I visited another Cebu restaurant using a discount voucher from group buying site Groupon Cebu. When Groupon launched an online promo for Shabu-Way Hot Pot Cuisine, it took little convincing on my part to buy the deal.
It was a P250 for P500 discount voucher on their shabu shabu hotpot sets. I must have been among the first ones to hit the ‘buy’ it button when the deal came live.
Lol, told you I am a sucker for food deals and since this is one of the restaurants in Cebu that is not that far from our house in Mactan, there really was not much thinking involved. And no, I still affirm that I am not an impulsive online discount voucher hunter. Nope, not yet… I think hehehhe
So anyhow last Friday Titus and I dropped by ParkMall Mandaue to check out and perhaps do some sort of a Cebu food blog review on Shabu-Way Hot Pot Cuisine. I had a party to attend to in the nearby MO2 hours after so it was the perfect time to make use of my Groupon discount voucher.
What is shabu shabu dining?
If you hear people say that they are going to a restaurant for shabu shabu, don’t jump the gun and report to the police for there is nothing illegal about shabu shabu dining. In fact I think dietician and nutritionist will highly recommend shabu shabu as a healthy way to eat food.
Shabu shabu restaurants have these specially made tables with electronic stoves for hot pot. The usual shabu shabu meal will get you a platter of veggies, meats, seafood, spices and a steaming broth. Different platters have different prices of course. The waitress pours over the already hot broth on your pot and then you can cook and experiment with the ingredients that you have at your table. You control the temperature from the control button on the table, usually each seats have its own pot and control switch. You can be an instant chef!
Veggie Platter Hot Pot
My (old) Shabu Shabu Experiences
My initial experiences with shabu shabu way of dining and eating was at Healthy Shabu Shabu Restaurant in Mall of Asia in Manila. I paid (err.. my previous company heheh since I charged it as I was with clients) something close to P4,500 when we availed one of their set hot pot options, we were 5 in the group.
But my most unforgettable time with shabu shabu was when my clients wanted to avail of the wagyu platter that costs P4,500 on top of the regular mix meat set that costs around P3,500. That dinner was expensive for most Filipinos, heck it’s a month salary for many people. I know there is no way I’d shell out my own money for one shabu shabu meal that expensive. Although I have to admit, the experience was awesome, the food served was healthy, fresh and delicious.
Special Hot Pot Tables in a Shabu Shabu Restaurant
Anyhow, so from then on I was always under the impression that shabu shabu dining is really expensive and that you have to shell out thousands for a platter of meat and veggies and a steaming hotpot, so the financially challenged that I am have never again tried it. Until well.. Groupon brought the deal to my eyes 🙂
Shabu-Way Hotpot Cuisine
Armed with the Groupon discount voucher, we made it to Parkmall early, so early that the restaurant was still on break when we got there hahahah. So we just explored this famous mall in Mandaue City and waited for 6pm.
Their meat, seafood, angus beef platter are affordable especially if I compare it with my initial shabu shabu experiences in Manila.
Mixed Meat Platter
It was a Friday night and there was only one occupied table when we got there. I think majority of Cebuanos are apprehensive to enter such restaurant thinking that it looks wonderful it must be super expensive. But actually it is not, the prices are comparable if you dine out at most good restaurants in Cebu.
As an example: A shabu shabu mixed platter of meats cost P390, it comes with the broth and plate of veggies. There are of course cheaper platter options. Add in an order of Fishball P68 and an order of crabmeat sticks P58 and softdrinks P38 x 2 = P76. You get a full meal for 2! And the shabu shabu experience of cooking your own meal on a hot pot makes it even more worth it!
How to make shabu shabu , cook and dine?
There is really no perfect system in cooking your shabu shabu meal as I’ve said you can experiment and be your own chef. But just to give you an idea, you can read further or not, lol.
Once the broth is boiling on your hotpot, you can start putting in the corn, taro or gabi and other veggies that will take time to cook. Mix in the spices, control the amount of chili you used. Titus put all of the chili and we ended up with really HOT hotpot hehhehe. Put in the thinly sliced meat; make sure that you won’t overcook it. Some people prefer to use the ladle to dip the meat into the boiling soup and take it out fast. You will also have some vermicelli or rice noodles, you may want to put it lasts since it cook quickly. Now, I’m not an expert cook as I have said over and over again here in my blog so observe due diligence when following my cooking instructions hahaha. And make your own hot pot heaven with different ingredients 🙂
As the ingredients are mixing with the boiling broth, you will smell the richness of your shabu-shabu. Take your time eating and savoring each spoonful of your special soup and hot-pot.
By the way the staff at this particular restaurant in Cebu was really courteous and attentive without becoming intrusive. A plus!
The only thing I noticed is that they don’t refill the broth unlike the other shabu shabu I’ve been too but they are way cheaper than those other hotpot shabu shabu resto so maybe that’s why. I wish there were more meats on the platter though and more corn since I love corn. 🙂
They have many hotpot choices like vegetarian hotpot if you are looking for one and the favored wagyu beef hot pot platter and more.
Steaming Soup Shabu Shabu Style
Anyhow if you are looking for a different dining experience and have not tried shabu shabu, why not drop by Shabu-Way Hot Pot Cuisine in Parkmall Mandaue. They also have a branch in Robinson Cybergate in Fuente and another branch in Ayala Center Cebu Terraces. If you are a visitor to Cebu, you can also make this as part of your things to do in Cebu. Local Cebu food choices and restaurants are generally cheaper compared to Manila prices.
Anyhow, Happy New Week guys!
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