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    Kim Shabu

    4.3 (321 reviews)
    ModerateKorean, Hot Pot, Buffets
    Open 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

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    KIM SHABU ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Seafood bar
    Emily K.

    We had the AYCE for Saturday lunch and it was a very satisfying meal. The seafood, veggies and sauce bar was clean, fresh and neatly organized, and I like they have two types of house sauce ready, cause I often don't even know what I need to mix to make a good sauce. The meat was good quality and tender too, and I loved the house broth. The house porridge at the end was definitely a cherry on top. 10/10 highly recommend it!!

    Patricia T.

    It pains me to write this as I was truly excited to check out this place. I was in Koreatown and was looking for places to eat and this one had great reviews. It should've been a red flag already coming in with no customers in the restaurant, but I gave it benefit of the doubt. No issues with customer service as everyone was incredibly nice. When I was sitting at the table; I noticed a cockroach on the wall. Not wanting to alarm my parents I decided to ignore it. Thinking back, I really should have told them and gotten up right away because it made me iffy and anxious the entire time. Surely enough, my intuition was correct. After we got our food, I noticed the cockroach (don't know if it was the same one on the wall earlier or not) casually walking on our table where all our food was. Now I can't ignore it anymore and told my dad there's a cockroach right next to your plate. We flagged down the owner and told her about it. She was very apologetic and moved us to a different table and offered a discount to our bill. But during the entire time I was hypersensitive and on high alert for the bugs. It really just ruined my appetite and I couldn't find myself enjoying my meal at all.

    Jo-ann H.

    Went for their lunch on a rainy day and the price was super reasonable. It was around $21ish per person with 6 meat options to choose from (#6-12). The restaurant was pretty clean, and all the veggies were fresh. Honestly, it's one of the cleanest AYCE hot pot spots I've found so far. The staff were also very friendly and welcoming, which made the experience even better.

    À la carte menu
    Ashley D.

    A good option for AYCE hotpot in the Memorial City-Bunker Hill-Little Seoul area with very reasonable prices, especially for lunch! It's a quiet and clean place, and the front still has the Noodle House. Our server was very friendly and helpful, and I believe the manager also routinely came out to check on us (she also seemed friendly). Compared to places in Bellaire/Chinatown, it has less options for sides, but I think the quality makes up for it. My ONE advice: DOUBLE UP ON YOUR MEATS! The portions of "single" meat plates are much smaller than other hotpot places. The pic I've included is when we doubled up on our meat orders.

    Menu
    Liz N.

    Returned to visit the shabu AYCE experience and new concept. Everything was very good and they definitely got busy as the morning progressed. Good options from the buffet line. Very nice employees! I got the house broth and my favorite cut of meat from the lunch menu was #7. Clean restaurant and will def be back

    Peter X.

    Quick service, friendly staff, and $30 AYCE dinner. I do recommend the dinner menu for the additional meats. This place is good for the price although I wished there were more options at the bar such as more veggie options and seafood. Pro tip: at the end of the meal, get some handmade noodles to soak up all that flavor from the broth!!

    AYCE HOTPOT
    Jeannie K.

    Kim Shabu is my happiest find of 2024 in Houston. This used to be a soup noodle place and has since been completely remodeled. It now offers - dare I say - the best individual hotpots in Houston. That's a bold claim given we have so many hotpot spots. So what do I base that on? 1. The variety of items. The seafood and veggie+ bar is impressively varied, and with 12 cuts of meat offered for dinner, Kim Shabu gives you permutations and combinations of concoctions between veggies, meats, seafood, carbs, and sauces. Don't skip on the rice cakes and the hand-pulled noodles towards the end. 2. The freshness. This is unbeatable. I don't know how they offer so many items and yet keep them all so fresh. I probably ate a pound of mushrooms and crown daisy each, and don't get me started on the meat. So fresh and so good. Such good quality. 3. The flavors. Both the House and Beef broth are delicious. While my pot tasted like really thick mushroom soup by the end of the meal, the broth was good from the get go. The sauces were also spot on. The avocado sauce was so good and spicy, and I also enjoyed the soy-based House and Ponzu sauces as well as the black sesame sauce. And the peanut sauce. And the ssamjang. I ate a lot of sauces. Service was also prompt. I'm really happy with this find! Edit: Turns out that I really disliked my experience here prior to the remodeling, but definitely go and support this new hotpot gig. The Shabu is fantastic.

    Roxanna V.

    This place never fails. Went in January and very recently with family and friends. Our visit in January was with a large party with some being vegan and non vegan. It was a wonderful experience all around. They have plenty of vegan options here and highly recommend for anyone wanting those options. They have no problems answering any and all questions as to what is and isn't vegan. The meats are always fresh, as well as the buffet. Hands on my favorite place to go and always highly recommend. The service is always wonderful. If you are looking to go for lunch and not dinner there options are half of what is offered for dinner but they are still great options.

    Katie A.

    First time here and had a great experience! It's very clean and well laid out. The service was great and the owners are so sweet. So many options to choose from the food bar. The broth was a bit bland and I couldn't figure out how to spice it up just right but there are a lot of great sauce options. It really is a great price for the quantity and quality of the food. I will definitely be back.

    front counter
    Chris W.

    Previously Korean Noodle House, Kim Shabu is a lovely family-owned hot pot joint out in Spring Branch. The clean, minimalist decor as well as the unassuming menus are endearing, but don't let that fool you - among shabu shabu restaurants, it holds its own against more bombastic peers in Chinatown and Katy. Here are my thoughts on our experience: Meats and soups: For dinner, choose from any of the 12 cuts on the list, of which 9 are beef, 2 are pork, and 1 is chicken. Everything we had was fresh and well-portioned; I loved seeing all the beautiful trays hit the table at once, then stacking them up high as we devoured slice after slice of meaty goodness. Most of us ordered either the deeply rich house broth or lightly savory dashi soup, which were also both excellent and complemented the shabu shabu options well. Buffet: You'll find your typical selection of Asian veggies, shellfish/seafood, tofu, mushrooms, and noodles out here. Reflecting the restaurant's Korean roots, you'll also see an extensive banchan station (I wish the kimchi had gotten refilled)! The sauce bar has both prepared mixes and basic essentials for you to create your perfect dip. The dessert and hot food sections were fairly limited, but you're not here to eat too much of that here, are you? Service: Our server was quick, efficient, responsive, and attentive - perhaps more so than at any other hot pot restaurant I've been to! I guess it did help that the place was pretty light when we went late on a Friday night. In short, while it may not have some of the more expansive options that other places do, Kim Shabu more than makes up for it with solid mainstays and excellent, personable service - I wouldn't hesitate to go back if I found myself in the area!

    Andrew C.

    On the corner of a strip mall, this hot pot place isn't huge but can seat parties of two to larger groups (there's a separate room with big tables). Each person gets their own pot and it's one price for AYCE - with discounts for senior citizens (10%) and kids under 4 eating free. Broths are House (chicken, beef, pork), dashi, beef, pork, chicken, miso or veggies. I went with the house but honestly - like with most hot pots the flavors at the end are all muddled. The have a buffet bar with the most neatly stacked and assorted vegetables and items for your hotpot - including kimchis etc. They also have a section for rice and some items that go well with rice . . . and a separate area with fruit and a whole ice cream section. Meats are very very thinly sliced - which means they cook in a matter of seconds. You can get two plates of meat per person (roughly 10 pieces), but you'll likely need to order some more as you go. Staff was so courteous and helpful and very kind. We even got some candy canes since Christmas was just around the corner. This place is definitely a bit of a neighborhood gem.

    Patrick L.

    This restaurant has great flavor broth, and a good selection of meats. I wish there was more sides available.

    House broth
    Quynh-Anh V.

    I liked how everything at the veggies and seafood bar was chopped nicely, and the porridge at the end was great and for only $1! But the broths are not super flavorful (which is probably suitable to Korean people's tastes), and they don't have crab sticks!!! which is big for me. Also the meat is chopped a little too thinly so it falls apart really easily. The staff seemed nice though and everything was very clean.

