the owner) calls your name, if not, you have to wait another 1/2 hour .

From you list, my fav shabu-shabu restaurant would be: Kagaya & Shabu Shabu House. I also love Mizu 212, located in Sawtelle (LA's 2nd Little Tokyo!). Mizu 212 has a really yummy peanut sauce too.

Regards,
ATM

but their beef is a bit lean for my taste (my above comments about marbled Kobe beef withstanding.)

There is also a very nice place over at a strip mall at Bundy and Pico (?) next to another Japanese place, next to a massage therapy "clinic" - what is it about good food places and massage "clinics?" Their sauces are great, slightly different than the ones named above.

TM


"A Purist does not believe in gilt by association. Respect, AND disdain, have to be earned..."

Now that I think about it, the 'peanut sauce' is probably not really made with peanuts. I'm guessing it's a sesame sauce. Does anyone know if that's the case?

Regards,
ED-209

.

"A Purist does not believe in gilt by association. Respect, AND disdain, have to be earned..."

I got to try this other westside shabu-shabu place soon... maybe have one of the Woo's brothers to locate the restaurant first

what is it about good food places and massage "clinics?"

It does seem that way doesn't it? LOL

Hi Salman, Elliot, and Anthony,
Thanks for the compliments. The cool thing is that Kagaya just mailed me a coupon for $20 off my next visit. It doesn't expire until October so I have plenty of time to go back Or if someone wants to try it out, I'll send you the coupon...

Hi TM,
Thanks also for the compliments.
Wow, somehow I knew you would have been there for the wagyu. We're planning to go back before end of April and will probably try the wagyu. We might even bring DRMW ha ha ha...
The prices have gone up slightly, there's a wagyu beef at $108 and then a premium wagyu for $128. We should do a dinner there sometime! And thanks for the info about the kampachi/hamachi. That's what I love about this site, I learn something new all the time.


BTW - We just got back home from another mini-vacation in Las Vegas and actually found a shabu shabu restaurant not too far off the strip on Spring Mountain Road.

The restaurant is Swish Shabu Shabu:



We went here for lunch before our drive back to LA. The restaurant is very clean and has a large U-shaped counter for diners. And the service was great too. Swish offers a prime rib course, or a higher quality "Kobe chuck". The beef is sliced slightly thicker than other places I've been too.


Here's a pic of the beef being prepared:



The shabu shabu meal included a plate of garden mushrooms, carrots, tofu, white onions, asparagus, green onions, and napa cabbage, with a side plate of udon:



I ordered the 'healthy' portion which is the regular sized plate of prime rib beef:



And a closeup of the beef:



We had two sauces, one small bowl of peanut and the other ponzu. I normally don't use the peanut sauce, but tried it and really like the flavor:



Here's my hot pot of boiling water with konbu and my veggie plate thrown in:



My girlfriend ordered the sukiyaki version. I tasted this and the flavors were just OK. I thought it was a little too salty and not sweet enough:



And here's a pic of a few slices of prime beef simmering in the sukiyaki pot:



DRMW joined us for lunch, and he had the Kobe chuck "hungry" size. It's a larger portion of nicely marbled beef. It's only about $5 more and definitely worth the small difference in price:



For dessert, we had an assortment of mochi ice cream. We tried the mango, green tea and strawberry.



Our lunch at Swish Shabu Shabu was delicious and an easy short drive off the strip. It's open 7 days a week and even offers a 'happy hour' with discounts off sake and some of the food. This might be a good alternative to Ichiza for lunch or dinner when we don't feel like eating at the buffets.

Regards,
ED-209

Hi ED-209,

As of end of Oct 09, Swish Shabu Shabu in Las Vegas is CLOSED for business . I sure will miss this place!!! Thanks for your review & finding this place.

Hopefully you'll find another good shabu shabu place in Las Vegas that you can share with us!

Regards,
ATM

Hi ATM and DRMW,
That is sad news to learn that Swish is currently closed. Since our first visit in February, Swish Shabu Shabu has become one of our favorite restaurants off the LV strip. I even like it better than the ones here in L.A. (except maybe for Kagaya).

