Shabu Shabu

Shabu Shabu has the reputation of being one of the most popular foreigner foods in Korea. After this weekend, I can understand why! After hearing about a great place in downtown twice in one day, Britton and I decided it was time to see what the hype was all about. Our mission was successful; for tucked away in an alley behind the YMCA is a great shabu shabu restaurant. Upon entering, the waitress already knew what we were in search of and brought us our preliminary ingredients: fresh greens and mushrooms is a pot of tomato-y broth. She also brought us a plate of thinly sliced beef, which we were to put in the pot with the vegetables. The mixture slowly came to a boil, cooking its contents. And once finished cooking, we dished it up into our own bowls and dipped our food in wasabi and red sauce. I don't know of any word to describe the taste of shabu shabu other than simply awesome. It is a great mixture of flavors, both mild and slightly spicy, and the meal itself is very hearty. The beef tastes like eating roast beef, which is something I haven't been able to enjoy in a long time! Once we finished our vegetables and beef, they brought noodles to our table to cook in the leftover broth. Those were very tasty as well. Lastly, a very kind gentleman took a little of the broth and used it to cook some scorched rice for us. Now, this isn't burned rice, but a slightly crunchy rice that to me resembles fried rice. With all that, at 10 dollars per person, it is a very good price for a filling and quite gratifying meal. Britton and I left feeling very happy we had tried something new in Korea! And I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new Korean food to try.

Pictures!

The vegetables and beef cooking in the pot.














Beef waiting to be cooked.














Britton cooking! Yum!