shabu shabu

a few months ago i joined an online foodie board. no, not chowhound or egullet - i haven't had time to peruse those sites thoroughly, yet. but something more local: don rockwell.

i'm not exactly sure how i heard of it. it's possible i may have read about it on dcist, but i think it's more plausible that i was doing a search for restaurant reviews online, and this don rockwell board came up.

i anonymously lurked around for a while, not wanting to post anything - i was strictly there for the cold hard food-related information. it wasn't until i tried using the search function on DR that i realized that i would have to create a (free) account to fully use the features of the board.

but since i signed up, i've come to realize that it's one of my go-to sites in the morning (or rather, all day), and i've learned about lots of things - like there are many die-hard philly cheesesteak fans in the area; that yechon is supposed to be the best korean restaurant in the area (i've yet to go, though, it's 24-hours, so i'm not sure what's stopping us from going); and apparently there is a sur la table in pentagon city.

the DR regulars (newbies always welcome) meet (bi-?)weekly for $20 tuesdays - they pick a restaurant, and plan to spend ~$20 + tax,tip,drinks. maybe it was because a couple of weeks ago i was feeling really down and needed a change of scene, that i decidedly signed cavin and i up for the $20 tuesday dinner at bob's 88 shabu shabu - our first DR event with people whose screennames and food anecdotes were quite familar to me, but their real names and faces were not.

so last night was our first foray into the seedy DR underworld (and yes, i know. last night was monday, not tuesday. but these things are not set in stone.)

first, what is shabu shabu? here is an exerpt of the description on the menu that i snagged on the way out of bob's last night:

shabu shabu allows dinners[sic] to laugh and share and drink and cook and eat all together over leisurely meal. the name shabu shabu is said to come from the swishing sound of the meat being dragging bubbling broth. the cooking style is thought to have been developed by genghis khan and introduced to asia through his military campaigns.

the components of the meal are simple: meat and/or vegetables, broth, and dipping sauce.

once the order is in, the pots of broth are placed on burners in the middle of specially design tables. platters of extra-thin sliced meat vegetables begin arriving. diners cook their own items in a pot of bubbling broth. by the end of the meal, there is a delicious soup with layers of flavor. as each item is swished through the broth, chopsticks or a little strainer are used to remove the tasty morsels from the broth to a dipping sauce.

so, to break it down even further (at least in my sole experience at bob's), each person at the table gets their own pot of stock, and a plate of veggies (corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, onions, fish balls, spinach, cellophane noodles) comes out, and you also get another plate of meat or seafood, depending on what you order. then you just add some of the items to your stock, and cook them, and take them out as they become done, and dip it into your own mixture of sauces that are at the bar at the other side of the room, and eat. a very simple concept, no?

but last night cavin and i not only had to deal with eating this new type of food, but also with meeting new people. we didn't know anyone - i talked via DR email to someone about coordinating a ride from the metro to the restaurant, but basically i had no idea who anyone was. i thought cavin and i did pretty well for having to be social. i'm a social person by nature (most times), but cavin is a little bit reserved, but last night he stepped up his game and was just as social as i was.

i'm really glad that we went with the DR group. because of DR's stature in the food community, bob hooked us up with a variety of appetizers: fermented deep fried tofu (had a smelly taste), fried duck tongues, de-boned duck feet.

after these came out our individual orders of shabu shabu came out (veggie plate, and meat/seafood plate). i ordered the lamb and pork, which were high-quality, thinly sliced and rolled pieces of raw meat. cavin ordered the beef, which was presented the same as the lamb and pork, but also the tripe, which was also thinly sliced. we shared both plates which were delicious. i'm not the biggest fan of lamb, so cavin ate most of the lamb, while i ate most of the beef.

during our shabu shabu, bob also brought out more large dishes to share: pork hocks (gelatinous meat and bones in a fragrant cinnamon/star anise sauce), and strips of beef and longhorn peppers. towards the point where i started getting really full, this large bowl of lion's head meatballs (seriously like 3.5" in diameter!) came out, which were superb. they were gingery, and the meat was very soft and moist. (i found out after the dinner that bob's wife knew we were coming, so she specially made them for the DRs to have! it's not even on the menu!!!)

finally, after we thought we couldn't eat anymore, bob brought out a shaved ice dessert. it's very similar to filipino halo-halo, but it was served in a large platter for the entire table to share. personally, i enjoy filipino halo-halo better; the one at bob's wasn't sweet enough for me - i wished for a little bit more condensed milk, and different toppings (like ube and jackfruit). i like lychees, but i don't think i prefer them on my shaved ice dessert, as bob's had.

all in all it was a great dinner. we met some really good people, who have a similar passion for food as we do. we also got the hook up that we normally wouldn't have gotten had we gone to bob's shabu shabu on our own. and, it was only $27 + drinks for the entire dinner! (this price was set up in advance by the folks from DR coordinating with bob.) for pictures of the food, click here.

now that we've gone once, we'll probably go to more DR events. i'm glad that i'm being proactive in trying to meet people in the area with similar tastes.

and, now that we've gone to bob's 88 shabu shabu, we'll probably be back again. the only thing we might do next time if we go, is to drive. it took about an hour to get home, and at that time of night, it might be faster to just drive.

bob's 88 shabu shabu
316 n. washington street
rockville, md
301.294.5888