Shabu Shabu House remedies the glut of holiday temptations

One major holiday down, three more to go through New Year 2015. If you haven’t yet had your fill of Halloween candy, you’ll have many more reasons to indulge over the holidays, whether your downfall is turkey with Portuguese sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cookies, pumpkin pie, fruitcake or eggnog.

Shabu Shabu House has the remedy for all manner of evil unleashed on your body. Under new owner Kazuyo Makita, Shabu Shabu House is now home to many a special nabe, and foodies are flocking to the restorative promise of the restaurant’s Detox Special. 

It may not be the overnight cure for battle of the bulge or bloat, but at least the all-veggie-and-water boil offers timeout for one’s overworked opu. And the closer it gets to Christmas Day, the more you’ll appreciate the thought.

There’s been an explosion of Chinese-style hot-pot restaurants on Oahu over the past few years. These have altered expectations so that diners now tend to embrace a "kitchen sink" mentality when sitting around a pot, aiming to fill it with all manner of dumplings, meatballs and noodles. 

Shabu Shabu House’s Detox Special ($23.95) strips the hot pot down to the Japanese basics, starting with the pot of boiled water, to which diners can add a platter full of veggies and mushrooms. The colorful assortment of kabocha, kale, dandelion greens, purple cabbage, tree ear and more performs double duty in providing varied nutrition while also stimulating the appetite with its stunning visual impact.

Makita did her research and came up with a list of benefits of the organic veggies offered, noting kale’s reputation for lowering blood cholesterol levels and dandelion greens’ association with reducing inflammation, supporting digestion and even combating eczema and acne.

Finish the pot and you’re in for a treat as rice and an egg are added to the remains of the nutrient-rich soup to create a beautiful comfort dish of ojiya. 

Of course, I’ve been told over and over by several well-intentioned restaurateurs that most restaurants cannot survive in meat-salt-fat-loving Hawaii by offering healthful fare alone, and the flip side of Shabu Shabu House’s Detox Special is its holiday yosenabe set that will be offered through December.

This is the one for more celebratory occasions. At $64.75, meant to be shared by two, it is every bit as colorful as the Detox Special, this time boasting the familiar red and white of king crab legs and shrimp, with a few pieces of basa, scallop, oysters, lobster balls, pork belly, chicken, three kinds of mushrooms, tofu, vegetables and long rice.

In between these two special sets is the regular menu that starts with meat-based shabu shabu sets, of about 7 ounces each of beef ($15.95), pork loin ($15.95), Kurobuta pork belly ($16.95), lamb ($16.95), seafood ($23.95) or a combo of jumbo shrimp and beef or pork ($21.75).

Pickier sorts might skip straight to the Kobe-style beef ($35.95), which is fattier and juicier than the starter beef chuck, but by the time it’s boiled and dipped in ponzu, sesame and delicious house ginger sauces, some might not notice the difference. You know who you are.

Each of these orders comes with a balanced complement of greens and udon, but feel free to add extras from a roster of vegetables ($3.95 to $4.95), mushrooms ($5.50) and extra meat ($7.95 to $12.95).

Flavored soup bases will also add to the cost. These include basic shoyu dashi ($2.95), chicken broth ($2.95), sukiyaki sauce ($3.95) and paitan ($4.95). My favorite is the kim chee ($4.95).

I feel like some of the other condiments should be free, but I find it hard to pass on the fiery chopped Thai chilis ($1), garlic ($2) and yuzu ($1) that add so much to the basic shabu shabu.

And don’t pass on the house dessert of Macchoco ($5.50), a scoop of intense matcha green tea ice cream, scoop of chocolate ice cream and thin, crisp brownie.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.