For new beginners to hot pot, I believe this place to be a good introduction, but for those who are experienced in hot pot this place is abysmal. My party of 3 ordered the wagyu menu. The veggie stand is nice has everything you need as well as the sauce bar. It even has additional appetizers if you'd like. Here's the problem, the meat quality is terrible, barely enough to pass and we got the "Wagyu" menu. The meat you order is anything but Wagyu, with almost NO marbling to see and taste bland at best. The glitz and glimmer of this place lead you to high expectations but fail at the most essential part of a hot pot, the meat. If you got the basic menu, I believe this place to be satisfactory, but anything beyond that is absolutely NOT worth it. read more

Shabu-Yo - Chicken broth, the meat left scum all over it - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

Everything was just as amazing as the last time I visited awhile back. Same great service. Plenty of good food. The only things I didn't see on the food line were the great chicken wings they used to have. The ambiance is casual and nobody is rushing you. All questions were answered and explained in detail. Plenty of veggies to make your hot pot. Plenty of great sauces and salad bar options. Our party of three delighted in the $49 per person Wagyu beef, chicken and shrimp and plenty other choices. We had plenty of everything. Meats were so tender and cooked rapidly. We all tried different broths with different levels of heat. One in our party had the 9 spice miso broth at a level 6 and enjoyed it very much. I had the spicy broth and I was happy with it. Another person tried the teriyaki and also the butter broth and were happy with them. We saw a lot of young people here enjoying their food. We came for a late Sunday dinner and there was no wait. I would come more often if I lived in the Chicago area. I do recommend coming here. We enjoyed everything. Loved the robots. Give it a try. read more

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As someone who's a big foodie and loves AYCE spots, I hate to say it--but this was one of the most mid hot pot experiences I've had. The service was genuinely kind and attentive, no complaints there. But the food just didn't hit. The beef portions were really small (only about 2 slices per plate), which was disappointing for an AYCE place. Also, the sauce bar was... confusing. Seeing things like steak & burger sauce, buffalo wing sauce, and black pepper sauce at a hot pot restaurant felt off. It didn't feel authentic or what you'd typically expect from a hot pot spot. We're visiting and not familiar with the area, but in hindsight, the low 4-star rating probably should've been a sign. Not a terrible experience overall, but definitely not somewhere I'd go out of my way to return to. read more

Shabu-Yo - Why do they offer buffalo wing sauce?? They're catering to a certain demographic - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

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Shabu-Yu is all about the experience. You build your own hot pot, wander through the fun salad bar, and watch the robot servers glide by -- which never seems to get old. It's a little kitschy, but that's exactly the charm. You know what you're getting, and the playful atmosphere is part of what makes it such a fun outing read more

Looking for a fun place to eat, take a date or something different? This is a good place for them all!! This is a solid hot pot place and of course all you can eat!! Choose your broth, scan the QR code and start ordering. As you wait for the food to arrive, oh yeah by a robot!! Go up and grab your sauces, and your veggies for the meal. The robot arrives politely to your table, take your noodles and meat, push finished on the screen and it rolls away. Drop the meats, noodles and veggies in the boiling liquid and 20 second later you have your meal!!! I would suggest understanding that when ordering meat or other things on the QR code, it is what you see in the picture multipled times the number you choose. The all you can eat is outstanding and you will leave full for sure!! Know that to get the check you do need to go back in the QR and click pay so the server knows to bring you the check, other enjoy and have fun. read more

Service was good but the food was just mediocre. All the pictures on the app made the meat look marble-ly with a good mix of fats but it's all pretty lean. The sauces was missing the most important Chinese hot pot sauce - the Chinese bbq sauce. And it didn't offer a variety of bean curd rolls or Asian vegetables. The "premium Wagyu sushi" was way overcooked it was a hard to chew slice of meat on top of a rice ball. Completely ruined the texture of what Wagyu beef should be like. read more

