#6: Shinsengumi Shabu Shabu Hakata Horumon
Posted on February 13, 2007
Filed Under Japanese | 4 Comments
My spellchecker is going nuts because apparently I spelled every word in the title wrong, but it is the full and correct name of the restaurant.
Shinsengumi is the name of a group of restaurants here in the south bay, like a chain but with each restaurant specializing in something different. There’s the Hakata Ramen place, the Yakitori place, and this Shabu Shabu / Horumon place.
To give you a quick idea of what this place is about: Shabu Shabu is Japanese hot pot, where thinly sliced meats and vegetables are dipped into a boiling pot of broth at your table and you eat as you cook. Horumon are giblets, like tripe and tongue and intestines, which are barbecued in this case.
I was pretty impressed by the setup, each table had a stove built in and also a couple of vent pipes overhead. If you order the shabu shabu, a bot is brought out and the stove is used. IF you order barbecue, a small charcoal grill is plopped onto your table right under the vents so you can grill at your table without the place getting smoky. The place is clean and nicely lit, I really liked it.
Of course the people in my party had to drink and they all got the “supa-sized” beer. It’s pretty big.
We started with buckwheat noodles and simmered cabbage wrapped around ground pork and beef. Quite nice.
I really wanted to try their fried chicken. Unfortunately this was $5 and not quite worth it.
We got our grill, and the show starts.
The stars of the show were the meats for grilling. This is kalbi and pork cheek. The kalbi was excellent!
Grill in action, there were some intestines on the grill and it was very good.
The sausages came cooked, we just wanted to grill more stuff, so we tossed it on…
It’s a really nice place to eat, but none of these little plates of food is cheap, and it all adds up real quick. I wasn’t anywhere near full with $20 of food, I wish I had more money to spend but it would’ve probably taken maybe $40 or $50 to eat everything I wanted. I wish I had more money to blow on this joint, I would’ve had a blast.
Go with a few friends and you can order both the barbecue and shabu shabu for extra variety. Eat a Double Double beforehand and bring lots of money.
Shinsengumi Shabu Shabu Hakata Horumon
1695 W Artesia Blvd
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 532-0728