But.... the good news is that I heard that they are reopening soon at a new location on Spring Mountain I think this is a good decision as the old location off Sahara was too remote.
Will have to follow up on this and try it when they re-open.

Regards,
ED-209

Thanks ED-209! I'm looking forward to try out the new location. Please do let us know when the new location has opened & of course, I look forward to hearing about your experience at the new location.

Time to plan for a Las Vegas trip...

Regards,
ATM

That looks delicious!

I'm definitely interested in visiting this restaurant. Does anyone care to join me?

Do they have a pre-fix lunch menu as well? Any details I should know about parking?

Hi Patrick_y,

Kagaya is open for dinner only. It's easy to find self-parking outside the restaurant. DRMW might be interested in going, since no one takes him there

Regards,
ATM

And I hope I won't be alone.

So we've been craving shabu shabu and have been trying different restaurants. Our default has been Mr. Shabu in San Gabriel, but there was a long wait so we decided to try out a new place named Money Pot Shabu Shabu. It's located in a mini-mall next to a 99 Ranch market.




Entering the restaurant I was surprised to be warmly greeted by the owner and we were seated promptly. Our waitress and the owner explained the menu choices and the different broth flavors for the shabu shabu. The service is far superior than what I've experienced at Mr. Shabu. And while we were looking over the menu, we were served a small salad and hot tea:



And a closeup of the cabbage salad with crisp fried wonton chips with a tasty dressing that was similar to thousand island:



And a closeup of the two sauces, a ponzu with green onions on the left and sesame sauce on the right:



I ordered the prime rib, and a plate of nicely marbled beef was brought to my table. It was a generous sized portion:



DRMW ordered the seafood and prime rib combo. This was pretty good, it had some large fresh shrimp, fish, squid rings fish cake and small scallops:



It was interesting to know that Money Pot Shabu has different choices of broth flavors. I choose the spicy hot pot special:



While DRMW choose the Money Pot Shabu special which was a lightly flavored broth. The other option was interesting, they had flavored tea broths. I'll probably try it on my next visit.

Along with the beef, we each had a plate of fresh veggies, including nappa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, firm tofu, bok choy, corn, Japanese pumpkin, carrots, rice vermicelli noodles, and udon:



The veggies were great and the quality was top notch. The corn was fresh and so were all the veggies. Here's a pic of my spicy shabu pot:



Here's a picture of the shabu shabu pot with veggies and beef simmering:



Everything was absolutely delicious and the service was fantastic. After our meal, we were offered a choice of the red bean soup or their passionfruit jello. We all picked the jello, and it was extremely tasty. Instead of the typical Chinese style 'mango pudding' dessert, the jello was clear agar gelatin with a fragrant passionfruit syrup. It was terrific and a perfect balance to the shabu.

Regards,
ED-209

Thanks for the Trail of the Shabu Shabu.

Was this really Japanese?  That bodes another question: How do you define authentic in a place like Los Angeles?

Were the chef/owners Japanese?

Was the taste - Japanese?

Was it more LA Asian fusion?

Regards,

MTF

It may not be authentic Japanese as I've never been to Japan but it sure tasted good!

-MW

Hi MTF,
As ATM mentioned, Money Pot shabu is Taiwanese owned. I think the flavored broth options is what makes it more Chinese than Japanese (most of the Japanese ones I've been to used plain water and two slices of konbu).
I've never been to Japan but planning to visit probably next year. I recall that you used to live there, did you see a similar set up for shabu shabu? And was it popular?

Regards,
ED-209

Of course, boiling is a fundamental cooking technique but there are similarities between certain Japanese hot pots and Chinese/Taiwanese hotpots.

The true shabu shabu is a quick dip in roiling water and takes its name from the sound that the process makes: sha-bu  sha-bu, The konbu is used as a flavour enhancer when meat and vegetables keep adding flavour. Konbu is a natural source of MSG. The technique is to add the mushrooms and vegetables first. Then the tofu and finally, the pieces of meat are swished through the water and cooled in the goma sesame paste. The vegetables are dipped in ponzu sauce after cooking.