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I had the chance to visit Shabu-Yo with my kids for the first time. We reviewed the courses and ended up choosing the Signature Wagyu Course with tonkotsu broths. Ordering from there is pretty simple as it could be done by scanning the QR code at our table and ordering from my phone. The trays of meat come pretty quickly either by the server or the robot. We tried every meat except for the chicken and enjoyed all of them. We did get items from the hot bar and veggies from the cold bar - but we kept our appetites mostly for the meat and were mindful of filling up on carbs. After finishing up with dinner, we headed to the dessert section to make our own croffles. Unfortunately the soft serve machine was down so we couldn't try that. We will be back when we are in the area again. Come hungry! read more

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I went there with a friend for lunch during Restaurant Week. There was no time limit, and we ended up eating a lot--so many kinds of vegetables, sides, and finishing dishes like noodles and rice. It was fun because you can mix and create your own sauces and dips to suit your taste, which makes the whole experience even more enjoyable. The staff were polite and very kind, and their service left a great impression. read more

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Incredibly disappointed. We just had lunch here and everything was going well, until I bit into a hard piece of PLASTIC in my food. I should've taken a picture of it. It was at least an inch long, looks like it had broken off of something. I called staff over to notify them and staff quickly took it away to let the manager know. We waited to hear back from them, but instead, they sent another staff who meagerly handed us this pathetic bonus card for the next visit, without even saying anything. NO apologies or anything. We will NOT be back. I'm upset because I actually really liked this place and had been here a few times, but this lack of customer service left such a bad taste in my mouth. Pun intended. They don't care about their guests. read more

Shabu-Yo - Here's what you get in return for eating their food with PLASTIC IN IT - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

I am sensitive to Dairy, wheat, soy and eggs. This place is great if you have food sensitivities, you just need to ask for the ingredients/allergen packet. Many broth options. I have been going with the Kelp one. You are able to add what you want and have your own broth pot to cook in it so you are in control. It is mainly straight vegetables and meat so it is very easy to find things to eat. They offer sauces to add to your food/broth, but also single ingredients like garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. Since it is a buffet style I don't see how they can guarantee to cross contamination, but if you are just sensitive vs a life threatening allergy I see this as a very good option. Cute robot delivers the meat. A little noisy when busy, but not too bad. Overall a fun time. read more

I come to this hot pot more often than others, as it is in a convenient location, and I never have a long wait. The broths are flavorful, and they have great options for your meats as well as your veggies and noodles. The sauce bar is nice and has a decent variety. Recommend trying this place out if you're in the mood for hot pot. read more

It was soo yummy! It was my boyfriend's first Shabu experience. We both loved the big variety of foods and meats. We went with the $44 classic menu. The alcohol is $15 for a bottle of soju which was a little pricier but it was still delicious . Our waitress was kind and the little robot provided great service! read more

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This was a fun change. Never did Shabu before and really enjoyed it with my sister. Very large selection of veggies, noodles and tofu, as well as sauces to doctor up your hot pot. The wage was tender and delicious. But the tru shining star was the chicken karagge. Moist, hot seasoned perfectly, scrumptiousness. Do not skip it! The cotton candy was a great finale as well. read more

Shabu-Yo - My hot pot and fixins - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

Love the fresh ingredients! The food never gets old and is constantly refreshed. The staff is always helpful and friendly. We drive 25 miles to eat here and have never been disappointed. The ambiance is amazing and we love the cat robots who deliver the food. Overall an experience restaurant but we love the fresh food. read more

Shabu is hot pot restaurant that I am a fan of. Location was very easy to find and decent amount of parking. Inside was very clean and the place got busy pretty quick. They are an all you can hot pot with a buffet style to get more ingredients/sauces. During my visit, they had a few selections of sushi, mini corn dogs, fries and some minor things in addition to hot pot veggies and meatballs At your table, everyone picks from the same type of all you can eat. We did the premium Wagyu so we had all the selections available to us. After you pick what kind of buffet, everyone gets to pick their sauce. My wife went with Suriyaki and I went with Tonkatsu. Afterwards, you are free to do what you want. We got sodas which the sever will bring to you. Everything else is picked up by yourself in the buffet or you can also order your meats at your table thru a QR code (which is delivered to your table by a robot). Drinks cannot be reorder thru the QR so it was a little difficult part of the restaurant. The robot was nice to deliver your food. And you can also place your dirty plates on the bottom row. Wish they would incorporate soda thru the robot and/or QR code. We loved the Waygu premium knuckle. And the shrimp For the sauces, I loved mixing my own together. I used a combination of teriyaki, ponzu, house made sauce, sweet chili sauce and garlic. Overall, service was great. Food was delicious. And I will be back in the future. I will need to check out the other locations for hopefully similar or even better experience. read more

