Innovative Cuisine Meets Trendy Hotpot Restaurant at Shabo

As I step inside and was seated at a table, I see an electric stove top situated in the table's center with chopsticks ready for the picking. With a raised eyebrow of obvious puzzlement, I scan the room, trying to pick out any irregularities (I guess I expected random Asian cooks to pop in and dance on my table or something of that nature). But my search is in vain. The place is plain and simple. This had better be good.

A waitress gracefully arrives and places 4 garnishes on the table ranging from minced garlic to Japanese barbecue sauce and deftly presents a menu. Being new to the whole "hot pot" thing, I quickly became utterly fascinated with the concept. Cooking your own food in a huge boiling pot of soup! So simple and yet so ingenious! Minutes later, a huge pot of Kim chi soup base was placed on the stove table, and it immediately danced to life and perspired in steam and quiet bubble pops. I bounced in my seat as my teeming plate of vegetables loaded with cabbage, mushrooms, chard, corn, and root were presented to me. Yes, I am a vegetable buff and yes, I did shriek in delight and scare my waitress a little. Nonetheless, I was ready for more.

As my Surf and Turf and side dish of Japanese noodles arrived, my mind raced with possible ideas for combinations and eating strategies. There was so much food! And I was in utter bliss. Being an Italian and growing up in a household that holds cooking as a sacred ritual of the ages, this beautiful technique of marrying interactivity with good wholesome food was enough to send me face deep in the steam of the soup, and taking in the heaven that was my dinner. I found myself multi-tasking, waiting for my fish to cook the full 2 minutes while my vegetables were ready in a matter of seconds, all the while chewing my moist beef mixed with soy sauce and minced garlic.

Never have I enjoyed cooking as I did here. Not only did I eat such a great amount of food, it had taken me almost 2 hours to do so, when usually a standard dinner time duration is 30 minutes, 10 if you count the food all being eaten. Such a manner of cooking brought my mind to a whole new level about living and eating healthier.

So if you are looking for that restaurant that will be fun, interactive, and healthy, definitely consider Shabo. It is surely not a health taboo!