Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Swish Your Own Soup

Going into the Shabu Shabu House on Convoy Street gave me a pleasant sense of cognitive disconnect. I've been meaning to visit a Japanese-style hotpot restaurant for years, but the occasion has never sprung up until just recently. The idea behind shabu shabu is to cook your own vegetables and meat in a boiling pot right at the table. In theory, I understood, but in practice I had no idea about the specifics of eating. The restaurant is organize around a horseshoe-shaped bar, with a few tables at the periphery. Every seat has access to an electric burner, on which the individual pot of broth boils.

I opted for a spicy, miso broth instead of just plain water in my hotpot, which was a good idea because the eventual soup at the end was much more flavorful. I also received a little caddy with ground garlic, onion, and chopped scallions to flavor the broth. Finally, goma (sesame) and ponzu (soy and citrus) sauces for dipping the meat and veggies in. When the girl behind the bar came and offered "hot drops" from a little bottle with a skull and crossbones on the side, I only took the single, proffered drop. That was a good idea, since the stuff was like liquid fire and even a miniscule drop gave significant heat to the otherwise spice-less sauces.

Once the broth began to boil, I got to cooking. I opted for thinly sliced, raw beef as my main ingredient, though lamb, scallops, clams, or shrimp would have been equally delicious. Dinner pricing is based on the size of the plate of meat that's ordered. Small plates start around $13 and large plates are about $17.

As I cooked, the order of operations became apparent. First, cook some vegetables because they take longer, then add some meat, then make sure to let the cooked food cool for a second because it will scorch the tongue fresh out of the pot.

The experience was really quite satisfying and I was stuffed and happy by the end. Adding the fresh noodles to the broth gave me a light soup to finish off the meal.

A large order of house sake ($5) was just right for the meal, but there was also beer, wine, and shoju cocktails to be had by more enterprising drinkers.

The restaurant does sukiyaki as well, where diners simmer their meats and vegetables in a heavier sauce, but that's a meal for a different day.

4646 Convoy Street
858-268-8648
M-Th 11:30-2:30 & 5-10
F-Sun 11:30-10

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/30/28753/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/30/28754/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/30/28755/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Successor to Lillian Hellman and Carson McCullers

Crossword puzzles need headline

Going into the Shabu Shabu House on Convoy Street gave me a pleasant sense of cognitive disconnect. I've been meaning to visit a Japanese-style hotpot restaurant for years, but the occasion has never sprung up until just recently. The idea behind shabu shabu is to cook your own vegetables and meat in a boiling pot right at the table. In theory, I understood, but in practice I had no idea about the specifics of eating. The restaurant is organize around a horseshoe-shaped bar, with a few tables at the periphery. Every seat has access to an electric burner, on which the individual pot of broth boils.

I opted for a spicy, miso broth instead of just plain water in my hotpot, which was a good idea because the eventual soup at the end was much more flavorful. I also received a little caddy with ground garlic, onion, and chopped scallions to flavor the broth. Finally, goma (sesame) and ponzu (soy and citrus) sauces for dipping the meat and veggies in. When the girl behind the bar came and offered "hot drops" from a little bottle with a skull and crossbones on the side, I only took the single, proffered drop. That was a good idea, since the stuff was like liquid fire and even a miniscule drop gave significant heat to the otherwise spice-less sauces.

Once the broth began to boil, I got to cooking. I opted for thinly sliced, raw beef as my main ingredient, though lamb, scallops, clams, or shrimp would have been equally delicious. Dinner pricing is based on the size of the plate of meat that's ordered. Small plates start around $13 and large plates are about $17.

As I cooked, the order of operations became apparent. First, cook some vegetables because they take longer, then add some meat, then make sure to let the cooked food cool for a second because it will scorch the tongue fresh out of the pot.

The experience was really quite satisfying and I was stuffed and happy by the end. Adding the fresh noodles to the broth gave me a light soup to finish off the meal.

A large order of house sake ($5) was just right for the meal, but there was also beer, wine, and shoju cocktails to be had by more enterprising drinkers.

The restaurant does sukiyaki as well, where diners simmer their meats and vegetables in a heavier sauce, but that's a meal for a different day.

4646 Convoy Street
858-268-8648
M-Th 11:30-2:30 & 5-10
F-Sun 11:30-10

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/30/28753/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/30/28754/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/30/28755/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Que Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

Next Article

Crêpes Bonaparte: Flutter Those Baby Bleus

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader