Cooking on paper, at Paper Pot Shabu

Shabu Shabu is a Japanese hot pot dish, where you cook thinly sliced meats and vegetables in hot seasoned water or broth. The term Shabu means “swish” in Japanese, because the meat cooks very fast, and is traditionally cooked in a metal pot either individually or family style.

Paper Pot Shabu is a Korean owned restaurant, which takes the concept but uses wicker type baskets and special paper to hold the hot broth. I’ve yet to see any “paper” pot break or leak, so regardless if the pot is gimmicky, it does the job.

The place is small, and they do allow reservations for groups of 4 or larger. The place has three large booths which can hold 4-6 people, about 7 tables, which can be made for couples or large parties, and a large corner table which can accommodate up to 9 people, which is where we sat.

Unlike many Shabu places which use a counter for their hot pot, this place gives you plenty of elbow room, and your neighbor isn’t breathing on your food. Kudos for that!

There are different types of meats you can pick from, ranging from lamb, pork, chicken, scallop and the most popular beef. The beef quality ranges from lean cut to Kobe grade beef, and comes in various sizes: 6oz, 8oz, 10oz. The restaurant also provides a variety of broth to cook your meat, and there’s no additional charge for that, or for brown rice.

8 oz Prime Rib Eye

I chose the Prime Rib Eye- 8 ounces. The meat was flavorful and had just enough marble. I selected the miso-pork broth, which is a mild broth but still more flavorful than water. I was satisfied with the 8 ounces, and even the veggie plate was adequate.

For the heartier eaters, you can upgrade your vegetable plate to the “Wow” for $3 for some more udon, ramen, rice cakes, dumplings, sausages, tofu & veggies.