Food was okay. In my opinion, the wagyu was a little thick for my liking. If it was just a little thinner, I'd enjoy it. The sauces I found were not as good as Chinese hotpot. Sushi by the way is premade and refrigerated, then when ordered they cut the individual pieces per order. It is not made to order. read more

Shabu-Yo - Menu - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

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Mediocre food, kinda trusted the reviews a little bit too much on this place. Meat served was tough and just low grade. Service was a bit too much, I know people were just doing their jobs but can tone it down a bit. Otherwise wasn't all too happy per say at the end. I think there are better placed around read more

Had so much fun! Loved our server and our robot. Was husband's first hot pot. Meat was good, shrimp was rocking and the mushrooms were delicious!! read more

Definitely a different experience. This is the 2nd Hot Pot restaurant we've been to - the other in NYC. When you enter and are greeted by the hostess, a robot takes you to your table and on the robot are the menus. There is also a page of instructions in how to order and how to cook the food. The server explains how it works, too. You order your drinks from the server as well as the type of broth you want to cook your meat and vegetables in. We had Sukiyaki and Korean. For an extra fee, you can add toppings to give it more Umami flavor or spice. You have the option of getting your vegetables and appetizers first then ordering, or ordering then getting the rest. We did option 1. They have a nice selection of fresh vegetables of all sorts. They also have several types of maki rolls, hot appetizers, and a table of condiments. I love mushrooms and they had two types of oyster mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. At your table is a tablet to order from. You choose your meats - beef, chicken, pork, and shrimp. There are a few types of beef to choose from including Wagyu, which you pay extra for. You order right from the tablet and the robot brings you trays of raw meat. When you order, you should know the meat is sliced paper thin and there are two pieces per tray. So, order more than you would normally expect. We tried a lot - Wagyu Chuck Roll, Wagyu Flat, Beef Knuckle, Beef Round, Pork Loin, Chicken Thighs, and Shrimp. In fact, since the portions are so small, we ordered more than one of some of these. As you eat, the robot clack along the floor playing music - this was distracting and, while part of their kitsch, we could have done without the music. When you get your meat, you use a pair of tongs to dip it into the broth to cook - the cook time depends on the meat. I didn't really find the broth added much flavor to the unseasoned meats, so the condiments are important. Near the vegetables and appetizers are deserts - cream puffs, brownies, soft serve ice cream, and fruit. All in all, the experience was a solid 4/5 - discounted one because we found the robots to be annoying. The food was more like 3/5 - I didn't think the value was up to the cost of the meal. The server was really outstanding - 5/5. The experience was fun, but unless you really like the ambiance, it's overpriced for what they offer. It is definitely worth trying once and then you can decide for yourself. read more

Excellent service. Amazing wagyu beef. Delicious sauce bar and fresh veggies garden. Never disappointed in this restaurant I see some changes there and I like read more

Not what I was expecting for some reason. I knew it was an all you can eat, but with two elderly parents I was hoping everything would be ordered from the table. Unfortunately, they had to get up and walk to the buffet area at least once to see what looked good. The whole cooking experience was new for all of us but it was fun. read more

Shabu-Yo - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

We loved the premium cut meats--definitely the highlight of the meal. The Tonkotsu broth was good at first but started smelling burnt because the server didn't come by often to refresh it. The ramen noodles, sauces, and vegetable options were great, and the robot servers were a fun touch. However, the sushi was disappointing, and the staff needed to clear used plates more frequently. The tables were not big enough for all the plates and food. Overall, we enjoyed the experience despite these issues. read more

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If you love Japanese hot pot, this place is a must. The Premium Wagyu option includes Premium Round, Standard Beef, Pork Loin, and even Shrimp - all fresh and high quality. Every bite of the Wagyu Flat was juicy and rich, and the Signature Beef had the perfect marbling. This was one of the best AYCE experiences I've had in the Chicagoland area. read more