Even in Japan, there are flavoured hot-pot broth dishes where the ingredients are simmered. Those are nabe pots and include kimchi (Korean), sheep (Mongolian) and seafood (Japanese).

 

Regards,
MTF

The sauces alone look very good. The beef looks nicely marbled and doesn't seem to have suffered freezer burn (some restaurants freeze the meat so it's easier to slice on the slicing machine, but some restaurants freeze the meat when they have lower turnover on the meat). I wonder where they got the fresh corn? And excellent service with dessert to compliment the excellent meal.

When are you guys going to this place next? I've got some catching up to do as I've yet to try KaGaYa.

Hey Patrick,
Are you buying us dinner? Cool, we'll all be there, just let us know when... LOL... just kidding I think we're going back to KaGaYa in the next few months before it gets too warm again. Maybe DRMW can organize a dinner (since he hasn't been there yet).

Regards,
ED-209

I'll be sure to throw in some sort of incentive to have you join me.

Keep me in touch about your next visit to KaGaYa. My tenure in Southern California may not be permanent for much longer, so I hope it's sooner than later.

Great review ED-209

The owner is Taiwanese, thus, the vegetable platter has the non-traditional Japanese shabu-shabu mix; taro, corn, baby bok choy. The meat quality and service were good. At the end of the meal, don't forget to grab a piece of yummy lychee-flavored chewy candy

However, the restaurant definitely need more patrons though!

Regards,
ATM

Hi ATM,
So is KaGaYa still your favorite? And was Mizu 212 as good as your previous visits?

Regards,
ED-209

Hi ED-209,

For overall experience and quality of food, KaGaYa ranks as my #1 favorite. However, I still like to go to Mr. Shabu Shabu on weekday night as it's in my neighborhood and Swish Shabu on weekend night as it's located at my 2nd home . During the last trip to Mizu 212, food wasn't as good as I remembered... however I learnt that I have to ask for the 'shiu may' (aka. dumpling) on my vegetable plate while placing the order. If not, 'shiu may' becomes a side order

I heard that Kushi Shabu Shabu in Little Tokyo, CA offers good shabu shabu too. Hopefully I get to try this place soon.

Regards,
ATM

Thanks to ThomasM for the recommendation for shabu shabu in the West L.A. area. So last night we drove over to Sawtelle Blvd to have dinner at Mizu 212.



I had made reservations earlier in the day for a private room but when I arrived there were only a few diners at the restaurant so we ended up sitting at the bar area instead.

It took a few minutes before our waitress brought over our menus:



There's quite a few options on the menu ranging from USDA prime beef, wagyu Kobe beef, chicken, pork and seafood:



Our table setting was already set up with a bowl of ponzu and goma dare sauce. Both sauces were delicious:



While waiting for our server to bring out the food, I noticed a large drawing of Felix the cat.
This was totally cool! I haven't seen Felix the cat in a long time. But what was interesting is the mannerisms of Felix. He seemed to be p*ssed off and in deep thought while walking. Somehow I was strangely attracted to this drawing and the more I stared at it the more I liked it. I guess it reminds me of myself and how I probably look like at work LOL I'll have to go back to Mizu 212 and see if I can buy the drawing and have it mounted in my office...



Anyway, our waitress brought out a large plate of fresh veggies. It included napa cabbage, baby bok choy, carrots, green onions, broccoli, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, chrysanthemum leaves, asparagus and a slice of kabocha pumpkin.



We all ordered the 6oz regular size portion. Here's a pic of the plate of slices of USDA prime beef:



We were also offered a choice of either white or brown rice, and either udon or harusame noodles. I chose the udon and it was very good. The shabu shabu was excellent, but I have to agree with Thomas that the beef was a little more lean than I would have preferred. Maybe next time I'll have to try the wagyu kobe beef.