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    1 year ago

    So fresh, love the prices! Can't wait to come back in the future with my family. The service was excellent!! The broth was amazing

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - Kim Shabu

    Is it only Shabu or can we still order the noodle soups?

    Hi, thank you for your message! Yes, you can still order the noodle soups! But we are out of internet… 

    I used to love the kimchi from Korean Noodle House. Do they still sell kimchi to go, and is it the same?

    Yes, we are the same owner and make the same kimchi every day!

    Are you the same owners as Korean Noodle House?

    Yes! My parents are still cooking in the kitchen!! We just changed our menu to All You Can Eat Shabu… 

    Do they have ponzu sauce?

    We do not have ponzu sauce yet, but we have other house-made sauces taste similar. We will actually add ponzu sauce soon, too!

    Are there gluten free items on the menu?

    Yes, they have some rice dishes which are gluten free.

    View All 8 Questions

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    Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet

    3.4
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    My parents like this buffet, so my dad wanted to have lunch on his birthday here…read more + Pretty decent selection of food in terms of sushi and Chinese cuisine. There's dimsum, some American food, Chinese classics like kung pao, sauerkraut fish, crawfish, pineapple fried rice, and just too many to count. + Several soups to choose from, including the hot & sour soup, which was really good! + Several juices and desserts to choose from. Juices were slightly on the sweet side, and at least the rose was mixed with jasmine tea. + Sushi looked okay, good if you're okay with 'buffet' sushi. + Really good weekday lunch pricing, only $23.99 for adults! - Sauerkraut fish and the black bean spare ribs looked good but were kinda disappointing. Fish didn't have enough flavor, and the spare ribs weren't steamed long enough to be tender and 'fall apart'. - The sign mentioned milk tea, but they didn't have any. I guess they didn't update it. All in all, probably one of the best Chinese buffets in Houston! Worth trying if you're in the area.

    Good service and clean. Food was okay; tasted and presented well…read more Restaurant was so cold that the servers were all wearing jackets and coats. So cold that it limited us from enjoying the meal I will not be going back because of the high levels of MSG in the food. It took 2 days to cleans it out of my system. If you can tolerate MSG, then it could be of good value.

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    Iyara Thai Cuisine

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    Grab-and-go
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    Quick and professional service. Polite host/waiter. Food was delicious with good portion to fill…read moreyou up.

    1. Service - the hostess and wait staff were outstanding and attentive. They filled your drinks as…read moresoon as it hit midway, and they took your plates away as soon as it was empty. When you come in, wait to be seated, order and pay at the table. 2. Price - approximately $15 a plate. 3. Ambiance - Classy restaurant. I love the white linen on the tables. Soft music, white and red walls with Thai decor. Natural lighting during the day with warm interior lighting. It appears that there has been a makeover to the restaurant. I like the new look more. It seems more upscale in appearance. Dress code here is business casual. 4. Food - I've had their YELLOW CURRY WITH CHICKEN AND WHITE RICE. Curry is a bit sweet to my liking, but overall, it was a good meal. Will have to try other dishes next time. Food presentation is nicely plated. Not messy or sloppy. 5. Cleanliness - dining area is clean. The waitstaff keeps this place in tip top shape. The only complaint I have, although not exactly about cleanliness, I would suggest that management take a look at the lock in the men's restroom. Although it was locked, someone was able to enter still. SUMMARY This is a petite Thai cafe. Everything about this place was enjoyable. I would definitely come back to try again and will highly recommend this place.

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    Royal Buffet

    Royal Buffet

    3.3
    (29 reviews)
    6.1 mi
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    Some of the food extremely greasy, some of the food extremely salty, all the food is very low…read morequality. Strong pass. By the way, is anyone know where the Pine Forest Cafe owner went?

