Bakersfield Life

Dining Divas - November

larger view larger view larger view larger view larger view larger view larger view

House of Shabu

In each issue of Bakersfield Life, we send the Dining Divas to get the story of a local dining establishment. This month Lydia Rowles, Tracy Walker Kiser, Penny Rafferty and Katie Kirschenmann take in the sights and delights of a new restaurant called House of Shabu.

From the boiling broth to the sizzling shrimp, this is a place that adds a new twist to Asian cuisine.

A New Twist for Lunch Penny - Eating at the House of Shabu was an experience in the unknown. I knew that we had to cook our own food, but I wasn’t prepared for how we would be cooking the food.

Lydia - Turns out, the first part of our adventure was finding House of Shabu. The restaurant is located on California Avenue near Stockdale Highway tucked into the back of a strip mall that’s anchored by a Geico office. The best way to describe the restaurant’s location is in Stockdale Village Plaza behind Farmer Boys.

Katie - Hung all through the ceiling are colorful silk lanterns. The atmosphere is decidedly beautiful and authentic despite the lunchtime hour. I can only imagine how cool the place looks at night, alight with candles and lanterns.

Starters Lydia - Being that we had no idea what shabu-shabu was, we were more than happy with restaurant owner Paulyn Mercado’s offer to choose a menu sampling for us. She started us off with three appetizers: BBQ on a Stick ($5.30), Gambas Shrimp ($7.50) and Garlic Mushrooms ($4.50). The shrimp were the first to arrive sizzling on cast iron plates.

The large tail-on shrimp were lightly coated in a sticky sauce that had slightly caramelized from the heat of the iron plate and were served with a medley of vegetables. The flavors of garlic, soy and ginger almost seemed condensed. It reminded me of a savory teriyaki with a brighter, bolder punch.

Next out was the Garlic Mushrooms. The sliced mushrooms were sautéed in a garlic sauce that was thinner and slightly milder than the shrimp’s sauce allowing the delicate flavor of the mushroom to come through.

Tracy - Paulyn then brought out BBQ on a Stick. There were enough skewers for each of us. The fun thing about ordering appetizers at a place like House of Shabu is getting an understanding of the diverse food it offers and it really adds to the dining experience.

Penny - Our next course was Shabu’s Fried Rice with Chicken.

We had chicken topped with a scrambled egg mixed with shallots, broccoli and carrots. This was also available with beef. The bowl it came in was small and had a lid to keep the rice warm. There are also four containers on the table with spices – red chili sauce, a horseradish-type sauce, shallots and garlic – to add a kick to the food.

Main Course Katie - I was first introduced to shabu-shabu during my travels in Japan. Shabu-shabu, which in Japanese literally means swish swish, refers to boiling thinly sliced meats and vegetables in a hot pot by swishing them around. Cooking meats in this way keeps them juicy and savory. Shabu-shabu is very popular in Japan and can be found everywhere from the smallest neighborhood diner to five-star restaurants in Tokyo.

Shabu-shabu is simple. Start by picking chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu then order a judo portion for a normal appetite or a sumo portion for a larger appetite.

Lydia - The only thing that pried me away from the teriyaki chicken was the arrival of the much-anticipated Shabu Plate ($10.98 Judo, $13.48 Sumo). Arriving from the kitchen on a stainless steel cart,

The Shabu Plate consisted of a carefully arranged assortment of vegetables, raw beef and shrimp, cubes of tofu and rice noodles.

As I was busy taking inventory of all the goodies on my Shabu Plate, Paulyn was busy inserting stainless steel containers of steaming broth into the recessed heating cylinders at each of our places. We were going to cook our food in this broth.

Tracy - With the broth beginning to bubble, Paulyn gave us each two small dishes of dipping sauces. Bonzu Sauce is a broth soy sauce with lemon flavoring that was light and tangy. The Goma Sauce was a creamier sesame sauce and full of flavor.

Lydia and I shared an order of Beef and Shrimp Shabu and prepared our own meals in our individual serving pots. We started with a savory broth and added baby corn, zucchini, carrots and asparagus and let them cook for a few minutes.

Lydia - Paulyn suggested we should give the noodles a few minutes and then add the meat. With her instructions and chopsticks in hand, we were ready to try our hand at shabu-shabu.

Katie - Be careful. Everything cooks fast and if you overcook something you have no one to blame but yourself. After pulling the cooked pieces of meat and veggies out of the pot, dip them into the sauces that are traditionally served with shabu-shabu.

Lydia - Each of us was provided a long handled small wire basket that served as both swisher and food recovery device. I swished and swirled and after a few minutes, I deemed my lunch to be perfectly cooked. I retrieved my veggies, noodles and meat with my basket and piled them in my bowl with a few spoonfuls of broth for good measure. With my meal successfully retrieved I moved on to the dipping.

Overall, our shabu-shabu experience was a definite hit. All four of us had a great time swishing and dipping. And while I’m definitely not a nutritionist, I have to figure the cooking technique is rather healthy. From the abundance of vegetables in every color to cooking in broth and not oil, shabu-shabu has to be vitamin-rich and low in fat and calories. Fun, tasty and guilt-free – it’s hard to beat that.