James A.
Yelp
Shaburina in Bellevue, WA, is an AYCE Japanese style individual hot pot restaurant, serving up a limited selection of thinly sliced meats along with a very diverse list of fresh ingredients, self-served from a buffet. We found it to be a great all-around experience during Christmas Day.
Shaburina was one of the first restaurants we went to on our first visit to the Seattle area more than 3 years ago, when trying to collaboratively find an apartment for my daughter's first full-time job. It was before I began to help record my journey on Yelp, so don't really have a strong memory of it except that it was AYCE and was on the pricey side. So when the opportunity arose to find a place for a Christmas meal that we would really enjoy, we decided to go back on memory lane by taking a walk for lunch. They were open for Christmas Day, with last seating at 3:30 pm (allowing the restaurant to close by 5 pm).
This is an individual hot pot restaurant, with each person getting their own 'hot pot'. This means that the number of seating is perhaps less than what you would expect of the space, and it was fairly popular on this holiday. Even then, the host was gracious in helping us find a table, and we ended up only waiting less than 15 minutes. The menu is accessed through a QR code and is simpler than most. I appreciated that they didn't jack the price up for Christmas, instead it was typical lunch pricing: choice of the house course ($35 per person), Buffet Bar Only ($28), or the Premium Course ($50 for wagyu beef and Kurobuta pork). Everyone at the table must get the same thing. We got the house course.
There are four choices of broth for all items, and between the 3 of us, we got the original (unami gotten through bonito and kelp) and spicy miso (unami gotten through fermented soy bean). The broth for me got tastier as I kept cooking fatty beef and pork into it, but never so good to challenge a decent soup. The induction burners work really well, with easily adjustable heat level
Shabu-shabu is a Japanese style of Asian Hot Pot, emphasizing the cooking of very thinly sliced meats by 'swishing' it through the broth with tongs or chop sticks, eating the meat as you cook it. You don't want to over cook the meat here..it will shrivel up and become tough. I was good about this in the beginning, and the meat was good, but as I ordered the refill(s), I wasn't as careful and the meat became chewy and tough. I would recommend the beef shortplate and pork belly (other two choices being chuck and pork shoulder), cooking it very quickly and not letting it sit in the broth...or just upgrading to the premium course where a better grade of meat with more fat makes it a more 'premium' experience.
I loved the self service buffet, with the requisite sauce bar (which my wife and daughter used and liked), a small selection of vegetables (bokchoy, napa cabbage, chrysanthemum, bean sprouts, tomato, tofu, squash, corn, fried tofu, potato, mushrooms, konyaku, and mini wontons) , but also a surprisingly premium version of seafood and other proteins that you can add. This was the star of the meal for me, and I took full advantage. Noodles included ramen, udon, egg noodle. Two types of pickled vegetables were given, including a decent napa kimchi which could be used to make a kimchi broth. I loved the selection of processed meats, including spam, beef ball, fish tofu ball, krab sticks, chikuwa, and kamaboku. They also had raw headless shrimp (small size), and baby octopus (I ate a lot of this), along with small shelled bay scallops and small clams. Note most of the proteins in the buffet line are presented semi-frozen, and meant to be cooked (if raw) or reheated (if cooked) a while.
Service was definitely caring, but a bit hit or miss in terms of clearing plates and water refilling. Instead, the limited staff (understandable because of the holidays) focused on refilling meats quickly and keeping the buffet fully stocked and clean. They did a good job.
Payment is accepted at the table and is through Clover. it's become common practice to charge a credit card fee, which is very easy to implement if using one of the all-in-one restaurant partners like Clover or Toast. In this case, it was 3% and this fee was clearly stated, so wasn't a surprise.
Complementary soft serve ice cream seems to be the common dessert for hot pot places, and Shaburina was no exception, with it being given as you leave the restaurant. It is served in a small Dixie cup size container, with a small spoon. This small amount actually went a long way, the vanilla flavored ice cream being very rich, thick, and creamy. It was very delicious (as good as soft serve as you can get), and a great way to end the meal as we headed out into the cold, damp, and dreary Seattle overcast skies.