Akashabu shabu

So, this new outlet called Akashabu just opened at Kallang Leisure Park and it's a shabu shabu place opened by the same people that brought you Akashi.  A friend of mine who is also a big Akashi fan was meeting me for lunch the other day and we decided to give it a go.  The thing with my friend (despite being Cantonese and all) doesn't like soup (I can hear at least one person in Tampines who is weeping over this non-soup loving Cantonese); and I have never had shabu shabu seeing as I don't like steamboat.  Eek.  So, this was a fairly interesting experience for both of us anyway.  My only regret is that I did not read up on how to go about enjoying shabu shabu which I think would have added to the experience.  

I must also explain that this friend of mine apparently dines often enough at the various Akashi outlets that the waitress knew him on a first name basis.  Anyway, since we weren't that familiar with how to order (okay I was not, and I suspect my friend was just being lazy about it), we got the waitress to suggest what to order and serving size.  So all I can tell you is that we had two type of mushrooms, Enoki (golden) and Bunashimeji (I think), pork and beef strips.  We also had the three types of sashimi they had (yes they only had 3, salmon, some clam thing and I can't remember the last).  And we began cooking the meat and the mushrooms.  

What surprised me was that they used plain water for the shabu shabu.  This is where I really regret not reading up, apparently shabu shabu means cooking in plain water.  So I was like.. hmm, wouldn't the soup just taste of meat and mushrooms?  And it did.  Yes, after cooking half the meal, we tried the soup and were not very impressed with it.  I was like, HUH? so what's so great about this shabu shabu thing that have people going all crazy about.  What I liked about this meal was the sesame dipping sauce that accompanied the meal.  It was really flavourful and had a nutty taste to it.  We thought it was a soya bean/miso paste sauce.  It really added the that oomph factor to the meat (seeing as it was cooked in plain water and really just tasted of meat).  It's also great with just rice.  The ingredients were fresh, the meat came thinly sliced with a slither of fat on the edge.  My friend, being the  health freak started to remove the bits, and me, feeling guilty, followed suit.  

The limited sashimi variety lived up to the Akashi standard of being extremely fresh too.   What surprised me was that this outlet did not serve green tea.  Can someone tell me if this is also part of the shabu shabu experience?

The soup at the end tasted better, and I only found out that that's how it's consumed.  After the meal. Total damage was about $50 for 2 paxor $25 each.  I think it's okay. But it's really not something I'll try again. Give me my regular Akashi outlet any day.


Akashabu
5 Stadium Walk
#01-12 Kallang Leisure Park
Tel: 6346 3868

Opening hours
Lunch: 12noon - 3pm
Dinner: 6pm - 10pm

And so it begins!

How apt! The day I start with this blog, my client takes me out to a wonderful lunch at Thai Village Restaurant . Surprisingly, it was about half filled. This is quite an accomplishment considering we were at the Kallang Leisure Park branch which is like a complete dead zone to any human traffic. She ordered the Braised Superior Sharks Fin with Crab, Fried Tioman Fish, Salt Baked Chicken Drumsticks and Fried Rice with Prawns. This place is known for its sharks-fin and after having a bowl, I can understand why. Unlike the wedding dinner variation where there are only faint slithers of sharks fin, this place gives you an entire piece of thick sharks-fin which requires you to use a pair of chopsticks to tear apart. Yes, ladies and gents, its larger than a mouthful. Its hard to feel compassionate about sharks when sharks-fin tastes this good. heh.

It's hard to eat at this place and not compare it to Jumbo Seafood Waterfront . which is just across the road from this outlet. I'm not sure if it's because they have a different style of cooking, but I prefer their fried rice to the thai restaurant one.   The fried fish was really nothing to shout about, though the chicken dish was fairly decent. The next time I go there, I'll try the fried tang hoon (vermicelli) with crab. I heard that's really good.