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We have been back a few times now and it is still packing people in. Now they have a fourth option on the menu that gives you crab. We went with option c and managed to get quite a few plates in during our time. The real chaos is the countdown and buffet station when you are dealing with kids. They want to get everything themselves but it isn't really kid height and now there is a pancake machine to deal with. Get back to the table and try and monitor two kids dumping all their stuff in the broth and you will never get any time to cook your own. My anxiety level between this and fielding orders from the husband who couldn't figure out the iPad system was off the charts. We were over $200 without any alcohol and I'm not sure anyone ate enough to justify it. I would like more sushi options - even if they are basic. There are only four rolls to choose from. The buffet needs more attention and multiple rice cookers as it was empty more than once in our two hours. Drink refills are really slow and getting a check took FOREVER!! read more

Shabu-Yo - Cookin! - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

Nice little spot by the Woodfield Mall... They offer Hot Pot (multiple broth options) with wagyu beef and all you can eat crab legs and sushi. The toppings and add ins for the hot pot are buffet style. There is MUCH variety. The food is quite good and the service is decent. We were seated at a table where the ordering iPad wasn't functioning as quickly as the other tables around us. This was a little frustrating, if I'm being honest. Because it is all you can eat. There is a time limit. But two hours is more than enough time to be filled more than adequately. Gratuity is automatically added. There is a lot for parking. read more

Shabu-Yo - Crab Legs - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

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Really great spot here! Awesome options for the shabu shabu broth, just added tomato and the veg and protein options are good. Service is great and it's a fin chill vibe. Great spot for friends or family and I love shabu shabu! read more

My husband and I came here for our birthday's with some friends and family, we had a good time! The food was delicious and the broths nice and bold in flavor we didn't get an enhancer. I had pork broth everyone else had chicken. The buffet was stocked well with fresh vegetables and sauces. We all loved the breaded fish too! Service was just okay as we were told they ran out of clean cups and containers to take the birthday cake with us... Overall the food was delicious We loved the robot read more

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I don't think the $43 wagyu course is worth it. Only the wagyu choices were good but it was also not that good Great veggie choices. Veggie croquette was good! read more

Shabu-Yo - Veggie - Japanese Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

I been here a few times and have witness the rise and fall of this place. In the beginning the quality of the meat and seafood was great. Plenty of options at the buffet. The price was fair. Lately though every time that we went, the meat options keeps changing (and not for the better), shrimps gone from jumbo size to tiny little ones. The straw that broke the camels back was when they replaced the udon and glass noodles with plant based ramen. That stuff tastes like wet dough when it's cooked. Not to mention prices keeps going up and too many unnecessary pricing tiers. It's just very disappointing to see this place go down in quality like this. read more

We went here for my boyfriend's birthday, as it's something of a "special occasion" place: fancy food and a unique cooking method. It's all you can eat for two hours and the price per person is determined by the tier you choose (we got C, which comes with, among others, wagyu brisket and chuck roll, shrimp, pork belly, sushi, the veggies and sauce bar, and the dessert bar.) Once you get established with your waitress, she's basically out of the picture and you order everything from a tablet mounted on the table (if you have been to some rotary sushi restaurants you might be familiar with this). The delivery system is in the form of an army of cat robots, about 3/4 human height, who toddle around the restaurant dispensing trays of meat, which you cook in the hot pots on the table, dip into sauces and consume. The empty trays are gathered by industrious busboys and the process repeats. The food was good! It was slightly chaotic, even with two people, so I imagine more would make it moreso. Lots of good sauce options. When it came time to wrap up, my bf hit the "get the check" button and we waited for ten minutes with nothing happening (there's nothing to alert you that the signal went through so I finally said, "Maybe it didn't take?") So we pressed it again. Five+ more minutes go by. We were starting to wonder if it worked when the waitress stomped over and asked if we wanted the check. We said yes, we had pressed the button. She huffed that it's hard because she's juggling 20 tables. I find this sort of hilarious since the robots are doing a lot of what a waitress would usually do at any other restaurant...but at least we got the bill at last. Overall, we left having gotten out "all you can eat" money's worth in a novel setting (robot cats!) Would return. read more

