Mrs. DanGarion and I had a fun night of dinner at Shabu Shabu in Santa Ana. What made it even better was that we had leftovers all week so having a dinner out really was a highlight, even if it’s a dinner that requires us to do the cooking. For those that aren’t in the know shabu means swish in Japanese so Shabu Shabu basically means Swish Swish. As for what shabu is, basically you get a bowl of water that you season (Soy Sauce, Garlic, Green Onions, etc), ponzu sauce, and goma sauce that you hand grind the sesame seeds for, and then you throw your meat and veggies in, dip them in sauce and eat them on top of rice (brown rice extra $1). Or at least that is what we do.
As for what we ordered, Mrs. DanGarion ordered the combination plate with choice rib-eye and chicken, while I ordered the combination plate of prime beef with kurobuta pork. Along with our meats we were each given an assortment of vegetables along with a couple of pieces of tofu and noodles. I had a single drop of habanero oil added to both my ponzu and goma and I can tell you that it really adds a kick, unless you are looking to have one spicy mouth, one drop is enough! Everything tasted great, although I don’t think I’ll spend the extra $2 for the prime beef over the choice rib-eye in the future since you really can’t tell the difference once it’s cooked. If I remember correctly the combination plates were $16.99. This was our second experience with Shabu Shabu and just like the last time, it was a fun experience. The only issue I was having was that my hand was cramping up for using the chopsticks (which isn’t typical) so I had to ask for a fork. I saved my noodles till the end so that I could have some of my now turned to broth water as a soup to finish off the meal. At the end of the meal we were both fully stuff and very pleased with our meal.
Service was good and attentive, both our waitress and a couple of the waiters checked in on us from time to time. We would definitely go back here again in the future.
visit for dinner at 5:30 on Friday 07/09/10
[xrr rating=3.5/5]
Shabu Shabu Bar
1945 E 17th St. Ste. #108
Santa Ana, 92705
714-954-0332
