Shabu Shabu Ichiban
I had the pleasure of being one of the people invited for Shabu Shabu Ichiban’s food tasting. To be honest, I was really hesitant in attending since I am not fond of Japanese or any oriental cuisine. So, I was sort of terrified. Haha I decided to go because why not? Okay, I did give out a reason why not. Hey! I really need to give this place a chance with my taste buds. I have to try out new things and that is why I decided to go. Guess what? It was one of the best decisions I made! Shabu Shabu Ichiban really caught me by surprise. Not did I only like what I ate, I could not stop eating there. I have been craving for Shabu Shabu Ichiban since then and my girlfriend finds it weird because I never crave oriental asian food. It is that good!
When I got there, first thing I noticed is the interior design of the restaurant. Well, of course, the food was still being prepared. I really liked how the designer was able to balance out the classic traditional Japanese style and combined it with modern industrial look. It was really well thought and with clean lines. Well done!
Now, the food! I cannot lie. My face was metaphorically written with question marks when the food arrived and I was in awe by the sheer volume of food at the time. My heart was panicking just a bit. Haha I boiled the meat and all in the soup which was in a hot pot. Sorry if my terminologies aren’t on point but I guess you get what I mean. After a few minutes, the meat was ready to eat. I was a little scared to try it out but I knew that I had to.
It was really good! No lies here. I would post this if I did not like it. The process really was part of the experience. The cooking and how the taste of the soup changes when you put in more of the stuff from the table. It was literally gastronomic for me! I enjoy cooking at home but this was fun. I also do not like my food touching but mixing the different kinds of meat to my base soup was fine. In fact, it made everything taste better. By the way, they have 24 soup bases for you to choose from! Yes! You heard that right! 24 soup bases! =)
Ofourse, I dug in to their tempura which actually complements well with the soup. That’s one thing I like from them. I always hate it when I eat at other Japanese restaurants and they serve us with tempura where it is like 50% breading. You get excited then you take a bite just to know that you have just bitten on the breading part because the prawn is in there somewhere. Haha Well, this on is different because the prawn is actually the same size as what you see in front of you. You get to bite off both the prawn and the breading at the same time! Now that is a bang for your buck!
The Skewered Bean-Paste Flavored Cutlet was also pretty good. It was fried just right and the sauce had that strong savory flavor which gives that cutlet that additional oomph! =)
Now the best has come! Their Alaskan King Crab was refreshingly full of flavor! These crabs were imported from Alaska to Cebu and I was surprised by how fresh it tasted. It was odd because I know it was imported but they managed to keep it really fresh while maintaining its flavor as well. It was one hell of a taste bud joyride! I really enjoyed it that I could not stop talking about it to Sophia. We will definitely be back there soon. I really want her to try the crabs! It’s really worth it! Shabu Shabu Ichiban Sets starts at Php 488 on weekdays and Php 688 on weekends. That is fairly affordable for the quality of shabu shabu you will get. Check them out right now at the Skypark in SM Seaside City Cebu.