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We got the $42/45 Wagyu course which includes: Meats: Wagyu chuck roll & Wagyu brisket, Chuck roll, Shoulder clod, Pork belly & Shrimp & Sushi & Drinks Out of all the course options, I actually think Wagyu is the best course because it gives you the most meats for only $6 more. Sushi was decent but I think spend more of your stomach on the hotpot. Personally, I wouldn't do the snow Crab course because it's just weird to switch between cracking crab and eating hot pot. We really liked the meat quality which didn't look frozen and comes out great as long as you don't overcook it. Great veggie, noodle, and sauce variety. They also had a couple cooked foods like teriyaki chicken, karaage, fries, stir fried green beans which were tasty, no complaints. In my opinion, the price is worth it for what you get and quality. Lots of seating. Employees were nice. read more

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A solid 4/5. My family and I did the premium tier and I thought the quality of the food was mid for the price. My parents qualified for the senior discount (55+ years old) which gave us a 20% discount which was nice. The sushi wasn't anything impressive and the flavors of the sushi didn't wow me. The veggie and other hot pot options were kind of limited. You get much more options at happy lamb and other AYCE hot pot locations. I did enjoy the soybean puff, the tong hao, the pork belly and mushrooms. The udon was already soft and not chewy, and there was only 1 meatball option. The wagyu beef didn't blow me away either. It's nice that drinks are included in the price. You can get tea, coffee soft drinks, etc. My parents were there to eat the crab and we noticed after the first round, the crab got smaller and the quality went down. By the 3rd and 4th round of crab, the crab got extremely salty to the point where you need to dunk it in the soup to dilute it. This tip was given by the waiter so I feel like it's a strategy to get people to slow down on the crab? Either way, the service was very prompt, efficient and friendly. I'm glad we got to try but, but overall wasn't super impressed with the quality, the number of options, and the price. There's better hotpot options elsewhere. The sauce bar was a nice touch and they had some unique dipping flavors. Some of the sauces had more of a Thai chili flavor. The tables are a bit small for your plates and meats. Thanks for the dinner experience. read more

There aren't too many Japanese Hot Pots with cat-robots serving you unlimited slices of meat on trays. Each table is outfitted with an individual pot of your choice of broth. I went with the classic soy. There's a buffet to gather your veggies, noodles, make your own sauces, and some random items like pancakes, ice cream, curry. Each time you order, there's about 5-6 slices of very thin meat, to which you swish around in the hot broth. Be sure to order your meat on the tablet and the cat will retrieve them for you. It is quite novel to see this working, but I think for a hot pot experience, you can find better variety, quality and value. read more

One of my favorite AYCE hot pot in the Chicago burbs! Lots of options for meat and food. The staff were friendly and the service was great. Would highly recommend! read more

Meh. I loved that my kids ate free but the buffet was mediocre and the sushi was like grocery store quality.

Super fun shabu shabu experience in Schaumburg. We came at 5pm on Friday evening and it was fairly empty. There is a large parking lot. We were seated at a booth that has individual broth pots for each guest and the waiter explains the ordering process and from there you order from the tablet. We ordered from option P which had wagyu brisket, chuck, pork belly, shrimp, drinks and two other cuts of meat. The whole table has to have the same menu it was explained. It was $45 per person and all you can eat for 2 hours. You can select from four types of broth and we also ordered the broth bear which is adorable but didn't add much flavor. The buffet has vegetables, a sauce bar, hot appetizers and desserts. The veggies looked fresh and they were on dry ice. You add the veggies to the pot to make the broth and then you add the meat for about 10 seconds. Everything looked clean and fresh. Robots bring your dishes to the table and you can keep ordering from the tablet. It started to get more crowded with groups and families. This is a very fun experience if you've never gone to this before and it is expensive. I would give an overall 4.5 stars because this is very special but take off a half star because it is pricey and we can't eat that much. Also if you've never done this before this is so much it can be overwhelming and also the pork belly was very thinly sliced, I've had it at other hot pot restaurants where it is thicker. read more

