DIY Dinner at HiBi Shabu Shabu

We were curious about Cranston’s new shabu shabu restaurant, HiBi Shabu Shabu. Nobody I knew had been, and the location in the ground floor of a residential house on Park Avenue was unassuming. Once inside, we were pleasantly surprised by the bright and modern interior. A handful of tables lined one wall opposite a bar with 11 additional seats.

In case you are unfamiliar with shabu shabu, it’s an interactive dish: diners cook their choice of raw meat, seafood, vegetables and noodles in hot broth at their table. The dish’s evocative name refers to the sound the ingredients make when swished through the broth.

A quick look at the menu reveals that HiBi Shabu Shabu isn’t strictly Japanese. Though its name and several menu items hail from Japan, the menu also incorporates influences from several other Asian cuisines. For example, you can replace the standard house broth with Szechuan Spicy Broth ($3), Korean Kimchi Broth ($2) or Thai Tomyum Broth ($2), among others. Though Shabu Shabu may be Japanese, hot pot dishes are also ubiquitous in China.

First we ordered appetizers. The Baby Octopus ($3.99) was a small plate of five cold octopi cooked in a sweet and salty red sauce. The Seaweed Salad ($3.99) was similar what you’ll find at most Japanese restaurants. The Pork Gyoza ($3.99) were delicate with a good flavor.

To drink, we shared the Hakutsuru Organic Junmai Sake ($18 for 300ml). The menu also features several wines and beers, like Hitachino Nest ($6.50).

I was excited to see a Chef’s Specials section of the menu that wasn’t on the restaurant’s website. The Crab Pot ($17.99) and Japanese Spare Rib Pot with Seaweed ($12.99) caught our eye. The word “pot” in their names might be misleading, since both are standalone dishes that don’t need to be cooked at the table.

The Spare Rib Pot was an instant favorite, and we couldn’t decide what we liked more - the tender meat or the rich broth. Not everyone will be adventurous enough for the Crab Pot, as was clear from our waitress’s warnings about the spice and shells. However, it was perfect for our table of crab fans, and we didn’t find it too spicy. A pound of large crab was cooked in an aromatic oily sauce, garnished with sesame seeds and cilantro. Unlike most other “pot” dishes, this is prepared in an oil-based sauce instead of a broth. We found a variety of spices in the oil, like star anise and allspice, as well as dried red and pickled green peppers. I eagerly hunted for slices of turnip and zucchini cooked through with the oil’s wonderful flavors. We learned that the chef cooks this flavorful sauce for four hours.

For our hot pots, we ordered the house broth (complimentary) and the Szechuan Spicy Broth ($2.99), floating with dried red peppers and spices. If you haven’t visited a hot pot restaurant, you may be surprised to see two broths sharing one pot, but it’s pos- sible thanks to a nifty divider. To cook, we chose the Meat Combo ($12.99) with lamb and pork and a Seafood Supreme ($16.99). Each came with a plate of raw vegetables and a choice of rice or udon noodles; we had the latter. The vegetable plates that accompanied our hot pot were ample and fresh, including bok choi, corn on the cob, carrots and tofu. Our Seafood Supreme featured a great assortment such as scallops, salmon, mussels, clams and squid that was scored to curl into a beautiful spiral when cooked.

Small metal strainers made it easy to lower ingredients into the broth. The thinly sliced meats should cook very briefly, and most seafood slightly longer. Most of the vegetables can be dropped into the pot and fished out later. Noodles are usually added at the end, but we cooked and ate ours throughout the meal (tip: ask for tongs if you have trouble grabbing slippery noodles with chopsticks). Additional toppings in tiny dishes, such as chopped garlic and scallions, allow you to create a custom dipping sauce for extra flavor.

For dessert, we shared two orders of Mochi Ice Cream ($2.50 for an order of two pieces) in green tea and red bean flavor.

Hot Pot dinners can be a leisurely delight, easily adjusted for any appetite with the flexibility of a la carte items. For our table of four, we had three appetizers, two chef’s specials and two hot pots, and we left our culinary adventure very satisfied.