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Is This Hot Pot Buffet With Wagyu Beef Worth The Money? [Review]

Is This Hot Pot Buffet With Wagyu Beef Worth The Money? [Review]

Shabu-yo is a hot pot buffet restaurant chain from Japan which has already opened 2 stores in Klang Valley.

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Hot pot fans will be pleased to hear that a new hot pot buffet restaurant chain has opened up in the Klang Valley: Shabu-yo.

The Japanese hot pot buffet chain serves wagyu beef as a meat option– and yes, it is unlimited!

The fresh vegetable bar is one of the first things you see.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

However, do take note that the restaurant is non-halal as they serve pork. The available meat options are:

  • Australian Wagyu beef & pork & chicken
  • Beef & pork & chicken
  • Pork & chicken

Prices differ per meat option, and there are additional charges for dinner and weekend times as well.

What To Expect

If the staff know that it’s your first time at Shabu-yo, they will give you a quick guided tour on where everything is. (But we can do that for you too.)

Before you even sit down at your table for the hot pot, there will be plenty of ready-to-eat Japanese dishes waiting for you: fragrant Japanese curry made with minced beef, ochazuke (seasoned rice steeped in tea and topped with simple vegetables), piping hot chicken karaage (fried chicken), takoyaki, and more.

Each food item has signage to teach you the best way to savour the dish. Pictured here is Japanese beef curry (left) and ochazuke (right).
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

Then, it’s time for your hot pot buffet. Choose a meat course and two soups (there’s sukiyaki, Japanese Amber soup, tomato soup, chicken & pork milky soup). We recommend the sukiyaki if you want a truly authentic Japanese hot pot experience.

All your meat is ordered on a tablet attached to the table, and you are also provided separate chopsticks and utensils for handling the raw meat slices for hygiene reasons.

At the table, use the red chopsticks to handle the raw meat.
(Credit: Shabu-yo/Facebook)

I tried the beef & pork & chicken course. This comes with 6 different kinds of meat: beef chuck, beef karubi (boneless short-rib/flanken-cut rib), pork collar, pork belly, chicken, and tsukune (pork and chicken mince).

(I didn’t get the course with Australian Wagyu, so I can’t review that. But judging by the quality and standards of everything else, if you love Wagyu beef, it’s likely worth it.)

It is also recommended to eat the meat with the special Shabu-yo veggies (thinly cut mix of spring onions, carrots, and the like), which helps to cut through the fattiness and heaviness of the meat.

The tsukune, which is surprisingly tender and definitely worth a try.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

While you wait for your hot pot soup to boil, head over to the extensive vegetable bar for fresh vegetables. I particularly love that there are lots of vegetable options not often seen at other hot pot buffets such as bean sprouts, cauliflowers, red spinach, and even wood ear mushrooms.

They do not carry many of the usual frozen steamboat favourites such as seafood tofu or fake crabmeat. The only processed food items here are fishballs and cocktail sausages.

Many, many vegetables for a fibrous meal.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

Then, pick up some of the surprisingly fresh and crispy fried food items for a mid-meal snack. The fried food is checked on regularly and not too much is served at once, so you can assured of getting a non-soggy piece.

Take your pick of fried chicken, octopus balls, or potato wedges.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

Do make sure to save space for dessert, because in addition to the usual ice cream soft serves of chocolate and vanilla, Shabu-yo’s dessert bar lets you make your own shaved ice and waffles in the easiest, fool-proof ways. There are plenty of syrups and sauces to go with your dessert, ranging from chocolate to mixed berries and pink grapefruit.

Left: Shaved ice maker with instructions, and right: waffles being made with the simple waffle maker.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)
The restaurant chain has perfected the recipe for crisp yet fluffy waffles cooked in just 3 minutes.
(Credit: Anne Dorall/TRP)

Must-try items: the Japanese beef curry, chicken karaage, cooked meat slices wrapped around Shabu-yo special veggies, DIY waffles.

The Verdict

Shabu-yo does not skimp on quality, so you can expect the meat to be fresh and the sides to be delicious. Even the fried items are maintaned regularly to ensure that customers will always have fresh options and not soggy, cold rocks.

As someone who loves vegetables in my hot pot, I was very impressed by the freshness and variety of vegetables. Additionally, all the other “add-ons” like Japanese curry rice and chicken karaage were also extremely well-done, perhaps even better than other restaurants that specialize in those items on their menu.

The prices are a little steeper compared to other more accessible Japanese hot pot buffet chains, but the value of the available fresh food and sheer range of diverse options is definitely worth the price.

If you love Japanese hot pot, Shabu-yo is worth at least a visit.

Locations:

Shabu-yo @ Sunway Velocity Mall, KL
3-58 (3rd Floor)

Shabu-yo @ Sunway Pyramid Mall, Subang Jaya
Lot G1.112, 113 (Ground floor) Blue Atrium


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