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Overall, our experience here was just "meh". It was "good enough", but not good enough to come back. One odd situation was that it seemed like everything was out of order. They had a sign at the door that alcohol was unavailable that day. We did not want any, but that seemed odd. The soda machine was out of order because the pipes frozen. Fair enough as it was below zero out on the day of our visit. The temperature in the ladies' restroom was also frigid, and the water was too. Even the hand dryer was blowing freezing cold air. But things that were not out of the restaurant's control were the lack of replacement of dishware at the buffet. When we arrived, there were two trays of coffee/tea cups and a few stacks of triple sauce plates, but by about an hour into our visit there were no more cups nor sauce plates out and we had to improvise. Tables were not bussed in a timely fashion either. The restaurant was not excessively busy, so I am not sure why that would have been. One "design flaw" if one can call it that is that you really have to plan for what you want to add to your soup or you will be making numerous trips up to the buffet area. The rotary style hotpot restaurants seem easier in this respect. As for the food, the buffet itself was unimpressive. There were not a lot of options for veggies and other additions to the soup. The hot options were just ok, and not all items were kept/served at a proper temperature. Some dessert items were literally served frozen (i.e. the mini cream puffs), which was not all that pleasant. None of the sauces were really tasty either. As for the hotpot itself, the Spicy Miso and Citrus Miso broths were very good, but the Chicken broth and the Tonkotsu broth were both essentially flavorless. We got the everyday trio, and the beef and pork were good, but the chicken was flavorless. On a positive note, our server and the hostess were both lovely, the restaurant & restrooms were clean, and the little robot cat delivery system was delightful. However, for the price, we expected more in the way of excellent food. read more

I have been wanting to try this place for a while now. I had made a reservation for my friend's birthday. However, I did arrive 10 minutes after my reservation that was a big mistake. It was early afternoon, and the place was already packed. The host was more than accommodating and put us on the list, all we had to do was wait in an additional 30 minutes and I'm glad we did. I do recommend that you make a reservation. They max the table at about two hours so use your time wisely. If you are new to hot pot, it can be a little confusing. Our server tried to do his best and explain how everything works but again, as I mentioned above this place gets pretty busy so he had his hands full. I met some cool people in the buffet line that explained how this particular hot pot will go. While sitting at the table you can purchase additional items outside of the hot pot menu you selected. My friend and I chose to go with the unlimited Wagyu and sushi. This is definitely a restaurant that you would go to on a special occasion. The whole WOW factor is the robot serving you. Just make sure you're sitting at your table and move fast because that robot is on a mission. With all that being said, I truly enjoy the experience. If I had to rate this restaurant, I would give it a 7 out of only because customer service was lacking that day due to the restaurant being very busy. read more

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Quiet Saturday afternoon here. Excellent food. Was able to try some new vegetables. Leeks and baby corn I don't care for but rice cakes were a thumbs up. Was able to compare mushrooms and I liked the taste equally. Be careful with the tomatoes when they come out of the pot they can be the temperature of Mercury! Shrimp is easy to overcook and doesn't taste as good as properly cooked shrimp. The Wagyu is excellent. Chuck roll especially but the regular shoulder and chuckroll are no slouches. Pork belly is spot on. I prefer the chicken broth, my husband likes the sukiyaki one. And don't forget the ice tea hack cup of hot green tea plus glass of ice equals a very tasty ice tea. read more

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We were thoroughly impressed!! We've done hot pot once before and went to a place that was quite a bit further away and came highly recommended... yet left us disappointed. So, we decided to try this place! We had reservations for our group of 10. We arrived and were promptly seated. Our server was very attentive and explained the concept, which was very helpful for the grandparents who were with us experiencing hot pot for the first time. We loved the variety of options available which was perfect for the pickiest of eaters (littles and great grandma!) there was something for everyone. Things I loved: *iPads on the table for ordering more of the entree at convenience *Individual hot pot for each seat which made customizing broth and spice level easy *attentive servers who made sure dirty dishes didn't stack up *we celebrated a birthday and loved the special treat at the end *discounts for senior citizens and kids. read more

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