Regards,
ED-209

Hi Felix-the-Cat (aka ED-209),

Did you try the dumpling (shiu may)? It's yummy when you serve it with the goma sauce. Mizu 212 goma sauce is tasty, but I like Swish Shabu goma sauce a little bit more.

Where is the next Shabu Shabu place you're going to try? How about Shabu Shabu House in Little Tokyo, CA... just be prepared to wait over 1 1/2 hours during lunch or dinner prime time

Regards,
ATM

Hi ATM,
Yes I had a 4 of the dumplings with my shabu shabu. My understanding is that in the past Mizu 212 used to serve it as a standard item with the veggie plate. But the waitress said that they took it off because some customers didn't understand it and some were allergic to it. We ended up ordering it as a side dish to add to our shabu shabu. It tasted pretty good, but a little bit mushy. At first I thought I had overcooked it since the dumplings were served frozen before I added it to the boiling water. So on the next pieces I tried a shorter cooking time but it didn't make a difference. The other strange thing is that we had a group of four and asked for 1 order ( I think it was supposed to be 4 pieces). The owner/host brought out a plate of 10 and said that 2 are complimentary. I didn't quite understand that since it would not be easily divisible by our group. Maybe he went to the same 'waiter counting class' as the people at Hollywood Billiards? LOL...

BTW, I didn't see the dumplings listed on the menu and I forgot to look at the check to see how much they charged.

Our next shabu shabu place will have to be Kushi Shabu in downtown LA. I've been there once as a guest of a very generous PuristS and we had a fantastic time. We had the all-you-can-eat and it was delicious and excellent quality. Kushi Shabu also serves kushi katsu which was incredible delicious, with a light airy texture and perfectly fried golden brown. YUMMY!

Regards,
ED-209

Hi MTF,

Thanks for the background info on the shabu shabu. Cool to learn that konbu is a natural source of MSG and probably why it is one of the primary ingredients in most dashi soup stocks. Do you actually eat the konbu or just leave it in for flavor?
At least I got the technique right with adding veggies first (well I think it's a default since we usually get the veggie plate first). I like how the flavor builds up as you eat and the soup at the end is delicious.
As for the sauces I have to admit that I mainly use the ponzu for both meat and veggies since I like the tangy citrus flavor and only use the goma dare sparingly. I didn't realize that the goma dare was mainly for the meat.

And what a coincidence that you mention nabe... I've got a great report planned for the weekend when I visit a restaurant that is very well known for chanko nabe... stay tuned!

Regards,
ED-209

The most flavoursome konbu is the old thick stuff that cannot be eaten unless you have the jaws of....well.....'Jaws'

I sometimes sneak a piece of konbu in, if it is thin enough because I like the slimy squidgy taste.....shhh...don't tell or I'll have to slit my belly or something.

Regards,

MTF

That picture is a modernized version of the original "Felix pace" from the 1930 "Oceantics" episode.

Source; Google and Wikipedia.

I have a friend in the printing business that can print giclee canvases, but I'm having difficulty finding such a large image of the Felix pace on Google images.

Traffic in L.A. is horrendous and sometimes I don't feel like driving out to Downtown L.A. / Little Tokyo so I ended up finding a local shabu shabu restaurant in the Miracle Mile area off of Wilshire and La Brea Ave. Not a typical location to find Japanese food but I'm not complaining since it's close by. (I was also surprised to find that there's a izakaya type restaurant next door. I'll have to try that soon).

It's a small restaurant named Shabu Shabu Ya. No parking lot that I could find but plenty of street parking:




They offer shabu shabu or sukiyaki at a very reasonable price. Our dinner included a choice of either the tuna sashimi salad or seaweed salad (I picked the tuna sashimi). It was very good, 4 small slices of fresh tuna with a tasty dressing for the mixed greens:



My girlfriend ordered a regular sized shabu shabu and I had the sukiyaki. Our waitress brought out a pot with a divider so we can cook the two different soup bases together:



Here's a pic of the certified Angus beef rib eye:



With goma and ponzu dipping sauces plus a raw egg for my sukiyaki:



Our dinners came with the typical plate of veggies which included a single shiitake mushroom, enoki mushrooms, a slice of carrot, tofu, bean sprouts, udon, napa cabbage and chrysanthemum leaves. Veggies were fresh but my only complaint is that it was a very small portion. I wish they would at least give more napa cabbage:



Overall I enjoyed our dinner. It was an easy drive, the waitresses were very friendly, and a great value.

