Tokyo Belly

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

IKEBUKURO: Shabu Sai all you can eat shabu shabu veggies for only 890 yen!! OMG generously healthy!! (SONY RX100)

After leaving my Japanese firm that had an amazing employee food court with such well balanced lunches I have been feeling so unhealthy... At home I tend to stick to pasta and have a hefty diet of Yakitori. Was just not feeling so well lately... BUT with the advice of a friend in Hawaii he said I should eat more veggie Hotpot!

All you can eat meat and veggies for only 1,199 yen!!! WOW... In Hawaii its easily 2-3x more than this with much lower quality meat and veggies.

All you can eat Veggie self serve counter.

Rice, furikake, seasonings all inclusive.

Ramen and Udon included.

First visit and the least expensive option seemed to be the most popular. The 890 yen all you can eat veggies plus 2 plates of pork... I opted for this so I could focus on consuming as much veggies as possible.

You can get all you can eat

Both plates of pork so thinly sliced and incredibly tender!

YUM!!! After eating the pork you should definitely go for the 1,199 yen all you can eat both meat and veggie... it was just so tender.

Shabu Shabu with Konbu seasoning. I believe you can choose other types of soup for an additional 100 yen.

Ponzu and Goma (sesame seed sauce)

Tofu!

Spicy grated daikon and sliced Japanese onions.

They have kiddie hi-chair seats also.

Closed my meal with the ramen and udon... just add to your hotpot soup for a few minutes.

Located on 7F of Ikebukuro Yamada Labi Electronics Store.

This place was simply fantastic! The waitress was a 1st year Sophia University student who asked how she could improve her English... super friendly. GOTTA GOOOOO if in IKEBUKURO!!!

Restaurant: Shabu Sai Ikebukuro Branch

Tabelog Foodie: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1305/A130501/13100079/

Address J: 東京都豊島区東池袋1-5-7 ヤマダ電機LABI１日本総本店池袋 7F

Address E: Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 1-5-7 , Yamada Labi 7F
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/8WetF6pqKVeThSJC7

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HONOLULU: Battle of the 4 Poke Bows! Ono Seafood vs Coco Cove vs Donki vs Maguro Brothers!

My battle of the POKE Tokyo Belly Version! My to go spot that measure all my poke adventures is the trusty and always delicious Ono Seafood. https://www.yelp.com/biz/ono-seafood-honolulu

1st visit to Ono during my Hawaii vacation was all Spicy Poke! Its just so perfectly flavored and a nice spicy kick. Fish was fresh this day with a nice texture!

2nd Visit! Spicy with Hawaiian Style Combo on a Saturday! Must have been an off day as the tuna was rather mushy and not firm. Unfortunate but still loved the flavor!

Coco Cover market on Kalakaua Avenue for Poke? Really? Waited to the end of my trip to give it a try. https://www.yelp.com/biz/coco-cove-honolulu

The nice filipino lady behind the counter was so generous with the Poke samples on a tooth pick and a local family was calling her Auntie. Super friendly lady.

Of course went for the Hawaiian Style and Spicy combo. The flavor was mild compared to Ono's but the fish seemed so fresh and not mushy at all. 2/3 pounds of fish on a bed of brown rice for about $12.50. Really enjoyed it and she sure did pack the fish in well.

Of course you gotta hit up Don Quijote for their poke by the pound!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/don-quijote-honolulu

There were soooo many choices!

Picked up Spicy and Hawaiian style. Very very creamy and very tasty... yum!

Now Maguro Brothers... the worst of the bunch.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/maguro-brothers-hawaii-waikiki-honolulu-2

After watching this youtube video featuring Maguro Brothers and its Japanese owner I just had to go! Love supporting small owner chef businesses... always a fan.

Lots of options but went for the Hawaiian Limu Ahi and Spicy combo for about $15.50. This was the most expensive place out of the 4 spots I tried. Tried to chat up the Japanese owner but he didn't crack a smile and didn't seem very interested in saying anything... I even spoke Japanese. Doh...

A few bites and the flavor was a bit mild... almost as if they didn't add enough seasoning. The cuts of tuna seemed rather small and not so meaty.

But the shocker was the cold, hard, clumpy white rice... It was if they refrigerated the previous days white rice and thawed it out a bit before serving it in my combo plate. I was just so incredibly disappointed to have paid a premium over other shops only to have my tuna sit on carelessly prepared rice. I think any native Japanese person would be ashamed to serve this... I could almost say this was glue grade rice. UGH. One star on Yelp for you buddy.