Shabutei Shinsaibashi 涮肉亭 心齋橋店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We are having shabu shabu tonight. Knowing the gang's preference of having dinner near our hotel, I have already done my homework at home and handpicked Shabutei Shinsaibashi (涮肉亭 心齋橋店) as our dining destination. I was so relieved that we made advance booking cuz the moment we arrived at the hotpot specialist, there were at least 4 to 5 parties of walk-in customers waiting to be served. 



Like last night's dinner, I've booked our table through Tabelog a couple of months. It's really convenient and I was actually able to choose between the ground-floor counter tables, and the "normal" tables upstairs. They also indicated in the system that there are "semi-private rooms" available. I wish we have this option with our reservation systems in Hong Kong.

First up, we all enjoyed a welcome drink of Japanese plum wine before the meal officially starts. Little nugget was offered a small glass of orange juice instead. 

We have two different dipping sauces to go with the meat. A home special sesame sauce (more on that later) and a soy sauce that has been heavily infused with yuzu.

A set of vegetables for everyone. That includes some tofu, cabbage and mushrooms. I like the lotus root there to add some sweetness to the broth.

This is what I'm talking about, the special sesame sauce which is really the heart and soul of Shabutei.

Looks like the broth is ready at boiling temperature and the meats are just sitting there on the side. We are all set and ready to go.

We have ordered two separate sets. First one came with both thin slices of beef and pork. But the beef was noticeably less marbled as they were originated from Australia.

The second set we ordered came with a heavy dose of wagyu beef from Kagoshima.

I was really looking forward to the special sesame sauce. This wasn't bad but I thought there was a little too much acidity in the sauce, likely from the yuzu.

Everyone agreed that other than the marbling, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between the local and Australian beef. Of course, someone with a trained palate would have noticed the difference easily, but that's not us. 

After the meal, we were offered some complimentary milk ice-cream. 

This guy was definitely enjoying the ice-cream more than his beef!

It was nice to finish this shabu shabu dinner within an hour and a half. That should give us enough sleep for tomorrow's adventure at the Universal Studios. 

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: Shabutei 1-4/F, 1-4-11 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0085 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi

Tel: +81 (0)6 6243-2941

Website: www.shabutei.co.jp

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 11:00pm daily