Regards,
ED-209

"A Purist does not believe in gilt by association. Respect, AND disdain, have to be earned..."

I was a guest of a very generous PuristS and was invited for dinner at Kushi Shabu located on the top floor of Weller Court in the Little Tokyo area of Downtown L.A.:



For appetizers we shared a bowl of warm edamame:



And a bowl of dried beef (delicious and tasted like a moist slightly sweet beef jerky):



And I think this is called "ika no shiokara" (correct me if I'm wrong) which is fermented squid guts. I actually like this dish:



Included with our shabu shabu dinner was the miso soup:



On a visit last year I've had their specialty which is kushikatsu but this time we all ordered the 'all you can eat special beef' shabu shabu. The typical hot pot with boiling water and konbu, excellent ponzu and goma sauces:



A large plate of fresh veggies with loads of shiitake and enoki mushrooms, chrysanthemum leaves, napa cabbage, wide udon noodles, and mochi:



The special beef was fantastic, I think we went thru at least 12 plates. Check out that beautiful marbled meat:



One of our hotpots ready for us to start cooking:



The pork was excellent too:



A special treat with our shabu shabu was a very hard to find in L.A. bottle of Koshihikari Echigo beer:



Towards the end of our dinner, the broth from the shabu shabu made for a delicious soup with our noodles:



And hot green tea and a dessert of red bean, fresh cut fruit and gelatin:



The quality of the AYCE beef is great and the service is excellent. My understanding is that the owner of Kushi Shabu used to have a similar restaurant in Tokyo (before migrating over to L.A.) So I think this is very authentic shabu shabu.

We had a fantastic time sharing a delicious dinner with our family

Regards,
ED-209

That beef looks very well marbled! Thanks for the pics!

-MW

It was right for you and your family to consume 12 pans of the marbled beef. The quality of the marbled beef looked very impressive!

Thank you for the great write-up and pictures Ed-209!

I'm going to pass on the fermented squid guts for the moment; but since you seemed to like it, I'd consider it some other time when I'm feeling brave.

I didn't care for the ika but you have to at least try it. I've only been there three times but food at Kushi Shabu is fantastic!


-MW

.

.

ED209,

 

Indeed, it looks authentic.   The key question:  When the clear liquid arrived, was it just water or was it flavoured......say....with konbu seaweed?

 

Regards,

MTF

Hi MTF,

It was water and konbu. I believe that the owner used to run a shabu shabu restaurant in Tokyo before migrating to L.A. On my previous visit I sampled their kushikatsu and it was delicious.

Regards,
ED-209

love this place...and a great value...

hunger pains...arrgghhhh

Thanks for sharing.. I also love Japanese food... Fortunately, we have many "authentic" restaurants headed by "creative" chefs in Kuala Lumpur


Ninki Tai - Thinly Sliced White Fish with Foie Gras


Hotatei Butter Nabe - Scallop cooked with Mushroom, Butter and Small Nabe




Sea Urchin


Cod Fish

Hi, Liling,

Wow, great pics! and every dish...mmmm...



Was just in Tokyo, and from your pics, those dishes would have been equally enticing to anything I tried in Japan.

Hope all's well.

Best,

TM

"A Purist does not believe in gilt by association. Respect, AND disdain, have to be earned..."

Hello LiL888!

Thanks for sharing the wonderful food pics! I've never been to KL, what other foods are famous there?

-MW

Hi LiL,

Excellent pics. The uni and scallop dishes look delicious. Are they from a specific restaurant? I've never been to KL, but hope to some day.

Regards,
ED-209

thanks for sharing...