    The difference between Royal Buffet (君臨閣) and other Chinese buffets around this part of town comes…read moredown to size and variety. The plus side (#1) is the abundant parking, practically guaranteed seating, and options that skew on the more authentic side of things. The downside is knowing the limitations that come with affordably priced buffets and quality of food. The official entrance is from the parking lot between Vinh Hoa (#2) and the massage. Plenty of folks will also enter from the back, which is through the Dynasty Plaza mall and takes a bit longer. It then becomes a question of stairs (parking lot) versus an escalator (mall). At $18-24 (lunch to holiday pricing), the prices aren't too steep for AYCE food. Kids 3 and under eat free but are otherwise subject to $13-14 per person. Non-water drinks are $2.39 a person, so definitely get as many refills as possible. The place is as massive on the inside as it looks on the outside. Window side seating offers an elevated view of Chinatown, but don't focus too much on the excessive finger prints along the windows. The seating is so abundant that almost any size group should have zero problem finding space. There is also a large private room that is ideal for special functions, equipped with TVs and a sound system. Food wise, it's a hodgepodge of all food types. Here's a breakdown in the stations: Mongolian Grill / Noodle Soup: This is a combo station where one can customize their stir fry. I had decent results with lo mein, an egg, some vegetables with beef slices. The person cooking drizzled sesame oil, soy sauce seasoning, and water and each time it took around 3-5 minutes. The noodle soups are a bit more standard but the options here are the noodle options are wonton noodle, beef noodle, seafood noodle, and beef pho. I wouldn't recommend ordering the latter. Fruits & Salads / Cold Dishes / Seafood: A standard selection of cold fruit salads, which is unsurprisingly the least exciting part of the buffet. I'm impressed with the variety of the sushi on the seafood end, but the presentation and fish quality is extremely mediocre. It won't deter most folks, since most people perceive value by loading up on the rolls. When in doubt, shoot for the sashimi. Entrees: With the exception of the eyesore dim sum and standard fried food selection, there is a solid selection of hot food. The weekend offerings is probably the best they'll have, but some standouts here included the thin ribeye slices, a solid mapo tofu with a kick, well seasoned clams, fish slices, pork spare ribs, a very solid steamed fish, and several varieties of fried noodle. Folks might enjoy the Chinese-American selection, which should have all the classics (sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, marinated chicken wings, etc.) and then some. Serviced as a decent job of clearing tables, offering water refills, cleaning the food counters, and replenishing empty trays. I appreciate some small touches, such as their multicolored plates for different selections, bathrooms, and well marked labels. Buffet lovers who are in it for the thrill of copious portions will likely enjoy what's available here. __________ (#1) Aside from one's waistline. (#2) https://www.yelp.com/biz/vinh-hoa-houston

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    Royal Buffet
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    Sweet Pot K-kitchen

    Sweet Pot K-kitchen

    4.4
    (311 reviews)
    13.8 mi
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    I came here the day after Thanksgiving and wanted to give it a try with my family. The place was…read morecompletely empty and only one server was working. I get it - it's right after the holidays so staffing could be short. The server we had wasn't exactly enthusiastic, just did the bare minimum. Dishes piled up and we weren't asked about refills. You'd figure because there was only 1 group that the service would be attentive, but nope! The food that we ordered from the kitchen were all super fresh and delicious. My favorites were the bulgogi gimbap, eggroll (tiny rolled egg omelette), and chicken wings! They come out super hot - loved them all. The hot buffet bar was not filled at all, some were even just empty. I found it disappointing that we didn't get to try a lot of their items. The hot buffet bar was really scarce, I mean, just fried dumplings and fries but they were refilled really slow and some never had refills. The boba bar was empty and never filled. The DIY ramen station was closed off. I tipped only because I felt like I had to, but the service was abysmal. I would come back but maybe for lunch instead of dinner. Hopefully service improves.

    I'm so glad that I finally got to try sweet pot! It's so great to try a bunch of foods that you…read morenormally wouldn't order at non ayce places. I think for the experience the price was well worth it! I recommend you upgrade and do the 28.45 dinner portion as you have full access to the menu. My favorite dishes were the fried pork belly- so crispy and yummy And the rose broth pot was so savory and sweet- would love to get this again. Service was fantastic! The owner and Nathan were amazing! Inside is really cute and and great for bigger groups.

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    Kim Shabu - korean - Updated July 2026

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